At least 8 lines of biblical evidence support holding that the right position for a believer to hold is to esteem one day above another.
Seventh Day – The End of the Creation Week
At the Creation, God uniquely blessed and set apart one day above the other six days of the week:
Genesis 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
At the end of the Creation week, therefore, it was impossible to validly hold that esteeming all days “alike” was a right position for a believer to hold. Esteeming one day above the others was the right position.
Seventh Day – The Sabbath
God uniquely set apart the seventh day as His special day for His special people Israel:
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Subsequent to the Creation, therefore, and until the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, it was impossible to validly hold that esteeming all days “alike” was a right position for a believer to hold. Esteeming one day above another was the right position.
First Day – The Resurrection of Christ
God raised His Christ from the dead on the first day of the week:
Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
His doing so made that day distinctively special as the day that He had made:
Psalm 118:22-24 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
No believer, therefore, can validly hold that the first day of the week is not any more special than any other days of the week. The right position is to esteem one day above another.
First Day – The Resurrection Appearances of Christ
Not only did God raise His Christ from the dead on the first day of the week, but also, He showed (Acts 10:40) to many credible witnesses on that very day that His Christ had risen bodily and was alive after He had died:
Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
No believer, therefore, can validly hold that the first day of the week is not any more special than any other days of the week. Esteeming one day above another is the right position.
First Day – The Beginning of the Church
God birthed the Church on the first day of the week on the day of Pentecost:
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. . . 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. . . . 47 And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
He thus made the first day of the week distinctive in a way that was not true of any of the other days of the week.
No believer, therefore, can validly hold that the first day of the week is not any more special than any other days of the week. The right position is to esteem one day above another.
First Day – Pauline Practice
The Spirit inspired Luke to write that Paul was with the believers in Troas for seven days (Acts 20:6) and then met with them for corporate worship on the first day of the week:
Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Paul’s uniquely authoritative apostolic example (cf. 1 Cor. 4:17; 11:1) in this regard shows that no believer can validly hold that the first day of the week was not any more important than any other day of the week. Esteeming one day above another is the right position.
First Day – Pauline Command
Paul commanded believers in multiple churches in more than one region to do an important religious activity on the first day of the week:
1 Corinthians 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
His doing so proves that Paul esteemed the first day of the week above the other days of the week as the day on which the believers had to engage in that activity.
His apostolic command for a special religious activity on the first day of the week shows that it is impossible to validly hold that a believer must esteem all days “alike.” The right position is to esteem one day above another.
The Lord’s Day
The Spirit inspired the apostle John to write of his being in the Spirit on a day that uniquely belonged to the Lord:
Rev. 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
This revelation shows that there was one day that God esteemed above the others as uniquely being His day.
No believer, therefore, can validly hold that all days are to be esteemed “alike.” Esteeming one day above another is the right position.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
