Edification and the Church Gathering 2…
This series is an excerpt from a paper that I am writing. In the introduction, I argue that in order for the church to edify itself, at least three things are required: 1) the source and result of this edification must be found in the person of Jesus Christ, 2) the focus of edification should be placed on others and not on the self, and 3) the opportunity should be given to all believers to use their spiritual gifts to edify others.
This post is meant to support the first requirement: the source and result of this edification must be found in the person of Jesus Christ.
First, according to Eph. 4:11-16, the source of edification and the result of edification are found in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul gives this instruction to the church in Ephesus as part of an extended discourse on the growth of the church. This discourse begins with the unity that the church has in its association through the one Spirit, the one Lord, and the one God (Eph. 4:4-6). Paul then contends that the Lord provides various gifts in order to promote service by the church and the growth of the church (Eph. 4:7-12). The result will be a maturing church, one growing out of childhood and toward the maturity of Jesus Christ, which the church demonstrates when everyone works together from his or her connection with Christ toward the perfection of the entire body (Eph. 4:13-16). Importantly, throughout this passage Jesus Christ determines the “measure†(μÎÏ„Ïον) of how the spiritual gifts are imparted (v. 7), of the goal of growth (v. 13), and of the work of each member (v. 16). Therefore, in this passage, the church edifies itself when it helps itself grow empowered by its connection with Jesus Christ and toward the maturity that is found in Jesus Christ—the head of the body. This edification is the work of the entire body, not just certain members of the body.[1] “Christians are mutually dependent on one another and they are collectively dependent on Jesus Christ for life and power.â€[2]
Similarly, in Col. 2:10, Paul reminds the church that their edification occurs in Christ. In Acts 20:32, Luke records that Paul used similar language to encourage the elders from Ephesus that the word, or message, of grace is able to edify them. This is an important passage, because it demonstrates that God works through the person of Jesus Christ and the message concerning Jesus Christ—that is, the Scriptures—to produce the edification of the church. For the growing church, Jesus Christ is their ability, their example, and their objective, and He is revealed to them by the Spirit through the “word of grace,†or the Scriptures.
Series:
1) Introduction
2) Edification found in the person of Jesus Christ
3) Focus of edification is on others
4) Opportunity for others to participate
Notes:
[1] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 547-49.
[2] Peterson, Engaging with God, 208.
Edification and the Church Gathering 1…
I am very interested in the church’s purpose when it gathers. I have previously posted a long (50 page) paper on this topic. However, I’m currently working on another paper for school. There is a short – 5 page – section in this latest paper describing edification during the gathering of the church. I thought I would post this section in four different blog posts. I would appreciate feedback as I finish working on the paper. This post is the introduction to edification during the church gathering:
According to several New Testament passages, the church gathered often, sometimes daily. In 1 Cor. 14:26, Paul instructed the church in Corinth that whenever they came together, everything they do should edify the church. The term edification, or building up, [1] arises from the New Testament authors’ use of the οικοδομÎω / οικοδομή word groups. Furthermore, in several passages, the biblical writers associate edification with exhortation (παÏάκλησις—1 Cor. 14:3), comfort (παÏαμυθία—1 Cor 14:3), and benefit to others (συμφÎÏω—1 Cor. 10:23). Among the authors of the New Testament, Paul particularly used the language of edification to describe the goal of believers toward one another, either during the gathering, or not; and his exhortation toward edification continued throughout his apostolic career from his earliest extant letter, until his latest.[2] Similarly, Luke and Jude call believers to edify one another (Acts 9:31; 20:32; Jude 1:20), and the author of Hebrews reminds his readers that they should continue to gather together in order to encourage one another toward love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25).
David Peterson suggests that edification is the primary (or possibly sole) purpose for those early Christian gatherings.[3] While others disagree that edification is the sole purpose of the church gathering, most agree that edification is at least one of the purposes.[4] Therefore, when a church gathers together, they must examine their actions and their words to determine if they are edifying one another, otherwise they may not accomplish this scriptural purpose. According to Scripture, there are several requirements that a church must meet in order to ensure that those gathering together edify one another. Among these requirements are the following: 1) the source and result of this edification must be found in the person of Jesus Christ, 2) the focus of edification should be placed on others and not on the self, and 3) the opportunity should be given to all believers to use their spiritual gifts to edify others.
Series:
1) Introduction
2) Edification found in the person of Jesus Christ
3) Focus of edification is on others
4) Opportunity for others to participate
Notes:
[1] Unless specified otherwise, all definitions of Greek words come from Walter Bauer, Walter F. Arndt, F.W. Danker, and F.W. Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature 3rd ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000).
[2] James L. Benedict, “The Language of Edification in 1 Corinthians and End-of-Life Decision Making,†Brethren Life and Thought, 41 (Spr-Sum 1996), 20.
[3] David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992).
[4] For example, see John S. Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2005), 239-40, D.A. Carson, Worship by the Book (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 45-46, and Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 244-46.
Paper on Mutual Edification
This week I completed a paper for Dr. David Alan Black, the result of an independent study. The title of the paper is Mutual Edification: The Purpose for the Gathering of the Church in the New Testament.
If you would like to read this paper, click here.
Mutual Edification: What are the implications?
If mutual edification is the purpose for the gathering of the church in the New Testament (and if edification is the responsibility of every believer as they gather), what are the implications for the contemporary church? This is a topic that I am currently studying, so I will not offer many answers. Instead, consider the following:
1) How should our meetings be structured?
2) What role should leaders play during the meeting?
3) What if a brother or sister never participates in the meeting?
4) What if a brother or sister dominates every meeting?
5) What if a brother or sister speaks false doctrine during a meeting?
6) What if the gathering becomes too large for all to participate?
7) Is shyness an excuse not to participate in the meeting?
8) How does edification affect meetings besides the “main” meeting (i.e. Bible studies, prayer meetings, business meetings)?
There are so many other questions to be raised. I hope you bear with me as I continue to study the church through Scripture.
Who is responsible for speaking during the meeting?
Yesterday, I asked the question, “Who is qualified to speak during the meeting?” Today, I want to take this farther: Whose responsibility is it to speak during the meeting? Within most groups of believers, this responsibility falls upon one man (or at most a few men). What does Scripture say?
1 Corinthians 12-14 teaches that every believer is gifted by the Holy Spirit, and during the assembly of the church, these gifts are to be exercised in order to build up (edify) the body of Christ (not the individual). So, all believers are qualified to speak during the meeting.
Furthermore, Ephesians 4:1-10 confirms this. Gifts are given to each believer by Christ (through the Spirit). Gifted individuals are given to the church (Eph. 4:11-12) to equip the body for works of service in order to edify the body towards maturity, which is measured by the stature of Christ himself.
Ephesians 4:16 is an interesting verse. Removing the modifying phrases, the main clause is “the body… causes the growth of the body” (to soma … ten auxesin tou somatos poieitai…). Adding the modifying phrases, this body growth only happens when the body is in Christ, the head, and when each member of the body is doing his own part, which is “measured” by Christ.
Combining these two passages (1 Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4), every member is instructed to take responsibility for the growth of the body.
Are pastors responsible for being filled with the Spirit and speaking during the meeting in order to edify the body? Yes! But, so is every other member. If one man (or a few men) dominates the meeting time, then he is not allowing the body to function as God desires it to function-he is usurping the responsibility given to every member of the body. If a group of people allows one man (or a few men) to dominate the meeting, then they are not fulfilling their God-given responsibility to edify the body.
Who is qualified to speak during the meeting?
“For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” (1 Corinthians 14:31)
Does Paul really mean “all”? Does he really mean that every believer in the meeting has the potential for speaking edifying words during the assembly of the church? Does he really expect that a new believer could speak words that would “teach” a pastor?
The answer to all of these questions must be “Yes!”
Consider the ones to whom Paul is writing. For the most part, they do not have a personal copy of the Scriptures. And yet, Paul expects all of them to be able to speak during the meeting. “Knowing” Scripture must not be a prerequisite for speaking during the assembly.
So, what qualifies someone to speak during the meeting? In the context of 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul offers three different qualifications:
1) The person must be endwelled by the Spirit of God, and therefore gifted by the Spirit.
2) The person must speak from a motivation of love.
3) The person must speak in order to edify the body of Christ.
These are the only qualifications. Education is not a qualification. Experience is not a qualification. Speaking ability is not a qualification.
Who is allowed to speak in our assemblies? Perhaps there are times when those “qualified” should be silent in order to allow others to speak “that all may learn and all may be encouraged.”
Individual Edification?
Is an activity appropriate during the meeting of the church if that activity edifies only one (or a small number) of individual(s)?
In 1 Corinthians 14:1-25, Paul discusses two spiritual gifts: speaking in tongues and prophecy. First, it must be noted that Paul has already revealed in 1 Corinthians 12 that both of these activities are gifts provided by the Holy Spirit. But, in 14:1-25, Paul states that speaking in tongues (without interpretation) is not suitable for the gathering because only the individual speaking in edified. Paul acknowledges that the person speaking in tongues is edified, and that the person speaking in tongues is speaking to God. However, he states plainly that this is not an appropriate activity for the meeting of the church.
William F. Orr and James Arthur Walther [1 Corinthians, The Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1976), 306.] comment on this aspect of Paul’s instructions when they state,
It is surprising that Paul regards speech addressed to people more highly than speech directed to God. The reason is the scope of edification; speech in a tongue builds up only the speaker. He seems to be saying that private devotion has its place; but it is not as important as public devotion, which builds up the entire group. The life of the church is more important than the religious development or expression of a single person.
According to Paul, during the gathering, the spiritual health of the church takes precedence over either the devotion of the individual or the spiritual health of the individual. Therefore, based on this passage, activities that only edify the individual are not appropriate during the meeting of the church.
Mutual Edification
The following is from Howard A. Snyder, The Community of the King (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977), 75. Snyder quotes Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1958), IV, 2, 627.
Spiritual growth occurs best in a caring community… The Holy Spirit ministers to us, in large measure, through each other. This is what Paul is talking about when he says “we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:15-16). This interaction of the many members in one body is body life. Karl Barth rightly points out that when the New Testament speaks of upbuilding, it “speaks always of the upbuilding of the community. I can edify myself only as I edify the community.”
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 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. Hebrews 10:24-25
I just read an interesting article by David Peterson (“Further Reflections on Worship in the New Testament†The Reformed Theological Review 44 May-August 1985, p. 34-41). Part of the article discusses the two verses from Hebrews listed above. In the article, Peterson quotes B.F. Wescott (The Epistle to the Hebrews, London: MacMillan, 3rd edn., 1914, p. 327):
The participle engkataleipontes [translated “forsaking” above] in 10:25 conveys the notion “not simply of leaving, as no longer taking part in the assembly, but of abandoning, leaving the assembly exposed to peril in the conflictâ€. The concept is not that of self protection by staying in the fold but of a positive responsibility to minister to other Christians.
According to Wescott, this verb is used in Hebrews 13:5 in a quote from Deut. 31:6: For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Therefore, the negative instruction in Hebrews 10:25 could better be translated, “not abandoning your responsibilities in the assembling of ourselves together.” In other words, there is more to this command that simply an encouragement to continue “attending” a gathering. The author of Hebrews is reminding his readers that each one of them has a responsibility to the assembly of believers. Adding the teachings concerning spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14, each believer has been gifted by the Holy Spirit in order to serve others, and each believer has a responsibility to exercise that gift during the assembly of the church in order to build up other beleivers.
Either failing to attend the gathering or failing to edify the body during the gathering is tantamount to neglecting your responsibilities to God.
What’s the Meeting For?
A few weeks ago over at Christ in Y’all, Neil asks the question “What’s the Meeting For?” Consider the following quote:
The meeting of the saints ISN’T an end in itself. It’s not the reason we exist. As we say in the churches I run with: The church isn’t the meetings. The meetings express what the church is. But the church can’t be reduced to its meetings. We are the church all the time. Of course, this is so much easier to see when there’s some kind of community going on. When you live really close together, for example, the communal aspect of the church is made visible. It’s like a family. And a family doesn’t become a family by eating supper together. It already is a family. Everything it does is as a family. But because it IS a family, they spend a lot of time together, and they eat together. Likewise the church is the church whatever it does. It doesn’t become the church because it does the right thing when it meets. Please don’t buy that mentality. The church is so much more than its meetings.
Neil continues by reminding us that a problem with the meeting is an indication of an underlying problem with the church itself. “Tweaking” the meeting will not solve the underlying problem.
Many people look at the “worship service” of the church today – the meeting – and decide that there are problems. I would tend to agree – there are certainly problems. However, these problems will not be solved by simply changing the meeting. We must return to the Scriptures to answer the question: “Who are we as the church?” Once we know who we are, then we can better answer the question, “What should happen when we meet?”