Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: worship

“O altar, altar! place of slaughter, place of worship
And behold, a man of God .. cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord:

1 Kings 13:1-2 excerpt NKJV

Are you going to listen?

So SEVERE the message! And who is this anonymous Prophet? (I’ve never heard of him — and we’re in a church gathering after all..) Who is this man approaching the King?

WE worship a King and Priest with his own hill and altar of worship and praise of the People.

Will we hear God’s Voice through the true Prophet of the Almighty?

An Altar of Stone on the Stage of Worship

Surround it with towering Common Era walls of glass — or even a city built for worship of every ancient saint and yet another elevated arch–episkopos —

Stand over it and hold up so many sacrifices of the people,, stained with the Blood of unseen sins.. proclaiming the Altar on your stage for ‘Him‘ as Priest of Aaron and King over all your people..

And so.. you people gathered for a week’s sprinkling of grace.. a people of amplified praise of prepositional paraphrased worship.. have you who praise him as king who thank him as priest.. DO YOU hear the Prophet who rejects the Blood of your every sacrifice?

Prophet, Priest and King
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It's an ancient and little-noticed scenario of the present .. that of the specific roles of mortal men (yes, men) anointed as intercessors on behalf of those they lead in worship and in an ever-so-brief life in the flesh and blood of the created. 
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Have you heard this Scripture in your worship?

NOTE the roles of those involved:

1 Kings 13:

‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”

1 Kings 13:2b NKJV
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IF you know this Scripture you will realize that I have intentionally omitted some of this introduction in order to focus on its participants. 

You most likely know that Josiah became a young King of Judah, right? 
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A Hebrew view of Scripture

Although you may recall a more famous Prophet from the book of First Kings, like me you may have wondered why the Christian Bible includes 1 & 2 Kings as O.T. History and not with the Prophets (who lived during these same historic times).

Old Testament [source]

Take a quick Jewish look back at a fallen and broken Kingdom of David.

Without noting Scriptures pointing to named authors of God’s written word in the Hebrew list of Nevi’im (Prophets) the Tanakh includes Joshua (the General of Moses), Judges, Samuel (a Priest of the God) and Kings with the former Prophets BEFORE the Exile and other books (i.e. Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet) as Post-exilic Scriptures.

Lamentations of our past in a Lenten path forward

The LEADERSHIP ROLES of GOD’s Chosen peoples have changed over time — both Before Christ and in these last days of Christ’s Chosen Church.

Has man (anthrōpos) misrepresented the WRITTEN instruction of the LORD?

Here in 1 Kings we read one (of many) Scriptural examples and warnings to worshipers of God.

(Have you heard them?)

Kings in charge (or so they thought)
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Let's examine this Scripture (or Hebrew book of the Prophets) in terms of leadership roles and relationships. 
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And behold, [in] Bethel .. Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then [the man] cried out against the altar..

1 Kings 13:1-2 excerpt

To set the scene:
- Bethel בֵּית־אֵל
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Bethel was a royal city of the Canaanites (Joshua 12:16). It appears to have been captured by Joshua (8:7), and it was allotted to Benjamin (Joshua 18:22). 

To counteract the influence of Jerusalem as the national religious center Jeroboam embarked on the policy which won for him the unenviable reputation of having "made Israel to sin." Here he erected a temple, set up an image, the golden calf, and established an imposing ritual. It became the royal sanctuary and the religious center of his kingdom.
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source
- Jeroboam יָרָבְעָם
The LORD brought Israel to ruin before Judah. The decline began from the first kings of each divided nation AND the LORD sent prophets to them again and again.

Israel’s Rebellion
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READ more (from 1 Kings 12) for the context of the LORD's curse against the altar of Jeroboam. 

And do not presume, O divided Nation of this Common Era, that WE are so free from the judgement of the Lord our God.
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So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
12:19 וַיִּפְשְׁעוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּבֵית דָּוִד עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ ס
- Shemaiah
But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God..

” Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.
- Jeroboam
12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there…

31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

Jeroboam ordained a feast .. like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar.

So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made.

And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made…

So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel .. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.

1 Kings 12:33 NKJV excerpt

a Prophet from Judah
- a man of God
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Returning to 1 Kings 13 and the cursed altar where we began don't miss that an unnamed Prophet delivers this key message from the LORD.
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13:1 וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ אֱלֹהִים בָּא מִיהוּדָה בִּדְבַר יְהוָה אֶל־בֵּית־אֵל וְיָרָבְעָם עֹמֵד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְטִיר׃

And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord:

‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”

3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!”

Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.

The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

1 Kings 13:5 NKJV – more

6Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.”

So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before. Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
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Who with ears to hear does not tremble at this outcome spoken by the 'man of God' - an unnamed Prophet hearing the KING order his arrest; and yet a son of man healing the outstretched arm of Israel's King and self-appointed Priest? 

But have you even heard of such a thing in YOUR contemporary evangelical house of worship? 
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Before Christ in Gethsemane

אֱלֹהִים

And behold, a man of God…

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17 NKJV –
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Jesus preached from 'the Law and the Prophets,' which includes both books of Kings. 
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He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

Matthew 12:9a,10a, 13 NKJV
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So could a man of God have healed Jeroboam's withered arm? Do you believe that JESUS could have instantly healed this man in the Synagogue? 
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Garden of Gethsemane

And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear… In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes,

“Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.

excerpt from Matthew 26 NKJV

“But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Gospel of Matthew 26:56 NKJV

a Common Era Contrition for Lent – Ash and dust

Lent 2025 C.E. – a time for contrition
March 20, 2025
If I.. How NOT to worship
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, …

Modern Translations of 1 Corinthians 13:1

And though I have .. so that I .., but have not love, I am nothing.

Classic Translations 1 Corinthians 13:2

and if I give away all .. and if I give up my body.., and do not have love, I am profited nothing.

Literal Translations `1 Corinthians 13:3

IF I – Paul’s conditional approach to God’s love & ours

WE worshipers typically overlook conditional statements where WE ought to evaluate and discern OUR own approach to Jesus Christ, worship and others in OUR church.

In fact, the Apostle’s entire first letter to the Corinthians seeks to heal divisions between factions of Corinthian saints of Christ by exposing the conditions of our spiritual refining in the Lord.

Before we get to OUR favorite part of Paul’s letter (so often emotionally recited over christian marriages), let’s look briefly at where the Apostle fits love into the overall themes of his instructive letter to the saints of Corinth.

First Corinthians overview

John MacArthur :: Bible Introductions – 1 Corinthians

This epistle was most likely written in the first half of A.D. 55 from Ephesus. His departure for Corinth was anticipated even as he wrote
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The Apostle Paul ministered  in Corinth for over a year and a half (Acts 18:11)
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Unable to fully break with the culture from which it came, the church at Corinth was exceptionally factional, showing its carnality and immaturity.

John MacArthur commentary

So far Paul has addressed:
- His Calling and Benefits of Sainthood for the Corinthians
- Disunity in the Church
- Immorality in the Church
- Marriage in the Church
- Liberty in the Church
Are ANY of these challenges for YOUR 21st c. Common Era christian CHURCH?

NOW (as MacArthur points out), the Apostle’s focus moves on to:

Worship in the Church (11:2–14:40)
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with focus on three separate, yet related points
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1. Roles of Men and Women in the Church
2. The Lord’s Supper
3. Spiritual Gifts (12:1–14:40)
  - 3 chapters, in which so far we have only covered 1 Corinthians 12.
What IF YOUR fruit is rotten?
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First of all,  ἐὰν - IF.. which the Apostle uses in this letter 48 times!
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For if^G1437 you were to have countless tutors in Christ,

1 Corinthians 4:15

If G1437 I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1 LSB

ἐάν;
I. a conditional particle (derived from εἰ ἄν), which makes reference to time and to experience, introducing something future, but not determining, before the event, whether it is certainly to take place;

Each of the Apostle’s conditional references here point toward the evident sweetness of what ought to be the fruit of our salvation in Christ.

If I speak..

λαλέω – A prolonged form of an otherwise obsolete verb

Yet we do speak G2980 wisdom among those who are mature.. But we speak G2980 God’s wisdom in a mystery..

I Corinthians 2:6a,7a LSB
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And you mature saints will likely know some translation of this to which Paul will proceed soon:
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When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:11
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AND note: this too points to a conditional change. 
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Human or Angelic tongues

Though I speak with the tongues of men [the KJV translates] and of angels,

Men [anthrōpos – both men and women] of course have tongues [glōssa] in order to speak [regardless of what language].

and angels [angelos ] – a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God

If I shall speak with every human and Angelic language and have no love in me, I shall be clanging brass or a noise-making cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1 Aramaic Bible in Plain English
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"If I shall speak with every human and Angelic language.." 

Perhaps like me you had never read this translation; making the conditional connection so clear. 

The 'IF' we speak -- even messages supposedly from God -- conditionally connects to the sound that proceeds into the ears of others.
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ἔχω – the familiar sounding echo

to have and to hold…

13:1 – Though I ..have G2192 not charity,

13:2 And though I have G2192 the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have G2192 all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have G2192 not charity, I am nothing.
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It's ALL conditional -- Spiritual Gifts yet no fruit
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Spiritualities – ‘I would not have you ignorant’

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have G2192 not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 KJV
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AGAIN, It's ALL conditional --
EVEN IF YOU have Spiritual Gifts 
BUT bear no fruit, which is the love and charity of God and Christ. 
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ἀγάπη – agapē

the LOVE of Paul’s “love chapter”

LOVE is so misunderstood by 21st c. C.E. ears that I have recently addressed agape as ‘Biblical jargon’ READ more

agapē a fruit of Love from a Higher Branch

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love G26 one to another.

Gospel of John 13:35 KJV from the command of Jesus – fruit

What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, G26 and in the spirit of meekness?

1 Corinthians 4:21 KJV

Knowledge puffeth up, but charity G26 edifieth.

1 Corinthians 8:1b KJV

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, G26 I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians 13:1 – KJV

Charity [ἀγάπη – agapē] suffereth long..

KJV translation of 1 Corinthians 13:4a

MORE on agape love

NEXT time, God-willing, concluding the LOVE Chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 in the apostle’s instructions about spiritual gifts, we will THEN be ready to apply these fruits to the WORSHIP of the Church the Apostle will address in 1 Corinthians 14.

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
February 28, 2025
Christian Roles in Christian Worship – 1 Corinthians 11
You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 Berean Standard Bible

Now there’s a tall order seemingly impossible for any worshiper: Imitate an Apostle. But the humble Apostle Paul addresses the different roles of men and women in prayer and worship of the church.

Roles of men and women

Maintaining the Traditions

Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.
- 1 Corinthians 11:2 BSB
Paul compliments the Corinthian church for remembering him in everything, including his teaching as an Apostle of Christ, from going back to when he ministered personally to the Corinthian church.

The apostle specifically addresses what he expects of the Corinthian believers.

Yet centuries later we may wonder:

To what ‘traditions‘ is Paul referring? Jewish traditions? Local Hellenist Corinthian traditions?
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So let's take a more formal from the King James in order to clarify who Paul addresses in the Corinthian church.
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Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

1 Corinthians 11:2 KJV

In his Apostolic authority of these ordinances, Paul first and primarily addresses the men of the Corinthian church — a cultural consideration expected by both Jew and Hellenist gentile believers.

An Illustration of Leadership

Paul employs a common metaphor we won’t want to miss.

κεφαλή – kephalē – head

metaph. anything supreme, chief, prominent
1. of persons, master lord: of a husband in relation to his wife
2. of Christ: the Lord of the husband and of the Church
3. of things: the corner stone
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Paul uses this metaphor of the head ten times in his first letter to the Corinthian church. 

So IF you tend to shun authority, you may question what the Apostle humbly orders by way of this ordinance of relationship and roles. 
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Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.

1 Corinthians 11:4

The idea here is that man was made in the glory of God and it would be dishonoring to God for him to cover his head while he prayed or prophesied. Now that is interesting coming from Paul considering that in Orthodox Jewry today, they all wear their little hats whenever they come into any sacred place of prayer.

Chuck Smith commentary on 1 Cor 11:4
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So where where is the Apostle headed? 

Paul naturally points to the creation of mankind by God. 

"Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." 1 Cor 11:9 KJV
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But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.

1 Cor 11:5 NKJV
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Paul does not tell the men of Corinth that women should neither pray nor prophesy publically, only that she should have her head covered out of respect to the authority over her. 
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Thinking it through

What is Paul’s reasoning?
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He uses hyperbole with irony here (pointed in the KJV):
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- For if the woman be not covered,
  - let her also be shorn:
- but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven,
  - let her be covered.
Again the Apostle emphasises:
- For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
- Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
  - For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
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"Because of the angels?"

Where did angels enter into roles of worship in church? 
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You may not accept this on either, but the Apostle has already made mention in this letter to the Corinthians of such authority. 
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Apostles at the end of the procession

.. like prisoners appointed for death.”

Picture the ranks of all authority: Kings and captive prisoners of other kings.

AND above all, God the Father, with Cherubim and Seraphim, ARCH-ANGELS and countless ranks of Angels — all spirits as gods serving the LORD with power to the glory of the Almighty — servants and messengers of God interacting with mortal men of dust and souls quickened in His Image with His Holy Spirit.

We have become a spectacle [theatron] to the whole world [kosmos],

to angels [angelos] as well as to men

[anthrōpos {both men and women}].

1 Corinthians 4:9b BSB

– Paul’s reference to Apostles viewed by the world and angels

Wearing your Symbols of AUTHORITY with humility and respect

head-covering, the emblem of “power on her head”; the sign of her being under man’s power, and exercising delegated authority under him.

Paul had before his mind the root-connection between the Hebrew terms for “veil” (radid), and “subjection” (radad).

BENGEL explains, “As the angels are in relation to God, so the woman is in relation to man. God’s face is uncovered; angels in His presence are veiled ( Isa 6:2 )

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown :: Commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:10

In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

A head uncovered

13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
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Now the Apostle addresses the opposing sign of a head uncovered. 
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14 Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
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Again, a helpful overview of this Greek word for uncovered or unveiled [11:5 & 11:13].
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ἀκατακάλυπτος – akatakalyptos

“uncovered” (a, negative, katakalupto, “to cover”), is used in 1Cr 11:5, 13, RV, “unveiled,” with reference to the injunction forbidding women to be “unveiled” in a church gathering. .. and in the phrase “because of the angels,” intimating their witness of, and interest in, that which betokens the headship of Christ. – Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
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The Apostle has not yet reached his final point on the matter, but for our purposes consider it now: 
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For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches..

1 Corinthians 14:33-34a KJV

.. the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 1 Cor 14:37b

we have no other practice

The Apostle Paul concludes this section definitively as a segue into Holy Communion in this way:

If anyone is inclined to dispute this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God.

1 Corinthians 11:16 BSB

NEXT: Holy Communion and Worship
February 6, 2025