Steve,
Thanks for your reply, brother. You have raised some interesting points. You wrote:
It is fairly foreign to me to think of "worship" as something primarily associated with official gatherings. In light of passages like Matthew 9:13; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 13:16 and 1 Corinthians 10:31, I have always thought that every act of every day was to be offered up as worship to God ("an acceptable sacrifice").
To which I agree. Helping widows and orphans is as much worship as anything we do.
And you wrote:
What is done in a formal meeting plays a very small role in my worship/life. If I listen to, play, or sing along with instrumental music in my home or my car, it is all the same as doing the same in a "steeple house." I know of no biblical principles that would render such things more appropriate in one place than in another.
I agree that the "steeple house" is irrelevant, however, it seems to me there is a significant difference in being alone and being gathered together in Jesus name, in the assembly or "in church". That difference being the presence of the Lord.
It would appear that God's presence occurs in at least three ways. First, there is His omnipresence. He is present in all times and all places in some sense. Secondly, He dwells in believers through His Spirit. And Thirdly, He is present in a special way among His gathered people. Jesus gave a strong hint of this in Matthew 18:20:
Matthew 18:20 (New King James Version)
20. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
It must be admitted that the context is church discipline, the passage has been misused, but at least it is a strong hint. Then consider:
1 Corinthians 3:9-16 (New King James Version)
9. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13. each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Paul's reference to the temple here is to the church, or assembly. And God dwelt in the temple in the Old Testament in a special way. Jesus referred to the temple as "my Father's house".
In the Old Testament God's presence was experienced in the assembly of His people:
Psalm 95:1-3 (New King James Version)
1. Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3. For the LORD is the great God,
And the great King above all gods
Psalm 96:8-9 (New King James Version)
8. Give to the LORD the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth
Psalm 98:5-6 (New King James Version)
5. Sing to the LORD with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
6. With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
Psalm 100:2 (New King James Version)
2. Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Leviticus 9 (New King James Version)
1. It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2. And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. 3. And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, 4. also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD will appear to you.’”5. So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. 6. Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you.” 7. And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.” 8. Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9. Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar. 10. But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 11. The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp. 12. And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar. 13. Then they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar. 14. And he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar. 15. Then he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one. 16. And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner. 17. Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning. 18. He also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar, 19. and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver; 20. and they put the fat on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the altar; 21. but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded. 22. Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. 23. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, 24. and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Now I admit that this scriptures cited (there are no doubt many others) may not be seen as proof of God's special presence when His people assemble, but it would seem to me to be much more difficult to prove otherwise. And who would argue that Israel enjoyed a greater priviledge than the church?
In the passage in 1 Corinthians regarding head coverings there is at least a hint that angels are observing in some manner. And why is Paul concerned if not for the presence of God in some sense?
And you also wrote:
Of course, in a public meeting (or any public place) I may not do everything that I may do in the privacy of my home, since a public venue involves me in the duty of showing consideration to others present.
And what if the "others present" includes The Lord? Would we act any differently if we really believed He was present in some special sense? If church is only for our edification, as some have claimed, is God merely a spectator, as many have become, as church is practiced today?
And if all of life is worship before the Lord, what is the purpose of the assembly? If God does not meet with His people in some special way then church would seem to be no more than a gathering of individuals for mutual benefit.
You may have guessed, in reading "Pagan Christianity" and "A Gathered People" I have become even more concerned regarding how church is done.
Comments from anyone appreciated!