Assemblies in the 1st Century
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I’ve Been Really Interested in this Topic for Quite Some Time Now
I’ve Been Studying the NT…
And Reading Several Books…
About the History of the Christian Assembly
The Sole Reason that I’m Interested in this Topic…
Is Because I Am Very Passionate about Practicing Christianity…
The Way Jesus & His Apostles Intended for it to Be Practiced
Over the Past Year of Studying on this Topic…
I’ve Become Aware that Our Assemblies Today…
Look Considerably Different than the Assemblies of the 1st Century Church
Now, that’s Not Necessarily a Problem
Of Course We’re Not Going to Look Just Like…
The 1st Century Churches of the Middle East
But, are Our Differences Simply Historical & Cultural…
Or is it Possible that 2000 Years’ Worth…
Of Man-Made Beliefs, Traditions, & Practices…
Can Completely Transform the Design & Purpose of the Assembly?
The Purpose of this Study is to Answer These 3 Questions:
How Do Our Assemblies Differ from the Assemblies of the 1st Century?
What Led to These Changes?
What, if Anything, should We Do about it?
What Does the Bible Say about the Assembly?
Hebrews 10:23–25 (NASB95)
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
30 So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
Acts 11:26 (NASB95)
26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
(1 Cor 14)
What Did Christians Do When They Gathered Together?
What was the Purpose of the Gathering?
Worship Service?
To Be with God?
To Be with Each Other?
What could We Do to Make Our Gatherings More like the 1st Century Gatherings?
Alexander Campbell’s Ideal Assembly:
Call to worship by the “president”
Congregational singing
Reading from a gospel
Prayer (with whole congregation answering “amen”)
Reading from an epistle
Congregational singing
Members sit around a table (“strangers sat off on seats more remote”)
President offers exhortation
Thanks for the one loaf
Raised, broke and distributed the Loaf
Thanks for the cup
Raised the cup and then handed the cup to be passed around
President calls upon members to remember the poor
Prayer (kneeling)
Contribution (fellowship)
Invitation to all men to exhort or teach or read Scripture
Congregational singing
Apostolic benediction
The table was so central for Campbell that when he described his ideal “meeting-house” he substituted the table for the pulpit. His “meeting-house” would have no pulpit, but “the Lord’s table and the seats for the elders of the congregation” would “be at the remote end, opposite to the entrance” and the disciples would be placed “immediately contiguous to the Lord’s table.”The table-centeredness of the Stone-Campbell Movement became a distinctive of the tradition. “Gathering around the table” was common—not just as a metaphor, but also as physical presence around a table. When Moses Lard described his ideal church, the table extended “entirely across the house” as everyone gathered around the table and partook standing as a sign of reverence.
The function of the Word was to instruct the people of God how to live in a way worthy of the gospel. The emphasis on the Word did not take the form of a homily. Rather, the Word was taught through extended readings, lengthy teaching, exhortations and mutual edification. It was not limited to one person nor were Scripture readings mere sermon texts. Campbell objected to the common practice of hearing “scraps of the sacred volume.” Instead, the “weekly concern in the public assemblies” should be the “development” of “pious” stu- dents of the Word.The assembly must be the “school of Christ,” as Thomas Campbell called it.37
However, “preaching” for Campbell was the function of evangelists who work among unbelievers—preaching is evangelistic. It does not belong in the “public worship” of the church. However, by the end of the nineteenth century “preaching to the church” was common practice.