The Gathering by the Bay - Two Gatherings

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Why Two Gatherings?

The Locations: House Gathering and the Public Gathering

The early church often met publicly as well as in private homes. In Jerusalem the public meeting place was the temple until persecution broke out. In good times and bad, the church always met in homes. Paul, as he traveled in the Greco-Roman world, often taught in public settings as well as in homes.

Acts 2:46 "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts"
Acts 5:42 "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."
Acts 20:20 "You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house."
Acts 19:8-10 "But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord."
Colossians 4:15 "Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house."

Participatory Body Life Ministry: The House Church Setting

When the church gathered together, ministry was to one another. Everyone was to come and contribute something to the gathering. The different elements of the church gathering included worship, teaching, prophecy, tongues, prayer, sharing together, fellowship, eating together, and evangelism. The House Church gathering, in particular, was to represent Body Life, with all the different gifts of the Body being expressed. Some of the verses illustrating these relationships are as follows:

Worship, Teaching, Prophetic Revelation, Tongues:

1 Cor 14:26-31 "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged."

Eating and Drinking, Worship

Eph 5:18-21 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Teaching, Encouragement, Worship

Col 3:15-17 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Teaching and Evangelism

Acts 5:42 "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."

Teaching, Fellowship, Eating, Lord's Supper, Prayer, Sharing, Worship

Acts 2:42-47 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Spirit Led Ministry: Expressing All the Gifts

Paul details in 1 Cor 11-14 how the church was to operate when it gathered. He spends three chapters in particular (12-14) teaching about how the gifts are to be expressed in an orderly fashion so that the body is built up. He concludes this section by saying, 1 Cor 14:39-40 "Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." That is very similar to his admonition to the Thessalonians when he says, 1 Thess. 5:19-22 "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."

Paul recognizes that the use of the spiritual gifts can at times be unruly and messy. However, instead of forbidding their use, like many churches today, he gives instructions how they are to be used in an appropriate manner. The "house gathering" in particular, provides a great opportunity for believers to be exercising their gifts in an orderly manner in order to build one another up on a regular basis.

Large Group Public Setting: Teaching and Preaching in the Temple Courts

When the church gathered together in the large group setting, it appears a main focus of their gathering was to hear the apostle's teaching. Both teaching and proclamation (evangelism) seemed to be well suited for that setting.

Acts 5:42 "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."
Acts 20:20 "You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house."

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