The Holy Worship of God
Preface:
The following material is drawn from a series of lectures given in June of 2004 in Spokane Washington on the subject of the biblical principles of the holy reverent worship of God. It is intended for further study of various issues.
The need for this material arises out of the serious and profane corruption of Christian worship which is increasingly common today. The Christian church today walks in its manner of worship like Israel after the sin of Jereboam, I King 12:28-33.
Introduction to the series:
(1) The issue : How is worship determined?
Answer: From the whole of the Scriptures. This is a concept which has been lost and corrupted in our age. The word of God says, that "all scripture is given by God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," II Timothy 3:16. All scripture means all scripture. The worship of the church of Christ is to be determined by the principles taught in the entire Bible. The differences between Old and New Testaments are to be noted, the lines drawn carefully between them, but it is the entire word of God which is the basis of New Testament scriptural worship and practice. Limiting one's understanding in this area to the New Testament alone is to contradict the explicit statement, "All scripture..."
We may illustrate this concept by asking, "Where do we go when we worship?" In the Old Testament the believer went to Jerusalem on Mt. Zion to worship in the presence of God in the temple, Psalm 122. But what about the New Testament? We now worship in the same place in its spiritual fulfillment. The church is spiritually the temple, Ephesians 2:19-22. In that worship we enter the presence of God in heaven, Hebrews 10:19-22; Hebrews 12:22-24. It is spiritually the same place. The shadow has become a reality.
Why do we go to worship? In the Old Testament the believer went to “the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.” He sought the “thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David." Psalm 122:4-5. Now we go to hear God’s Word preached according to the command of Christ, our King, Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15. It is for the same spiritual reason, in the presence of the same glory of God and before the same throne, manifested in the Son of David, Jesus Christ. We go to give God the praise and honor due to His Name, Psalm 96:7-9; Colossians 3:16, “...in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
What is worship? Worship is the spiritual activity by which we draw near to God in Christ, entering His presence in prayer, praise, confession of sin and of His Name, to hear His Word and have true communion with Him.
What is true and acceptable worship? Jesus warns against false worship, both in doctrine and practice, Matthew 15:7-9 We are to worship in obedience to the abiding principles of the Word of God in Christ.
Lecture #1 Living Participation in Worship
We begin with the subject of living participation in worship. This is a necessary starting point, for we live in the midst of many, who though professing to be Christian, have come to regard worship as something either optional and/or in a false individualistic light. For many, the idea of a serious discussion of worship from the Scriptures is a thought which has never entered their mind.
(2) The Necessity of Public Worship
The calling to the regular worship of God is inherent in the many explicit exhortations to prayer, praise, and to hear the Word of God found in the Scriptures. It is found in the very calling to preach the Word and the calling to desire that Word that we may grow thereby, I Peter 1:22. There are three aspects to this calling, both stated and assumed in Scripture.
The regular worship of God is a spiritual necessity for the life of faith and grace because God works faith by the Word, Romans 10:17 (also 13-15) and God gives spiritual blessings to us in the way of prayer, James 5:13-16.
The regular worship of God, especially corporate worship, is inherent in the nature of salvation. God does not save mere individuals. He saves a body, a church, I Corinthians 12:27. To separate oneself from the church is self-amputation from Christ, I Corinthians 12:14-20.
A. The worship instituted in Scripture is that of the body.
B. The body worships organically, as a living body. Individual participation of the believer is as a member of the body under Christ, the head. This does not mean that everyone takes a public role in the worship service. Christ gave “some,” to be office bearers, Ephesians 4:11, 12; I Corinthians 12:28. All members of the body do not have the same office, function, or calling. Some are commanded to be silent. I Corinthians 14:34.
Worship is the worship of God, not about making people feel good. It is the body in its spiritual unity in Christ that worships, that working together by that “which every joint supplieth,” also labors “unto the edifying of itself in love,” in public worship, Ephesians 4:16. It is the body that preaches, not merely the minister. In congregational singing, the body worships God and edifies itself, Ephesians 5:19 Therefore, we worship as members of a specific body, that is, a specific local church to which we belong as members.
C. The body worships as a gathering of households. House churches mentioned in the New Testament reflect the fact that the church met in houses because they had no buildings. It does not mean that they had “house churches.” The church was gathering in public assemblies when they met in homes. Acts 2:1; Acts 20:8. The church also used rented buildings, Acts 19:9.
Family worship does not substitute for public worship. God sets His grace in households or families, and it is as families and households that we gather for worship. II Chronicles 20:13; Mark 10:13-14; John 21:15;Ephesians 6:4 Therefore to exclude the children from the public worship and the preaching is to corrupt the worship of the church of Christ.
(4) Worship in Spirit and in truth
Worship is a spiritual activity of faith in the truth.
Worship is a spiritual activity from the heart, not an external exercise. Jesus defines the “true worshipers” of God as those who worship Him “in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23, 24 Jesus teaches that true worship is “in spirit.” He does not mean spirited or lively in the sense of a pep rally. God is a spiritual being—holy, righteous, and pure. Worship is in harmony with Who God is as the living God. His Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Those who worship God, worship Him in union with, (the idea in the original) the holy, sanctifying work and gracious operation of the Spirit of God.
With reference to the concern of the Samaritan woman about the holiness of a place of worship, Jesus teaches that Jerusalem as the holy place of worship would pass away with the coming of the gospel to the nations.The church, the body of Christ, becomes the true temple.True worship is not a matter of the physical place, but of the holiness and consecration of the heart, of being a true worshiper.
Jesus teaches that true worship, “in spirit and truth” is first of all a work of grace, a blessing of salvation which God works in the heart. Man is not by nature or of himself a true worshiper. Man by nature is a dead, guilty sinner. He cannot worship God. He will not in his sin seek after God. A true worshiper is the result of the sovereign, saving grace of God. It is so by the atoning blood of Christ and by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus teaches that true worship is not only “in spirit,”but also “in truth,” that is, in union with God’s revelation of Himself in His Word, the truth of the gospel, the truth of Christ. Thus, where the gospel is corrupted and where the worship of God, according to the Scriptures is corrupted, there the true worship of God is taken away. We are not members of, nor do we attend a church because we like the people, the building, the pastor, the programs and activities. We are members of and attend a church because we find the truth of the gospel preached in it. There we find the true worship of God according to the Scriptures. There we are able then to draw near unto God in true worship “in spirit and in truth.”
Living participation in worship is from the heart by faith, a faith which has content. We draw near to God as repentant sinners with “a broken and contrite heart,” Psalm 51:17. We draw near to God “in the beauty of holiness,” and with a godly fear, Psalm 96:9 We draw near to God in Jesus Christ and on the grounds of His finished work alone, Hebrews 10:19-22 We draw near to God, not in a mere external form, or seeking entertainment, but as the highest exercise of true religion and of a heart living out of our salvation.
The Holy Worship of God
Preface
Introduction
Lecture #1 Living Participation
Lecture #2 Reverent and Biblical
Lecture #3 Preaching: the Heart of Worship