Does it make any difference when the Lord’s Supper is observed during the worship service? Acts 20:7 States that the disciples came together for the purpose of breaking bread and Paul preached to them. 1st Corinthians 14:40 states “let all things be done decently and in order.” Since the early disciples took communion before preaching, should communion be observed prior to preaching or does make any difference? ~ Garland Hankins
The statement, “Since the early disciples took communion before preaching…” does not necessarily represent a brotherhood-wide practice in the first century, and it does not necessarily even represent what occurred in Acts 20:7. We can presume that since Paul’s preaching concluded when Eutychus fell out the window, and that since the stated reason for the assembly was for observance of the Lord’s Supper, the Communion was observed on this occasion at that place prior to the preaching with which the service concluded. Yet, we cannot know for sure whether any instruction (preaching) preceded the taking of the Lord’s Supper, too.
In addition, there are five acts of worship identified in various New Testament passages, three besides the Lord’s Supper and preaching. If the sequence in which they must occur is important, where is the instruction in the New Testament regarding the relationship of the Lord’s Supper, preaching, prayer, singing and the contribution to each other? In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, the occasion for the assembly upon the first day of the week (in language nearly identical to Acts 20:7), the Lord’s Supper is not mentioned, but instead giving is addressed.
The Greek word taxis from which we get the word “order” in 1 Corinthians 14:40 appears nine times in eight verses in the New Testament. In each instance, it is translated “order” (KJV). However, the meaning varies somewhat depending upon the context in which it appears. For instance, six of the nine occasions refer to the priestly order or group of priests (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11, 17). In Colossians 2:5, the apostle Paul commended the deportment of Christians in Colossae, and with the word “order,” he referred essentially to their orderliness. Luke 1:8 uses the word “order” to refer to the succession or sequence of or when it was the turn of Zacharias to perform his priestly duties. Then, there is the occasion in 1 Corinthians 14:40 under consideration; does it refer to orderliness here or does it refer to a fixed sequence in which the Lord’s Supper is to be observed relative to other acts of worship?
Of Paul’s reference in Colossians 2:5, Wuest wrote: “Order” is taxis …a military term speaking of an orderly array of soldiers.” The context of 1 Corinthians 14 pertains to bringing orderliness to the chaotic assemblies of the first century church of Christ assembling in Corinth. The assembly was disrupted with people talking over each other as multiple persons spoke simultaneously. The disorder of what they were doing included women speaking in the assembly, too. Therefore, the apostle Paul instructed the church to bring their assemblies to order. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33). The apostle summarized the training that he had pronounced in the chapter with 1 Corinthians 14:40. “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
From these foregoing considerations, 1 Corinthians 14:40 does not specify a sequence of worshipful acts, but rather, it teaches order in place of chaos. Acts 20:7, especially when considered with other acts of worship about which one can read in numerous New Testament passages, does little more than identify two acts of worship that occurred on the Lord’s Day in the Christian assembly, and other passages identify three additional acts of worship. The most one could say about the Lord’s Supper compared with preaching from Acts 20:7 is that there is a warranted emphasis on observing the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week.
It is good to inspect our practices in view of what the Scriptures teach. We need to establish biblical precedents for what we believe, practice and teach in religion. Yet, mankind is given to extremes on all subjects, and often we find ourselves in the church trying too hard or not trying hard enough to follow biblical instruction. We need a biblical balance that curbs us from making either too much or too little of what we read in the New Testament. Our goal ought to be that we understand what the original auditors of the New Testament as it was spoken and written were expected to understand and apply that contemporarily.
Works Cited
Wuest, K. S. “Col 2:5.” Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
