Lesson Of The Hour

The assembly of Christians is not only for worship but explicitly for the edification of Christians. Edification means “building up” and includes teaching of revelation and knowledge for encouragement and consolation. In 1 Corinthians 14, the apostle Paul established that understandable words are essential to the edification of the church. Because of the necessity of words for edification, Paul excluded foreign languages (without interpretation) from the assembly. Paul established a principle that excluded anything in the assembly lacking understandable words. Paul taught that one must pray and sing with the spirit and the mind. Many today have added musical instruments to singing in the assembly, yet these instruments cannot communicate words. No one can preach, pray, or praise with an instrument. For this reason, most churches throughout history have excluded the instrument from the assembly. In fact, the apostle Paul described such instruments as “lifeless” and “soulless.” This message challenges the liste