Why We Meet Together 

I hear people say something like this from time to time in speaking of the purpose of church meetings: “This is not about us.  We’ve come here to worship God.”  In fact, in a book we are discussing in our Wednesday night class, the author mildly rebukes people who say, “I loved the worship today.  I got a lot out of it.” Worship, he says, is for God’s benefit, not ours. The author makes the valid point that worship is a much broader term than we usually think: it refers to a way of life, not just when we are singing “praise and worship” songs in church. Most of us, let’s hope, worship all day, every day. His name should be on our lips and in our hearts whatever we are doing throughout the day. He quotes a saying of Luther that “A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God.” He concludes with this remark:  “If you have ever said, ‘I didn’t get anything out of worship today,’ you worshiped for the wrong reason.”  I want to show in this lesson that he is wrong, that we are supposed to get something out of them, that in fact they are designed for that very purpose. 

I think his chapter on worship revealed a certain amount of confusion in the author’s mind, though he set out to clear up our misunderstandings. First of all he places everything we do for God under the heading of worship. But is it useful to do that? Isn’t worship something more specific than “everything we do for God”? The living sacrifice of our lives might better be called our “spiritual service,” or “obedience,” or “holy living,” so that we can preserve the word “worship” for more specific activity.  

The regular word for worship means to bow down in reverence (in oriental fashion), and it even refers to obeisance shown to men. In Matthew 18, the KJV says, “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped [the king], saying...have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” This is quite misleading: the servant did not worship the king as God.  The NASV correctly translates the passage as follows: “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him...” (18:26). When the KJV says that a leper came to Jesus and “worshiped Him,” the NIV properly says that the leper “knelt before him.” The man with leprosy was not worshiping Jesus as God, but kneeling to him out of respect. So the regular word for worship suggests an act of reverence and respect; it is a way to show “worth-ship.” So maybe those acts in which we express our reverence, praise, and gratitude, and when we acknowledge God’s supreme worth, could properly be called worship and the rest of our acts of obedience called service.  In other words all that we do “in word or in deed,” we are to do “in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17).  We can call it worship if we like, or service, or holy living, or whatever seems suitable. But it is not unscriptural to think of those particular acts in which we acknowledge God’s goodness and worth as worship in a more narrow, proper sense.  The heavenly scene in Revelation chapter for shines light on this subject. 

Rev. 4:8-11: “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’ 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’”

 Here we see all of the elements of what we correctly call worship—praise, the acknowledgment of God’s greatness and worth, gratitude, the physical posture of reverence. One can have a heart attitude of worship any time. Indeed, on my better days, I tell God how great and wonderful I think He is several times, beginning first thing in the morning. And when I am praying, preparing lessons, witnessing to people about Christ, studying the Bible, or just going about my business, I hope my heart is at least part of the time worshiping God. The Church of Christ speaks of The Five Acts of Worship—singing, praying, preaching, giving, and communion—and insists that all 5 must be present in every “worship service.” This, it seems to me, represents a very shallow and legalistic understanding of what pleases God.

 So maybe our author’s rebuke is uncalled for. Maybe the particular part of any meeting, that praises, thanks, and glorifies God might more properly be called worship than, say, passing the plate or preaching.  

But what about the other point—whether the church service is to please God or to help us? Is it really wrong to say, “I didn’t get much out of the service today”?

Is it true that the Church comes together primarily to worship and praise God?

I suggest to you that a close examination of Scripture reveals that the primary purpose of our coming together is not to offer worship to God but to build each other up in love. Let’s see what the New Testament says. The classic passage on the subject of regularly meeting together is found in Hebrews, chapter 10.

 Heb. 10:24-25: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  There isn’t the least suggestion here that the meetings are mainly directed towards God. They are to use the time together to “spur one another on towards love and good deeds” and to “encourage one another.” Does this exclude singing and praise and worship?  Not at all. But it does suggest that we are wrong when we say, “Our only reason for coming together is to worship God.” The Holy Spirit indicates that we come together first of all to help each other. God is pleased when we do that. 

Well, what about the singing. It’s directed towards God, right?  It’s to please God, and not us, correct?  Not always and not necessarily. Look at the following passages. 

Col. 3:16: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (NASV) 

Surely many of the songs we sing will glorify God, some will be direct praise and worship, and our hearts should be full of gratitude. But Paul indicates that the purpose of our singing is (at least in part) to “teach and admonish one another. 

Eph. 5:18-20: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

The element of praise and worship is clearly present: We sing and make music in our hearts “to the Lord.” But we are also speaking to one another in order to encourage and instruct. 

So far as I know the New Testament gives only one account of how a church service should go—I Corinthians 11 through 14. Chapter 11 describes the conduct of women and the right way to take “the Lord’s Supper.” Chapter 12 describes the 9 love-gifts to the Church and how they should be used. Chapter 13 tells us that the fruits of the Spirit are much more important than the gifts, and that love is the supreme measure of everything else. Chapter 14 clears up misunderstandings about the gift of tongues, and actually suggests how a church meeting should go. 

Certainly the Lord’s Supper is a God-ward act, and for that reason must be conducted “in a worthy manner”; but even in the Lord’s Supper, especially as it was then combined with a love feast, they had to be concerned with each other. 

1Cor. 11:20-21: “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.”  We see that it could not be the Lord’s Supper unless there was proper regard for one another, “discerning the body.” 

The purpose of the spiritual gifts were clearly for mutual edification and not directed towards God. They were: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, unknown languages, and interpretation of those languages. We are given these gifts for each other.  Paul makes this clear when he says: “There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (I Cor. 12:6-7).  For the common good! 

We understand that they had only the Old Testament available to them, and that the practice of preaching from the New Testament was not possible. So the absence of New Testament Scripture made the gifts more necessary. I don’t intend to deal with anything controversial about how the gifts should apply today, though I believe they continue and we should study how to make them available in our meetings. Now I want to focus on one thing—the fact that the meetings were for mutual upbuilding and not primarily for worship.

 In the meetings prophecy is more useful than tongues because it serves the common good:  1Cor. 14:3-5: “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues. But I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.” 

Paul proceeds in the chapter to offer guidelines for the meetings. “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (v. 40) so that everyone is edified. They could all prophesy one at a time: “For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged” (v. 31). Tongues without interpretation were out of order: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (v. 4). The only reason for the gifts is to build up the Church: “Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church” (v. 12). 

I hope I have demonstrated sufficiently that the main purpose of our coming together, in God’s original purpose, was to encourage, comfort, instruct, heal, give revelation, and prophesy to one another, and not chiefly to worship God—a thing which, in any case, we should do all the time. Should we not consider these scriptures and how we might bring our own meetings more into line with God’s purpose for our coming together?  Let’s pray: 

Father, we worship and adore you and our hearts are full of thankfulness. Help us to make you happy by building each other up as your Word commands.  Amen.