The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-11-01
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Christian Worship
Lesson for November 3, 1853
That the infinite God might be
worshipped in an infinite variety
of ways. should not surprise any
one. So when an inquiring per
son visits many different Chris
tan churches, he should not be
too much puzzled by the fact
that even within the same de-
nomination. the manner Of pub
lie worship takes many different
forms. What is surprising is
that. instead of rejoicing in this
variety, it should be a source Of
quarrels. Denominations have
a ctually split off from each
other on the question of what
kind of music is right to have in
public worship. or the right time
and way to observe the Lord s
Supper. So it is worth while to
look back as far as we can. to
q very early Christian church,
the one at Corinth in the first
century. see what they did and
what the Apostle Paul said
about it.
The Way They Did 1t
The church services" at Cor
NTH (which we're held in houses.
of course. since the custom of
erecting special buildings for
worship had not yet been start
ed had no set form. They were
strictly informal. as the l4th
chapter Of l Corinthians shows.
No one person was in charge.
and no pre-arranged order Of
service was followed. There was
no trouble getting people to take
part. The trouble was that too
many took part. and it was hard
to shut some people up. Besides
this. many in that church spoke
in tongues" which no one I'M
derstood, and by the time the
meeting got a good start, what
with all the talking and praying
at once. and all the people
that talked in tongues adding to
the noise, it was like a little
Tower of Babel.
The Spirit and Understanding
From the long chapter Paul
devotes to this problem, we can
learn much of value for our pub
lie worship today. One of his
principles is that praying and
singing. which he specially men
tons, and indeed whatever is
done in a service of worship,
ought to be done "in the Spirit. :
This docs not refer to emotions
but to the Holy Spirit. What
Paul means is that worship in
Gods name must be in harmony
with Gods Spirit. You could not
properly celebrate a God-fearing
mothers birthday by going on a
hinge. You would not think it
right to celebrate Christmas by
planning a bank robbery. So you
do not honor God by actions.
however well intended. which
are out Of harmony with Him
Now there were many in that
congregation who believed that
speaking with tongues was a
special mark of the Holy Spirit,
and Paul does not deny this.
But he points out a better way.
He would rather speak five
words with his mind. he writes,
than ten thousand words in a
tongue. So that is a second prin-
ciple: Christian worship must
appeal to the mind. Purely emo
tional worship is not what the
apostle recommends.
The Spirit may stand for spon.
taneity. for freedom in worship.
for not planning but tting
Gods Spirit suggest what to be
said or done when the time
comes. The Understanding may
stand for planning. for dehber,
ate choosing what to do, for or.
derhness. A worship servic c
should not only be the result Of
the inspiration of God; it ought
to be the result of reful
thought. Freedom and order
spontaneity and planning: these
are the two poles around and be
tween which Christian worship
takes place.
'Decently and in Order
Paul concludes his discussion
. al what might seem to be an
anti-chmaX. Let everything be
done. he says, decently and in
order. This is not really an anti
climax. This is a practical illus.
tratlon Of the basic principles
just mentioned. For example
Paul says that if. while one wor-
shipper is 'prophesying It h G
word means preaching, speaking
in Gods name another worship
per has a sudden idea which he
believes to be suggested by the
Spirit. the right thing is for the
first speaker to be quiet and let
ohe other man have his turn. In
other words. a service Of wor-
ship is no place to forget com
mon courtesy. Further. the OBJ
iect of Vorshin is not emotion al