The church assembly was not man’s idea. The activities we engage in when gathered as a body of God’s people are not the product of human design. The assembly in every aspect belongs to God. He purchased it with His own blood (Acts 20:28). He established Christ as head over all things to the church (Eph 1:22-23). Everything we do as a local assembly must be determined by divine authority.
Thus, when we gather together, we are not coming for our own personal pleasure and fulfillment, but for the pleasure of our Master and King. The question we must ask is not how enjoyable our service was to those sitting in the pews, but how enjoyable it was for the one sitting upon the throne of heaven. It is His purposes that we must seek to fulfill, not our own.
Why does God want us to gather together? For what purpose has He designed the assembly? If we don’t have a clear answer to these questions in our minds, any further study will be pointless. We cannot effectively discuss how to improve our assemblies if we haven’t identified the goals for which we are aiming. We must first determine exactly what God desires of our assemblies, then we can align every aspect of our service to fulfill His purposes.
First and foremost, the worship assembly has always been an opportunity to praise and honor the Lord. Even in the Old Testament, God’s people would often gather to express their thanksgiving and acknowledge the greatness of His glory together. David wrote to the Lord, “I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Ps 22:22). While the Israelites often expressed their devotion to the Lord by animal sacrifices, today we are commanded to “offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name” (Heb 13:15). In discussing the gatherings of the New Testament church, Paul gave instructions about singing and praying as two forms of “blessing” or “giving thanks” to the Lord in our assemblies (1 Cor 14:14-19).
Still, there is a reason God commanded for worship to be a collective and not merely individual activity. We must not only make sure we are “giving thanks well”, but that we are edifying each other effectively (1 Cor 14:17). Paul commanded the church at Corinth, “When you assemble… Let all things be done for edification” (1 Cor 14:26). Every prayer, song, sermon, or communion meal is aimed to build us up spiritually, motivate us, and encourage us in our service to the Lord. We are commanded not to forsake the assembly, but instead to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24-25).
It must be recognized that the focus here is firstly upon others and not ourselves. Our purpose is not just to be personally built up, but to be a source of encouragement for someone else. Every individual member has a role to fulfill and a work to do in order for the body to grow (Eph 4:16). That purpose must be at the forefront of our minds when we assemble.
Furthermore, our goal is not simply a “feel good” spiritual experience. Genuine edification is not a superficial emotional activity. Being stimulated to good works must include being “equipped for every good work”, and this will involve “teaching”, “reproof”, “correction”, and “training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16-17). While the fires of zeal should be stirred in our assemblies, this emotion must be accompanied by the sober maturity of knowledge (Rom 10:2). We must engage both our spirit and our mind, our emotions and our rationality, in every aspect of our assemblies (1 Cor 14:14-15).
In conclusion, the assembly is not whatever we want it to be. God designed the assembly and He has defined what our purpose must be when we gather together. We do not assemble simply for our own social or emotional fulfillment. We do not come together to be entertained. We assemble to honor and worship the Lord. We gather to spiritually stir up and build up the body of Christ. Ultimately, we assemble that God may be glorified. Every aspect of our assembly must be aligned to the fulfillment of that purpose.