“Proper Worship”
1 Corinthians 11 - pt 11
Opening Illustration: This last week I have been watching the Olympics and I have noticed how important proper techniques and proper form is for the Olympic athletes. I saw it the diving, in gymnastics, in swimming and even in track and field. The experts would always point out how important it was for the athlete to keep their knees together in the diving, the importance of keeping proper form in their flips and twists. They pointed out the importance of having your head in the right position in swimming and even in running. I have as a result been able to observe what happens to athletes who do not keep the proper forms and it usually led to a fall or a missed maneuver and to a loss of a medal. As I have watched the games I noticed proper form, proper techniques, proper attitude, and proper skills where the deciding factor in whether a person won their event or not. Paying attention to details in the Olympics is crucial and becomes a determining factor to whether you win or lose. As important as it is for Olympic athletes to pay attention to proper procedures in their events Paul makes it clear it just as important to pay attention to proper procedures in the worship of god because others are watching and even heaven is watching.
Thesis: Proper procedures in worship do make a difference so we need to evaluate where our hearts and heads are as we worship the Lord.
Scripture Text: 1 Cor. 11
11:1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 11:2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you. 3Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. 6If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God. 17In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! 23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
Introduction:
When I went to research this chapter I soon discovered that no one liked to preach on the first 17 verses of this chapter. The content is very touchy and controversial but I do believe there are spiritual lessons for us to learn in these first seventeen verses. The subjects that Paul covers are labeled as cultural beliefs of the day but I really believe they go deeper than just the cultural and proper way to worship God. They really address the position of a person’s heart toward God and toward others in the act of worship.
As I ponder the subject proper worship – I often picture worship my way and in my style and within my cultural bias. Some when they think of worship think of Third Day, Toby Mac, Charlie Daniels Band, Randy Travis, and so on. All these individuals have worship albums out with totally different styles. Some like the Old hymns others the old chorus and even others the new hip hop worship songs. The truth is we all have cultural preferences and methodologies of worship but is one better than another? No not from my understanding of Scripture. What I see that counts and what Paul in this passage emphasizes it’s all about having the heart in the right place, the attitude in the right place and humility at the forefront.
Brad Hightower shares the following thoughts on proper worship from http://21stcenturyreformation.blogspot.com/2004/12/jesus-clear-theology-of-worship-part-1.html
In John 4 where Jesus articulates a “Clear Theology of Worship”.
In fact, Jesus as the great prophet, the one who proclaims the final word on right worship, has the exact antidote for the conflict in churches today over worship. Unity in the body of Christ can come if we take to heart Jesus’ teaching on the matter of worship. The need is to be convinced of some unifying principles so that we lay down our self-serving, myopic understandings of what is true worship. Jesus has just the word we need.
John 4
In John 4, while talking to the woman at the well, Jesus articulates a clear theology of worship that speaks directly to the conflicts that churches experience over the form and content of worship.
John 4:19The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 25The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us. 26Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
The context of this passage is so crucial to understanding the teaching of Jesus. The Samaritans were second class citizens in Jewish society. The Samaritans were unclean and the temple worship discriminated against them. The Samaritans were not allowed, in Jerusalem, to worship in the temple per se but were forced to worship with the money changers and the lambs in the outer court. Therefore, the Samaritans made way for a tradition of their own in order to avoid the shame of sitting in "the back of the bus" or the “coloreds balcony” in Jerusalem.
from this stance, the woman at the well asks, “Do I really have to worship in Jerusalem?”
Jesus’ answer is liberating….
…The Samaritan woman asked a common question. “Where does true worship happen? Ought we to worship here on this mountain or is the correct holy place of worship in Jerusalem?” Jesus, being the Son of God and great prophet, explains clearly where true worship takes place. Jesus’ answer is pretty clear:
21"Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit…”.
The place where worship takes place is in the spirit. True worship does not actually take place in a physical locality at all. The true place of worship takes place in one particular place, in our spirit. True worship doesn’t take place in a church. It can take place while I am in a church and sometimes, by the grace of God, it does. But the true specification of worship is that it only actually takes place in our spirit. Worship is a spiritual act…
In the previous chapter Paul addressed the divided Corinthian church on the subject of being ignorant to God’s demand that we as followers of Jesus adhere to holiness as a lifestyle and to a proper Christian code of conduct. Paul then progresses from chapter 10 into chapter 11 dealing with the sins and misconceptions that some in the Corinth church had toward God, toward each other and toward worship of God. Paul makes it clear to the believers in this church that proper attitude, techniques and behavior must be followed if we want God to accept our worship. We must worship God in Spirit and in truth! And this simply means that our head and heart need to be in tune to the Spirit of the Lord and to the Spirit of truth.
T.S. – I see three areas of focus on Paul in this chapter and we need to listen to what Paul is saying to them and to us today. He is teaching about worshipping God properly and this is done in Spirit and in Truth!
I. To properly worship God we must become like Jesus (11:1)
a. Paul says follow me as I follow the example of Jesus – Jesus was and is our role model when it comes to proper worship.
i. Paul knew this and he is stressing to this divided church the importance of them getting this truth implanted into their behavior and attitudes.
ii. People who really want their worship to be accepted by God must be like Jesus:
1. They must deny themselves
2. They must be servant leaders
3. They must follow the directions of God the Father
4. They must pray to Abba Father
5. They must be in tune to the Holy Spirit
6. They must love others as themselves
a. Video Illustrations from wingclips – From Shoes “Washing feet.”
7. They must forgive
iii. When we worship like Jesus then we worship the truth:
1. TRUE WORSHIP IS IN TRUTH: There are two worlds in which we live. There is temporal material world. It is a world which is passing, it is decaying turning to dust. Then there is the spiritual world. It is in the spiritual realm where true worship occurs, but there are two realities of the spiritual world. There is the kingdom of God and there is the kingdom of darkness. Jesus said our worship must be spiritual, but it must also be truth. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me" (Jn. 14:6). For our worship to be true, we must come by the cross. We can only come boldly to the throne of grace when we come by Jesus. True worship is build upon the foundation of truth which Jesus came to build the church upon. True worship is not built upon what flesh and blood hath revealed, but what the Father in His Son was revealing to the world. It is the truth that we cannot save ourselves. It is the truth that we need a Savior. It is the truth that Jesus is the way. It is the truth that will set us free. It is the truth of the Gospel which will liberate our spirits from the kingdom of darkness so that we will have the liberty to worship God. Spiritual worship without truth leads to emotionalism or even to occultism. Truth without spirit leads to ritualism, formalism and legalism. But when we worship in spirit and in truth, our worship is always fresh and it is always real. When we worship in spirit and truth, our worship is in the right place, with the right God at the right time, for the right reason.
a. The following quote is from http://www.trueworshippersofgod.com/
b. Wikipedia encyclopedia states this about the common abbreviation WWJD: The phrase "What would Jesus do?" (often abbreviated to WWJD) became popular in the United States in the 1890s and again in 1990s as a personal motto for thousands of Christians who used the phrase as a reminder of their belief that Jesus is the example to be followed in daily life, and to act in a manner of which Jesus would approve. The initialism WWJD is sometimes used by Christians to mean "Walk with Jesus daily".
i. History of the term: Though variations of this phrase have been used by Christians for centuries as a form of imitatio dei, the imitation of God, it gained much greater currency following Charles Sheldon’s 1896 book, In His Steps. Sheldon’s novel grew out of a series of sermons he delivered in his Congregationalist church in Topeka, Kansas. Unlike the previous nuances mentioned above, Sheldon’s theology was shaped by a commitment to Christian Socialism. The ethos of Sheldon’s approach to the Christian life was expressed in this phrase "What Would Jesus Do", with Jesus being a moral example rather than a Saviour figure. Sheldon’s ideas coalesced with those that formed into the Social Gospel espoused by Walter Rauschenbusch. Indeed Rauschenbusch acknowledged that his Social Gospel owed its inspiration directly to Sheldon’s novel, and Sheldon himself identified his own theology with the Social Gospel. In this popular novel (it had been translated into 21 languages by 1935), Rev. Henry Maxwell encounters a homeless man who challenges him to take seriously the imitation of Christ. The homeless man has difficulty understanding why, in his view, so many Christians ignore the poor:"I heard some people singing at a church prayer meeting the other night, ’All for Jesus, all for Jesus, All my being’s ransomed powers, All my thoughts, and all my doings, All my days, and all my hours.’ "and I kept wondering as I sat on the steps outside just what they meant by it. It seems to me there’s an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn’t exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out. I suppose I don’t understand. But what would Jesus do? Is that what you mean by following His steps? It seems to me sometimes as if the people in the big churches had good clothes and nice houses to live in, and money to spend for luxuries, and could go away on summer vacations and all that, while the people outside the churches, thousands of them, I mean, die in tenements, and walk the streets for jobs, and never have a piano or a picture in the house, and grow up in misery and drunkenness and sin." This leads to many of the novel’s characters asking, "What would Jesus do?" when faced with decisions of some importance. This has the effect of making the characters embrace more seriously Christianity and to focus on what they see as its core—the life of Christ. In the novel men and women respond in different ways: in contrast to the men who vow never to act without asking what Jesus would do, the women’s task is self sacrificial, for example a singer gives up her voice, both in the sense of yielding her singing to the cause and in the sense of silencing the individual expression of her personality.[1] In 2005, Garry Wills wrote "What Jesus Meant," in which he examined "What Would Jesus Really Do" (also a book review in Esquire Magazine). The expression has become a snowclone and inspired countless variations, usually for humorous effect.
c. On the website: http://whatwouldjesusdo.org/ Kevin stated the following:
i. So what would Jesus do if he were alive today? He would serve God, love others, help others, accept others, and teach others. You do not need endless quotes of scripture to know that. The FOUNDATION of the actions of Christ were in those five powerful ACTIONS:
1. Serve God
2. Love Others
3. Help Others
4. Accept Others
5. Teach Others
ii. Those are the things that Jesus would do. And you can do the same things today as you follow the model of Jesus!
T.S. – We need to follow the life and teachings of Jesus and act like Him if we want God to accept our acts of worship.
II. To properly worship the Lord we must have the right attitude in worship (4: 2-16).
a. Paul lays out the proper order of things in verse three showing that God does have a system of government.
i. He tells the church that we all submit to someone – Man to Jesus – Women to man and even Jesus to God.
ii. But we are all equal in God’s eyes – we all need to submit out of reverence for what Jesus did for us – we are all equal but we have different tasks to complete for the Kingdom of God.
iii. The Bible tells us that if you have seen Jesus you have seen God and that they are the same God but yet Jesus follows the leading of the father and submits to His will and way. So should the men in the church submit to Jesus and the women follow the lead of the men and submit to them as they follow Jesus.
iv. Paul was telling this church that this is not a free for all were certain people can do whatever they want in the church and in worship instead God has a proper order for how things are to be done in the church –especially in worship!
b. Paul instructs the Corinthian church on how to properly dress in this section but really he is saying worship is all about your attitude toward God and others.
i. In verses 4, 5 Paul stresses the importance of humility: The IVP Historical Background Commentary shares this thought: Prayer, humility—in Paul’s day humility was indicated in different ways for men and women. The men prayed with their heads uncovered to indicate reverence and respect. Women covered their heads to demonstrate modesty. Immodest women were immoral. The important factor in either case was humility. In public prayer people need to demonstrate humility before God.
1. Paul does address some cultural issues but once again it’s about the heart – the condition of the heart and the attitude on the individual in the act of worship.
a. Remember this church had attitude problems – they had dissension and division, they had mature Christians who were being stumbling blocks to the baby Christians and Paul says do it right with Humility!
c. The following is from Bible Knowledge Commentary instructing us on what Paul really means in these controversial verses of 2-16.
i. 11:7: Paul here begins an argument from the order of creation. He cannot be denying that women are also the image of God (Gen 1:27 plainly states that both male and female were created in God’s image). Perhaps he means that women’s uncovered heads are drawing men’s attention to humanity instead of to God; as one would say today, they were turning men’s heads.
ii. 11:8-9: According to Genesis 2:18 God created woman distinct from man partly so that man would no longer be alone; the phrase there translated “helper suitable” praises woman’s strength rather than subordinates her. (“helper” is used more often of God than of anyone else in the *Old Testament; “suitable” means “corresponding” or “appropriate to,” as an equal in contrast to the animals.) Woman was thus created because man needed her strength, not (as some have wrongly interpreted this verse) to be his servant.
iii. 11:10: Here Paul says literally, “she ought to have authority over her own head because of the angels”; Paul means that she should exercise wisely her right to decide whether to cover her head in a way that will honor her husband (11:8-9), given the situation with “the angels.” The “angels” have been interpreted as (1) the angels who (according to ancient Jewish interpretations of Gen 6:1-3) lusted after women and so fell; (2) the angels present in divine worship, who would be offended by a breach of propriety or affront to the husbands (cf. The *Dead Sea Scrolls); and (3) the angels who rule the nations but who will ultimately be subordinate to all believers, including these women (6:3; i.e., as a future ruler a Christian woman or man should exercise wise choices in the present, even regarding apparel).
iv. 11:11-12: Paul qualifies his preceding argument from creation (11:7-10); he wants to prove his case about head coverings, but nothing more. Women and men are mutually interdependent (cf. Also 7:2-5).
v. 11:10-11 - Revelation, angels—Paul tried to convince people of the awesome responsibility of worship and the need for submission to the authority and presence of God. The veiled woman indicates such humble posture. The angels who veil themselves before God with wings (Isa 6:2; Eze 1:11) are symbols of submission in God’s presence.
d. So as we have researched out this section of our chapter we see that humility is the attitude Paul is soliciting form the Corinthian church. He is not telling us today in America how to dress but he is telling us that we need to enter into worship with an attitude of humility toward God and toward one another.
i. Humility is a key factor in worship and if we approach God without it then we are not worshipping God!
ii. Video Illustration: Chris Tomlin on worship
T.S. – We all need to approach the time of worship to the Lord with an attitude of humility if we want the Lord to accept our worship. We need to have the right attitude and the right manners also.
III. Paul then moves on in this chapter to address the improper manners in participating in the Lord’s Supper (4:17-34).
a. This church was so divided that even when they came to remember the sacred ordinance of the Last Supper and Communion they came to the service –the meal with arrogance and self-centered behaviors. In other words they had no manners!
i. If you study the back drop of their worship of the Lord at their communal suppers you would discover that they meet in the well to do members home for the meal to remember Jesus sacrifice.
1. The church people would meet to recall Jesus sacrifice and they would tie that into the Jewish Passover meal symbolism.
2. The meal was strictly designed to give reverence to Jesus and to thank Him for His great sacrifice.
ii. But there was a problem they forgot the true meaning of the Lord’s Supper and looked at it as a buffet where it was grab a plate and eat until you cannot breathe anymore or keep your pants buttoned.
1. Illustration: Of a man stuffing himself with food!
2. The historical background comes into play here again because the Greek feasts that many of them attended where in honor of Greek idols and they would go to these feasts not to worship the idols but to drink the pop, beer, coffee – eat the steaks, brats, chips and to gorge themselves on the food and drink. It was time to buffet the body!
a. It was kind of like a tail gating party today!
3. They brought this same attitude into the Lord’s Supper and to the Jewish Passover meal!
4. Due to the improper manners and behaviors of the members at the feast other problems also arose;
a. The more wealthy people got the prime seats at the supper while the less to do group sat in another place knowing that they were seated in the inferior section of the worship service.
i. You could say that the Beverly Hills group got prime dining and the Blue Collar Detroit factory workers got the back row seating.
b. So at Communion we have prejudice actions taking place toward one another and division.
5. There arose another problem too – some of the Blue Collar heavy eaters would show up and eat all the food before the others got any.
a. They would go through the buffet line and take three plates of food and not leave any for anyone else.
b. It became every person for them self – it was eat first or get no food so it was indulge before the others arrive if you want to get any food!
6. There arose another problem too some came to the Lord’s Supper and got drunk.
iii. As you see this Communal Meal to honor the Lord Jesus was dishonoring his very name instead of honoring it.
1. There was a lack of reverence for Jesus and His great sacrifice and this church was filled with many self-centered, glutton’s, drunk, prideful, and prejudice people.
b. Bible Knowledge Commentary gives us some more insight into these verses:
i. 11:21-22: Some are treated more honorably than others at the meal, and this treatment reflects the status values of the world. See the introduction to this section.
ii. 11:27-29: “eating in an unworthy manner” here refers to the status-conscious eating that is dividing the *church (11:21-22). By rejecting other members of Christ’s body, the church (10:17), they also reject the saving gift of his body represented by the bread (11:24).
iii. 11:30-34: Jewish teachers stressed that in this world god punished the righteous for their few sins, but in the world to come he would punish the wicked for their many sins; thus Jewish teachers believed that suffering could free one from later punishment. Paul agrees at least that suffering can be the lord’s discipline; the idea here may be that those who do not embrace other members of the *church no longer receive healing through the church (12:9).
c. Paul instruct this church on proper worship at the Lord’s Supper basically rebuking all of them and telling them that they better examine their hearts before participating in the Lord’s Communal Supper.
i. If they come to the table with these types of behaviors and attitudes then that condemning themselves before Jesus and disrespect the Lord Jesus sacrifice.
ii. They need to examine their hearts and see to it that they are in a humble state.
iii. They need to have reverence for Communion - Meaning of the word reverence and communion:
1. REVERENCE Respect or honor paid to a worthy object. In Scripture, reverence is paid: to father and mother (Lev. 19:3; Heb. 12:9); to God (1 Kings 18:3, 12; Heb. 12:28); to God’s sanctuary (Lev. 19:30; 26:2); and to God’s commandments (Ps. 119:48). The failure to revere God (Deut. 32:51) and the act of revering other gods (Judg. 6:10) have dire consequences. Reverence for Christ is expressed in mutual submission within the Christian community (Eph. 5:21). Christian persecution takes on new meaning as suffering becomes an opportunity for revering Christ (1 Pet. 3:14-15) (From Holman Bible Dictionary).
2. COMMUNION Paul’s term describing the nature of the Lord’s Supper and thus the term used by many church groups to refer to their celebration of Jesus’ final, memorial supper with His disciples. Paul used the Greek term koinonia to express the basic meaning of the Christian faith, a sharing in the life and death of Christ which radically creates a relationship of Christ and the believer and of the believers with one another in a partnership or unity. See Fellowship; Lord’s Supper.
a. Today I ask the same question I have been asking you over the last few weeks, “How many want revival?” If you raised your hand then here is what we need to do to use another key to unlock revival here at New Life.
Conclusion:
Today once again we are going to worship God by participating in the Lord’s Supper together and we need to remember that this is the greatest memorial service we will ever participate in. We need to make sure that we approach this worship service with humility, sincerity of heart, repentance, and reverence.
1. Communion looks back as a reminder of what Christ has done. It reminds us of the supernatural birth of Jesus and the sacrifice he made on the cross for us.
It’s about the reality and completeness of the cross- Max Lucado puts it well when he says, “And as the hands of Jesus opened for the nail, the doors of heaven opened for you”(35). He tells us that the message of Jesus on the cross is this, “I did it for you. I did it all for you” (151).
Hebrews 10:12, 14 “Christ offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins’ and “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (NRSV)
2. It speaks to the present and to the fact that Jesus is still with us!
It is a symbol of our unity and reminds us who we are to be living for in this life. It reminds us to keep our eyes on Him. It tells us that He is who he said He was and is. We can trust Him today with our lives.
3. Communion points to the future and to the truth that Jesus is coming back soon.
We proclaim His death until He comes again. It points to our complete redemption and glorification in Heaven before the Great White Throne. One day we will meet Jesus face to face.
Communion: Play music in the background – have people come forward when ready, challenge them to spend time at the altar with the Lord!
