I was listening to a favorite preacher of mine the other day (hoo-ray for podcasts!) and he was talking about needing to define what a church is before you start one.
Sounds logical.
I decided to try a little bit, so here goes:
"Church" in the Greek is actually best defined as "Assembly." Much like the word "synagogue," it can refer to both the members (primary) and the place of assembly (secondary). Since the Greeks had all kinds of assemblies (political, religious, parties, etc.), the reason for assembling was very important. The reason Christians assemble is to worship Jesus, our great God and Savior.
So, step one, assembly should involve worship.
The New Testament gives some hints at other things that should happen when Christians assemble: prayers, use of spiritual gifts, public reading of scripture, encouragement, giving money, meeting needs, confession of sin, prophecy/teaching, baptism, Eucharist/Agape meal, and several other things. But of course, the focus of all these things is Jesus.
We (scholars and I) are pretty certain that early Christians used and adapted the synagogue sabbath service as a guide for their assemblies, which involved prayers, singing, Scripture reading, and teaching.
I could blog about this all night, but the conviction I come down to is this:
Church--
A group of people who assemble together at regular intervals for the purpose of worshiping Jesus Christ as our God and the only hope of eternal life. In these times, Christians are to obey the highest commands of Jesus to love God and to love each other by means of using their spiritual gifts to build each other up as growing students of Jesus to the glory and praise of God.
Then, I should maybe add something about sacraments and church discipline (accountability) and something about leadership. But I think I've already blogged enough about those things and I'm sure people are already sick of my fantastic armchair quarterback abilities.
Send me some comments if you dare....I might just reply to them....but I probably won't.
8 comments:
You hate me I know, but just to clarify:
To be the body of Christ the members of this assembly should not just worship God but they must be born again. Acts 2:47 "Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." and 1Cor. 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:"
A church should have this testimony: Acts 9:31 "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." And 1Thess 1:3 "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;"
They should be missions minded:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." and Acts 16:5 "And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily."
And most importantly, that Jesus Christ is not just the focus, but the HEAD of the church: Col 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
I know your article was more about the literal definition of a church- but this is what the Bible defines as a church.
Love you brother,
jp
wow, no evangelism, i knew you were a hyper-calvinist!
just kidding, looks pretty good to me
Hello Andrew :)
Great post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the definition of "church".
You state,
"So, step one, assembly should involve worship."
"Church--
A group of people who assemble together at regular intervals for the purpose of worshiping Jesus Christ as our God and the only hope of eternal life."
I would now be curious to know how you define worship :)
I personally don't see the Christian assembly as having anything to do with worship, other than the simple fact that we are showing love toward each other by spending time together face-to-face.
Nor do I see the Bible as requiring us to perform certain "religious acts" when we meet (such as prayer, Scripture reading, confession, singing, etc.). I'm not saying these things are unimportant, nor am I suggesting that we cannot gather for those purposes. Only that they are not necessarily required when Christians assemble (If those things were required, we at WellSpring Church in North KC would be sinning every Sunday since we don't sing ;-) .
Instead, I see Christian worship as being manifested through our daily lives when we show love toward others. This is demonstrated practically through the good works that we do.
In the Old Testament, worship was constrained to certain religious acts, such as animal sacrifices, burning of incense, Scripture readings, etc.
As New Testament Christians, however, we worship God "in the Spirit" (Phil. 3:3, John 4:23), and worship is not constrained to certain acts performed at a certain time and in a certain place. If we are saved, we are worshiping God at all times in our hearts. This is manifested when we demonstrate love and compassion toward other Christians, our enemies, and also toward the less fortunate (the poor, widows, orphans, the sick, etc).
Since a lot of these acts take place at times when we are not meeting as a group, this means that we are worshiping God just as much when we are disassembled as we are when we are assembled.
I also think it would be just as appropriate for the church to assemble for reasons other than prayer, Bible reading, and singing. For example, we may gather at a local homeless shelter to feed the poor, minister to sick people at a local hospital, spend time with orphans, or (as we already do) gather together once a month to clean Rachel House. These things are the practical application of the Bible's teachings, and we are worshipping God just as much as when we assemble for prayer, Bible teaching, eating and singing.
BTW, I'm sorry if I was a little too long winded in my previous comment :) It's just a very important issue to me, because when I lived in Topeka I was part of a church tradition that viewed "public worship" as prayer, singing, preaching, Scripture reading, and the Lord's Table; and it also viewed "private worship" as prayer, singing, and Bible reading. This is despite the fact that the Bible never outlines worship as being any of these things.
frank,
i probably agree with what you're saying about worship being in our daily lives . . . but christianity is a little less individualistic than that, right? i know john piper would have us believe it's all about the individual, but in the NT the church comes together as a body to do some things too, right? are the Lord's supper & baptism not worship? is corporate prayer not worship? is breaking open God's word, discussing it, praying through it, and appropriating it not worship?
good points, but you'll have a hard time making the case that singing isn't worship in either testament (psalm 150? the hymns in Acts?)
and if christian worship is simply showing love on a daily basis, let's make oprah our chief priest
Andrew, love the definition about the church as an "assembly." Seems like you were paying attention in seminary or something.
Frank,
I agree with Andrew- that by the very act of assembling ourselves together and being part of the body, we are decreasing the fleshly desire to stay home and watch tv or go fishing or whatever-- thereby WORSHIPPING God.
I would agree that there may be differences in what we all view as worship, but if you study out worshipping in the Bible- there are numerous objects and false gods that were "worshipped" I think maybe you've made your personal view of the act of worship as an act only directed at Jesus Christ. There is one constant that stood out to me when I was studying worship in the Bible: When the Bible talks about worshipping God, the majority of times someone was physically bowing or kneeling and many times speaking to the Lord in prayer whether publicly or privately to give the Lord praise. I think the overall definition of worship Biblically would have to be any act performed by a believer where an individual lowers oneself before God and lifts up God in praise or thankfulness in word or in deed.
In short- I don't think Andrew was saying worship can only be done a certain way or done only as an assembly-- but I would be in total agreement that worshipping the Lord should be our focus on The Lords day, or whenever the body is assembled together.
Just for reference, here is the definition of worship:
wor·ship (wûrshp)
n.
1.
a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
2. Ardent devotion; adoration.
3. often Worship Chiefly British Used as a form of address for magistrates, mayors, and certain other dignitaries: Your Worship.
v. wor·shiped or wor·shipped, wor·ship·ing or wor·ship·ping, wor·ships
v.tr.
1. To honor and love as a deity.
2. To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion. See Synonyms at revere1.
v.intr.
1. To participate in religious rites of worship.
2. To perform an act of worship.
God bless,
jp
Hi Mike,
Thanks for sharing your comments on my comments. I just read a few posts from your blog, and I can tell that you love God very much. Keep up the good work in all that you do for the Lord :-)
I will now go ahead and attempt to respond to some of the things you mentioned in your post.
Mike says,
"i probably agree with what you're saying about worship being in our daily lives . . . but christianity is a little less individualistic than that, right? i know john piper would have us believe it's all about the individual, but in the NT the church comes together as a body to do some things too, right?"
Mike, actually it's not individualistic at all. When you're serving others in a practical way, you're thinking about someone else's needs and not your own. Caring for the poor and less fortunate is mentioned approximately 2,000 times in the Bible, it is how Jesus spent His entire 3 year ministry, it is what Paul taught, and it also is a Christian's duty today. In fact it will be the basis for which Jesus will judge us (Matthew 25). Those that did these things will enter into enternal life. Those that did not will be cast into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:46).
Mike says,
"are the Lord's supper & baptism not worship? is corporate prayer not worship? is breaking open God's word, discussing it, praying through it, and appropriating it not worship?"
From my understanding, no, I don't consider those things to be in-and-of-themselves acts of worship. The Bible never calls those things "worship", therefore I don't consider them to be worship. However, if someone wants to consider Bible study, prayer, baptism and the Lord's supper as individual acts of worship to God, there is nothing wrong with that. I believe the Bible gives us great liberty in these areas.
My belief is that all believers worship God in the Spirit, which means 100% of the time, whether we are assembled or disassembled, praying or not praying, praising or not praising. In everything we do, we give thanks to God. This is distinctive from the Old Testament, where worship was constrained to a certain place (the Jewish Temple) where certain religious acts were performed by a certain person (a priest).
I should also point out, however, that if you consider those religious rites to be acts of worship, you can't place any rules on them. You have to accept every other group that wants to perform those religious rites as well, in whatever manner in which they wish to perform them. I say this because, traditionally, the Southern Baptist Convention (you are a Southern Baptist, yes?) does not accept the baptism as it is performed in several other Christian denominations. Typically, for example, Southern Baptists are opposed to groups that perform infant baptism (such as the Presbyterians and Lutherans).
Baptists typically only baptize believers, but if other Christian groups want to baptize their children as an act of worship to God, they should have that right too. Baptists have no basis with which to condemn other groups that want perform this religious act differently.
I also think we have to accept as valid worship those other churches that perform the Lord's supper differently, or have different beliefs about it. The Lutheran and Catholic Churches, for example, believe Jesus is present somehow in the wine and bread. This is different than the typical baptist view of those elements being only symbolic, but I think all should be viewed as valid acts of worship. So I don't have a problem with the Lord's Table being an act of worship, so long as you're willing to accept all other groups that perform this religious act differently.
Mike says,
"you'll have a hard time making the case that singing isn't worship in either testament (psalm 150? the hymns in Acts?)"
To the best of my knowledge, the only time singing is mentioned in the book of Acts is in chapter 16, where Paul and Silas were in prison (Acts 16:25). Singing, in fact, is only mentioned about 5 or 6 times in the New Testament.
This typically isn't a problem in the Southern Baptist Churches, but there are some Christian sects that place rules on what style of music should considered worship (hymns, contemporary, Christian rock, etc.), while other styles they don't like are condemned. The way I see it, if someone wants to worship through music, they have to accept all other forms of music as worship as well.
Mike says,
"and if christian worship is simply showing love on a daily basis, let's make oprah our chief priest"
Mike, you forgot the very important 2nd half of what I said :-)
I said,
"Instead, I see Christian worship as being manifested through our daily lives when we show love toward others. This is demonstrated practically through the good works that we do."
As believers, we worship God in the Spirit, not through religious acts. Our worship is MANIFESTED through the GOOD WORKS that we do. We perform good works when we minister to the needs of the poor, the less fortunate, widows, orphans, the sick, those in prison, our enemies, etc.
And from what I know about Oprah, she does not worship God in the Spirit, and is therefore incapable of being our high priest.
Here are some verses on the subject of worship that should be considered:
Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
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