THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP PART 5: WORSHIP IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM

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WORSHIP IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM

Worship in the Old Testament offers a translucent perspective to Jewish worship. Whereas texts and documents from the early church are clearer, a window may be open in the practice of ancient Israel to inform Christian worship today. A primary foundation of Old-Testament worship is its foundation of sacrifice. More than New Testament worship, the Old Testament system was largely based on temporary sacrifice. Nevertheless, in an all-encompassing manner, Old-Testament worship informed all of life. Moreover, whether realized in practice or not, Old-Testament worship looked to the cross and the Messiah.

Old-testament Worship Was Based on Temporary Sacrifice

What little is known from the pattern of Old-Testament worship, we can be assured of this: the practices of Israel were preeminent. Vastly disparate from the practices of New-Testament worship, Israel’s Old-Testament worship practices hold deeply engrained commitments to life. Said another way, Old-Testament worship was more about offering oneself as a living sacrifice and renewing such a sacrifice than the permanent and better solution in the New Covenant; yet, Old-Testament worship certainly looked to the cross.

Christian worship did not include a weekly worship gathering until the Age of Grace, but hints of the Messiah resonate through the Old-Testament scriptures. Old-Testament worship held a basis of sacrifice but in a temporary manner. Whereas Jesus Christ would be the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of his people, animal sacrifice was usual under the Old Testament. The author of Hebrews says that the sacrifices, feasts, and offerings (or tithes) of the Old Testament foreshadowed what would come through Christ. Moreover, believers should understand now that what persisted under the Old Covenant could not stand in the ways of the New Covenant, which is how Christ has obtained a better way (Heb 8:6).

A key to understanding New-Testament worship practice is understanding not only the temporary nature of the Old Covenant but also of typological references to the New Covenant. Old-Testament worship practice, based upon sacrifice, feasts, and tithes, did not and could not offer a solution for the sinful nature of humankind. Therefore, as God’s people awaited the Messiah promised in Genesis, a temporary method of worship existed.

Unlike modern society where sacrifice involves giving up something of value so that something more valuable may be attained and may or may not have anything to do with a deity or God, in Old-Testament times, all of life revolved around God so that something set aside for sacrifice was solely to benefit a deity.[1] For Israel, worship was life[2] so to worship the living God was to offer all that one was given in life for his benefit and glory without a thought of return.

Time and space were evident and used by God’s people in Old-Testament worship practice. The specifications of the Tabernacle (and eventually) the Temple signified God’s specific design for his people’s sacrifices. In fact, from the wardrobe specifications to the architecture, God gave precise instructions which, if violated, had dire consequences. It is significant that the first person in Scripture described to be gifted with God’s Spirit as an artist is Bezalel (Exod 31:1-4), and he is attributed with having the skill to build the Tabernacle with its intricate specifications. “The worship space was filled with beauty and color, gold and silver and precious stones, as is fitting for a picture of Heaven.”[3] Time and space plays a significant role in Old-Testament worship, perhaps even more than that of New-Testament worship practice.[4]

In the move from the Tabernacle to the Temple, the specifications of the space were vital. Moreover, the expansion of liturgy is apparent.

David, himself a musician and songwriter, made provisions for building the Temple and organizing the worship. Along with appointing Levites to oversee the construction and to be gatekeepers, he set aside 4,000 Levites—a little over 10% of the tribe—to be Temple musicians to “offer praise to the LORD with the instruments that [he had] made for praise” (1 Chron. 23:5).[5]

Furthermore, nearly half of the Psalms were written by David. Therefore, “along with the sacrificial system, the Sabbaths and festivals, and the various ritual cleansings, music was an important part of Old-Covenant worship.”[6]

Tabernacle practices persisted daily, weekly, and annually through the offerings of priests and Levites on behalf of God’s people. Such windows into the Old-Testament worship are faint at best and yet offer believers a glimpse into the original structure God laid for his people in Israel. To properly appreciate and abide by the parameters of the New Covenant, the church should understand that which God ordained for his people under the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant.

Old-Testament Worship Looked to the Cross: A New and Better Way

The christocentric nature of the Old Testament should not be negated, for in a forward-looking manner, the Old Covenant looks to the cross. God told the serpent that the seed of the woman would crush his head (Gen 3:15) foreshadowing what would come through the virgin birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Then the story of God unfolded throughout Scripture in a marvelous way as Satan continuously made feeble attempts to thwart the plans of God and God continued to renew and restore his covenant. While the New Testament looks back from the cross, the Old Testament looks forward to the cross: a new and better way.

Scripture centers around the person and work of Christ—this includes the Old-Testament narrative. Since worship proclaims the story of God, the full narrative of the Bible, surrounding the story of Christ, must be told. Old-Testament worship, looked to the Messiah as the hope of Israel. Christians look to the Messiah as the hope of the world as God’s people have been grafted in as part of his people (Rom 11:17). Without looking to the cross, the hope of the Old Testament is lost; without looking to Christ, the object and subject of worship is missed; and without understanding the purpose of the law, the hope of the New Covenant cannot be understood.

Israel held a deep hope in the coming Messiah, albeit missed as a misunderstood version of him. New-Testament believers should be thankful that the Lord has drawn them out of darkness and into the light of his salvation, for without his awakening, they would be utterly lost.

Even in Old-Testament worship, typologies exist that paint a vivid image of Christ (e.g. Jonah as he emerges from the belly of a fish as a type of resurrection from the dead, Moses as a type of law giver, or Eve as a type of Mary as she was a part of the fall whereas through Mary’s womb would come the Messiah). Understanding the intentional nature of Scripture in looking to the cross should enhance a New-Testament understanding of worship. Worship must tell the story. Therefore, worship must realize the story of Christ in the Old Testament.

In telling the story of God and his people, worship remembers the past. To neglect the past is to forget. “When we forget the past, the past is dead in our lives.”[7] It is crucial then that the past (Old-Testament practice) inform our present (New-Testament practice), for even Old-Covenant praxis was informed by New-Covenant truth.

Old-Testament worship practice reminds God’s people of a timeless truth: God is unchanging. He is the same in the Old Testament as he is in the New Testament. A God who is unchanging is a God who is equally as worthy as he ever has been. The God who was worthy for the people of Israel to offer sacrifices with no thought of return is the same God who is worthy for his people to offer themselves as living sacrifices today. No longer must the people of God make futile efforts at offering inadequate sacrifices, for Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate sacrifice allowing God’s people to approach him boldly in the righteousness of the Son (Heb 4:16).

Christianity does not have a God who changes with superficial variables. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). Bearing that in mind, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was never plan B, the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). The triune and unchanging God set out a plan from before creation as to how he would redeem his chosen people and implemented his plan through the mediator, the Son. Christian worship realizes and acknowledges this truth.

God is worthy to be praised and his people should give him such praise. Old-Testament worship does not negate New-Testament practice but rather enhances it, for people who understand the centrality of Jesus Christ hold a vastly different perspective than those who have not known its life-changing power.

The Psalms Display the Heart of Israel’s Worship

We have little to guide us in seeing into Israel’s worship, but the Psalms are an excellent beginning point. Often referred to as the Hymnal of Israel, the Psalms give an overarching view not only of worship in the Old Testament but indeed life and prayer.[8] The Psalms is a collection of heartfelt prayers that often would have been utilized in both personal and liturgical contexts. Whether acknowledged or not, everyone prays at times. “One 2004 study found that nearly thirty percent of atheists admitted they prayed ‘sometimes,’ and another found that seventeen percent of nonbelievers in God pray regularly.”[9] Why would someone who claims not only to disbelieve in a higher power but often show great animosity toward him spend time praying? Humanity is spiritual by nature, which is why David says that the fool has said in his heart there is no God (Ps 14:1): because even a fool, if he reasoned it in his mind, would conclude there to be a God.

The Psalms offer a glimpse into the heart of Old-Testament worship. The honesty and vulnerability of the Psalms should be a model for Christian worship today. Whether in lamenting or praising, the Psalms hold the correct perspective: God and his glory. Even in imprecatory Psalms, before a curse is offered, there subsists a focus on the justice of God, which is the reason for such anger.

In two distinct ways, utilizing the Psalms in corporate worship gatherings may enhance and improve the worship experience for God’s people.

1)      Utilizing the Psalms in worship connects believers today to the ancient family of God. Christians are part of the same family but often miss the connection; employing the prayers, songs, and texts used by ancient Israel allows such a connection to be realized.

2)      The church cannot be mistaken by employing verbatim Scripture in worship. Often, songwriters find it difficult to write texts when an abundance of them are readily available in the Bible. Moreover, using such texts effectively extinguishes the possibility of theological fallacies.

The biblical Psalms, in displaying the heart of Israel’s worship and connecting the saints of God to the people of God in the Old Testament, offer a link between those of the Old Covenant and those of the New Covenant. One-hundred fifty texts of manifold types and purposes offer a unique perspective into the heart of Old-Testament worship. Thus, to better understand the saints of the past, the Psalms should be used in corporate worship gatherings. Since the Old Testament looks to the cross, there is no distinction between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, for he is surely the same God.

Leaders of worship and liturgists may certainly discover new and Spirit-led ways to incorporate the Psalms in the worship gatherings. While the tendency is to believe thinking outside of a box is the way to be creative in such practices, I encourage leaders of worship (and especially musicians) to think within a box, for parameters set up boundaries for creativity rather than leaving room for a creation without any idea of direction. Leaders should consider creative ways to involve the people of God (since worship is participatory) in singing and reciting the Psalms. Scripture is living and active (Heb 4:12). Therefore, worship should treat it as such.

Further, utilizing the Psalms in worship allows less opportunity for theological inaccuracies. Verbatim text is difficult to pervert. When seeking to convey theological ideas, there is no better way than to use the text of Scripture. Scripture should permeate the worship gathering. Without extra revelation, the word of God cannot be corrupt; only the work of humanity may corrupt what God meant for good.[10]

The ministry of the word was certainly a significant part of Temple worship. “We know, for example, that the regular reading through of the Book of the Covenant was an essential part of the rites of the renewal of the covenant (Deut 31:10–13).”[11] Thus, from the authority of Scripture in the Judeo-Christian faith is nothing new. In fact, realized as integral to the faith, the New-Testament practice to include the entire canon of Scripture merely extends from a preexistent notion that because God’s command is final, his word (in the text of Scripture) is final.

I submit that an overarching problem in modern Christianity is an unrealized dismissal of biblical authority. What I mean by that is churches often seem to (unknowingly) place the words of humankind on the same level as the words of God. Such a practice is usually completed with a belief in extra revelation, as if God reveals truths other than what are found in the text of the Bible. This might be seen as given through prophecies, songs, and even the mind’s displays.[12]

The Psalms represent the heart of Old-Testament worship, for the Psalms represent the heart of Israel in worshiping the one true God. As such, employing the text of the Psalms in Christian worship is right and good. Doing so connects God’s people to ancient Israel and advances a theological and doxological accuracy that is necessary in a modern ecclesiastical context that often goes unchecked.

To Understand Where We Are, We Must Understand Where We Have Been

It is no secret that the New Covenant is better, but we must understand the practicalities of the Old Covenant to understand how what is new is better. Said another way, the amelioration of the New Covenant is predicated on the shortcomings of the Old Covenant. The Apostle Paul contends that the law’s purpose is to reveal the deficiencies of humankind (even at the best) and highlight the need for the gospel of Christ (Rom 3:20, 4:15). Humankind could not be good enough or perform enough good deeds to approach the throne of God in worship alone, which is why the sacrifice of Christ was necessary. The Old Covenant, based upon in inadequate sacrificial system, could not suffice. Only the sacrifice of a perfect God in the form of man could do so. To appreciate the grace offered in the New Covenant requires understanding such a truth about the Old Covenant.

Worship declares God’s story in the past, present, and future, but it is founded upon his plan and work in the past. An appreciation for the Age of Grace is not possible without a comprehension of the Old Covenant. Surely, God’s people are no longer under the Old Covenant, for Christ has fulfilled the law. An appreciation for his need to fulfill the law, however, is necessary to fully understand the need for God’s mercy in the New Covenant.

To understand where the church is currently, God’s people must understand from where they have come. Calvin believed that God instituted one covenant of grace manifested in various ways (e.g. covenants) throughout Scripture. Mindful of this fact then, it would be advantageous for believers to see God’s work in the Old Testament as a portion of his overarching plan rather than a fragmented and separate work altogether. Bear in mind that the cross was not a secondary plan so to consider God’s plans as thwarted by anyone or anything less than him would be to diminish his position as God. God’s people should understand the marvelous acts of God in the Old Testament as a part of his plan to glorify himself. When Christians forget the deeds of God, worship is eventually neglected and God’s rightful place in worship is forgotten. Such neglect does not happen in remembering the past. Even in local contexts, God’s people should remember where they have been so that they better understand where they are.

Additionally, the past informs the present and the future. Remembering the Old Covenant and worship of the Old Testament should put into perspective the current position of God’s people. Without the foundations of the Old Testament, God’s people could not realize the need to God’s grace under the New Covenant. Further, the hope that persists for God’s people in the future cannot be imagined (Rom 8:18). Certainly, humankind exists in a fallen world (including God’s people) so circumstances may not be perfect. God’s plan, however, includes certain victory for his people as they share in his glory in Christ. Thus, Christianity builds upon the foundation of an inadequate Old Covenant and a better New Covenant and results in perfection and glory for the people of God. Christian worship should remember the past, acknowledge the present, and celebrate the future.

A Glimpse into the Old-Testament Heart of Worship: The Psalms

Surely, God’s people who lived within the realm of the Old Covenant experienced vastly disparate ways of life, spirituality, and worship practices than do the people of today. Nonetheless, there were still people who honored God.[13] The biblical Psalms present the Old-Testament heart of worship in the practices of ancient Israel. As such, the church shares a connection with the people of God in a stalwart manner. Whereas the inadequacies of the Old-Testament practices could not suffice, however, Christ has obtained a better way. To connect with the honesty of ancient Israel and the heart of worship in the Old Testament, the Psalms are an excellent starting point. Nonetheless, not to negate the exceeding benefits of the New Covenant, Christians should allow the Old-Testament practices to inform where they are and where they are going. Old-Testament worship surely is not useless, for it is a vital aspect to current Christian worship practice, for without it, the vision of God’s people is, at best, misinformed and dying.

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[1] Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship, 36.

[2] Even in New Testament worship practice, Christians could gain much from centering worship at the core of the local church. Though temporal in nature, Old Testament worship symbolized a fervent commitment to the living God for the people of Israel.

[3] Glenn Sunshine, “Exploring Worship: Part Five, Worship in the Old Testament.” Breakpoint. October 31, 2018, https://breakpoint.org/exploring-worship-5-worship-in-the-old-testament/.

[4] A theological significance, where Old Testament worship was founded upon the concept of one offering temporary sacrifices, New Testament worship held the idea of the believer living to new life in Christ as a living sacrifice. Thus, the space of worship does not hold an inherent value under the new model.

[5] Sunshine, “Exploring Worship: Part Five, Worship in the Old Testament.”

[6] Sunshine, “Exploring Worship: Part Five, Worship in the Old Testament.”

[7] Webber, Ancient-Future Worship, 43.

[8] Worship is life; worship is prayer; therefore, prayer is life.

[9] Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (New York, NY: The Penguin Group, 2014), 36.

[10] Diodati, Pious and Learned Annotations, Prov 16:4.

[11] Hughes O. Oliphant, Worship Reformed According to Scripture (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 59.

[12] Certainly, if God so desires, he can and will offer words and commands to God’s people. Nonetheless, believers should be meticulously careful not to confuse the oracles of God with the illegitimate and contradictory words of humankind. Even the most well-intentioned words, if not inspired by the Spirit, are false and must be avoided with haste.

[13] David is referred to as a man after God’s heart (1 Sam 13:14). Considering the extent of mistakes that David committed, such a reference is incredible and finds itself within good company today.

"THE SKIES ABOVE DECLARE THE GLORY OF OUR GOD" COMMENTARY

This is Dr. Jones' commentary on his hymn, "The Skies Above Declare the Glory of Our God."

THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP PART 4: IDOLATRY

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IDOLATRY

The greatest opposition to right worship is idolatry. While idolatry, in most people’s minds, consists of an indigenous tribe worshiping a statue (and certainly, that is idolatry), the practice lands closer to the home of the heart than people comprehend.

In the Bible there is no more serious charge than that of idolatry. Idolatry called for the strictest punishment, elicited the most disdainful polemic, prompted the most extreme measures of avoidance and was regarded as the chief identifying characteristic of those who were the very antithesis of the people of God, namely the gentiles.[1]

In Scripture, idolators were commanded to be executed (Exod 32:25-29). The apparent conclusion then is that God takes idolatry seriously, for he is jealous of the worship of his people (Exod 34:14). Where anything or anyone else takes s greater level of attention than that of the triune God, he rightly demands that such a focus be severed.

For Christians to severe the root of idolatry in their lives, however, it should be understood what is meant by idolatry. This chapter, thus, is meant to define idolatry and includes a call to action. There subsist manifold definitions of idolatry. Suffice it to say that an idol is love of the world.[2] Therefore, severing the root of idolatry requires the believer to live within the new nature found in Christ in such a manner that love of the world is virtually nonexistent. To improve individual worship, a daily process of dying to self and living to new life in Christ must permeate Christian lives. It is a war and indeed a war against the flesh.

There are three aspects to understanding idolatry I would like to cover, which land close to the home of the human heart. Comprehending these truths of idolatry should aid in fighting it and severing its insidious root.

Idolatry Begins in the Heart

Idolatry begins in the heart. If sin, in its simplest form, is idolatry, the facilitator of sin is temptation, which James makes clear begins in the human heart (Jas 1:14-15). Christian worship leaves no room for idolatry. Thus, to approach God appropriately in worship, one must remove all remnants of idolatry.[3] As idolatry begins in the heart, it is the seed of sin rather than the fruit. Cutting idolatry out of life requires an in-depth examination of life including the roots of all evil. This may only be accomplished by the Lord, in the words of David, searching and revealing and unclean thing within the heart (Ps 139:23-24).

In the Old Testament, worship of images or idols was banned (Exod 20:4-6, 23, Lev 19:4, 26:1, Deut 4:15-19, 25, 5:8-10). Such practices, however, are merely surface level, for the core of idolatry occurs before roots are developed. Prior to reaching the root stage, the Christian must discover, in his or her own heart, the nature of evil. Consider the most heinous act imaginable. Likely, most people would attest that they would never do such a thing. Nonetheless, everyone is capable of the most unthinkable thing they could imagine: the effect of idolatry. While idolatry begins in the heart, it does not cease there.

Astonishing is the fact that Christians rightly know that God alone is Lord, that no power (earthly or spiritual) may stand against him, and yet allow love of the world to overtake their thoughts and actions. While certainly (at least in Western culture) it is likely uncommon to find people worshiping statues and graven images, the sinister nucleus of idolatry exists within the human heart and is often realized when it is too late (i.e. idolatry’s effects have taken shape and grown to overtake the heart: the core of a person.

To succeed in the fight against idolatry, one must realize its application on a level that exists closer to the unapologetic worship of statues and images. Anything that satisfies the human heart more than Jesus Christ and anything that one enjoys and desires more than God is an idol. Until the root of idolatry is severed in the heart, worship will, at best, be a feeble attempt at expressing the otherwise insatiable satisfaction Christ offers, and indeed, it will be a lie.

For such a state of the heart to be realized, the believer must obey the Holy Spirit’s leading in his or her own life and trust God’s process of pruning (John 15:2), as painful as the process may be. Idolatry is a spiritual matter. Without the triune work of God in heart, there is no repairing the issue; at best, there are only feeble attempts to manage sin.

Christian worship must never lose sight of the (often) unseen roots of idolatry, for it creeps within humanity and could even sit dormant for lengthy periods of time but then at the moment it so desires, it makes its attack without notice. In modern Christianity, idolatry is played out in a plurality of ways not the least of which hold a covering of seemingly good intentions. Even a pastor could be an idol. A common problem, for example, is that one’s desire to grow and be faithful to the cause of Christ could spur an overemphasis or disproportionate trust in a servant of God (i.e. a pastor). Mindful of the fact that ministers of the Lord are also comprised of fallen human flesh as everyone else, believers should be careful to lower such a person from the spiritual pedestal on which they have placed them, for only God is worthy to be trusted in such a manner.

The Prophet Isaiah begins chapter 6 of his letter with, “In the year that King Uziah died… ” (Is 6:1). The significance of such a statement is often overlooked. Why would the death of a king matter? 2 Chronicles 26 offers the great accomplishments of King Uzziah, and indeed, they were great. Understanding the setting of Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6, perhaps, the people of God in Judah had (even unknowingly) fostered a misplaced trust in a leader rather than the God who had blessed them with strength and power. A warning subsists here to not falsely link success to a particular person but to attribute it only to whom it belongs: God alone. How often do Christians give credit to a singular person above God? How often do believers wrongly declare the greatness of a leader or politician over and above the God they serve? Such an act is idolatrous.

Moreover, staunchly linked to idolatry is fear. Numerous times in Scripture, God’s people are told not to fear. The implication then is that disobedience to such a command is sin. While the sin of fear might be justified perhaps among the most seemingly justified of sins, the explicit command is to not partake in fear, for God has not given his people a spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7). The only person believers are explicitly commanded to fear is God himself. Whether fear of belonging, fear of the future, fear of another person, or fear of uncontrollable circumstances, perhaps, the reason Christians are told not to fear is because God is the only one worthy of fear so fear of anyone or anything else is falsely giving that person or object or situation what rightly belongs to God. In such a case, fear is certainly an idol, for it causes a misplaced offering of what should be God’s on something or someone else.

To understand and consummately pull the root of idolatry out of life, a proper understanding of its origin is necessary. The human heart is evil and deceptive (Jer 17:9-10), which is why some of the worst advice is that of following or trusting the heart. Idolatry begins in the heart, often without even a realization of its presence there. When God’s people understand this truth, the war against the greatest hindrance to uninhibited worship may be endeavored. God is capable of anything including removing the root of idolatry in the human heart. Thus, believers should not consider the battle futile. In fact, God alone is the solution. When Christians understand such a truth, worship of the living God may persist in spirit and truth (i.e. the words expressed in worship will be congruent with the believer’s heart).

Human Nature Is Naturalized Idolatry

A foremost difficulty in the fight against idolatry is that human nature and naturalized idolatry are synonymous (i.e. people are idolators by nature). “Since Adam, all humans are idolators.”[4] What Christians should recognize is idolatry does not enter the human heart, for indeed, idolatry is already present in the heart from conception (Ps 51:5). What is meant by naturalized is that the sinful heart is tantamount to human nature. Thus, the battle against idolatry comprises a violent fight against what is instilled in humanity from conception.

The reason idols are exceedingly dangerous is the wrath of God is coming upon idolators and “nothing is more dangerous than the wrath of an omnipotent, all-righteous God.”[5] The wrath of God is a serious matter because it proceeds from the Lord’s righteous jealousy. God alone is worthy to be jealous. Jealousy enacted by anyone else is sin; it is prideful. When God is jealous, however, it is righteous because God’s jealousy is fueled by stealing glory. “God’s jealousy is not only righteous — that is, he deserves our deepest and strongest affections and admiration — but it is loving”[6] (i.e. God’s jealousy is founded upon a desire for righteousness: God’s people honoring him out of satisfaction in him).

Humankind was created to find the greatest joy in God alone. Thus, when such joy is sought in other places, a violation of God’s original design has been endorsed. Worship is born out of such satisfaction in the Creator, for surely, people live life the way God has designed and intended when they find such joy in the Lord—this is worship.

As natural idolators, only God’s people understand the serious nature of idolatry; only God’s people have been called out of darkness and blindness into a place of holy justification to serve God. Without such an awakening, any attempt at righteous living is feeble and futile. To convalesce Christian worship, the overarching opposition to its practice, namely idolatry, must be corrected. Further, such a correction may not occur until God’s people realize the natural state of humanity as idolators. God is jealous and pours his matchless wrath on the wickedness and idolatry of humankind (i.e. all who have not been changed by a relationship with Jesus Christ). When understood, the war waged against idolatry is better prepared, more decisive and intentional, and more effective, as it succeeds in severing the root of sin in the human heart. In that cause, the quest for doxology (right worship) yields a greater path.

Christians Must Realize the Battle Between the Spirit and the Flesh

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, deeply discusses the battle between the flesh and the spirit (Gal 5:15-26). In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle confesses to doing the things he does not want to do and not doing the things he wants to do (Rom 7:15-20). He then elaborates his understanding of what is taking place by admitting to he has the desire to do what is right but not the ability (Rom 7:18). Paul offers the key to the struggle against idolatry. “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). The Spirit to which Paul refers here is the Spirit of God: the third person of the triune Godhead.

Admittedly, there exists a battle between the eternally spiritual nature of humankind and the desires of the flesh (the world), but the way to overcome the desires of the flesh is to walk by the Spirit (i.e. pursue the things of God). Believers know the way of righteousness (Prob 12:28) because the word is near to the heart in the text of Scripture. Therefore, the church has been given everything needed for life and for godliness in the Bible (2 Pet 1:3, Heb 4:12). In Christian worship, the oracles of the one living God exist in the Bible, which is why Scripture must permeate worship gatherings. The Bible is the written authority of Christianity because it centers around Christ.[7]

Scripture is plain enough in all doctrines necessary to salvation when rightly read and interpreted, and that the illumination of the Spirit adds no new revelation to that which is objectively given in the written word.[8]

In the Armor of God (Eph 6:13-17), the Bible is the only offensive weapon. Undeniably, I come from a tradition that prides itself in being a people of the book. Nonetheless, it was not until seminary that I developed an appreciation for traditions other than my own in which Scripture permeates the worship gatherings. In a liturgical traditions, each week, when utilizing a common lectionary, attendees will hear a Gospel, a Prophet, a Psalm, and an Epistle, and throughout a three-year course, the entire Bible will be read in worship gatherings. I had previously considered such traditions not to take their faith seriously and to take the Bible liberally. I experienced exactly the opposite, however, during my seminary studies.

Jesus gave the example of how to fight the desires of the flesh (Matt 4:1-11) with Scripture. Satan is the Great Deceiver and comes with a greater expanse of experience at perverting Scripture than the common believer possesses with employing it as a weapon. Therefore, it is imperative for Christians, in the fight against idolatry, to know Scripture.

Realizing the battle between the spirit and the flesh is necessary to overcome idolatry. The flesh is the natural desire for humankind. The spirit is the new desire for believers. When such a truth is realized, Christians should not take lightly the war that is waged between good and evil. In response then, believers should internalize and meditate upon the only offensive weapon God has provided: Scripture. Then worshipers of God may walk in the Spirit, not gratify the desires of the flesh, and cultivate a new heart of worship that God perpetually transforms.

Idolatry: The Greatest Adversary to Worship

The seriousness of idolatry cannot be overstated. Furthermore, Christians need to understand that idolatry is in the natural human heart and endeavor, with haste, to remove its existence. Like a cancer that must be severed in every part, idolatry must not be taken lightly and obliterated. Idolatry is the greatest adversary to Christian worship. As idolatry perseveres within the human heart, worship may only, at best, be a dim version of what could be. Idolatry is literally the antithesis of worship. Therefore, God’s people should seek its evil in the most hidden places of the heart and extinguish it in the most fierce and unapologetic battle between good and

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[1] Brian S. Rosner, “The Concept of Idolatry,” Themelios, 24.3 (May 1999): 22.

[2] John Piper, “What Is Idolatry?” Desiring God. August 19, 2014, https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-idolatry.

[3] Related to progressive sanctification (2 Cor 3:8, Phil 1:6), one might ponder how believers are to fully remove idolatry from their lives when God’s people are not yet glorified, but such a predicament must not dissuade Christians from allowing God to work in such a way that the process of sanctification includes a comprehensive approach to canceling idolatry. In other words, abstraction of idolatry is, in fact, key to sanctification (i.e. as one grows in Christ, he or she develops a pattern of righteousness and a decrease of the old nature: the pattern of the world).

[4] Elisabeth Bloechl, “Little Children, Keep Yourselves from Idols,” Modern Reformation. December 9, 2022, https://www.modernreformation.org/resources/articles/little-children-keep-yourselves-from-idols.

[5] Piper, “What Is Idolatry?”

[6] Piper, “What Is Idolatry?”

[7] The life of Christ (that which Christian worship proclaims) is not derived from Scripture; rather, Scripture is derived from Christ.

[8] Richard A. Muller and Rowland S. Ward, Scripture and Worship: Biblical Interpretation and the Directory for Worship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Co., 2007), 35.

THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP PART 3: THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP IN THE TRIUNE GOD

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Christianity is unique not only in the fact that believers worship a living God but also that he is a triune God. Furthermore, he is a triune God who works among his people in a triune manner (i.e. three distinct persons in three distinct roles). God’s people then respond to his triune work in both Christian life and Christian worship. “Before religion can be known as a sweet communion, it must be known as an answered summons.”[1] Worship is a call (by God) and a response (by his people). Still, such call and response are carried by triune work. The triune God, both as object and subject, is the essence of Christian worship. Worship both declares and embodies the triune love relationship between the members of the Godhead. Moreover, worship must realize the balance that exists in Christian life: the workings of the Trinity.

Worship Declares Triune Love

Worship is triune. As such, the act of worship must declare triune love. What is meant by such love is the love that exists between the three members of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit. In covenant theology, the covenant of grace between God and his people is subsequent only to the covenant of redemption (the covenant that persisted from eternity past between the three members of the Godhead as to how the chosen people would be redeemed). While nothing in Scripture is explicit to reveal such a covenant, the concept arises from a plurality of texts that give it sufficient evidence (the entirety of the book of John, for example, that discusses the work the Father sent Jesus to accomplish). Such commitment to that work indicates a covenant and love that exists between the Father, Son, and Spirit.

As great as the love is that God possesses for his people, the love relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit is even greater. When Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him (Heb 12:2), such joy was not the thought of people. While Jesus’ love for his people is exceedingly marvelous, the joy set before him was his own glory, which was accomplished through his death on the cross. Worship recognizes God’s glory above all. Worship should rightly celebrate the great love of Christ for his people, but that recognition should follow an understanding of the love God has for himself.

Without God’s triune work and the involvement of every member of the Godhead, redemption is not possible. Moreover, without God’s triune work, worship is not possible. To the glory of the Father and through the mediator Jesus Christ, God the Spirit helps God’s people approach the throne boldly and worship rightly (Rom 8:26), for such an approach is impossible without God’s intervention. In fact, the Apostle Paul insists that Christians alone possess the sole rite and ability to worship God based upon the fact that Christians alone worship by the Spirit of God (Phil 3:3).[2] God the Spirit, the helper for believers on earth, is the subject of worship. In other words, for human efforts fall short of God-honoring worship, the Spirit helps and intercedes on his people’s behalf so that what is presented to God is transformed from human inadequacy into a God-honoring gift.

God’s love for his people is marvelous and should be praised and remembered. Nonetheless, it is the love between the Father, Son, and Spirit that spurs God’s love for his people. The Father has bequeathed a people to the Son and the Son displays such a great love that he died for his people. The death of Christ, however, would not have happened without his overarching love for his Father. Worship, in declaring the story of God, should declare (also) the character of God. As such, the character of God includes his love for himself, which surpasses any other love. All glory belongs to God, and he surely will not allow anyone else to share it (Is 42:8). Even in believers’ position as recipients of being glorified with Christ (Rom 8:17-18), the glory is not shared except for positionally as those found in Christ. Worship then is triune, for one who worships in spirit and truth realizes the vitality of God’s triune glory as God’s people worship him.

Triune love is an aspect of the Christian faith from which everything else proceeds. God is triune so worship is also triune. The Trinity is difficult to accurately define. Nevertheless, God offers his triune nature in Scripture to make sufficient a trust in such character.

God is triune and eternally exists as the Godhead, three in one: no hierarchy and no division but three distinct persons, coequal and co-eternal with each other. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one with each other and equally worthy of worship. Neither is created, and all are equal in power and glory yet function in disparate manners in a specific Godhead order. The Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Spirit; the Spirit is not the Father. Yet, the Father is God; the Son is God; the Spirit is God; and all three persons eternally exist as one with each other. All three persons of the Trinity operate in a love relationship with one another yet as one God. The Father, out of love for the Son, has bequeathed a people to his Son; the Son, begotten of the Father as incarnate word and out of love for the Father has redeemed the people given to him through his death, burial, resurrection, and eventual return; the Spirit, eternally proceeding from both the Father and the Son (John 14:16, 16:7) and out of love for the Father and the Son, calls, guides, and convicts the redeemed people of God; through the distinct work of all three persons then, triune God is glorified. The church worships and lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, through Christ the mediator, to the glory of God the Father. One in love, glory, and power, a specific Godhead order is designed for the overarching and governing purpose of worship, namely the glory of God. One God, three distinct persons, God ordains all things, and in all things, the three persons of the Trinity, in love for one another, function to the glory of the triune God.[3]

To properly declare the story of God, worship must declare God’s triune nature.

Worship Embodies Triune Love

God’s people are found in Christ (Rom 8:17), for indeed, they are collectively one body: the body of Christ. As it is so, the church is to not only declare triune love in worship, she is to participate in triune love. In a mystical fashion, worship is participatory. A common term utilized in discussions of worship is vertical. In such measures, worship is solely between individuals and God. This type of thought would be partially incorrect, however, for worship is also horizontal (i.e. worship is participatory between members of the same body). Christians must not lose the horizontal aspect of worship. Certainly, worship is a dialogue between God and his people, but the aspect of a singular body comprised of many members must not be neglected.

The love relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit is not negated among the saints of God. There is perhaps no greater display of unity in the church than the corporate gathering of God’s people, for not only do God’s people respond to who God is by telling his story, they also respond to one another in a singular corporate dialogue. The greatest display of such a union with one another and with Christ is the sacrament of Communion. Too often neglected is the fact that God is not only the object of worship but also the subject (i.e. the one who is working). A common tendency is to view the worship gathering or service as believers working for God or striving to honor him. Surely, the church honors God with their offerings of worship, but to accurately display the union the church possesses in Christ, especially during the Eucharist, local churches should “put more stress on what God is doing through Communion and less emphasis on the unworthy state of the worshiper.”[4]

Truly, a radical issue in the worship of the modern church is the focus on self. Human desires and devices, often disguised as passion and mistaken for zeal, have seemingly caused churches to neglect the vitality of union with Christ as a body. Robert Webber writes,”Bread and wine reveal that creatures and creation find their completion and fulfillment in union with the divine. Until we are united with the divine, we go at it alone with the focus on self.”[5] Communion, therefore, is not a mere mental act of remembrance but rather a participatory act of factual communion with the Lord in a corporeal body: the church, the body of Christ. Until worship returns to the early church’s realization of the mystical sense of the faith in union with Christ, worship will, at best, be a series of routines and actions with little life-changing experience.

The greatest love known to humankind is the love of Christ (John 15:13); the greatest love in the universe is the love between the Father, Son, and Spirit, from which the astonishing love for God’s people is derived. The people of God, however, may not only experience the great love of God but may also participate in the triune love shared between the Godhead. As the body of Christ, the Father loves the church as his Son, for truly, the bride of Christ is found in union and one with him. Therefore, as the Father beholds the bride of Christ, he beholds his Son and loves her the same. Christian worship, in telling the story of God, should express such a real union between God’s people and the Son, thus, embodying and participating in triune love.

The Godhead Order of the Christian Faith

The basis of Christian worship is not utilitarian but theological.[6] Consider the discrepancy between a realistic course of study in worship (theological) and what is often thought about worship studies (music). “Christian worship is first an experience, not an art.”[7] As such, for practice to change, lingo must change. Worship leaders (for lack of a singular title) must endeavor to change the culture by changing the teaching.

One way in which worship practice should change is in its employment of trinitarian language. For this to happen, a proper understanding and subsequently an accurate description of trinitarian work should be present in Christian worship gatherings. Certainly, the Father, Son, and Spirit are coequal. Nonetheless, there exists a Godhead order by way of function (i.e. the distinct persons and workings of the members of the Godhead). The triune order and indeed the order in which all Christian work occurs is by the power of the Holy Spirit, through Christ the mediator, to the glory of God the Father so that the entirety of the triune God is honored. The Christian faith employs this Godhead order, as does Christian worship.

Of the word, theos, Carpenter and Comfort attest:

The word first appears in the book of Acts, in Paul’s speech to the Athenians, who had erected a monument to an unknown God. This God, whom Paul called “deity,” is not far from any of us, human beings. Paul proclaimed that God has placed within each one of us the sense to worship and seek him. We grope for him by creating images to worship—whether it be a piece of stone or personal pleasures.^[8]

Without God’s revelation, we would always worship an unknown God. Paul’s point is that God is close. As such, Christian worship and indeed Christian living occurs in a triune manner: in the power of the Spirit, through the Son, and to the glory of the Father. Prayer is employed in the Spirit, through the Son, to the Father; worship is conducted in the Spirit, through the Son, to the Father.

It may seem that such a Godhead order is not important, but since worship is primarily theological rather than utilitarian, the church must strive for accuracy. Although, no one is absolutely correct, the Spirit gives what believers need so that the foolishness of men is transformed into the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:21). As such, the Trinity should be discussed in terms of the proper Godhead order. When the order is out of place (e.g. Father, Spirit, Son, etc.), a theological error has taken place.

The order is a flow from Spirit to Son to Father or downward from Father to Son to Spirit without a hierarchy and without any inequality. Such is the order of the Christian faith, of salvation, and indeed of worship. The church must strive to accurately portray the Godhead order in Christian worship and in life application.

The Godhead order, however, does not imply inequality. The Father, Son, and Spirit are coequal and surely are one God yet with three distinct persons and functions. In workings of salvation, the Spirit draws humans while the Son’s redemptive work on the cross saves them while the Fater’s wrath is satisfied through the Son’s sacrifice. All three persons hold distinct functions in salvific work. In worship, all three persons have a specific function as well, for the Father receives the worship of the people he has gifted to the Son who mediates such worship to become a pleasing offering while the Spirit works amongst the people of God to produce God-pleasing worship. Trinitarian work is present, abundant, and never-ceasing.

Christian worship tells God’s story but also does God’s story in that the church participates in union with trinitarian work. In three distinct manners, triune God works among his people to the glory of the one triune God. Worship glorifies the Father; worship glorifies the Son; and indeed, worship glorifies the Spirit. Where the Spirit is honored, the Son is honored, and where the Son is honored, the Father is honored in a holy love relationship with one another. Christian life operates in the Godhead order; so also does Christian worship.

Balance Is Crucial

Even in discussions of trinitarian worship, it is likely that an imbalance comes to mind.[9] Consider how often a balance of trinitarian work is evident in worship gatherings. It is likely a rare occurrence. For it to be so, worship leaders and liturgists must be intentional.

I am reminded of a worship experience I once had in a large and well-attended church. From the welcome to the closing of the gathering, I could not begin to count the theological and practical errors. Nothing was intentional except an attempt to look as much like the world as possible without (perhaps) the guilt of doing so. The welcome included many jokes, futile announcements, and nothing about the purpose of the gathering: worship of a holy God. What if, however, to shift to an appropriate focus in the context of worship, the one welcoming God’s people said something like this?

People of God, today we enter into the presence of the blessed holy one, the one who gives more than we could ask or desire, and the one who stands ready to meet you as you bless his heart by your readiness in his presence. Our God pours upon us the abundance of his mercy today as we approach him with absolution in our hearts and resolve in our minds that he alone is worthy of our praise. Not by merit and not by wisdom may we approach the throne of God but only in thankfulness by the leading of the Holy Spirit, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, do we approach the throne in the grace and mercy of the Father to the glory of our triune and eternal God. People and children of God, welcome. Let us worship.

With such a foundation upon which worship gatherings may be built, perhaps, local churches would seek intentional methods to plan their gatherings with respect to the triune workings of the Lord. A balance must persist in worship. There should be no absence of the Father, the Son, or the Spirit in any Christian worship gathering, for all three are at work in such a place. This is a charge then for worship leaders, pastors, and liturgists to intentionally design a balance during the planning of the worship gathering. Christian life is employed in the triune Godhead order; so, also, must Christian worship be so.

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[1] Franklin M. Segler, Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1967), 61.

[2] David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 186.

[3] Quoted from Jonathan Michael Jones’ personal description of the Trinity.

[4] Webber, Worship Is a Verb, 97.

[5] Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future Worship (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008), 142.

[6] Raymond Abba, Principles of Christian Worship (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1957), 5.

[7] Segler, Christian Worship, 57.

^[8] Eugene E. Carpenter and Philip W. Comfort. Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2000), 268.

[9] I suggest that the most evident imbalance comes at the cost of God the Spirit, for perhaps, the least discussed person of the Trinity is such. Moreover, when the Spirit is discussed, often, he is discussed in improper theological terms.