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The Assembling
Of The Saints
Introduction:
There is a growing belief among those who claim Christ as Savior
that the assembling of the saints is unnecessary. The American
culture at large has slowly come to the place of believing that a
person can be a Christian without regularly gathering together with
other believers in worship and fellowship. This is just not the
case. The Christian faith is an assembling faith. The very word
church in the Greek is “Ekklesia” which, in the ancient Greek,
denoted a group called out to come to the assembly. Assembly is in
the word Ekklesia.
It is claimed by
some that new testament Christians did not assemble for worship,
therefore it is not a requirement today.
Christian
Assemblies in God's Word:
James 2:2
"For if there should come into your assembly a man
with gold rings, in fine apparel..." While writing to
Christians about the need to never show partiality or favoritism to
others, he made mention of an assembly. The Greek word for
assembly in this verse is STRONGS NT 4864: συναγωγή, sunagoge
(soon-ag-o-gay'); from (the reduplicated form of) NT:4863; an
assemblage of persons; specifically, a Jewish "synagogue" (the
meeting or the place); by analogy, a Christian church. In the
KJV, this word is translated as - assembly, congregation,
synagogue. James used the Greek word for synagogue which was
traditionally gathering place by Jews for prayer. There can be
no doubt the assembly mentioned by James was for the purpose of
worship.
The Corinthian
Christians had a practice of mixing the Lord's Supper with a common
meal. They were getting drunk and eating the Lord's supper in
an improper manner. In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 we read, "Now
in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you
come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For
first of all, when you come together as a church, I
hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are
approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you
come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's
Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of
others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not
have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God
and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I
praise you in this? I do not praise you." (NKJV). The
Christians in Corinth were assembling to partake of the Lord's
supper. Paul chastised them for it and provided instruction
through the rest of the chapter for the correct manner in which the
Lord's supper was to be observed in their assemblies.
"when you
come together as a church"
συνερχομένων
coming together |
Young's Literal
Translation: 1 Corinthians 11:18
"for first, indeed, ye coming together in an assembly"
Notice carefully,
one of Paul's complaints was that they were not waiting for one
another to arrive at the assembly. Not only were they
assembling in this context and worshipping, they were required to
wait to assemble with the entire group and not intentionally leave
anyone out.
In Acts 20:7 we
read the following, "Now on the first day of the week, when
the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to
depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until
midnight." The word when is an adverb of time denoting a
known regular event. The Christians in Troas regularly came
together to observe the Lord's supper and to remember the cost of
salvation on the first day of the week. It is worth noting
here, Paul and company had been on Troas for several days, yet
waited until the first day of the week to gather with the Christians
there. In Acts 2:42, we read, "And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the
breaking of bread, and in prayers." Fellowship and the
breaking of bread require them to be assembled. This
verse from God's Word establishes a steadfast and continual
assembling for fellowship, prayer and the breaking of bread.
These are all activities one would see any worship assembly.
Acts 2:42 establishes a repetitive ongoing event and Acts 20:7
provides the exact frequency of these assemblies.
The Christians in
Corinth were having some issues with the Spiritual gifts of the Holy
Spirit. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 Paul is explaining to the
Christians there the proper manner in which to utilize the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, "Now you
are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has
appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all
prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all
have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more
excellent way." Prophecy and teaching in the Lord's
church are group activities. Paul uses the next 2 chapters to
instruct the Corinthians on the proper place and prioritization of
the miraculous gifts. In 1 Corinthians 14:23-24 he summarizes
it with these words, "Therefore if the whole church comes
together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there
come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say
that you are out of your mind?" These are absolutely
assembly settings where the Holy Spirit is actively participating.
It can not be denied these were assemblies where God was being
worshipped.
Making an
additional point to what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:27-28, "Now
you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And
God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second
prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of
healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues."
The presence of apostles, prophets, teachers, etc within the
assemblies makes it necessary for them to assemble.
In Acts 14:23, we
read, "So when they had appointed elders in every church..."
Each congregation had Elders to oversee their activities.
Paul's letter to Titus gave explicit qualifications and duties for
both Elders and Deacons in the assemblies.
Paul instructed the
Christians in Corinth, and Galatia, to collect money for use in the
ministry. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, "Now about the
collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to
do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you
should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving
it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made."
(NIV)
Many opponents of
modern worship assemblies try and set forth the idea that this is a
private saving of one's money at home. This cannot be
reconciled with the text. Notice that Paul used the words, "so
that when I come no collections will have to be made". If
the money were kept individually at their homes, a collection of
these individual offerings would be necessary. Paul
specifically said he did not want that to be necessary. The
intent was for the money to be in one location. Paul
instructed the Corinthian Christians to pool their money on the
first day of every week into a single central location so that it
was available upon his arrival. That is an early example of
church treasury. The fact remains, the Galatian and
Corinthian Christians were commanded to do this on the first day of
every week. This was a prescribed set day to be repeated
indefinitely.
In Acts 14:27-28 we
read the following:
"Now when they had come and gathered the church together,
they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had
opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 So they stayed there a
long time with the disciples." The Greek word for "church"
in Acts 14:27 is "Ekklesia" which is an assembly.
The Reading of
the Epistles to the Assemblies:
Paul wrote many
letters to the congregations of Gentile Christians. In
Colossians 4:15-16 we read the following, "Greet the brethren who
are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his
house. 16 Now when this epistle is read among you, see
that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you
likewise read the epistle from Laodicea."
"and the church that is in his house".
The Greek word for "church" in Colossians 4:15 is "Ekklesia" which
is an assembly. Nymphas had an an assembly of Christians that
met in his home. We know this because Paul instructed them to
read his epistles to both Colossi and the Laodiceans aloud to the
group. It was customary for the epistles to be read aloud to
the entire congregations and this necessitated an assembly.
Jesus directly
addressed seven Asian assemblies of Christians in the book of
Revelation.
Revelation 2:1, "To
the angel of the church of Ephesus write..."
Revelation 2:8, "And
to the angel of the church in Smyrna write..."
Revelation 2:12, "And
to the angel of the church in Pergamos write..."
Revelation 2:18, "And
to the angel of the church in Thyatira write..."
Revelation 3:1, "And
to the angel of the church in Sardis write..."
Revelation 3:7, "And
to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write..."
Revelation 3:14, "And
to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write..."
The Greek word for church in every instance of Jesus' address to the
Asian assemblies of Christians in Revelation is "Ekklesia" In
English it is translated as "church." But the original word
means a called assembly. It's a reference to a group, or
congregation of Christians. They assembled to hear this letter
read aloud to them.
Extra Biblical
References to Christian Assemblies:
Pliny was a civil
servant who served as the Roman governor of Bithynia, in the north
of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), from 111-113 AD. Here he met
Christians for the first time and was not sure how they should be
dealt with. So he wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan reporting what he
had done so far and asking for guidance. A paragraph from this
letter
"They asserted,
however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been
that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and
sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind
themselves by oath, not to do some crime, but not to commit fraud,
theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return
a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their
custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food — but
ordinary and innocent food." Pliney
Pliney's
interrogations of Christians revealed they assembled on a certain
day to sing hymns, exhort one another to live in accordance with
God's will, and later to assemble again to partake of a meal.
This would have been either the Lord's supper, or the love feasts,
or both. Recall Paul's letter to the Corinthians correcting
them for abuses in the mixing of the two. Recall also, one
element of Paul's chastisement included instructions for the
Christians to wait to partake of the Lord's supper until all of them
had arrived at the assembly.
Activities
During the Christian Assemblies:
-
Gave of
their means: (Layed by in store on every first day of the
week, (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
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Partook of
the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week: (Acts 20:7)
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Sang Hymns:
Ephesians 5:19, "speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in
your heart to the Lord...", Hebrews 2:12, "I will declare
Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I
will sing praise to You." (See also1
Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16).
-
Preaching:
Acts 20:7, "And upon the first day of the week, when the
disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto
them,
-
Congregational Prayer:
-
The church prayed in difficult times. We
noticed at the beginning that the church prayed for Peter while
in prison (Acts 12:5). When he was released he came to the house
of John’s mother, Mary where “many were gathered together
praying” (Acts 12:12).
-
The church prayed in times of decision,
change, and farewell. When they appointed the seven to care
for the widows, they prayed about their selection (Acts 6:6).
Before Paul and Barnabas were sent away to preach they prayed
about it (Acts 13:1-3). Before Paul left brethren after working
with them they prayed together (Acts 14:23; 21:5).
-
The church prayed for Paul (2 Corinthians
1:9-11). Note: In prayer they were “helping together in
prayer.” Paul taught the Ephesians to pray for his work
(Eph. 6:17-19). To the Thessalonians he gave the simple charge “Brethren,
pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5: 25).
-
The church prayed for all the saints. Paul
taught the Ephesians not just to pray for him, but “all the
saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
-
The church prayed for all men and leaders
(1 Timothy 2:1-2). We looked at this text in talking about
intercession (or prayer for others). Notice who it specifies
that we should pray for—“all men” (v. 1) and “all who
are in authority” (v. 2).
-
The church prayed with thanksgiving
(Colossians 3:16-17). Paul charged them to pray earnestly “with
thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
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The church prayed regularly (Romans
12:10-12). Peter teaches that an awareness of coming judgment
should lead to constant prayer (1 Peter 4:7).
-
Public
Reading of God's Word: Colossians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians
5:27, "I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be
read to all the holy brethren."
-
Exhortation
to Love and Good Works: Hebrews 10:24
-
Fellowship:
Acts 2:41-42, "Then those who gladly received his word were
baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to
them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and
in prayers."
-
Benevolence:
The Christians engaged fellowship meals resembled something like
a modern day potluck meal, where everyone was supposed to
contribute what they could for the benefit of all. These were
sometimes referred to as “love-feasts” (Jude 12). We see its
origins in Acts 2:46 and it describes how ancient Christians who
had an excess would give generously to support fellow believers
who had need (see also 2 Corinthians 8-9, Acts 20:11).
To Refuse To
Assemble Is Sin
Hebrews 10:24-27, "And
let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the
more as you see the Day approaching. 26 For if we sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
no longer remains a sacrifice for sins..."
The Command to assemble implies assemblies. To willfully and
knowingly refuse to assemble with the saints results in the
forfeiture of the efficacy of Christ's blood for the forgiveness of
our sin. No sacrifice for sin means no salvation, regardless
of whether one has faith or not.
Conclusion:
The Word of God is
replete with commands and examples for Christians to assemble for
worship. It should be noted that everything the 1st century
Christians did in their worship assemblies was for the good of the
whole brotherhood both collectively and individually.
The first century
Christians did indeed assemble. They did it on the first day
of every week. During these weekly assemblies, they engaged in
activities that were acts of worship toward God and service toward
one another.
Many people today
try and deny the reality of the assemblies of Christians for the
purpose of collective worship, however, such a position cannot be
supported by a comprehensive examination of God's Word. One
cannot be a faithful Christian and expect Jesus' sacrifice to have
any benefit if they fail to assemble with the saints.
Prepared by David Hersey
The church of Christ at Granby, MO
Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109
For more lessons and Sermons please visit
https://granbychurchofchrist.org/
https://granbychurchofchrist.com/ |
