In this message we shall consider the way to practice the home meetings. The way to practice any meeting is to have first, mutuality, and second, speaking. These two things are very useful and prevailing in practicing any meeting.
Due to the history of Christianity nearly all Christians today, including us, are not used to having mutuality in their meetings. Mostly in the so-called Christian services we see that one or two persons speak and the rest are just the audience. This is altogether not according to the scriptural teaching.
In the New Testament there are two main categories of Christian meetings. The first one is the meeting of the ministry, the meeting of the apostles, the meeting of any gifted persons such as Peter on the day of Pentecost. The meeting on the day of Pentecost was a meeting for the ministry. This kind of meeting cannot be considered as a meeting of the church and in the church. On the other hand, when 1 Corinthians 14 speaks of the meeting, it is referring to the meeting of the church and in the church. Verse 23 says, “If therefore the whole church comes together...” This is the meeting of the church and in the church. When we speak of the home meetings, we are surely referring to the meetings in the church and the meetings of the church.
In the preaching or teaching of the meeting of the ministry, there is not much mutuality and not much speaking one to another. But according to 1 Corinthians 14, in the church meetings there is the basic need, the basic factor of mutuality. First Corinthians 14:23 says, “If therefore the whole church comes together...” Then verse 26 says that in this kind of meeting “each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.” This shows us that the meeting of the church and in the church depends upon mutuality. There is always the feeling of one to another.
We must keep it well in mind that the home meetings surely are not meetings of any ministry. The home meetings are absolutely the meetings of the church and in the church. They depend one hundred percent upon mutuality. If there is no mutuality, there is no home meeting. To have a home meeting without mutuality causes that home meeting to lose its nature; it would not be a home meeting of the church. It might still be a home meeting but only of a small ministry where one speaks while all the rest listen. A speaker would be there with a small audience, but there would be no mutuality. First Corinthians 14 is the unique chapter in Paul’s writings that teaches us something about the church meetings. In this unique chapter there is the basic factor of mutuality.
The second factor needed for the church meetings is speaking. If nobody speaks, that kills the church meeting. The lack of speaking kills the church meeting. The church meeting depends upon mutuality and speaking. The Scripture references for this message provide a base to fellowship concerning these two factors.
Acts 5:42 says, “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and bringing the good news of Jesus as the Christ.” This took place at the very beginning of the church life, following the day of Pentecost. After the thousands of new believers were saved, they met in the temple. The meeting in the temple was for the ministry, for Peter and John to minister, to speak, to preach, and to teach. Then verse 42 goes on to say that they met from house to house, in every house. What did they do there? They met to teach and to preach. No doubt they were teaching Christ, teaching the things concerning Christ. On the day of Pentecost after Peter’s preaching, three thousand were saved and right away began to meet. Surely they did not talk about the Jewish religion. They surely talked about what they had heard in Peter’s one message. They taught and they preached. They preached Jesus Christ as the glad tidings. In their meetings these two things were done; both involve speaking. To teach is to speak, and to preach is also to speak.