Directives for Ordering Public Worship #1

Introduction to Directives for Ordering Public Worship

0:04 We turn this morning, brethren, to the broad category of concern which constitutes the framework of this segment of your studies in pastoral theology, namely, the essential elements of effective pastoral oversight as they apply particularly at this point in our studies to the ordering of the corporate worship of God. In our last lecture, I set before you some introductory perspectives relative to the public worship of God, and I was bold to assert, and then I hope to demonstrate to the conviction of your judgment and consciences, that as an elder, an overseer, you must have these four things if you are rightly to order the public worship of God. Number one, a well...

0:59 A well-grounded conviction that corporate worship is an institution of God. Number two, a well-grounded conviction concerning the regulative principle in reference to ordering the public worship of God. Thirdly, a well-grounded conviction concerning the precise nature of corporate worship. And fourthly, a realistic appreciation of the practical problems connected with the corporate worship of God.

Additional Bibliography and the Importance of the Regulative Principle

1:29 And then, as we concluded our time, I gave you a working bibliography to which I want to add several other items.

1:40 To that bibliography, before we move to today's material,

1:46 some of you may have gotten this from one of the brethren, I think it was Jim Rogers who mentioned it, Volume 4 of Brooks, pages 328 to 331. Just three pages.

2:00 But it is a marvelous distillation. Of the tremendous importance of the regulative principle in worship. Because the point that he is making under the broad subject of the beauty and excellency and rarity of holiness, he says that evidence and declare the truth and reality of your holiness by a resolute standing up for purity of religion and for purity of worship and ordinances in opposition to all mixtures, and corruptions whatsoever. And then he makes a bold statement.

2:39 When I first read it, I said, I think that's rhetorical overstatement. Until I reflected upon it and looked up the scriptures he cited, and then consulted, as it were, my own understanding of the word of God. And I said, no, it's not an overstatement. There is nothing that does so provoke and exasperate God against the people, as mixed worship.

3:02 There is nothing that does so provoke and exasperate God against the people, as mixed worship. There is nothing that does so provoke and exasperate God against the people, as mixed worship. There is nothing that does so provoke and exasperate God against the people, as mixed worship. There is nothing that does so provoke and exasperate God against the people, as mixed worship.

3:03 There are no mixtures in his worship and service. Pollutions in worship do sadly reflect upon the name of God, the honor of God, the truth of God, and the wisdom of God, and therefore his heart rises against them. And then he goes on to demonstrate the biblical basis for that very striking assertion. So I commend to you those few pages in volume 4 of Brooks.

3:32 And then... in Vaughan's work The Gifts of the Holy Spirit I'll have occasion to quote from one of the chapters but there is a chapter on the Holy Spirit in connection with public worship pages 391 to 402 and it is a treatise in terms of what is addressed that I feel is unique in its contribution in this area and then in Charnock's works and I don't know how I omitted that from the bibliography I gave you last week there is an excellent section 282 to 344 volume 1 of Charnock 282 to 344 a lengthy typical Puritan exposition of John 424 on spiritual worship and it contains both a wonderful theology of what constitutes worship in spirit and in truth as well as much helpful practical counsel pastoral counsel on the subject alright so much then for those three additional items in your bibliography yes this is on discourses on divine providence

General vs. Extraordinary Directives and the Nature of Ordinary Services

4:58 this is in the old Nicole series I don't think it has been no yeah yeah this is discourses on divine providence the existence and the existence and attributes of God they didn't reprint that they didn't reprint that it's a shame yeah well that is to be lamented is that right well thankfully you guys got a set in your library here so yes good we may lack a lot of things but I do I'm almost certain we have a full set of Charnock in there and if any of you want to borrow mine as long as you're willing to put up your wife and cattle and as collateral maybe not your wife I don't want to be a polygamist but something of value we can we can dicker alright thank you for mentioning that right now we come then today to the subject which we will begin to address directives for ordering the corporate worship of God we will cover the subject in several lectures organizing our material under two major heads general directives for the ordinary or regular services of worship and then

6:25 specific directives for the extraordinary or occasional services of worship and precisely what is meant by these distinctions will become clear as we work our way through the materials first of all then general directives for the ordinary services of worship now by the use of the phrase ordinary services of worship I'm referring to that which in our structure and tradition is generally identified as the Sunday morning and Sunday evening gatherings of the people of God in other circumstances in other cultures and in differing socio-religious and political circumstances the meetings may be at other times on God's specially designated day we would regard the day as a non negotiable divine institution and worship on that day as a divine non-negotiable mandate however the specific time and length of the gatherings as well as the frequency of the gatherings would come into the matters of the circumstances of our worship and here we find in our own confession a wonderful statement

7:52 underscoring that distinction in paragraph six of chapter one on the scriptures we read that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God and the government of the church common to human actions in societies which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence according to the general rules of the word which are always to be observed and we regard the keeping of the day wholly unto the Lord as the Lord's day Sabbath as a mandate of the word we regard the forsaken not of our assembly as a divine mandate but the circumstances of how frequently for how long at what time these are matters that we must consult the general principles of scripture Christian prudence and the light of nature however this arrangement within which most of you will carry out your ministries does illustrate what I regard to be a good application of the principles articulated in our confession now the gathering of God's people for the major purposes of prayer the supper of remembrance baptisms and other services of public worship will be treated

9:22 separately we are concerned almost exclusively in our the articulation of the principles this morning with what we would call the stated services of the Lord's day and although some of the principles and directives will overlap and interpenetrate the other categories, I trust you will see that this distinction and this specific category is both real and workable. Now, as we come to the general directives, I have three to set before you today. The first one will probably take me the remainder of this class period, and then after the break we will take the second and the third. Here is the first.

Directive 1: Scrupulous Concern for the Ends of Worship – Exegesis of Key Terms

10:07 In the planning and leading of a worship service, we must be controlled by a scrupulous concern to secure the great ends for which such worship was instituted by God. That is the first directive for worship. For ordering the corporate worship of God, in the planning and leading of a worship service, we must be controlled by a scrupulous concern to secure the great ends for which such worship was instituted by God. Now, let me exegete the key words in that first directive. I use the words in the planning and leading of a worship service. Now, the use of these words assumes that careful forethought and responsible planning do indeed go

11:27 before the actual service. This reflects on an aspect of pastoral labor that was continually emphasized in our examination of the other major department of our duty, namely the preaching and teaching of the gospel. We must be controlled by a scrupulous concern to secure the great ends for the work. And that principle is this, that if the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, then we must never set up an unwarranted tension between conscious planning and the work of the Holy Spirit.

12:11 Nowhere is the self-possession of our faculties more in focus than in the grace of self-control. And yet that very control is said to be the fruit of the Spirit. So we must never in our minds set up a false tension between careful forethought and planning and worship services marked by the dynamics of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Further, in using the word leading, I am assuming real, authoritative control of the worship service.

12:54 This is the fruit of the Spirit. This is the opposite from the concept that whoever, quote, leads, end quote, the service, is a mere catalyst for a charismatic happening or a referee for a charismatic free-for-all.

13:15 If the essence of the task of oversight is described in 1 Timothy 3, 5 as taking care of the church of God with its domestic parallels of ruling well, one's own house, then surely, if ever, care is to be exercised in the church, it is to be exercised in its stated seasons of divinely mandated worship. So in the use of the terms planning and leading, all of that thought is loaded into the words. Now what about the word scrupulous concern? Scrupulous is a naughty word in our day.

13:55 It immediately conjures up, ideas of legalism, nitpicking, etc. But I spent considerable time rooting around both in my dictionary and Rodale's synonym finder before using this phrase, and I am deliberately using it, all of its bad connotations notwithstanding. For the word scrupulous is defined as, quote, characterized by careful attention to what is right or proper.

14:28 Scrupulous is that which is characterized, characterized by careful attention to what is right or proper, and, quote, characterized by precision, care, and exactness, end quote.

14:47 So when I say scrupulous concern, I'm talking about a concern that is the opposite of indifference and shoddiness, the opposite of imprecision and concern only for generics. Yes.

15:05 Speaking of a scrupulous concern for ordering the public worship of God, that is a concern which descends to careful attention to what is right and proper, that which is characterized by precision, care, and exactness.

15:28 Surely it is not verbal overkill to assert that the only rational explanation for so much of the shoddiness, foolishness, shallowness, and man-centeredness which characterizes contemporary public worship is that men have never thought through the basic question, why did God institute the corporate worship of his people? I'm convinced there are men leading worship services week in, week out, month in, month out, who have never sat down with their Bibles and wrestled through this question, why did God institute corporate worship among his people? And the first fundamental principle by which our planning and leadership of the public worship of the people of God must be regulated is that we have a scrupulous concern to secure the great ends for which such worship was instituted by God. Well, while reduced to what I presently believe is an irreducible minimum or the lowest common denominators, my present understanding is that there are four basic reasons for the institution of the public or social or corporate worship of God by his people.

End 1: Christ Meets with His Gathered People

16:58 And we must be guided by a scrupulous concern to see that these four things dominate, our thinking in the planning and leading of those services. Number one, God has instituted his worship for what ends, what purposes? Number one, that the risen Christ himself might meet with his gathered people, that the risen Christ himself might meet with his gathered people in order to communicate his grace to them as their prophet, priest, and king. The risen Christ himself might meet with his gathered people in order to communicate his grace to them as their prophet, priest, and king. The most crucial passage relative to this truth is, of course, Matthew 18, verses 15 to 20. The explicit subject of the passage is, as you are well aware, the matter of a framework, within which the risen Lord would have his people deal with private offenses.

18:22 Matthew 18, 15 was never intended by our Lord to be an exhaustive rubric of all of the ways in which tension among the people of God is to be dealt with or sin in the community of the people of God is to be dealt with. It is dealing primarily with the matter of private offenses, and how they are to be dealt with. And the climactic statement is in verse 20, after our Lord has given the basic framework within which private offenses are to be dealt with, coming to the final act of excommunication by the church and affirming that that is no empty pronouncement, but it has the ratification of the authority of heaven. Our Lord then gives this climactic statement, in verse 20, as that which validates the action of the gathered church, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And it is clear from this text that our Lord is buttressing the validity of the disciplinary action by the church in giving this more generic statement of the significance of the gathered church and the action of the church.

19:44 It is the place where he himself is present. And therefore, though it is the specific subject of church discipline that precipitates the statement of verse 20, I know of no responsible exegete that limits the affirmation of verse 20 to that exclusive setting. Rather, it is the specific that fits within the generic. And the generic is where two or three are gathered together in my name.

20:14 And that is the place where he himself is present. And therefore, though it is the specific subject of church discipline where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. And certainly gathered in his name means at least gathered as an act of obedience to his authority, gathered as those who have received the revelation he has made of himself, for that revelation is the disclosure of his name, faith in him, union with him, and gathering for the purpose, of meeting him. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst.

20:57 Now we may well ask the question raised by Professor Murray in his sermon on this text found in volume 3, pages 196 and 7 of the printed works of Murray. He raises the question, How is Christ, present in the assemblies of his people? Do not be surprised if the question is somewhat baffling. There is much in this reality that passes knowledge and understanding.

21:28 The Apostle Paul speaks of the love of Christ that passes knowledge and the peace of God that passes all understanding. It is likewise with this question. Are we not encompassed with mystery when we read the words of Jesus? If a man loves God, he will love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him, John 14.23, John 17.21. Christ's presence with his assembled people is a precious reality, but one that surpasses understanding. Yet it is to be apprehended and experienced and enjoyed with a joy that is unspeakable.

22:17 Now this is not a wild, a woolly-headed, wide-eyed, irresponsible, charismatic writing. This is the careful, painstaking, exegete, and perceptive theologian, but deeply religious, godly man who writes. It is to be apprehended and experienced and enjoyed with a joy that is unspeakable. And because so, we can say certain things about it.

22:49 Christ is present by his word and spirit and these in necessary conjunction. And then in the next two paragraphs he demonstrates from the Scripture how word and spirit are essential and how they relate to the presence of Christ. And then he concludes this section of the sermon or the sermon with these words. The veracity of him who is the truth is pledged to the fulfillment of this promise.

23:19 Where there are two, there are always three. And the third is the faithful witness, the King of kings and Lord of lords. And where there are two, there are always five. That they may all be one as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.

23:43 I pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Yes, beloved, as we meet in the humble expectation of Christ's presence and as we wait upon his word and as we pray for the unction of his spirit and prostrate ourselves in adoration of his name, our hearts will burn within us and the bells will begin to ring in the deepest depths of our spirit. We shall sing there is a river the streams whereof make glad the city of God the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved God will help her and that right early.

24:36 And we agree with the professor that there is much that eludes precise definition and description but does to the believing heart become blissful spiritual reality. And let me say by application what a profound influence this perspective will have upon the manner in which we prepare for and conduct services of corporate worship. If we really believe that gathering in the name of Christ Christ is literally by the spirit and word though mysteriously present in a way he's not present in the secret place of all those individual believers no matter what heights of communion they may enjoy with Christ there is an aspect a dimension of the presence of Christ that is unique to his gathered people.

25:38 And so in a sense we can only talk our way around it rather than lay it out in a kind of analytical definition and definition and description that fully satisfies but what a difference it makes and I can testify when no longer do I have this atomistic view of worship that put secret worship and secret prayer as the most blessed place of communion with Christ and began to appreciate that when he said where two or three are gathered in my name there am I in the midst and began to approach every worship service with that perspective dominant in my thinking I can testify to the tremendous difference it made in my overall perspective with respect to this whole subject of the corporate worship of God. When we are unable to instruct our people in this truth what a profound impact it will have upon their preparation for and their conduct in the public. And I can tell you that there is no doubt that this is the greatest and most important worship of God. So I assert that in your planning and leading of a worship service you must have this scrupulous concern to secure the great ends for which that worship was instituted by God and the first of those ends is that the risen Christ himself might meet with his gathered people in order to communicate

End 2: God is Glorified Through Spirit-Endowed Activities

27:06 his grace to them as their prophet, priest, and king. This is the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest and the greatest Why has God instituted corporate worship? Reason number two, that the triune God might bring glory to himself through the divinely mandated, spirit-endowed activities of his gathered people.

28:09 In Romans chapter 15, as Paul comes to conclude his treatment of the whole subject of Christian liberty and the necessity of sensitivity to one another and willingness to yield rights for the good of our brethren and so reflect the disposition of our Lord, he then says in Romans 15, verses 5 and 6, Now the God of patience... Now the God of patience and comfort grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, that, here's the great end in view, that with no discord caused by a failure to understand and apply the principles that he has articulated in the immediately preceding context, that with one accord you may with one mouth... glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

29:19 And there is a beautiful picture of the church existing as with one heart, the one accord, no discord, they are of one heart, and they become one mouth. And with that mouth they glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that when God brings together not people out of a homogeneous segment of society, a la the church growth gurus, but when he brings together people of tremendous diversity and through the dynamics of grace operative in them, causes them to be of one accord and with one mouth to sound forth the praises of their God, God is glorified as that corporate group of his people become the very living monument of what Christ in redemptive grace and power has wrought in their midst. And the new humanity becomes not only the light the city set upon the hill,

30:33 but also becomes the instrument of bringing glory to our Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then another text that points in the same direction is Ephesians chapter 3.

30:49 Ephesians chapter 3, Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, verse 20, according to the power that works in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations forever and ever. And again, in the context, Paul has been, treating of that great mystery that has been fully revealed to him, a mystery hidden from previous generations, that the Gentiles would not only be part of the new Israel, but they would have equal status, and that in the new humanity constituted in Jesus Christ, in the church, God himself would be glorified. And in the outworking of the specifics of worship, we see that in those divinely mandated, spirit-endowed activities of his gathered people, God is indeed glorified. 1 Peter 2 and verse 5. We, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, except for the sacrifice of the Holy Spirit. We, as living stones, are built up a spiritual

32:11 sacrifice, except for the sacrifice of the Holy Spirit. We, as living stones, are built up a spiritual through Jesus Christ. And among those spiritual sacrifices, and I believe we can reason by analogy, is the sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13, 15. By him let us offer the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, making confession to his name. And in Psalm 50, we read that whoso offers praise glorifies need. So here is the church, under the imagery of living stones, the new covenant priesthood, engaged in the offering up of spiritual sacrifices, among them praise. And it is said specifically in Psalm 50 and verse 14. Psalm 50 and verse 14. Offer unto God the sacrifice of

33:09 thanksgiving, and pay your vows unto the Most High. Verse 23. And in Psalm 50 and verse 14, who so offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me. And if this specific spiritual sacrifice of praise is said to bring specific and distinct glory to God, then we have reason to believe that every spiritual sacrifice mandated by God and offered in the energy of the Spirit of God does indeed bring a unique dimension of praise. And if this specific spiritual sacrifice of praise to our God. Vaughan's chapter here is particularly helpful in terms of the concept that God intends to glorify himself not only through divinely mandated but Spirit-endowed activities in the corporate worship of his people. In that sermon to which I alluded earlier, the Spirit in public worship, Vaughan writes as follows, The worship of God in private and in public, as it is prescribed in the Scriptures, requires our active attention always to the two grand divisions into which the service has been

34:29 divided, the visible or tangible instruments to be used, and the effective power which is to be appealed to in the use of these instruments. In considering the worship of God and the sure influence of God in the worship of God, we must first understand that the worship of God is not just means of benefit from it. It is necessary to recognize the outward ordinances as the only authorized method of our approaching him and the only means by which we may expect his favor in benefits to ourselves as the regulative principle. We insult God if we approach him in a way not warranted by Scripture and expect God to do us a favor. We insult God if we approach him in a way not warranted by Scripture and expect God to do us a favor. We insult God if we approach him in a way not warranted by Scripture and expect God to do us a favor. We insult God if we approach him in a way not warranted by Scripture and expect God to do us a favor. We insult God if we approach him in a way blessing from God by means that he has never determined to be the conduits of his blessing.

35:21 That pertains to the first division of our worship. But then he goes on to say, having underscored that, and he uses the text from Isaiah that we used last week, Who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts therewith? And on page 392 underscores even more forcefully that there must be this meticulous concern with respect to the matters of our worship. But the teaching of Scripture is unequivocally clear that even the ordinances appointed of God have no power in themselves alone to work the needful effects on the soul of the worshiper unless accompanied by the efficacious influences of the Holy Spirit. We are not sacramentalists after the Romish fashion. Now, they would tie special grace to the sacraments. We may imperceptibly begin to tie them to preaching, to singing, to praying, but we are not sacramentalists. There is no inherent grace

36:32 in any one of those things, even though they are mandated by God himself. The gospel must come not in word only, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of the Holy Spirit. Power! And then, making reference to the text, Philippians 3.3, he says, The assertion of the text is that one characteristic mark of a true believer is that he worships God in the Spirit. This includes all kinds of worship, whether secret, social, or public, whether in the use of prayer, praise, preaching, or sacraments, or any other ordinance. The presence and the asserted influence of the Spirit is essential to the right and profitable use of them all.

37:25 And then he goes on to expand upon that theme in a most convincing and powerful way. Brethren, let me again say by way of application, if this thought fills our minds and regulates all of our preparations for the leading of the worship, and attends us in the actual act of leading the worship of God's people, then it will keep us glued both to the regulative principle in the substance of the worship, and keep us in a frame of utter dependence upon and constant pleading for the presence and power of the Spirit in the use and engagement of those people who worship God. This is divinely instituted means. And it would seem in our day, between the intrusion of unwarranted elements into the worship of God on the one hand, and the excesses of claims for the presence of the Holy Spirit in bizarre and oft-times God-dishonoring ways, one almost despairs to find congregations where there is that jealous concern,

38:48 that we will approach God only by means of his institution. We will expect blessing from him only by those conduits that he has marked out as those which he has chosen, while at the same time there is a conscious, pervasive dependence upon the Holy Spirit and the awareness of his almighty presence and operations in the gathering of his people. Amen. I am personally convinced that one of the things that leads people away from the simplicity of biblical worship is they can only for so long tolerate the simplicity of those means when they are emptied of the dynamics of the presence and power of God. And then they go looking for something else to make the experience meaningful. But if God comes upon the wings of his own ordinances, you will not be able to do that. You will not be able to do that. You will not be able to do that.

39:49 You will not be able to do that. You will not be able to do that. You will not be able to do that. You ask for nothing more. You want nothing more. Your spirit has no longing for the leeks and the garlics and the cucumbers of Egypt. You've known God's presence in Canaan, and you're content with that which God gives you in the way of his appointment. But this must become, brethren, a kind of spiritual, visceral conviction that carries you to the desk and to your knees in the planning of the world. Worship services you must ever keep before you. Why has God instituted corporate worship? Reason number two, that he might bring glory to himself through the divinely mandated spirit-endowed activities of his gathered people. And you are determined that he will not be robbed of the glory due to his name insofar as you are able by the grace of God to secure that glory in his worship. But then there's a third purpose that we must ever keep before us, and that is this, that the people of God might be edified, that the people of God might be edified through the divinely conferred

End 3: God's People are Edified Through Spirit-Endowed Gifts

41:10 spirit-endowed gifts exercised with biblical propriety. That the people of God might be edified through the divinely conferred spirit-endowed gifts exercised with biblical propriety. That the people of God might be edified through the divinely conferred spirit-endowed gifts exercised with biblical propriety. The scriptural basis for that assertion, well, in Ephesians 4, we have the record of the activity of the ascended Christ giving gifts to his church, and among them are pastors and teachers, the only gifts concerning which, to my knowledge, there is universal agreement. There is an ongoing debate about evangelists, and in certain circles there is even a claim to apostles and prophets. But on this, all who believe the Bible are agreed that the risen Christ continues to give pastors and teachers to what end? For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of service, unto the building up of the body of God.

42:33 The body of Christ. So that here it is plain that the Christ who is ascended and yet has promised to meet with his people is the Christ who gives to his church pastors and teachers for their perfecting unto the work of service or ministry. And though the focus here is the gifts given for the good of the body, the glory of God is not there by sacrifice. The glory of God is not there by sacrifice, because Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4, 10 and 11, that in the exercise of those gifts, the glory of God is the ultimate issue. According as each man has received a gift, ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, if any man speaks, speaking as it were oracles of God, if any man ministers, ministering as of the strength which God supplies, that, in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. So we are not moving away from or eclipsing that second concern for which God has instituted public worship. We are simply picking up a strand that now has its focus upon the people of God.

43:58 And God's purpose for the institution of public worship is that his people, might be edified through the divinely conferred, spirit-endowed gifts exercised with biblical propriety. And then the next passage that is crucial in extracting principles to regulate our understanding of the exercise of God-given gifts in the assembly of his people is 1 Corinthians 14. 1 Corinthians 14. And you remember that the great, concern of the apostle in giving these directives, particularly for the exercise of tongues in prophecy, was to convince the Corinthians that internal, subjective edification was not to be the great goal in their exercise of gifts, but rather corporate edification is to be the central and dominant passion. And so he continually speaks of the contrast between the edification of between the manner of the exercise of the gift that is unto edification and that which is not unto edification. And he articulates in summary form the great thrust of that whole argument in

45:20 26b. Let all things, that is, with reference to the exercise of what were then divinely conferred, spirit-endowed gifts, let them all be done unto edifying. And then in addition to the matter of edification, you remember after giving the specific directives concerning how many should speak and in what relationship to others, he summarizes the next section with verse 40, but let all things be done decently and in order. And that's why I've used the term biblical propriety. Let all things be done decently and in order. And that's why I've used the term biblical propriety. Let all things be done decently and in order. Now, if we extract

46:20 any of these strands of the statement, edification will not be secured. God gathers his people that they may be edified through divinely conferred gifts. Sincere, earnest, but ungifted men cannot edify and therefore should have no place in public ministry in the corporate worship of the people of God. of God. Furthermore, men who may have a divinely conferred gift, but who are grieving, quenching the spirit, who are not speaking as the oracles of God, who cannot say that their speech and preaching were not with enticing words of men's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power, they likewise have no place in the assembly. And again, much harm has come to the church of Christ through a failure to recognize the absolute necessity of the attendant ministry of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the exercise of gifts. And then they are to be exercised with biblical propriety. Or they will not edify because there will be confusion,

47:38 which in the context of 1 Corinthians 14 said, Paul said, would lead some even to conclude that you were a bunch of madmen. So, brethren at the desk, on your knees, in the pulpit, leading the people of God in worship, you must feel the constant pressure of this third great end for which public worship was instituted. Further, we cannot be too scrupulous in our concern to attain this end, that God's people be truly edified. Well, then the fourth end for which public worship was instituted is this.

End 4: Unconverted are Convicted of God's Reality

48:16 That a conviction of the reality, livingness, and special presence of God may be given to any unconverted who may be present among the gathered people of God. That a conviction of the reality, livingness and special presence of God may be given to any unconverted who may be present among the gathered people of God. Paul was conscious that unbelievers would most likely be present in the stated meetings at the church in Corinth. And furthermore, he indicates that their presence is not to be ignored in our thinking about the ordering of the worship of the gathered people of God. There are some in our day who say, when you are addressing the covenant community, address them in the assumption that they all are what they profess to be. I say

49:38 that is a very defective view of Scripture. Paul recognized the presence of hypocrites. That's why he said to covenant communities, do not deceive. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? And if any of you think, he said, that you can go on in passing, you can go on in the future. And if any of you think, he said, that you can go on in the future, you can go on in the future. And if any of you think, he said, that you can go on in the future, you can go on in the future. And if any of you think, he said, that you can go on in the future.

49:56 If any of you think, he said, that you can go on in the future. And likewise, in 1 Corinthians 14, he assumes that patently unconverted, unbelieving people, uninstructed people will be present in the assembly. We read in verse 23 of 1 Corinthians 14, If therefore the whole church be assembled together, and all speak in tongues, and there come in men unlearned, and the church be assembled commentators go back and forth knocking this unlearned? Who were the unlearned? Were they catechumens who were just beginning to be acquainted with the Christian faith? Were they people who did not know other languages and therefore could not understand the spoken languages? For those who take the position that the tongues are recognizable, discernible, spoken languages, they would be the unlearned then who only spoke their own native tongue? Well, that's a moot question. I leave it. But now the next term, there's no question

50:59 and no debate, or unbelieving. If there come among you the unbelieving, Paul's assumption is that that would be an experience that would not be foreign to the assembled church. And he says, will they not say that you are mad? In other words, he said, in carrying on the way you are, you have completely forgotten that you have a responsibility.

51:25 You have a responsibility to the unconverted who may come among you. And in your corporate stated gatherings for worship and ministry, you must be concerned that they will most likely be present. And furthermore, he says, your concern should be this, that the worship and all of the exercise of whatever gifts have been conferred by the head of the church should be so regulated that this would be the end result. Verse 25, The secrets of his heart are made manifest. There come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he's reproved by all, judged by all. The secrets of his heart are made manifest, and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed. They had heard the, quote, wild claims of these people who met in strange places, no ornate temple, met in homes and in ordinary buildings, and yet these people claimed that God himself inhabited their gathering. They were his temple, and that claim seemed like a wild claim until

52:44 this unlearned and unbelieving man came into such an assembly making such a claim, and the public ministries were so exercised that the end result was that that temple was not a temple. Their claim stuck in the deepest recesses of the heart of the unbelieving man. He himself was confronted with a shocking, shattering, undueing self-disclosure of his heart, as the word of God, in this case, through the various prophets, found its way into the depths of his being, and he was convinced that their claim was not a wild fanatical claim but a reality, as he had in current jargon an inescapable, undeniable, existential encounter with the living God. Now, if the text says anything, brethren, surely it says that much. And therefore, we are right to deduce from this that one of the stated purposes of the corporate worship of God's people is that a conviction of the reality and livingness and special presence of God may be given to any unconverted who are present among His gathered people. Therefore, I say by way of application,

54:09 we dare not ignore this dimension of God's purpose in the planning and ordering of the public worship of the people of God. In our bearing and demeanor, in the content of the worship, in the choice of Him, in the exposition, illustration, and application of the Word of God, in our prayers, in the total life of our corporate worship, to me it is a tragedy enough to make angels weep that one could go to some assemblies and never once infer in three months that anyone unconverted was present and you were trying to see him confronted with a God who is awesome and majestic before whom men are not. Not to fall down upon their faces, having known something of His self-revelation in the midst of His gathered people.

Conclusion: Implications of Securing God's Ends for Worship

55:08 Well then, let me summarize this first general directive. I said it would take our first hour. Do you see how vital it is that we take seriously that we be guided by a scrupulous concern to secure the great ends for which such worship was instituted by God? If this is true of us, what place is there for carnal display of dominant personalities, entertainment, flippancy, psychological stroking, sloppiness, shoddiness, careless ad-libbing?

55:46 What place is there if we recognize that the matter of the corporate worship of God is God's idea and designed by God with at least these four specific purposes in view?

56:04 What place is there for breaking up the midst of the worship with announcements about the singles activity and about this thing and that thing and birthday greetings and all the other silliness and nonsense that goes on in so-called worship services? Brethren, how can men have any conception of the biblical data we've considered and allow that kind of tradition to go on generation after generation when these things become convictions to us? They will attend every facet of the planning and the leading of the corporate worship of the people of God in the place in which the Lord is pleased to put us. Well, let's take our break now.