TRUE AND ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP

I Cor. 14:15 ... "What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the spirit, and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit, and I shall sing with the mind also."

      One of the supernatural gifts conferred upon certain members in the church in Corinth was the ability to speak in tongues. The purpose of this gift was to bridge the language gap, so that a Christian preacher or teacher could readily convey the gospel message to someone in his own language. That is, the "tongues" were languages then spoken by nations or ethnic groups somewhere on earth. The gift of tongues was the ability from God to speak in those languages without the long, difficult process of learning them. It was not what it is often taken today to be, an incoherent babble expressed by someone in a highly emotional state.

      To a great extent the members in Corinth were abusing this gift. Rather than use it to its intended purpose, they were making vain and proud displays of it in their worship services. In this chapter Paul rebuked them for this excess and pointed them toward the proper, controlled use. He limited those who spoke in tongues at a given assembly to two or three, and then in succession, (v.27). Furthermore, no one could speak in tongues unless someone who could interpret was present, so that the audience would know what was being said, (vs.27-28). The net result of the tongues, as with all other gifts, was to be the edification of the church, (v.5), through a full understanding of what was being taught, (v.19). This would be accomplished only when "all things (were) done properly and in an orderly manner," (v.40).

      It is in this context that Paul makes the statement in I Cor. 14:15. In fact, he is repeating the word of Christ in Jno. 4:24, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." To worship God "in spirit" is the opposite of worshiping Him in a merely physical way. In Acts 17:24-25 the apostle declared that God "does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands." The attempt to worship God with manual activity is vain.  The object of worship is to praise, glorify, and please God, and only He knows what will do that.  It is not human prerogative to employ any manual activity because it seems good, majestic and beautiful in sight or sound.  Christian worship must be restricted to what the New Testament reveals to us the early Christians did as they were instructed by the inspired apostles.  This is what it means to worship God "in truth."  There are five activities of worship revealed in the New Testament: singing (Eph. 5:19), praying (I Tim. 2:1), observing the Lord's Supper (I Cor. 11:23-29), monetary offering (I Cor. 16:2), and preaching / teaching (II Tim.4:2). In this brief article there is not sufficient space to cover all the particulars about how we are to sing, pray, observe the Lord's Supper, give, and preach / teach.

      In I Cor. 14:15, however, Paul emphasizes them with special reference to singing and praying. In the case of each the worshiper must engage with "understanding" and with "spirit." These terms relate to Jesus' requirements of "in truth" and "in spirit" in Jno. 4:24. They require us to respond to the plan of worship specified by God with a keen mind focused upon what we are doing and why we are doing it. It is possible to perform these acts of worship, which we have reduced to a routine through long repetition, with no conscious thought involved. One can sing "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" without missing a word or note, and never once think about the crucifixion of our Lord. One may eat the Lord's Supper while he mentally reviews yesterday's football game. Worship performed by habit, without meditation and discernment, is vain because it is not "in spirit" or "with understanding." How much of our worship is vain? How much affronts God rather than praises, petitions, and pleases Him? True and acceptable worship demands mental discipline which comes only through determination, concentration, and the awareness that God is real and always present.