When you come together
Talk 12 Putting it all into practice
As we now turn to suggesting how we can put Paul’s teaching into practice, it will be important first to consider exactly who is responsible for doing so. And, as we look again at 1 Corinthians 14:26, it becomes immediately apparent that the verse is addressed to everyone in the church:
What then shall we say brothers and sisters? When you come together, everyone has…
So everyone has a responsibility in this matter. But that raises the important question of the role of church leaders. What exactly is their responsibility? In my book, Body Builders, I have discussed the role of church leaders in some detail [1]. There we noted that their responsibilities include shepherding the flock, instructing them in the truths of God’s word, and managing and directing the affairs of the church (1 Timothy 3:5, 5:17).
Applying these principles to 1 Corinthians 14:26, this clearly implies that, apart from any other duties they may have, church leaders have a special responsibility in ensuring that what Paul teaches is put into practice whenever Christians come together to worship the Lord. If church members are to fulfil their responsibility to participate in the meetings as Paul teaches in 14:26, church leaders will need to encourage them to do so. The purpose of this talk is to offer some guidance as to how they might do this.
Being fully persuaded in your own mind
Now that we’ve almost finished this series, the time has come for you to make up your mind. I encourage you to read again chapters 12-14 of 1 Corinthians and especially consider what implications 14:26 might have for your church. In Romans 14:5, Paul wrote:
Let everyone be fully persuaded in their own mind.
Although written in a different context, this principle is of vital importance in every area of our Christian living. We must take care that we are not tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching (Ephesians 4:14).
This is particularly relevant in situations where the implementation of a 14:26 style of worship could be controversial. Change often makes people feel uncomfortable, and some of them will probably tell you so. But, if you are fully persuaded in your own mind that this is what God says, you will be able to bear criticism patiently and in time, hopefully, to persuade them of the truth. That’s why it’s especially important to pray for guidance.
Praying for guidance
In making these suggestions on how we might lead our church into a more biblical way of doing things, I am well aware that every situation is different. Apart from the obvious denominational differences in styles of worship and leadership, there are sometimes very different ways of doing things in churches of the same denomination. That’s why, I have placed prayer for guidance high on our list of priorities.
Once we have grasped the truth of God’s word on the matter, we need to pray for guidance on how and when we should introduce these things. When seeking to introduce any form of change where there has been a well-established tradition, I have personally always felt it wise to take things slowly and only introduce the change after teaching clearly why the change is both biblical and necessary. But that’s something for the leaders of each local church prayerfully to decide together. Which leads us to our next point.
Consulting your fellow leaders
As I’ve just mentioned, I realise that different churches have different forms of leadership. Although I am fully persuaded that team leadership should be the aim of every local church, it’s not my intention to argue the point here, as I have already done so at some length in Body Builders. However, I would suggest that, even in churches where there is only one leader, it would be wise for that leader to consult with key people in the church before seeking to implement any major changes in the style of worship.
On the other hand, where there is already an established pastoral team, it’s important that each pastor or elder is committed to the principle of 14:26 meetings and that the team agrees on how it should be applied in their local situation. Decisions need to be made not only on how and when to introduce it, but also on how to interpret and apply Paul’s teaching, particularly where there is legitimate room for different ways of understanding what he is saying.
I have listed below some of the issues it would be wise to consider. I have already expressed my own opinion on these matters, but it’s for each leadership team to make their own decision. The sort of things I’m referring to are:
a) With regard to speaking in tongues when unbelievers come in, should there be:
No tongues at all?
Tongues only if interpreted?
Everybody speaking in tongues?
b) With regard to the gift of interpretation of tongues:
Should this sound like praise or prophecy?
What does Someone must interpret mean (v. 27)?
Should a fourth utterance in tongues be interpreted?
Should private tongues be interpreted?
c) With regard to the gift of prophecy:
How many? 2 or 3?
How do you judge it? Who should judge it?
How do you apply v.30?
And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.
Once you have decided these issues you will need to teach them. But there may be other areas where teaching will be needed too.
Teaching the people
I have discovered from years of experience that you get what you teach for. Jesus said, You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). God’s people are released into freedom when they know the truths of God’s word. Few will be saved if we do not preach the gospel. Few will be healed if we do not preach about healing. And the same applies to the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit which are essential if our meetings are to follow the biblical pattern of 1 Corinthians 14:26.
It is vital that when people become Christians they are encouraged to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit as soon as possible after their conversion (Acts 2:38). This gives them an early introduction into the charismatic dimension of life in the Spirit. And, of course, they must be taught to keep on being filled with the Spirit on a daily basis (Ephesians 5:18, 2 Timothy 1:6).
And once people have been filled with the Spirit, it’s important that they receive teaching on spiritual gifts. It’s important that we give clear guidelines for the use of the gifts (as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 12-14). This way the people feel the security of knowing how and when they may be appropriately exercised. That’s why we need to have decided in advance what our policy will be with regard to the issues we just mentioned.
We must encourage people to exercise the gifts and lovingly correct them where necessary. The gifts are not infallible, and because we are human, people will make mistakes. But if these are corrected lovingly and sensitively, the whole congregation will feel secure under a firm but caring leadership, and those who are beginning in the gifts can learn to excel so that the church might be built up (1 Corinthians 14:12).
Finally, we need to remember that the best way to teach is by setting an example. We need not only to tell people what they should do, but, equally importantly, to show them how to do it. Some of the fastest growing churches in the world are churches where the leadership sets the example in the use of spiritual gifts . However, it’s important that leaders do not give the impression that they are the only ones that God can use in the exercise of these gifts.
Making space
And if we really want to encourage people to participate in our meetings, we must make space for them to do so. We have already acknowledged that it will be difficult to put into practice the principles taught in1 Corinthians 14:26 in a large gathering, but there is no good reason why space could not be made available for people to participate for at least a part of the meeting.
Another way to make such participation possible would be to ask the congregation to break into groups of say seven to ten people and encourage them to share together for perhaps twenty minutes or so. I once did this after teaching for six Sunday mornings on 1 Corinthians 12-14. I encouraged everyone to say at least something that might be a blessing to others, even if it was just a favourite verse of Scripture or the verse of a hymn. And I was pleased to hear afterwards how grateful the people were to have been given the opportunity to do so.
You might also consider arranging some special ‘14:26 meetings’ either on a Sunday or during the week. This could be a useful way of gradually introducing a congregation who have been unused to it to this style of worship. If you decide to do this it would be wise to tell people in advance what you’re going to do and to come prepared to participate.
And of course, an obvious setting for this kind of meeting would be in home groups. However, before attempting to do so, home group leaders might well need training and teaching the principles we have already discussed.
Creating a suitable environment
Finally, it’s vital that we provide the right environment for the gifts to flourish. If as leaders we seek to create an atmosphere of love (rather than criticism) in the church, people will not be afraid to move forward in faith . In the right kind of spiritual atmosphere spiritual gifts flow naturally and easily. It is not difficult to have the faith to prophesy in a fellowship where believers love each other and want to edify one another and where the leaders will sympathetically encourage us and, if necessary, lovingly correct us as we seek to move forward in faith.
Conclusion
My purpose in this series has been to show that we should take seriously Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and encourage a greater measure of Spirit-led congregational participation in our meetings. We have acknowledged that the things that Paul wrote are the commandments of the Lord (14:37), not just for the Christians in first century Corinth, but for us today.
In order to put 1 Corinthians 14:26 in context, and to understand more fully what Paul is saying in this verse, we have examined chapters 12-14 in some detail and have seen that there’s a supernatural dimension to the worship of the church expressed in the manifestation of supernatural gifts given by the Holy Spirit (12:1-11) and that these all spring from our being baptised in the Spirit (12:13), which is an experience promised by Jesus and described by Luke in the Book of Acts.
We saw that Paul’s teaching that the church is the body of Christ, that every member of the body is different, and that everybody is needed (12:12-30), undergirds his recommendation in 14:26 that everyone should have opportunity to contribute to the meeting.
Furthermore, his teaching that everything we do must be motivated by love (13:1-13) and that, as an expression of that love, we must always seek to put other people first (14:1-25), impinges directly on how the principles taught in 14:26 should be applied in practice. This will mean, among other things, using correctly the spiritual gifts God has given us by taking responsibility for our actions (14:26-40).
In this connection, we examined carefully Paul’s teaching on tongues, interpretation, and prophecy in chapter 14, as these are the subjects he concentrates on in that chapter and are specifically mentioned in 14:26. We sought to clarify the meaning of verses that are open to differences of interpretation and to suggest how they might be applied in practice, acknowledging that in everything we must submit to the authority of scripture (14:37).
Finally, in this talk we have offered some guidelines as to how all these things might be put into practice. Church leaders have a special responsibility in this, and, as I have said more than once already, it is not my intention to tell leaders what they should do – that is their responsibility under God. But it is my sincere prayer that what I have said may be of some help in bringing our meetings closer to God’s revealed will for what should happen when we come together.
[1] See especially the chapter on Pastors.