Biblical Church* Practice

First Corinthians 11-14 constitutes a four-chapter section on congregational practice when the saints assemble. As Paul points out in the last five verses of chapter 14, the Corinthian congregation did not have the authority to change what all of the congregations did. Paul taught the same things in all the congregations (1 Cor. 4:17c; 7:17d; 11:16c; 14:33b).

Let me ask you a couple questions...

Was it from the 'church' in North America that the Word of God came? No!

Was it from the __________ (insert denomination here) that the Word of God came? No!

Is the 'church' in North America the only Christians the Word of God has reached? No!

Are the __________ (insert denomination here) the only ones the Word of God has reached? No!

Does the 'church' in North America have the right, authority, and permission from God to do 'church' any differently than what we read in the Scriptures? No!

Do the __________ (insert denomination here) have the right, authority, and permission from God to do 'church' any differently than what we read in the Scriptures? No!

What does 1 Corinthians 14:37 say? Does it say that the things Paul has just told them are "a good suggestion"? "creative ideas"? "just Paul's opinion"? No!

They are "a command of the Lord."

"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 silencing of the ministry of the many."

—Gordon Fee

Jesus taught the apostles, and they in turn taught and set traditions in place that ought not to be tampered with. God has a pattern for worship in the New Testament just as He did in the Old Testament; and they are not the same. The early church fathers did not have the right, authority, or permission from God to alter any of these practices and traditions. Yet, through the heresy of apostolic succession, that is precisely what occurred. Baptism was no longer administered immediately, but longer and longer waiting periods were introduced. The Lord's Supper went from a feast to a tiny cup and a cracker or piece of bread. Things got worse under Emperor Constantine, and then through the Catholic denomination. The Congregation has never recovered (save for groups of individuals around the world who seek to be obedient to the Scriptures and are mocked and ridiculed by the vast majority who spit in the face of what the Scriptures teach). The Reformation attempted to recover some of the lost biblical doctrines, but never attempted to recover the lost biblical practices and traditions. Instead, they carried on with Catholic practices, tweaking them here and there only to be slightly different. Either Scripture is your absolute authority, or something else is...

Did you know there is a penalty involved with this? "If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized." In other words, ignore anyone who tells you that you do not have to do it this way. They are liars, and the truth is not in them.

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* "Church" is a terrible translation for the Greek ekklesia, which literally means "to call out" (a compound of ek—a preposition meaning "out of"—and kaleo—a verb signifying "to call"), and it has only served to foster confusion. Outside of the New Testament, ekklesia was originally a government word, which meant a political assembly of a Greek city-state that was regularly convened for the purpose of making decisions. It was for full citizens only! You can see two secular uses of the word in Acts 19:32, 39, 41. The New Testament use of the word has the same weight. It is "a gathering," "an assembly," or "a congregation" (as the word came to mean) of those "called out from" the world and to God. There is a decision-making mandate involved. It is for members only, for citizens of Heaven only! The word "church" is derived from the Greek kuriakon, which means "belonging to the Lord." Tyndale translated ekklesia correctly as "congregation," while King James set a restrictive rule on his translators that they had to retain the erroneous "church" instead.