“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 choiceSYMBOL 190 \f "Symbol"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).