By David A. Glock [1]
A typical Assembly today has many practices in common with most evangelical churches. There is a Sunday service with singing, special music, and a sermon; a strong and enthusiastic Sunday School; a midweek service for prayer and Bible study; special services for children and youth; ladies’ coffee hours; neighborhood growth groups, etc.
There are also similarities in how the church functions and how it is governed. The active participation of a number of gifted individuals in the life of the church is not unique to any group. A plurality of leadership is not unusual, even though the formal governmental structure may be episcopal, presbyterian, or congregational. There is usually a core of faithful participants who influence and execute the functions of the church.
Many differences are superficial. Sermons may vary in length and quality. The music will cover a wide spectrum from chorale to country. But the work and government will still be by the influence of the faithful. Even though there are some shades of differences because of varying backgrounds and traditions, there is a genuine sameness among the evangelical churches today.
But one thing in the Assemblies that is distinctive—perhaps our best distinctive—is the worship meeting. It is known by its adherents as the Breaking of Bread, the Lord’s Supper, or the Worship Meeting. I grew up calling it “Morning Meeting!” It is a different meeting! Its format is different; it is open, unstructured, and has multiple participation. Its focus is different; it centers on the death of Christ, His person, and His work. Its purpose is different; it is for God’s benefit, not ours. It is designed to give praise to God, not to meet the needs of the saints. The results are different; it does not result in a challenge to the faithful, or the teaching of the saints, or the exhortation of believers, but the WORSHIP OF GOD. Above all things, God desires worshipers. The end of man is doxological!
My premise is this. The Assembly movement has made a contribution to the evangelical world far beyond its relative size. This is particularly true in the areas of dispensationalism and eschatology. It is also true in the area of ecclesiology: the multiplicity of spiritual gifts, the equality of all believers within the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers, etc. Yet in the area of the priesthood of all believers in corporate worship, the Assembly movement has not yet delivered to the evangelical world the privilege of the unique worship which we have enjoyed since the early 1800’s. It is the premise of this paper that this is our reason to be as a movement.
In this article, then, I would like to consider the Worship Meeting of the Assembly in the following ways:
I. The Function of the Worship Meeting—How it Works
The Function Of The Worship Meeting: How It Works
The Format
The uniqueness of the Worship meeting is seen primarily in its format. It is an open meeting with spontaneous, multiple participation on the part of the members of the body. It lacks formal structure or form. I hear some saying that it is predictable, and that there is a rigid, but unstated form. I will admit to some form and structure, and I will admit to dullness of habit. But do not blame the degeneration of the meeting on the format when it is the unprepared saint who is at fault.
When Emmaus first moved to Dubuque, my wife and I were attending a football banquet honoring the high school team on which our son played. We were seated across from a professor at Wartburg Seminary of Dubuque. In the course of the conversation we were explaining the origins of Emmaus and the Brethren movement. I mentioned that our worship meeting had “no form or structure”. The professor gently corrected me by saying that all denominations have form and structure in their meetings. Some have less than others. I think his correction was right.
How much form or structure, that is the question. The Bible is our safe guide. Believing that the Bible gives the norm for Church practice and that it is not merely a recording of culturally limited traditions to be discarded in another era, brethren concluded that an open worship meeting was to be the practice of the church.
There must be some form. Corporate worship cannot take place in a setting of continual surprise. That is a distraction. But the form is not the worship; it is the comfortable setting in which worship can best be accomplished.
The functional format of the worship meeting includes the following elements of participation:
The Focus
The worship meeting is also unique in its focus. According to Acts 2:42 the infant church met for four purposes: teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. I do not quibble with those who see three practices enveloped by fellowship. The early church gathered for Exaltation and Edification, and scattered for Evangelism, a safe guideline if all are energetically pursued.
In each of these purposes for the meeting of the church there is a focus or direction. Teaching finds its point of focus on human behavior. We study the Bible so that it might teach, reprove, and correct us with a view to righteous living (2 Tim. 3:16). Fellowship on the church level is both vertical and horizontal. Our fellowship is with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (I Jn. 1:3). But on the corporate level it is with one another (I Jn. 1:7). Prayer is primarily focused on the one praying in the sense that we ask for the mind and help of God for our plans and needs.
Worship is distinct. It is primarily focused on God. The pattern of the Psalms establishes this concept. In the descriptive psalms of praise in the Psalter the attributes and character of God are the focus of praise. In the declarative psalms of praise His great deeds in creation and history inspire praise from His people. The person and work of God are the single focus of worship. Praise comes from contemplating Him and what He has done. In the New Testament worship finds its particular focus on the person and work of Christ.
O Christ He is the fountain
The deep sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above!
There to am ocean fullness,
His mercy doth expand.
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear bridegroom’s face.
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my king of grace—
Not at the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand.
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel’s land. [2]
The Purpose
The purpose of the worship meeting is unique. It is the hour of collective contemplation of God. Saint stimulates saint to higher and greater thoughts of God.
Worship is “the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways, and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment. [3] A.P. Gibbs has collected some helpful descriptive definitions of worship in his excellent work Worship: The Christian’s Highest Occupation. These follow: [4]
I love you Lord, and I lift my voice
to worship you.
Oh, my soul rejoice!
Take joy my King, in what you hear.
May it be a sweet, sweet sound
in your ear. [5]
The Results
The results of worship are unique. We bless God! It is for God’s benefit that we worship. Much of our thinking relating to God is on what He has done for us, the multitude of blessings which He has showered upon us. Worship is that unique deed in which God benefits from us! The worshipper that the Father seeks fulfills the highest of all acts,—he glorifies God.
As always, when the creature is in his proper place before God, there is personal and corporate benefit. This will be addressed in the final segment of this paper.
Please note. It is significant that worship and the desire for worship will decline in a society which is governed by the concept, “What’s in it for me?” A quest for personal freedom, that is, the uninterrupted life of self-seeking will not readily submit to the discipline of worship—giving God the highest place.
The Symbolism Of The Worship Meeting: What It Means
The Church was left with two symbolic ordinances—the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. Both speak of death: the one, of the death of Christ; the other, of the death of the believer to the old way of life. The depth of the symbolism ranges from simple to complex in both cases.
There are at least five levels of symbolism connected with the Lord’s Supper.
The Death Of Christ
The primary and clearest symbolism is seen in the direct statements of the Lord;
Objection has been raised to the solemnity of the meeting, the slowness of the music, the somber attitude of the saints. I am afraid we are mocking fitting decorum. It is not a festival. It is a remembrance of the atoning death of Christ, when He bore our sins in His body on the tree. YE DO SHOW FORTH THE LORD’S DEATH!
O solemn hour! O hour alone,
In solitary might,
When God the Father’s only Son,
As Man, for sinners to atone,
Expires—amazing sight!
The Lord of glory crucified!
The Lord of life has bled and died!
O mystery of mysteries.
Of life and death the tree!
Center of two eternities,
Which look with rapt, adoring eyes,
Onward and back to thee!
O cross of Christ, where all His pain
And death is our eternal gain.
Oh, how our inmost hearts do move,
While gazing on that cross!
The death of the Incarnate Love!
What shame,what grief, what joy we prove,
That He should die for us!
Our hearts were broken by that cry,-
Eli, lama sabachthani?”
Worthy of death, O Lord we were;
That vengeance was our due;
In grace Thy spotless Lamb did bear
Himself our sins and guilt and shame;
Justice our surety slew,
With Him our Surety we have died,
With Him we there were crucified.
Quickened with Him with life divine,
Raised with Him from the dead;
His own, and all His own are Thine,
Shall with Him in His glories shine,
His Church’s living Head!
We who were worthy but to die,
Now with Him, “Abba, Father,” cry. [6]
The Unity Of The Body
The second level of symbolism is seen in I Corinthians 10:16, 17:
Personal Salvation
The third level of symbolism is more oblique. In John 6, the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus uses language parallel to the Lord’s Supper, though spoken well before its inception chronologically.
While it is our desire to contemplate the Savior, it is impossible, and not even desirable, to overlook the personal benefit of our salvation. This began when we took Christ into our lives, when we ate his flesh and drank his blood, when we received eternal life. With each remembrance of the Lord, we are reminded of our condition before and after salvation; we, therefore, worship with thanksgiving.
Strength Through Christ
A fourth level of symbolism is seen in the repetition of the Lord’s Supper. The ordinance of baptism is not repeated. The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is repeated corporately on a weekly basis and day by day in smaller settings (Acts 2:46). It is an often repeated meal. The Christian receives his strength from feeding on Christ. The remembrance of the Lord gives the believer the spiritual nourishment to live. A cluster of biblical expressions touch on this subject: abiding in Christ, walking with the Lord, being in fellowship with the Father and the Son, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [7] These flow out of the recurring acts of worship. The daily growth of the Christian life is symbolized by repeatedly taking of the bread and the cup.
The New Covenant
The most difficult level of symbolism revolves around the words, “the blood of the New Covenant”. The New Covenant is a Covenant made with Israel as recorded in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36. It refers to the Millennial Kingdom when Christ will reign supreme and the New Covenant will be the rule of life governing that era.
Church saints touch the New Covenant in an indirect way. As the death of Christ opens the way for Man to rule on the earth as God intended in original creation, it also provides for man’s salvation. The basis of the New Covenant, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, is also the basis for personal salvation. The Apostle Paul describes himself as a “minister of the New Covenant” (2 Cor. 3:6). The author of Hebrews describes the spiritual nature of the members of the Church in New Covenant terms (Heb. 8–10).
At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus stated: “For this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sin. But I say unto you, I will not drink, henceforth, of the fruit of this vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:28–29).
The New Covenant Kingdom will find Christ leading praise in the midst of the congregation (Psalm 22:22). What a glorious day it will be when we:
There is, then, in worship the future look—till he come! The resurrection, the New Covenant era, will produce the greatest worship the earth has ever seen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
The New Covenant dimension of the Lord’s Supper projects the believer forward in his thinking to that time when Jesus will reign, and we as a kingdom of priests shall reign with him on the earth (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 5:10). As we remember the Lord in this age, we serve as priests preparing for our priestly service in the coming glorious reign of Christ!
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom spread from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more
From north to south the princes meet
To pay their homage at his feet.
While western empires own their Lord,
And savage tribes attend His word.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown his head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song.
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name. [8]
The Benefits Of The Worship Meeting: What It Does
It has already been mentioned that the worship meeting is not for our benefit; it is for God’s benefit. We bless God. But the double blessing of Ephesians 1:3 is also true:
The love of Christ remains vital and fresh. There is no loss of first love for the true worshiper. A new view of Calvary and of the Savior draws us closer to Him every week.
The unity of the body is maintained. We are one at the foot of the cross as we ‘break bread together on our knees.” It is impossible to truly worship and to be at war with one another.
But beyond the personal and practical benefits of the remembrance meeting, there is a great theological benefit.
During my seminary days, I worked with other seminarians at a Dallas factory office complex. We were custodians! On one occasion I was engaged in a nighttime discussion which degenerated into an attack upon the Brethren movement. For a period I remained silent, but finally enough was enough. I responded with some questions:
Over the years I have concluded that the best theology we teach is not from the pulpit, but from the Breaking of Bread. There we learn about the Godhead and the attributes of deity. There we learn about the person and work of Christ. There we learn about the sinfulness of man. There we learn about our great salvation. There we learn about the coming of Christ. There we learn the vocabulary of the Bible: grace, mercy, redemption, propitiation, reconciliation, atonement, etc. There we learn the typology of the sacrifices. There we hear the psalms. There we worship!
The theology lessons are not theoretical; they are in the mode of worship. The participants are not professionals trained for worship. They are workmen, teachers, mechanics, salesmen; they are young men and fathers; they are newly saved and old in the faith; they are nervous and confident. They are ordinary Christians who through participation in the worship meeting have come to understand and love the cardinal doctrines of the Bible. Regular participation in the Lord’s Supper develops an instinct for correct theology. The Breaking of Bread properly practiced produces theologians. The remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ in an open, participative meeting is a safeguard against doctrinal error
Conclusion
We have a wonderful legacy that few Christians have enjoyed—a functioning priesthood in corporate worship. Instead of viewing the Lord’s Supper as a strange meeting, let us acknowledge the centrality of this meeting in our movement. Let us deliver this wonderful privilege to our evangelical friends. Let us teach our congregations to be worshippers in spirit and in truth.
Over the years I have met many brothers and sisters from an Assembly background who have identified with other sound evangelical churches. It is not long into the conversation before the statement is made: “I really miss the breaking of bread.” The difference in the Assembly movement is important. It is our reason to be!
A while ago I was driving home from Emmaus with my son, Jonathan, now a graduate of Emmaus and attending Dallas Seminary. We were talking about life in our Assembly. He said, “ Dad, I love the worship meeting. It’s the best of all meetings. I look forward to worshipping each week.” That was one of my highest thrills! How much more must God be thrilled when we worship in spirit and in truth.
A typical Assembly today has many practices in common with most evangelical churches. There is a Sunday service with singing, special music, and a sermon; a strong and enthusiastic Sunday School; a midweek service for prayer and Bible study; special services for children and youth; ladies’ coffee hours; neighborhood growth groups, etc.
There are also similarities in how the church functions and how it is governed. The active participation of a number of gifted individuals in the life of the church is not unique to any group. A plurality of leadership is not unusual, even though the formal governmental structure may be episcopal, presbyterian, or congregational. There is usually a core of faithful participants who influence and execute the functions of the church.
Many differences are superficial. Sermons may vary in length and quality. The music will cover a wide spectrum from chorale to country. But the work and government will still be by the influence of the faithful. Even though there are some shades of differences because of varying backgrounds and traditions, there is a genuine sameness among the evangelical churches today.
But one thing in the Assemblies that is distinctive—perhaps our best distinctive—is the worship meeting. It is known by its adherents as the Breaking of Bread, the Lord’s Supper, or the Worship Meeting. I grew up calling it “Morning Meeting!” It is a different meeting! Its format is different; it is open, unstructured, and has multiple participation. Its focus is different; it centers on the death of Christ, His person, and His work. Its purpose is different; it is for God’s benefit, not ours. It is designed to give praise to God, not to meet the needs of the saints. The results are different; it does not result in a challenge to the faithful, or the teaching of the saints, or the exhortation of believers, but the WORSHIP OF GOD. Above all things, God desires worshipers. The end of man is doxological!
My premise is this. The Assembly movement has made a contribution to the evangelical world far beyond its relative size. This is particularly true in the areas of dispensationalism and eschatology. It is also true in the area of ecclesiology: the multiplicity of spiritual gifts, the equality of all believers within the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers, etc. Yet in the area of the priesthood of all believers in corporate worship, the Assembly movement has not yet delivered to the evangelical world the privilege of the unique worship which we have enjoyed since the early 1800’s. It is the premise of this paper that this is our reason to be as a movement.
In this article, then, I would like to consider the Worship Meeting of the Assembly in the following ways:
I. The Function of the Worship Meeting—How it Works
- Its Format
- Its Focus
- Its Purpose
- Its Results
- The Loaf and Cup
- The unity of the Body
- Personal Salvation
- Strength through Christ
- The new Covenant
The Function Of The Worship Meeting: How It Works
The Format
The uniqueness of the Worship meeting is seen primarily in its format. It is an open meeting with spontaneous, multiple participation on the part of the members of the body. It lacks formal structure or form. I hear some saying that it is predictable, and that there is a rigid, but unstated form. I will admit to some form and structure, and I will admit to dullness of habit. But do not blame the degeneration of the meeting on the format when it is the unprepared saint who is at fault.
When Emmaus first moved to Dubuque, my wife and I were attending a football banquet honoring the high school team on which our son played. We were seated across from a professor at Wartburg Seminary of Dubuque. In the course of the conversation we were explaining the origins of Emmaus and the Brethren movement. I mentioned that our worship meeting had “no form or structure”. The professor gently corrected me by saying that all denominations have form and structure in their meetings. Some have less than others. I think his correction was right.
How much form or structure, that is the question. The Bible is our safe guide. Believing that the Bible gives the norm for Church practice and that it is not merely a recording of culturally limited traditions to be discarded in another era, brethren concluded that an open worship meeting was to be the practice of the church.
If, therefore, the whole church be come together into one place.... I Cor. 14:23
How is it then, brethren? When you 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. I Cor. 14:26
Let all things be done decently and in order I Cor. 14:40It is clear from I Corinthians 14 that an open, spontaneous meeting with multiple participation was the norm. But there was some form and structure. There was limitation based on quantity, quality, and gender: the number of participants, the mix of spiritual gifts, and the leadership of the male in corporate worship (I Cor. 14:27–35). In an open, spontaneous meeting the Apostle Paul exhorted that it should be done in a “fitting and orderly way” (I Cor. 14:40). The meeting should fit together and should follow an orderly progression of thought. It is not a series of forced, disconnected stories, meanderings, and anecdotes from the spiritual experiences of the congregation.
There must be some form. Corporate worship cannot take place in a setting of continual surprise. That is a distraction. But the form is not the worship; it is the comfortable setting in which worship can best be accomplished.
The functional format of the worship meeting includes the following elements of participation:
- The suggestion of a hymn to be sung without comment
- The suggestion of a hymn to be sung with comment
- Prayer, really praise in the mode of prayer, leading the congregation to add the “amen”
- A word of praise directed to the congregation leading the congregation to worship
- A reading of appropriate Scripture without comment
- A reading of appropriate Scripture with comment in leading the congregation to worship
- The giving of thanks for the Bread and Cup
- Starting and ending times
- Opening and closing traditions
- Seating arrangements
- Types of utensils
- Bread and cup variations
- Collections
- Announcements
- Music methodology
The Focus
The worship meeting is also unique in its focus. According to Acts 2:42 the infant church met for four purposes: teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. I do not quibble with those who see three practices enveloped by fellowship. The early church gathered for Exaltation and Edification, and scattered for Evangelism, a safe guideline if all are energetically pursued.
In each of these purposes for the meeting of the church there is a focus or direction. Teaching finds its point of focus on human behavior. We study the Bible so that it might teach, reprove, and correct us with a view to righteous living (2 Tim. 3:16). Fellowship on the church level is both vertical and horizontal. Our fellowship is with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (I Jn. 1:3). But on the corporate level it is with one another (I Jn. 1:7). Prayer is primarily focused on the one praying in the sense that we ask for the mind and help of God for our plans and needs.
Worship is distinct. It is primarily focused on God. The pattern of the Psalms establishes this concept. In the descriptive psalms of praise in the Psalter the attributes and character of God are the focus of praise. In the declarative psalms of praise His great deeds in creation and history inspire praise from His people. The person and work of God are the single focus of worship. Praise comes from contemplating Him and what He has done. In the New Testament worship finds its particular focus on the person and work of Christ.
This do in remembrance of me I Cor. 11:24
For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till he come. I Cor. 11:26The direction of worship is Godward. It focuses on God, not the worshiper. A much loved hymn of worship captures this thought:
O Christ He is the fountain
The deep sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above!
There to am ocean fullness,
His mercy doth expand.
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear bridegroom’s face.
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my king of grace—
Not at the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand.
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel’s land. [2]
The Purpose
The purpose of the worship meeting is unique. It is the hour of collective contemplation of God. Saint stimulates saint to higher and greater thoughts of God.
Worship is “the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways, and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment. [3] A.P. Gibbs has collected some helpful descriptive definitions of worship in his excellent work Worship: The Christian’s Highest Occupation. These follow: [4]
“The overflow of a grateful heart under a sense of Divine favor” (p. 13).
“The outpouring of a soul in the presence of God” (p. 14).
“The occupation of the heart, not with its needs, or even with its blessings, but with God himself” (p. 14).
“The upspring of a heart that has known the Father as a Giver, the Son as a Savior, and the Spirit as the indwelling guest” (p. 14).
“The ascription of worth to One who is worthy” (p. 15).The contemporary praise hymn states it well:
I love you Lord, and I lift my voice
to worship you.
Oh, my soul rejoice!
Take joy my King, in what you hear.
May it be a sweet, sweet sound
in your ear. [5]
The Results
The results of worship are unique. We bless God! It is for God’s benefit that we worship. Much of our thinking relating to God is on what He has done for us, the multitude of blessings which He has showered upon us. Worship is that unique deed in which God benefits from us! The worshipper that the Father seeks fulfills the highest of all acts,—he glorifies God.
“Thou inhabitest the praises of Israel” Psalm 22:3God lives where the worship of the saints converges.
As always, when the creature is in his proper place before God, there is personal and corporate benefit. This will be addressed in the final segment of this paper.
Please note. It is significant that worship and the desire for worship will decline in a society which is governed by the concept, “What’s in it for me?” A quest for personal freedom, that is, the uninterrupted life of self-seeking will not readily submit to the discipline of worship—giving God the highest place.
The Symbolism Of The Worship Meeting: What It Means
The Church was left with two symbolic ordinances—the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. Both speak of death: the one, of the death of Christ; the other, of the death of the believer to the old way of life. The depth of the symbolism ranges from simple to complex in both cases.
There are at least five levels of symbolism connected with the Lord’s Supper.
The Death Of Christ
The primary and clearest symbolism is seen in the direct statements of the Lord;
Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. This cup is the New Covenant in my blood....you do show forth the Lord’s death till He come. I Cor. 11:24–26The shedding of blood signifies a violent death of execution for the penalty of sin. This primary level of symbolism is seen in the bread, His body given, and in the cup, His blood shed. It speaks of the death of Christ. It portrays His physical and spiritual sufferings when he was made sin for us.
Objection has been raised to the solemnity of the meeting, the slowness of the music, the somber attitude of the saints. I am afraid we are mocking fitting decorum. It is not a festival. It is a remembrance of the atoning death of Christ, when He bore our sins in His body on the tree. YE DO SHOW FORTH THE LORD’S DEATH!
O solemn hour! O hour alone,
In solitary might,
When God the Father’s only Son,
As Man, for sinners to atone,
Expires—amazing sight!
The Lord of glory crucified!
The Lord of life has bled and died!
O mystery of mysteries.
Of life and death the tree!
Center of two eternities,
Which look with rapt, adoring eyes,
Onward and back to thee!
O cross of Christ, where all His pain
And death is our eternal gain.
Oh, how our inmost hearts do move,
While gazing on that cross!
The death of the Incarnate Love!
What shame,what grief, what joy we prove,
That He should die for us!
Our hearts were broken by that cry,-
Eli, lama sabachthani?”
Worthy of death, O Lord we were;
That vengeance was our due;
In grace Thy spotless Lamb did bear
Himself our sins and guilt and shame;
Justice our surety slew,
With Him our Surety we have died,
With Him we there were crucified.
Quickened with Him with life divine,
Raised with Him from the dead;
His own, and all His own are Thine,
Shall with Him in His glories shine,
His Church’s living Head!
We who were worthy but to die,
Now with Him, “Abba, Father,” cry. [6]
The Unity Of The Body
The second level of symbolism is seen in I Corinthians 10:16, 17:
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread and one body. For we are all partakers of that one bread.The unity of the Church is symbolized as we break bread together. There is one loaf, the body of Christ, the Church. There is corporate participation. We believe and commit the same act in the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper. Hence, we are called to genuine unity as we break bread with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sacrifice should be left at the altar and reconciliation made so that there may be genuine collective worship (Matt. 5:23–24). This is particularly true in a time of growing negativism and criticism in the fellowship of Assemblies. Let us not deny the heart of Assembly life. We are one body in worship!
Personal Salvation
The third level of symbolism is more oblique. In John 6, the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus uses language parallel to the Lord’s Supper, though spoken well before its inception chronologically.
Then Jesus said unto them, “Verily, verily I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him” (John 6:53–56).
And the bread that I will give is my flesh (John 6:51).
He took bread...This is my body given for you. (I Cor. 11:23, 24)It is clear that the symbolism relates to the death of Christ in the John and Corinthian passages as well as those in the gospels recounting the inception of the Lord’s Supper. The emphasis in John is different, however. It is speaking of the personal salvation of the sinner. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (Jn. 6:54). There is, then, in the remembrance of the Lord the reminder of the day when the sinner partook of Christ for salvation. It is a reminder of our spiritual birthday—ground zero of our Christian experience.
While it is our desire to contemplate the Savior, it is impossible, and not even desirable, to overlook the personal benefit of our salvation. This began when we took Christ into our lives, when we ate his flesh and drank his blood, when we received eternal life. With each remembrance of the Lord, we are reminded of our condition before and after salvation; we, therefore, worship with thanksgiving.
Strength Through Christ
A fourth level of symbolism is seen in the repetition of the Lord’s Supper. The ordinance of baptism is not repeated. The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is repeated corporately on a weekly basis and day by day in smaller settings (Acts 2:46). It is an often repeated meal. The Christian receives his strength from feeding on Christ. The remembrance of the Lord gives the believer the spiritual nourishment to live. A cluster of biblical expressions touch on this subject: abiding in Christ, walking with the Lord, being in fellowship with the Father and the Son, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [7] These flow out of the recurring acts of worship. The daily growth of the Christian life is symbolized by repeatedly taking of the bread and the cup.
The New Covenant
The most difficult level of symbolism revolves around the words, “the blood of the New Covenant”. The New Covenant is a Covenant made with Israel as recorded in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36. It refers to the Millennial Kingdom when Christ will reign supreme and the New Covenant will be the rule of life governing that era.
Church saints touch the New Covenant in an indirect way. As the death of Christ opens the way for Man to rule on the earth as God intended in original creation, it also provides for man’s salvation. The basis of the New Covenant, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, is also the basis for personal salvation. The Apostle Paul describes himself as a “minister of the New Covenant” (2 Cor. 3:6). The author of Hebrews describes the spiritual nature of the members of the Church in New Covenant terms (Heb. 8–10).
At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus stated: “For this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sin. But I say unto you, I will not drink, henceforth, of the fruit of this vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:28–29).
The New Covenant Kingdom will find Christ leading praise in the midst of the congregation (Psalm 22:22). What a glorious day it will be when we:
are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first born, who are written in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling (Heb 12:22–24).We remember the Lord until He comes, and we will remember the Lord in a more glorious way when he comes. He will drink the cup new with us in the kingdom.
There is, then, in worship the future look—till he come! The resurrection, the New Covenant era, will produce the greatest worship the earth has ever seen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
The New Covenant dimension of the Lord’s Supper projects the believer forward in his thinking to that time when Jesus will reign, and we as a kingdom of priests shall reign with him on the earth (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 5:10). As we remember the Lord in this age, we serve as priests preparing for our priestly service in the coming glorious reign of Christ!
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom spread from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more
From north to south the princes meet
To pay their homage at his feet.
While western empires own their Lord,
And savage tribes attend His word.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown his head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song.
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name. [8]
The Benefits Of The Worship Meeting: What It Does
It has already been mentioned that the worship meeting is not for our benefit; it is for God’s benefit. We bless God. But the double blessing of Ephesians 1:3 is also true:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.Some benefits are clear. The priority of God is fulfilled; He desires worshipers to come to Him in spirit and in truth. If God is in first place, all other priorities align themselves properly in our lives.
The love of Christ remains vital and fresh. There is no loss of first love for the true worshiper. A new view of Calvary and of the Savior draws us closer to Him every week.
The unity of the body is maintained. We are one at the foot of the cross as we ‘break bread together on our knees.” It is impossible to truly worship and to be at war with one another.
But beyond the personal and practical benefits of the remembrance meeting, there is a great theological benefit.
During my seminary days, I worked with other seminarians at a Dallas factory office complex. We were custodians! On one occasion I was engaged in a nighttime discussion which degenerated into an attack upon the Brethren movement. For a period I remained silent, but finally enough was enough. I responded with some questions:
Do any of your churches deny the deity of Christ? Do any question the inspiration of the Bible? Do any deny the substitutionary death of Christ? Do any doubt the miraculous?Being an honest representative of a main line denomination, the debater answered yes to each question. My final response was that I had never seen an Assembly that tolerated false teaching. The discussion ended. But my thoughts did not. Why is it true that our doctrine has remained pure and orthodox. Is it better teaching? More individual study? Perhaps so in the past, but hardly in the present!
Over the years I have concluded that the best theology we teach is not from the pulpit, but from the Breaking of Bread. There we learn about the Godhead and the attributes of deity. There we learn about the person and work of Christ. There we learn about the sinfulness of man. There we learn about our great salvation. There we learn about the coming of Christ. There we learn the vocabulary of the Bible: grace, mercy, redemption, propitiation, reconciliation, atonement, etc. There we learn the typology of the sacrifices. There we hear the psalms. There we worship!
The theology lessons are not theoretical; they are in the mode of worship. The participants are not professionals trained for worship. They are workmen, teachers, mechanics, salesmen; they are young men and fathers; they are newly saved and old in the faith; they are nervous and confident. They are ordinary Christians who through participation in the worship meeting have come to understand and love the cardinal doctrines of the Bible. Regular participation in the Lord’s Supper develops an instinct for correct theology. The Breaking of Bread properly practiced produces theologians. The remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ in an open, participative meeting is a safeguard against doctrinal error
Conclusion
We have a wonderful legacy that few Christians have enjoyed—a functioning priesthood in corporate worship. Instead of viewing the Lord’s Supper as a strange meeting, let us acknowledge the centrality of this meeting in our movement. Let us deliver this wonderful privilege to our evangelical friends. Let us teach our congregations to be worshippers in spirit and in truth.
Over the years I have met many brothers and sisters from an Assembly background who have identified with other sound evangelical churches. It is not long into the conversation before the statement is made: “I really miss the breaking of bread.” The difference in the Assembly movement is important. It is our reason to be!
A while ago I was driving home from Emmaus with my son, Jonathan, now a graduate of Emmaus and attending Dallas Seminary. We were talking about life in our Assembly. He said, “ Dad, I love the worship meeting. It’s the best of all meetings. I look forward to worshipping each week.” That was one of my highest thrills! How much more must God be thrilled when we worship in spirit and in truth.
But the hour cometh and now is when the worshipper shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23, 24Notes
- Dave Glock is Dean of Education at Emmaus Bible College.
- Anne Ross Cousin, “Immannuel’s Land,” in Hymns of Truth and Praise (Fort Dodge, Iowa: Gospel Perpetuating Fund, 1971), Hymn #85.
- W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Westwood, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1940), 4: 236.
- A. P. Gibbs, Worship: The Christian’s Highest Occupation, with a Forward by George M. Landis (Fort Dodge, Iowa: Walterick Printing Co., n.d.). The sources for the quotations are not given.
- Laurie Klein, “I Love You Lord,” in Praise: Maranatha Music Chorus Book (Costa Mesa: Maranatha! Music, 1983), Chorus #181.
- James G. Deck, “O Solemn Hour! O Hour Alone,” in Hymns of Worship and Remembrance (Kansas City: Gospel Perpetuating Publishers, 1960), Hymn #172.
- John 15:4; Gal. 5:25; 1 Jn. 1:3; 2 Pet. 3:18.
- Isaac Watts, “Jesus Shall Reign,” in Hymns of Truth and Praise, Hymn #196.
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