The Assembling of the Church

“Should we worship when the church meets?”

I believe that’s the wrong question. For a follower of Jesus Christ… someone who is a child of God… all of life should be lived in a way that brings glory to God. Thus, every thought, attitude, and action should bring worship to God.

This happens when we allow the Holy Spirit to live through us, when we do not hinder the work that the Holy Spirit desire to do in and through us. Thus, when we obey God, we worship him.

The question is, “What does God want us to do when we meet together?” When we do what God wants us to do, then we are worshiping him.

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Biblical theology is something new, in the sense that it is searching for something that is not already known. Biblical theology is not, at least according to its implicit assumptions, something already laid down in a past or ancient tradition: in this sense it belongs to a different category from (say) Calvinist theology or Anglican theology. The theology of the Bible, as most modern biblical scholarship has envisaged it, is something that has still to be discovered. One is looking for it, rather than simply restating something that has been handed down from the past. Naturally, practitioners may well hope, according to their starting preferences, that it will turn out to be rather like (say) Lutheran theology or Methodist theology or whatever their own theological background may be; but what they are looking for is something of a different intrinsic nature. Its base and its mode of scholarly identification are of a quite different kind from the base or the mode of scholarly identification of any one of the traditional theological positions. (James Barr, The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999), p. 3) (italics in original)

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We’ve been studying Matthew for some time now… probably too long. It’s impossible to read Matthew without recognizing a focus on the Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven). In fact, Jesus told his disciples to ask, “Your kingdom come…” What does this mean?

Concerning “The coming of the kingdom in the NT,” Goldsworthy writes:

Against the background of the OT expectations of the coming rule of God, the NT declares that Jesus of Nazareth is the bringer of the kingdom. While the proclamation of Jesus concerning the kingdom if not novel and is based firmly on OT antecedents, there are nevertheless some surprises. The prophets consistently present the ‘day of the Lord’ in terms of one coming. The gospel presents the Lord’s coming in at least three distinct but related ways.

1) The kingdom has come in Jesus. The meek servanthood of Jesus which leads eventually to his suffering and death, despite being liberally punctuated with demonstrations of power, prevented many from perceiving the nature of the kingdom’s coming…. Jesus was the kingdom in person.

2) The kingdom is coming to the people of God…. The reign/realm contrast is most obvious in this period because the subjects of the kingdom are not confined to any particular place. Even though they are gathered in fellowship as a church, the true, visible locus of the kingdom is at best ambiguous…

3) The kingdom will be consummated at Christ’s return. The third way in which the kingdom comes in the NT is the future or eschatological consummation.

Thus, the one coming of the Lord in the OT is shown to involve the coming of the end (the kingdom of God), in three ways: representatively for God’s people in Jesus of Nazareth; in them through the gospel and the Spirit; and finally with them at the consummation of the kingdom with the return of Jesus in glory to judge the living and the dead. (G. Goldsworthy, “Kingdom of God,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner; Downers Grove: IVP, 2000), p. 617-18)

I realize that this is a long quote, but I wanted to include all three ways that the NT focuses on the coming of the kingdom of God so that I could focus on one aspect – that is, the second aspect in which we’re living now.

As Goldsworthy writes, the kingdom of God is present now in an ambiguous way. Yes, the kingdom is represented/demonstrated when we gather together as a church, but our church meetings are not the extent of the coming of the kingdom today.

So, what part of our lives does the kingdom touch today? Every part. The “kingdom comes” at any point in our lives when we give up the reign (control) of our lives and submit to the reign of God through his Spirit.

Thus, his kingdom comes (or can come) when we gather together as a church, but also when we’re working, when we’re shopping, when we’re at home, when we’re talking or playing with our neighbors, when we’re at school… at any and every point in our lives.

Seeing his kingdom come begins with asking how we can best demonstrate God’s reign in our own lives in each situation that we find ourselves in… especially in contexts in which a kingdom response would not be a natural response… i.e., demonstrating love when we’ve been hurt or rejected, being patient when others are losing their cool, giving when we have nothing left, responding to harsh treatment/words with gentleness.

In other words, the kingdom comes when we allow the Spirit to produce his fruit in us, especially when the natural response would be different.

Of course, it can be beneficial to remember that Jesus introduced the kingdom and provided a way into the kingdom through his death, burial, and resurrection. It can also be beneficial to look forward to an eschatological (end) time when the kingdom response will be our natural response.

But, today, the kingdom comes when we allow God to reign in our lives in the many ambiguous events that happen every day. This is not about more rules or principles or anything like that. It’s about living eternal life today – living in the presence of Jesus – walking in the Spirit – abiding in Christ – or any of the other metaphors. It’s about recognizing the death of our natural inclinations and allowing the Spirit to live a true life through us.

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Matthew recently provided his full PhD dissertation on his website. The title of his dissertation is “The Authority of Church Elders in the New Testament.” I’m still reading through the dissertation, hoping to better understand Matthew’s position on elders and authority. But, I came across this very exciting conclusion from Hebrews 13:17:

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17 ESV)

(By the way, Matthew also thinks that “Follow” is a better translation than “Obey.”)

Matthew says:

That the recipients of this letter were to choose to follow their leaders with understanding and conviction, having been persuaded, is confirmed by the exhortation itself. The author did not urge the leaders to bring the congregation into submission, which would imply they had some power to do so. These instructions were given to the congregation; they had the freedom and responsibility to follow their leaders. The author provided several reasons to persuade them to follow their leaders. (157-58)

Yes! Exactly! There is no passage of Scripture in which leaders are told to exercise authority over others. None. Every passage that is usually used to teach elders and other leaders to “exercise authority” are actually directed toward others in order to encourage them to respect or give honor to or submit to their leaders. (see also 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 and 1 Timothy 5:17)

In other words, submitting is not the same as being subjected. We are to offer our respect and follow our leaders. Leaders are never to exert authority or force others into submission.

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This is the 92nd passage in “Scripture… As We Live It“:

(Yeah, I know, this has been done. But I had to add it to my list.)

If my people who are called by my name Americans humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways pass conservative moral laws, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 re-mix)

(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)

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My wife and I had lunch with another couple. After lunch, one of our lunch partners said something like this:

It doesn’t matter how much we study the trinity, we will never understand it. And, continuing to study the trinity isn’t going to help the young girl on the corner to stop selling herself to get drug money.

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My translation:

This letter is from Paul and Timothy, who are Jesus Christ’s servants, and it is written to all of the people who live in Philippi who God has set apart by Jesus Christ along with your caretakers and servants.

I pray for grace and peace for you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God because of all of my memories of you, always interceding on your behalf with joy in every one of my prayers. I pray for you with joy because of your partnership with the good news, from the very beginning until now. This gives me confidence that the one who started a good work in you will complete that work by the time of Jesus Christ’s return. (Philippians 1:1-6)

Greek Text:

Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις σὺν ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις: χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ μνείᾳ ὑμῶν, πάντοτε ἐν πάσῃ δεήσει μου ὑπὲρ πάντων ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς τὴν δέησιν ποιούμενος, 5ἐπὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡμέρας ἄχρι τοῦ νῦν, πεποιθὼς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅτι ὁ ἐναρξάμενος ἐν ὑμῖν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελέσει ἄχρι ἡμέρας Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ:

Here is another translation for comparison:

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-6 ESV)

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I was greatly encouraged, challenged, and convicted by this article about actor Zac Levi in Relevant Magazine. Here’s the start of the article:

Step into the house of Zac Levi on any ordinary day and you’re likely to find more than you expected. Peek into the living room and you’ll see three or four people sitting around tapping away on laptops. In the office, there’s an author writing a script. Walk upstairs and you’ll find an editing facility with a commercial editor hard at work.

“Zac’s home is like a fraternity house,” explains Jeremy Boreing, Levi’s business partner, pastor and close friend. “You can’t walk in without meeting someone you don’t know. Two of the bedrooms are always used by someone who needs a place to stay while they’re struggling financially. Saturdays are open for barbecues and Sundays are for home church.”

I think Zac Levi is one actor (and follower of Jesus) who has learned to be hospitable and live in community.

(HT: Mark)

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This topic is not limited to NT Greek. However, those who are translating/interpreting NT Scriptures should remember that meaning is not primarily found at the word level.

Meaning is very much a matter that depends on the relations among words (or their combinations), and their grammatical structure. It is also dependent on the situation of the utterance. Semantics [the study of language meaning] is therefore concerned with more than the meanings of words. When semantics is discussed, all the things that contribute to meaning must be explored and not just the semantics of words. All language units that have meaning are of concern to semantics – words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and so forth, even the total document or narrative. From a practical point of view it seems rather impossible to start immediately with the largest units, although this is the actual starting point in language performance. A speaker or writer naturally has something to say, that is, a theme which is worked out by using paragraphs, sentences, words, and so on. In analyzing what a speaker or document actually intended to convey it is merely practical to begin with the smaller units because they are more manageable, but we must work up to the structure as a whole. (J.P. Louw, Semantics of New Testament Greek (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1982), p. 68)

How will Louw’s conclusion affect translation, interpretation, and teaching?

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As most of my regular readers know, I like to ask questions. Sometimes, the questions that we ask are more important than the answers that we come to. Two and a half years ago, I wrote a post called “It is dangerous to ask ‘Why?’” I like to ask, “Why?” Here are some of the questions that I asked then:

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It is dangerous to ask “Why?”

It is interesting, and sometimes dangerous, to ask why believers traditionally do certain things:

Why do we say that the church is people and people are important, but spend so much money on buildings?

Why is the place where the church meets called a “sanctuary”, “house of God”, or “church”?

When believers meet together, why is it called a “worship service”?

Why is a piece of bread and a thimble of juice and fifteen minutes at the end of a “service” called “the Lord’s Supper”?

Why do men wear suits and women wear dresses when believers meet together on Sunday mornings with other believers?

Why do believers typically bow their heads and close their eyes when they pray?

Why do we use a phrase like “pastoral authority”?

Why do we put all of our “offering” in a joint account, then decide later what to do with it?

Why is the “preacher” or “pastor” allowed to speak when the church meets but no one else is allowed?

Why are some people called “Reverend”?

Why do we need a special “family life center” for sports activities when there are perfectly good community centers?

Why do we call each other “brother” and “sister” when we barely know one another?

Why do we spend one minute shaking hands and call it “fellowship”?

Why do we spend so much time arguing about things that are not in Scripture when we are not obeying what is in Scripture?

Why do we think that God speaks clearest through a sermon?

When we meet with other believers, why do we spend most of our time looking at one person and the back of everyone else’s heads?

Why are only certain believers called “ministers”?

Why do we emphasize, teach, and demand obedience to these things (and others) which are not found in Scripture – and some are even contrary to Scripture – while we de-emphasize, ignore, or explain away other things such as discipleship, fellowship, community, or the “one anothers” which are emphasized in Scripture?

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