HORIZONTAL
COMMUNITY, NOT JUST VERTICAL WORSHIP
A
growing concept, in recent decades, is that of vertical worship, i.e. worship
occurs solely as a dialogue between God and individual worshiping. I do not
deny that worship is vertical; nonetheless, it is not solely vertical, for
there is also a horizontal aspect. By horizontal, I do not mean that God’s
people worship each other or other earthly things; contrarily, I mean that the
church corporately worships triune God. In fact, God has covenanted with a
people more obviously than with individuals. While individuals comprise the
body of Christ, the church exists as one body. The connection between worship
and mission, corporate and personal happens in the sending; when the church is
sent from the corporate worship gathering, God’s people begin a process of
personal worship together. Thus, even in personal worship, there is a corporate
aspect. To neglect the horizontal relationships shared between the people of
God is to effectively become absorbed in self-seeking goals. Worship, however,
is not self-seeking but looks first to the glory of God and second to the good
of others. If worship were solely vertical, the ordinances would not only be
corporate; therefore, private communion is not Communion at all; there is
surely a horizontal obligation in worship. So as not to deny the vertical
aspect of worship, for the following, I will assume the truth of vertical
worship while concurrently providing a foundation for horizontal worship.
Worship Is Horizontal Because God Has
Covenanted with a People Rather than Mere Individuals
First,
to argue that worship is simultaneously vertical and horizontal and not to neglect
the horizontal aspect, I submit that God has covenanted with a people rather
than mere individuals. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul discusses the redeemed people
of God as many members of one body; yet, the emphasis is placed on one body
more than many members, i.e. the body takes precedence over the individual
members. Sarcastic and rhetorical pictures of body parts personified and
speaking to other members of the body in their own will are indicative of the
overall purpose of the body rather than individual members. In our
self-absorption, we often speak of God’s will as it applies solely to our
lives. Nonetheless, God does not have only a will for our lives but a will
at-large which glorifies himself and brings him pleasure and a will into which
each person in the covenanted body of Christ fits.
In
Exodus 2, God hears the cries of his people and responds to bring them out of
the bondage of slavery. “…God heard their groaning, and God remembered his
covenant…God saw the people of Israel – and God knew.” (Exod 2:24-25) The focal
point of God’s response here is his covenant; he responded to his covenant, not
purely the cries of his people. The various covenants of old between God and
Abraham, Moses, David, and others were ultimately an extension of the overarching
covenant of grace between himself and his people which was made permanent and
perfect through the new covenant in Jesus Christ. The covenant, however, is
with a people, not individuals.
No
child of God is born as a child of God but is rather adopted (Rom 8:15). As
adopted people then, God has given us a part in his body. The link between this
truth and worship then is that we worship not only as individuals but also (and
even more) as a corporate body. Throughout Scripture, we are referred to in a plural
sense but also as a singular body. We are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people for his own possession.” (1 Pet 2:9) By God’s covenant
with his people, we worship as a body, not solely as individuals. In this
manner then, worship is not only vertical but horizontal. Picture a global
redeemed people of God, the church, worshiping triune God. We might visually
think of God’s people dialoging vertically; nevertheless, the body worshiping
and proclaiming the story of God exists as a vertical body, i.e. the church is
comprised of many people who form one living organism. God has covenanted with
a people, not merely individuals. The worship we give triune God then is given
together. We live together; we love together; we function together; and we
worship together as the body of Christ.
Worship Is Horizontal Because It Declares the Gospel to
Others
My
second argument for seeing worship through not only a vertical but also a
horizontal lens is that worship declares the gospel to others. The tendency
might be to consider the proclamation of the gospel for only those who do not
know Christ; yet, the gospel should be proclaimed to everyone including those
who already have a personal relationship with the Savior. The gospel should be
proclaimed to the lost and continue being proclaimed to the church because it
has not only been life-changing for God’s people but continues to be
life-changing. Christians have repented but should continue repenting and need
the gospel to do so.
A
constant declaration of the gospel should not be confused with seeker-sensitive
worship if such a thing exists. God is the point of the gospel and is, in fact,
the gospel himself. In declaring the gospel then, the church declares God. The
gospel does not point first to the redemption of humankind but rather to the
glory, fame, majesty, and worth of triune God, from which humankind’s
redemption is derived. Surely, there is an evangelistic theme and aspect to
worship by nature; yet, it is not seeker-sensitive. The point here is that the
church worships to give glory to God by proclaiming his story. Worship declares
the gospel not only to God but also to others, i.e. we continually declare the
gospel to each other in corporate worship. Therefore, it is okay to sing songs
about God as well as to him. If we desire to only sing to God, we have both
missed the point and limited worship solely to music. A sermon or homily, for
example, is also worship; yet, they are not preached to God but about him to
God’s people. Worship declares the glory of God and proclaims the gospel
message, through which God’s people are changed. The horizontal aspect here
then is God’s people declaring the gospel to each other.
Worship Is Horizontal Because the Holy Spirit’s Work Is
Horizontal
The
Holy Spirit’s work is fundamental to worship, for it is only in the power of
the Spirit that God’s people approach the Father mediated through the Son.
While God is the object of worship, we would be mistaken to consider ourselves
as the subject, i.e. the one(s) at work. God is both object and subject; he is
the one whom we worship and the one who works in our midst. In the triune
Godhead, the Holy Spirit works among the people of God; thus, his work is
horizontal. Preceded only by his love for both the Son and the Father, the Holy
Spirit works in the church and out of love for her.
The
Holy Spirit is likely the most neglected person of the Godhead; yet, we must
strive to change this. To ignore the doctrine of the Trinity (including the
Holy Spirit) or to claim such a doctrine cannot be explained is a copout.
Worship is triune in nature. God is triune and eternally exists as the
Godhead, three in one: no hierarchy and no division but three distinct persons,
co-equal 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.
God is not distantly
observing the worship from his people but instead is among and working in the
bride of Christ, particularly through the work of the Spirit. If we focus
solely on our individual selves without realizing God’s work among his people
as a body, we fail to see not only the horizontal relationship and offering of
love given by the church but also the work of the Holy Spirit among God’s
people as a single unified body. God’s work is not merely in and for
individuals but rather his own purposes manifested and carried out through the
church. While it might be tempting to seek God’s will for our lives
individually, we should understand that God has a supreme will, into which we
individually fit. The Holy Spirit’s work then is among the people of God, not
merely individual believers. Worship is not only vertical but also horizontal
because the Holy Spirit’s work among the people of God is horizontal.
Worship Is Horizontal Because the Church Is the Body of
Christ
The
body of Christ is most naturally a horizontal body, i.e. the church is comprised
of relationships not only with and in Christ but also with each other. The
church does not merely represent the body of Christ but literally is the body
of Christ; we are his hands and feet (1 Cor 12:27). Perpetually unified in
Jesus, the church possesses the sole ability and right to worship God; yet, it
happens as a body, not as mere individuals.
I
submit that (corporate) worship forms people as individuals. Personal worship
then is derived from corporate worship; the way people worship becomes the way
they live their lives. In a cyclic manner, the church worships corporately and
are, thus, formed individually as a part of the body of Christ and then glorify
God together as a single unified body. Horizontal worship then lends itself to
vertical worship presented to God by the church. Even in personal worship, God’s
people (together) present their lives. In this manner, Christians do not go to
church but are the church and the body and bride of Christ.
It Is about Horizontal Relationships
It
is not intended for us to live life alone; God has created us with individual
purposes, subsequent to his governing purpose, namely his own glory. The church
is a single unified body and worships as a single body. The key to unity is Jesus
Christ and the shalom relationship which exists as a result. The church is a
horizontal body comprised of horizontal relationships among the adopted people
of God. Worship then is not solely vertical. In Christ Jesus, the horizontal
nature of worship is evident. We must be faithful worshipers who do not neglect
the horizontal; we must be people who understand that we do not go to church as
if it is a place but (collectively) are the church.
