“The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). All that we have belongs to the Lord,
including the days of the week. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day,
and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet” (Revelation 1:10).
Being “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” allowed John to receive the
Revelation from the Lord of those “things which must shortly come to
pass” (Revelation 1:1).
First century Christians had to make a conscious and often
life threatening decision. Would they say “Caesar is Lord,” or “Christ
is Lord”? Since there is “one Lord” (Ephesians 4:5), there was only one
choice: to follow Christ and to do all in His name.
“Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). So they
partook of “the Lord’s supper” (1 Corinthians 11:20) “in the name of the
Lord” (Colossians 3:17) on “the Lord’s day.”
From the beginning, the disciples met for worship on the
first day of the week. Paul and other disciples went into the Jewish
synagogues on the Sabbath day to reason with the Jews about the Christ
(Acts 13; 17), but the church did not worship on the Sabbath day.
They usually expelled Paul from the synagogues as opposition to his
teachings grew, so we know that these were not meetings of the
church. The New Testament does not mention Christian worship on the
Sabbath.
The pattern of first day worship was established with the
resurrection of Christ from the dead on the first day of the week (Luke
24:1), and His appearances to the disciples on the first day of the week
(John 20:19; 26). Paul “abode seven days” at Troas, including a
Sabbath day, “And upon the first day of the week [the Lord’s
Day], when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached
unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until
midnight” (Acts 20:6-7).
