WORSHIP NOTES
Volume 16, No. 9 (October 2021)
“Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the door and see all the people!”
As has often been observed, there is precious little in the New Testament by way of specific instructions about how to practice corporate worship in the church. Of the little that one does find, most of it has to do with Paul correcting abuses or imbalances. Such is the case in 1 Corinthians 14. Here we have Paul emphasizing such priorities as love (v. 1), spirit and mind (v. 15), peace (v. 33), decency and order (v. 40), and building up (vv. 4-5, 12, 26); and preferencing prophecy over tongues (in the corporate gathering):
Prophecy over tongues
For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. (vv. 2-5)
Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. (v. 19)
If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship1 God and declare that God is really among you. (vv. 23-25)
Church edification over self-edification
The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. . . . The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. (vv.4,5b)
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. (v. 12)
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. . . . For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. (vv. 26,31)
Intelligibility over unintelligibility
So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. (vv. 9-11)
If you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. . . . In church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. (vv. 16-17,19)
Order over confusion
If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. (vv. 27-31)
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. (v. 33)
But all things should be done decently and in order. (v. 40)
Balance
N. T. Wright speaks helpfully to the balance Paul is calling for:
I am innately suspicious of one standard reading of this passage, that which discovers here a priority of free-form, non-liturgical worship as the genuine Spirit-led phenomenon as opposed to liturgical or set forms, deemed to be less fully spiritual. . . . Of course, the passage does indeed give us a picture of the early worshipping church as enjoying considerable freedom; Paul’s arguments against chaotic worship would be irrelevant unless there was an openness to fresh revelations of the Spirit which could in principle lapse into complete disorder. But his argument for unity despite diversity of gifts in chapter 12 . . , and his argument for order rather than chaos in chapter 14, indicate as well that as far as he is concerned genuine spirit-led worship will have framework and body to it, not just free-floating and unstructured outbursts of praise and prayer. . . . On the positive side, we must of course say that the order he envisages is an order within which all sorts of new and unexpected things can and should happen. But we should also note the emphasis on mission: one of the key criteria for authentic worship will be that if an outsider enters, he or she will be confronted, not with chaos and apparent gibberish, but with the clear and convicting message of the gospel [vv. 25-26].2
* * * * * * * * *
1. The word here is proskuneō—curiously, the only time Paul uses the term (the most common New testament word for worship—used nine times, in John 4, for instance) in his writings.
2. N. T. Wright, “Worship and the Spirit in the New Testament” (Yale Conference on Worship and the Spirit, February 21-23, 2008). https://ntwrightpage.com/2016/04/25/worship-and-the-spirit-in-the-new-testament/