Significance is found in community with others, for no one can ever become all that God called them to be on their own.
- The Pastors and all the other 5 fold ministry gifts were not to do all the work of ministry but to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Eph 4:11-12
- Their gatherings were unpredictable, it wasn’t 3 songs by the band, announcements then 45min message and that was it. They created an environment where various gifts were displayed and different ministrations where brought forth. Every one who showed up expected to somehow be used by the Holy Spirit for someone else. It wasn’t just up to the pastor and the worship team. See 1 Cor 14:26.
- We notice that their Christian culture was not contained within 4 walls of a church building on a Sunday morning, it was a way of life for them. culture in which they lived in and operated. See Acts 2:42.
- We also noticed that most of them were disciples making disciples, it’s how they lived their lives. See 2Tim 2:2
- There were very community oriented as revealed in the phrase “one another” that you find about 60 times in the new testament. Their meetings were held in houses as this allowed them to have a sense of community and still does. See Acts 2:46.
- They were given to prayer; In one instance Peter is arrested and put in prison but that didn’t stop the church. Why, because it was not built on a man. But a church in a certain house prayed for him. It wasn’t like today where we look for the man of God to lead prayer or pray for us, they instead prayed for Peter to be released. See Acts 12:5,12
We take our blue print from the early church.
The early church had an open format. Ordinary believers regularly and significantly contributed to the corporate worship of the first-century church. This open format allowed those prompted by the Spirit to offer testimony, share a spiritual experience, give an exhortation, lead out in prayer, testify, sing, give praises, etc.
In general, each person who spoke operated out of his spiritual gifting. According to Scripture, the prime directive for anything said or done was that it had to edify (strengthen, build up, encourage) all the other believers present.
“Let all things be done for building up or edifying” (1Co 14:26)
Benefit
First of all, the bible has almost 60 passages of scriptures with “one another” expressions. It’s in the participatory environment that we can experience the spiritual gifts of one another.
New Testament Church was more participatory than spectating.
Heb 10:24, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
Early believers were responsible for thinking carefully how each could spur others on when they met together as a church. Thus, the author of Hebrews urged ordinary Christians to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together . . . but encouraging one another.”
Watchman Nee pointed out that all members of Christ’s body bear equal responsibility to encourage one another. Worship was formatted in such a way to allow ample opportunity for mutual encouragement.
The focus was not exclusively on leaders. It was about each member doing his part as led by the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14 regulates the use of multiple verbal spiritual gifts in church gatherings. In describing their meetings, Paul wrote, “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.” Those brothers with verbal spiritual gifts used them in the gathering to build up the church.
New Testament believers did not merely attend services. They were active, vital participants who could significantly contribute to what went on in the gathering. Their motto for church meetings could have been “Every member a minister.” There was lively audience participation.
1Cor 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
“Let all things be done for building up”
The Greek for building up (oikodomé) means strengthening or edifying. One lexicon described oikodomé as the action of one who promotes another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, and holiness.
1 Corinthians 14 deals with the regulation of participatory worship when “the whole church comes together.” The over-arching purpose for anything said or done in such a gathering is that it must edify the church:
Any comment made in participatory worship was driven by the Spirit and lovingly designed to encourage, build up, strengthen or edify the other believers present. If not, it was inappropriate and was to be left unspoken.
Even the early church’s singing had a “one another” emphasis, with believers “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.”
It appears that believers in the early church generally had the freedom to request or introduce songs.
Col 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Colossian Christians were exhorted to be “admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Acts 20:7, On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
The Greek verb describing what he did is dialegomai. Our word “dialogue” is transliterated from it. It primarily means discuss. Thus, the ESV states that Paul “talked with” them.
In Acts 18:4 and 19:8, the same word is rendered as “reasoned” and “reasoning”. Paul undoubtedly did most of the speaking that night, but the way he taught was not via an uninterrupted sermon, as if broadcasting over the radio.
Thus, we see the early church’s teaching times, even those led by an apostle, were to some degree discussion oriented, another indicator church meetings were participatory.
It must have been an open format for Paul to be able to preach the Gospel in synagogues throughout the Roman world. Had ancient synagogue meetings been anything like most modern worship services, Paul would have had to find another way to reach the Jews with the gospel!
Participation in the early church was not prohibited but rather regulated.
It’s likely that when you have open format that there might be a chance for things to go out of order and this seems to have happened in the early church with the Corinthians church. So rather than stopping it, the elders and the apostles decided to regulate it.
Two or Three Should Speak inTongues:
The participatory nature of early church meetings is also evident in the guidelines concerning those who spoke in tongues: “If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.” An interpretation was required “so that the church might be built up.”
Two or Three Should Prophesy:
No matter how you understand the gift of prophecy, the participatory nature of New Testament gatherings is seen in the guidelines for prophecy: “let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.” The impromptu nature of prophecy is clear: “If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.” The goal of prophecy is “so that all may learn and all be encouraged.”
“Prophet” is transliterated from prophétés; pro means before or forth and phétés means to speak. In general, prophets received divine revelation and passed it on. They proclaimed and interpreted divine truth.
This revelation may have concerned sin in someone’s life (1Co 14:24-25), may have been a word of encouragement (Acts 15:32) or may have been a prediction about the future (Acts 11:27-30).
Modern prophets might give practical insight into the correct application of Scripture. They are people of passion who speak forth words of encouragement, exhortation, motivation and application. They are agents for change who impart life into small church meetings.
What do Biblical Scholars and Professors say about the practices of the early church? (According to New Testament Reformation Fellowship)
- In the Mid-America Baptist Theological Journal, Dr. Jimmy Milikin stated that in early Christian congregations “there was apparently a free expression of the Spirit. In the public assembly one person might have a psalm, another brother a teaching, another a revelation, another a tongue, another an interpretation.”
- Church historian Ernest Scott wrote in The Nature of the Early Church that “The exercise of the spiritual gifts was thus the characteristic element in the primitive worship. Those gifts might vary in their nature and degree according to the capacity of each individual, but they were bestowed on all and room was allowed in the service for the participation of all who were present . . . Every member was expected to contribute something of his own to the common worship.”
- Professor John Drane, in Introducing the New Testament, wrote, “In the earliest days . . . their worship was spontaneous. This seems to have been regarded as the ideal, for when Paul describes how a church meeting should proceed he depicts a Spirit-led participation by many . . . There was the fact that anyone had the freedom to participate in such worship. In the ideal situation, when everyone was inspired by the Holy Spirit, this was the perfect expression of Christian freedom.”
- Concerning public worship in the New Testament church, London Bible College lecturer G.W. Kirby concluded, “There appears to have been considerable fluidity with time given for spontaneous participation.” William Barclay pointed out that “The really notable thing about an early Church service must have been that almost everyone came feeling that he had both the privilege and obligation of contributing something to it.”
It is helpful to have a good perspective on why participatory worship is important and how it was lost. After Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman Empire by Theodosius (around A.D. 381), huge pagan temples were turned by government decree into church buildings.
Church gatherings moved out of the relative intimacy of Roman villas and into large, impersonal basilicas. Such huge gatherings naturally morphed into more of a performance or service.
Socratic teaching gave way to eloquently orated monologs. Questions from the audience were prohibited. Spontaneity was lost. Individual participation was squelched.
The “one another” aspect of an assembly became impractical. Informality fossilized into formality. Church leaders began wearing special clerical costumes. Worship aids were introduced: incense, icons, candles, hand gestures, etc.
Church of Scotland minister Henry Sefton, in A Lion Handbook – The History of Christianity, wrote, “Worship in the house-church had been of an intimate kind in which all present had taken an active part . . . (this) changed from being ‘a corporate action of the whole church’ into ‘a service said by the clergy to which the laity listened.’ ”
Many judge traditional worship services to be participatory simply because the congregation joins in responsive readings, partakes of the elements of the Lord’s Supper, enjoys congregational singing, and gives financial offerings. These things are good, but there is no real open format.
Commenting on the contrast between early and modern church meetings, Gordon Fee observed, “By and large the history of the church points to the fact that in worship we do not greatly trust the diversity of the body.
Edification must always be the rule, and that carries with it orderliness so that all may learn and all be encouraged. But it is no great credit to the historical church that in opting for ‘order’ it also opted for a silencing of the ministry of the many.”
Not allowing the ministry of the many could cause atrophy and even apathy. A Sunday-school teacher once asked her children, “Why must we be quiet in church?” One perceptive little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping in there.” Many feel they may as well stay home and watch a church service on television.
Allowing members to participate verbally in church lends for a greater working of the Spirit as the various ministry gifts are freed to function. Based on what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14, God may burden a number of brothers, independently of each other, to bring a short word of encouragement, a testimony, to lead out in prayer, to bring a song, etc.
Small groups and open discussion during our gatherings has been a great way to make disciples out of us. More and more people are growing in their walk faster than before and more relationships are being cultivated at a deeper level than the surface relationships that we were used to.
There is plenty of edification that happens each week that is coming in our gatherings that is not dependent on the pastor, hence more people are beginning to discover their spiritual gifts.
We are big on one anothering and we will continue to do so.
Small communities that start small communities that start small communities.