ODJ: rules and order
October 27, 2011
When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, . . . one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you (v.26).
READ: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40
As you step into the room, you’re greeted by a cacophony of noise. Everyone is talking, but no one is listening. For a moment, you think you’ve stepped into the New York Stock Exchange—but it isn’t that loud, lively place. It’s a church meeting in Corinth.
Obviously, the church in Corinth was anything but boring. It was bustling with activity. But, to maintain order, Paul needed to lay down some rules. He instructed that the primary principle of all activities in the church should be corporate edification. For “when you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:26). And it must be done in an orderly manner because “God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people” (v.33).
Bible teacher Ray Stedman summarized it this way, “When the church comes together, it can be built up in marvelous ways. It can be such a strengthening thing to meet together, to encourage one another in our faith, to share in the exercise of spiritual gifts, to be taught by the mind of God, by the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, and to be comforted in times of trial and testing and pressure. This is the purpose for the church getting together. But whatever you do, do not let it become an endlessly confusing ministry, misrepresentative of the character of God, who is a God of order and decency.”
It’s exciting to attend a church that conforms to God’s instructions. So, brothers and sisters in Jesus, let’s play our part. —Poh Fang Chia
What rules help your church family to function well? In what ways can you participate in the strengthening of one another?
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