J_Edwards said:
Originally the gifts were manifested in many places. They were manifested just walking down the streets, stopping, and healing, etc. Paul was bitten by a snake, he was ship wrecked and had a word of knowledge beforehand, etc. However, that is not the nature of your original question is it (Is the Sunday sermon Biblical?)? Paul TOLD the Corinthians that their "services" were not being conducted properly and for them to be changed.
That is true, and I did not assert that they were not used outside of church meetings. We do see in I Corinthians 12 that the gifts he spoke of were for the edification of the body. In chapter 14, Paul instructs the Corinthians, not just elders, to be zealous for spiritual gifts that built up the church (assembly.)
The Corinthians did need to change what they did in their gatherings. But how were they to be changed? Notice Paul did not say ‘Sing hymns, then have one man speak, and everyone else be quiet. Take up the offering. Have communion. Sing hymns. Then go home.’
We can see from Paul’s instructions in I Corinthians 14 that he expected that an individual reading his letter might offer up a prayer in church, and that he should do so in a manner that edified the assembly (v. 16.)
We also see that Paul was favorable toward the idea of ‘all’ prophesying in church. (v. 24, 31.)
Verse 26 says,
“How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.”
Did Paul tell them it was wrong for them to do all these things in church? No. He just stipulated that they be done in an edifying manner. Then he proceeded to give them instructions for how to speak in tongues and interpret, and how the prophets were to prophecy, and those sitting by could prophesy in an orderly manner.
Paul’s concept of order here is particularly important when we consider that the book of Hebrews instructs us to ‘exhort one another’ in our meetings. Where else does scripture go into detail on what we should do in our meetings? Sure, the instructions here are few, but should we follow what instructions are given? Shouldn’t we try to follow what is there, rather than relying solely on tradition?
PS: We use many terms to describe things in Scripture that cannot be found in the text (Trinity, Infralapsarianism, Sublapsarianism, etc)--but it does not mean they are the wrong terms. Communication is imperative and thus words of many sorts must be used.
It was not my point to forbid terms that do not show up in translations of the scripture. I would like to discuss whether the concepts are scripture. Does the Bible teach us to have ‘worship services?’ We are to come together to break bread. When we come together we should exhort and edify one another.
Singing psalms and giving thanks to God can be edifying, and we might define them as forms of ‘worship’—if not proskuneo per se.
As for ‘services’ some argue that in Acts 13:1, the ‘ministering’ they were doing was performing a liturgy. I am not convinced either way on that.
