1Corinthians 14:26-40 ORDER IN THE CHURCH The public gatherings of God's people as a church in Corinth were not being conducted in a way that was edifying to the body of believers. They had to be reminded that, when speaking publicly, a participant was to help the saints mature in Christ, and that they always needed to understand what was being taught. Edification was the objective. Understanding was necessary to reach that objective. To promote understanding, there had to be order in the meetings. In Corinth, the saints had no Bible, at least no New Testament. So Paul gave instructions on how a meeting was to be conducted for the benefit of all. The use of gifts has never been for the purpose of pleasing ourselves or hearing ourselves speak with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Gifts, and their use, are to be for the benefit of others.
When one thinks his contribution to a meeting is more important than others', he becomes impatient and does not wait and listen with interest until the other person has finished what he has been given to say. On the other hand, if one speaks on and on, thinking his message is of greater value than others, that too is disorderly and discourteous. One may have a scripture passage to read, another may have some exhortation to give, and still another may have a hymn for the congregation to sing. If all of these contributions come at once and each wants what he has to give to be done first, there is disorder, disgust, and chaos. The teaching of the orderly conduct of a meeting is the same for today as when Paul first gave it.
Speaking is to be done one person at a time in an orderly, courteous fashion. If the one speaking is using a different language, there must be an interpreter. Three speakers at any one meeting was the limit. A message was evaluated by mature, responsible individuals to determine whether it was the Word of God, not just a person's opinion. Today, we have all the scriptures to test the message by. When the Holy Spirit leads, there will be order, and each one speaking will be considerate of others. He will control his own voice, and the way he presents the truth God has given him will be appropriate.
Not only is a meeting of the assembly to be orderly and conducted courteously, but what is spoken must be scriptural. When a word from God is passed on, it must be given in a relevant and, of particular concern, scriptural way. The practice of comparing scripture with scripture is important when determining whether women are to speak in some meetings and not in others. There are ways to use gifts that are neither audible nor available to all. As far as the silence in teaching and preaching, instructions in 1st Timothy 2, when compared with 1st Corinthians 11 and 14, give a clear understanding of how meetings are to be conducted, who the participants are to be, and the orderly way things are to be done.
There was in Corinth, and there are places today, where those who claim to have new revelations from God, which they think are as authentic as those which we have in the canon of scripture. "The commandments of God" are not to be taken lightly. What we have in the Word of God has been given by the Holy Spirit and tried and proven by the people of God since the early days of the Church age. The powers of darkness have tried, and still are trying, to introduce their demonic doctrines into local assemblies to hinder and stop the work of God. We accept apostolic authority. We accept the canon of scripture as it is because it has effectively worked in all parts of the world. We base our teaching on what has been given to us in the Bible and reject anything that breaks biblical fellowship. If some choose to ignore that which is given by authority from God at the beginning of the Church, the result will be that they make the choice to be ignored by others themselves.
Paul's review of his teaching on the public gatherings of the assembly is concise. Edify the saints in words they can understand. Maintain order in a respectful and profitable way. Silence is not evidence of disapproval but of spiritual order. We must remain committed to church life that brings glory to God, fosters spiritual growth and maturity among the saints, and brings the blessing of salvation to the lost around us.
Evidence of order can be seen wherever we see signs of the hand of God. There is order in the atoms, order in creation, and even in the stars scattered abroad. So, it does make sense that there is order in the church where we believers meet. Otherwise, we would have to stop, and the early lessons learned we'd have to repeat.
The gifts God has given are valuable to all, though each one is unique. There is no reason to feel superior or ignored when the use of our gift we seek. In a scriptural assembly, there is room to use what God Himself placed there. Each one fits with the other in an orderly fashion when what God gave to us we share.
Pride quickly negates the value of a gift when used for self-exaltation. Order replaced chaos at the beginning when God made an orderly creation. A biblical church is a work of God's grace, and fulfills the purpose He had When He made the choice to dwell in our midst, His presence made us all glad.
There is danger, when we do things our way, of creating a lot of confusion. Careless behavior controlled by human nature gives only a false illusion Of what life is supposed to be in a church of God where the Spirit of God only leads. By His gracious guiding and spiritual gifts supplying, He knows how to meet our needs.
By maintaining order and the gifts edifying, the assembly becomes what God intends. Understanding is given when, by interpretation, a foreign -speaking servant God sends. And even though his language is different, doing things God's way blesses all who hear. So we yield to God's Word, and truth prevails when together to Him we draw near.
"I am sure, heavenly Father, that there can be lasting good come from this day's activities if we are guided in Thy ways by Thy Spirit. I actually don't know what is before us in the hours ahead, but Thou knowest, so here I am, waiting and trusting, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."