Part 1, Part 2

 

Having seen how thoroughly theo-centric Christian worship must be (otherwise it would not be meaningfully Christian), we ought to reflect on the ways in which worship shapes the worshipper. If God is really present in worship, then those who meet him will be changed. Some churches have given up on the gospel as a divinely-given proclamation, and so they have focused almost exclusively on this point – the effect of worship on those who worship. The revival of ornate liturgy across the mainline denominations has been one of the practical implications of this concern. Yet when nothing divine meets us in worship, it quickly becomes a historical curiosity.[1] Other churches have seen talking about the worshipper as unseemly, ostensibly keeping the focus on God. Yet the term “frozen chosen” has often been applied to these sorts of congregations within the Reformed tradition. The problem, it would seem, is not so much that they haven’t remained focused on God, but that those who attend worship don’t understand how God’s presence changes their lives. Still a third group of churches – which are trying to remain broadly Evangelical – have spoken much about the authority of Scripture and the need to honor God, and yet their worship is saturated in self-referential jargon. God is celebrated exclusively through emotional catharsis. These were the churches that had no songs to sing on the Sunday after 9/11, that could not address the economic trials with candor over the past two years, that make it clear that those who mourn and those who feel the weight of sin have no place in their midst.[2]

 

Of course, not every church fits into these three categories. God is still at work – especially when we realize that he is the one who drew us into worship. He breaks through even the stupid and foolish choices of his people. So, it’s worth reflecting first on the fundamental context in which we receive the language of worship, then upon a few specific ways in which worship changes us.

 

Setting the Scene: the Court of the Great King

 

Worship in Scripture takes place primarily as a covenantal ceremony. That terminology probably means very little to most of us, but it is a way of saying that worship took the shape of a great king’s relationship with his vassal kings. In the ancient Near East, the covenant treaty (and its accompanying ceremonies) formed the basis of international political interaction. Eventually, even among individuals the language seems to have been adapted – so that marriages and other various relationships were shaped by the covenant structure.[3]

 

The quintessential moment of worship in the Old Testament – Israel’s worship at Mt. Sinai – took this covenantal shape. In Exodus 24, the whole nation of Israel gathers for worship, and it is unmistakably a covenant ratifying ceremony. To begin with, God has demonstrated that, as the great king, he claims Israel for himself by virtue of his defeat of Egypt, the great political super-power of that time; and he has summoned Israel together (vv. 1-2; cf. ch. 19). Moreover, the ceremony focuses upon the Book of the Covenant (v. 7), and the sacrifice needed to provide for Israel’s cleanliness (v. 8). All of this takes place in order to confirm God’s covenant with his people, and it ends with a feast at the feet (literally) of God (vv. 9-11). 

 

Similarly, at the end of Acts 2, we find that New Testament worship is shaped by these same details. Having been called out by God through Peter’s Pentecost sermon (vv. 37-41), the church gathers around the apostolic teaching about Christ’s death and resurrection, and they eat together as a tangible expression of the fellowship they share with God (vv. 42-47). 

 

Worship is a Response

 

With the covenantal background in mind, we can see that worship begins in a manner consistent with its theo-centric focus as response to God’s saving work. The persistent focus upon Christ’s death and resurrection – the hallmark of true Christian worship – ought to make it clear then that those who worship are only gathered because God called them together. 

 

The worship in Revelation 7 is particularly telling in this regard. After hearing the declaration that a figurative 144,000 have been sealed by God, John turns to see “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (v. 9). He is told that these people are those who have lived between Christ’s resurrection and return – described as “the great tribulation” (v. 14). Yet, despite their trials, these people have nothing but praise on their lips for God, saying: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (v. 10). The angels replied back: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen” (v. 12). Despite the great anguish God’s people have undergone, they still understand themselves to be in God’s presence by his grace. They could be proud of themselves, but instead realize that God called them and God sustained them.

 

On a more didactic note, we find this responsive claim confirmed in Hebrews 10:19-25. The three exhortations in the passage press the reader toward worship: “let us draw near” (v. 22), “let us hold fast the confession” (v. 23), and “let us consider how to stir one up one another” (v. 24). Yet the basis for the call is expressed in three full verses of subordinate clauses which summarize the preceding two and a half chapters of detail about Christ’s perfect sacrifice and merit on our behalf before God. We enter into worship not out of our own desire or prerogative, but only as a response to God’s work on our behalf. Drawing near is a privilege granted in Christ, and we come because he draws us.

 

Worship Gives Redefinition

 

Worship also redefines who we are. In Exodus 24, as soon as the people say they will obey everything in the Book of the Covenant, Moses throws blood on them (v. 8). Just as quickly as they promise to keep the commandments, they will need a sacrifice to cover over their failure to do so. In throwing blood on the people, Moses is saying: “You’re not the people you think you are. You will fail.”

 

Again, in Revelation we have a clear illustration. In chapter 13 the Satanic counterfeit for the Holy Spirit, “the beast rising out of the earth,” places its sign – the number 666 – upon the foreheads and hands of those who follow him (v. 18). By contrast, as chapter 14 opens, we read that the Lamb has put his Father’s name on the foreheads and hands of his people (v. 1). Their identity is not in who they were, or what they accomplished; rather, their identity is given to them by Christ. In fact, the church in Pergamum is told that those who endure will receive a new name (Rev 2:17).

 

Similarly, in Ephesians 5:15-21, worshipful action is woven into the calling of believers to be filled with the Spirit (v. 18). The presence of the Spirit leads us to address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 19-20). This drastically worship view of life is contrasted with those who are foolish and unwise – with those who get drunk on wine instead of being filled with the Spirit (vv. 15-18). Our lives ought to be defined by our worship of God rather than various suspect behaviors.

 

Worship Brings Reaction (Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 3:12-17)

 

Finally, we see that the redefinition we find in worship brings about a reaction in the rest of our lives. The transformation we find in worship is not simply a matter of experiencing something during worship. Rather, the experience of God’s presence changes our whole outlook on life. In Romans 12:1-2, the connection is made clear: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Here our entire life is transformed into “a living sacrifice.” Worship isn’t a closed-off mystical experience, but brings us in body and soul, in all of life. Our minds our renewed, and we live our lives with the perspective of the heavenly throne-room.

 

In Colossians 3:12-17, on the heels of ethical exhortations (vv. 12-15), Paul adds that we ought to dwell upon Scripture and sing together (vv. 16) – coupled with a broader view of our whole lives: “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (v. 17). The ethical life and worship go hand-in-hand, so that everything should be to God’s glory. Here is the broadest claim to worship in all of life.[4]

 

There is, then, a rhythmic nature to the worship of the gathered church and the individual lives of believers. Those who do not seek to honor God in word and deed will probably not understand how to worship well. Likewise, those who do seek God’s glory in the whole scope of their lives will see the beauty of the worship of the church. Nonetheless, it’s important to note that the peculiarly covenantal nature of worship – calling us in response and redefining our lives – does not make reaction the determining factor in our worship. Christians consistently fail to react how they ought to. Instead, when God shows up he will be worshipped – period. So the downward spiral of failure on our parts to react is interrupted by the reviving presence of God, especially through the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

Given that worship is all about God and yet transformational for those who come into his presence, there is another important theological question for us to ask: how do we go about structuring worship? That will be our next question to ask.

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