When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church it was yet carnal. To take a censorious view, we may say that the general spirit within it was wrong. It was functioning wrongly; its behaviour was wrong; its power had gone, so had its purity and unity; in fact almost everything seemed somehow to have gone awry. But although its original order had at that stage become disorder, at least its way or method of worship was more or less right. Paul had to rebuke and eradicate many things from it, but not all; some things only needed correcting, reshaping and regulating. These included this form of gathering and worship, which had sprung into being under his leadership.
The apostle does not plainly say that this is the only form and function of church gathering and worship acceptable to God, but this is obviously the one laid down by the Lord, or else why the challenge in 14:37? It cannot be demonstrated from scripture that any other than this is disapproved of God, but even so it is surely unsafe to presume that anything other than this most natural order is commended of God. Paul must have written this for the purpose of setting before all hearts God's highest and best.
Man's aesthetic preferences or traditional forms or any of his likes or dislikes are not the criteria upon which choices may be made and church systems or forms of worship developed. To persist in one's own choices upon the flimsy grounds of personal preferences, when they are so plainly contrary to this inspired pattern, must surely bring God's disapproval. What God has set forth about any matter is always the ultimate perfection. Beside this, what is written here is the command of an apostle who for himself counted all things but dung that he may win Christ.
In order to accomplish this ambition, Paul was specially harsh against the things which were either religiously, racially or aesthetically gain to him (Philippians 3). He ever pressed toward the mark for the high calling of God, and being so with him, it must also be the standard of life for the entire Church. He knew that the things he wrote were, and still are, the only way, the only right way for the Church.
Be the first to react on this!
G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.