The purpose of meeting together as a church is not to ‘perform a service’, but to encourage and challenge one another to stay true to the faith and to be his family in a world that challenges our faith at every turn (see part 1).
This global pandemic is forcing us to rethink church. I believe this is an opportunity to take a fresh look at the scriptures and rethink church in light of New Testament principles. As restrictions change many are beginning to talk about going back to church. But I wonder... if all we had was the New Testament, no church tradition or experience to follow but just the New Testament teaching, what would our gatherings be like?
This global pandemic is forcing us to rethink church. I believe this is an opportunity to take a fresh look at the scriptures and rethink church in light of New Testament principles. As restrictions change many are beginning to talk about going back to church. But I wonder... if all we had was the New Testament, no church tradition or experience to follow but just the New Testament teaching, what would our gatherings be like?
The modern church often overlooks the significance of the instructions Jesus left us before his death and resurrection about meeting together as a church.
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." (1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV)
When Jesus gave these instructions he was eating the Passover meal with his disciples. The Passover meal was put in place by God to serve as a reminder of how God saved his people from slavery in Egypt. It was meant to remind them of their identity as his rescued people and their covenant relationship with God and each other as the Nation Israel. Jesus is simply instituting a new meal for his church. A meal to remind us of our identity as his people and the new covenant relationship we have with God and each other through faith in Jesus!
The meal has three parts: The Bread, The meal itself, and the Wine (Cup). It celebrates the fact that Jesus has freed us from the power of sin and death through his sacrifice on the cross. We are forgiven and accepted as family, who belong to God’s kingdom based on his work on the cross, not by our work or performance of any ritual or good deed. He has bought us with his own body and blood. The problem is, this New Covenant relationship is so incredible and so opposite to the way the rest of the world thinks that even after placing our faith in Jesus we struggle to think and live like it is true! So Jesus says to his church when you get together, ‘Do this to remember me’
It is clear from this passage that it is not just the bread and the wine but the whole gathering that is meant to be a symbol or illustration of the good news. Paul is warning and correcting the Corinthian church here because their church gathering no longer remembers and proclaims the Good News! They are meeting for a meal but the meal has become unworthy specifically because they are not ‘discerning the body’(11:29). He says nothing about discerning the blood or the cup. Why? Because he is talking about the body of Christ - the church. Their eating of the meal disrespects what the meal represents. Their meal excludes the needy and favours those who already have too much. At their meal one goes hungry the other gets drunk (11:21). Paul asks, “do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?” (11:22). When the New Testament churches met the Gospel message wasn’t just something they listened to it was something they participated in as they welcomed guests, shared their food, forgave their brother, and served one another at the table.
Historical research affirms that the early church didn’t meet in rows facing a pulpit, they met around the table. This doesn’t mean teaching wasn’t important, or that pulpits were never used. It says they devoted themselves to the Apostles Teaching (Acts 2:42). In fact, at one of their meetings in Acts 20, Paul lost track of time and spoke to the church till midnight! So teaching was key and vital but this same meeting in Acts 20 is introduced by the phrase, ‘when we were gathered together to break bread’ (v7). And these gatherings were hosted primarily in homes, which means they were relatively small-simple gatherings. In Acts 20 it is the upper room of a house. In a city like Corinth or Ephesus, the whole church didn’t meet all together in the same place all the time. The church would have more typically met on the same day, most likely Sunday, but in different homes. They had Multiple gatherings in various homes yet they were still one, and sometimes they all met together. The early church didn’t meet in rows before a pulpit, they met around the table to remember and proclaim Jesus as they ate together in each host-home.
What bound the first believers together as brothers and sisters of one church? What was the focus of their meetings together? It wasn’t their race or social class. It wasn’t a specific age group or culture. It wasn’t always meeting together in the same room, or always hearing the same sermon at the same time. Instead, they were united together by the body and blood, symbols of the Lord himself who was considered present at every table in every host-home.
The Lord’s Supper and the good news it represents was understood as the basic framework for gathering together in the New Testament church. While these gatherings were quite different from what we call a ‘Service’ no one would suggest they were not official legitimate church meetings. In fact, their testimony serves as an example for us. The truth is their gatherings were far more centred on Jesus and the Good News than many typical church services are today!
If the whole format of a New Testament church gathering was built around a shared meal, why can't we use a similar framework today? This pandemic will restrict our meeting together in a large group for a long time. The Lord’s Table and the example of the New Testament church offer us a framework for continuing to gather as one church in smaller groups that collectively remember and proclaim Jesus together as one. Sure, sharing a meal poses challenges in a COVID-19 world but a small group gathering over zoom (or even meeting in person while maintaining a distance) where we eat our own take out food and remember Jesus together is very doable. Even if a meal is not possible, meeting in a similar interactive format and using the symbols of bread and wine could go a long way toward unifying and building up the church!
While many of us are used to meeting in front of the pulpit, meeting around the table is both true to the New Testament and an effective way to keep our focus on the Gospel and build unity across our whole church.
Some questions to consider:
- What do churches typically rely on to gather the church together today? How have these things changed the shape and focus of our gatherings compared to the New Testament Churches?
- How might using the Lord’s Table as a framework for meeting together today impact the unity and focus of churches today? How might meeting in smaller groups around the table facilitate fellowship, participation in worship, prayer, one another care etc.?
- Is there a correlation between the resilience of the early church in a hostile culture and their simple meetings around the table?
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