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A GREATER CONNECTION TO THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL
The Nicene Creed emphasizes a belief in one holy catholic and apostolic church. Often, Protestants seem to grow uncomfortable or even disassociate with such a statement likely because of misunderstanding its meaning. Catholic, in the context of the Nicene Creed, simply means universal; apostolic means originating with the Apostles of Christ. With such an understanding, all Christians should agree. Protestants and evangelicals may boldly declare in truth that they are a part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. Christians are a part of a body before they are individuals. Thus, God’s people throughout the ages are linked together as a part of a single organism. Liturgy not only exhibits unity among the people of God but also affords God’s people to experience a greater connection to the church universal. Through liturgy, Christians share with global saints throughout time, share with Christ himself, and exhibit unity in Christ. Though from every nation, Christians comprise one body dispersed throughout the world and display unity through their use of the same resource and tool: liturgy.
Liturgy
Shares with Global Saints throughout Time
The
bride of Christ is a universal body comprised of every tribe, nation, tongue,
color, race, language, and time. Historic liturgies have been utilized by the
church for centuries and, thus, connect the people of God irrespective of
external boundaries and differences. When local churches today employ historic
liturgy in their worship contexts, they share in the same practices the saints
throughout the centuries have also employed. By linking God’s people through
liturgy, the worship of a timeless and boundless God transcends time itself,
geographic location, and language and race.
God
is timeless and has never been bound by time. Time, in fact, is his creation
for the bounds of humans, not himself. His church then is also timeless. Lest
the people of God forget that the church includes saints from all generations
and eras, Christians today are a part of the same body in which the Apostles
subsist. Prominent saints in the Christian faith might not often be considered
to be in the same group as God’s people today; yet, the most seemingly
insignificant child of God in smalltown, USA is a part of the same body as
Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, and John Calvin. Moreover, for those who
utilize a historic liturgy, the same practices are employed that have been used
by many of these significant saints of the past. Additionally, the church today
is connected to the church tomorrow, for both are a part of the same body.
Liturgy employs practices that have been executed for centuries and will
continue to be used until the return of Christ. Therefore, liturgy aids in a
noteworthy connection between saints throughout the ages.
Through
liturgy, the church of God also transcends geographic location. Records of
historic liturgies have been found throughout the globe. The Christian nation
is comprised of many geographic nations. In fact, God’s heart is for the
nations (Ps 46:10). Believers’ call to missions is a reflection of the heart of
God, for Christ’s bride, for whom he died, includes people of every nation. S.J.
Stone (1839-1900 AD) composed the following words, which speak of the bride of
Christ:
Elect
from every nation, yet one through all the earth:
her
charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one
holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food;
and to one hope, she presses with every grace endued.
The oneness of the church in Christ is
marvelously and mystically exhibited when God’s people use liturgy, for while
the people of God worship in one geographic
location, his people also worship him in
another with the use of the same tool.
The
church of God also transcends language and race, which is revealed in the use
of liturgy. When Christians gather as one global body for the weekly worship of
one God, a mystical unity occurs, which cannot be explained by human logic or
divided by human boundaries. Moreover, the connecting tool is often found in
the order and elements utilized by those who worship God, i.e. the liturgy. The
same historic liturgies that have been used by saints of the past and will be
used by saints of the future are often used by Christians around the globe
irrespective of external factors. Therefore, the same medium of spiritual
formation that existed in the early church continues to exist for God’s people
presently, for liturgy shapes and connects the people of God.
Through liturgy, Christians around the world are shaped by God himself. While no Christian’s spiritual formation is the same, liturgy, being an instrument of formation in God’s people, is the same; while liturgy may be adapted contextually, the message it presents is the same message that rings true throughout the ages. God’s people, thus, are shaped and connected through liturgy. Even in a free tradition, liturgy grants believers the profit of being connected to a larger body: namely the body of Christ transcending time and external factors. God’s people, therefore, comprised of all combinations of age, race, time, and geographic location, share with one another in a marvelous and mystical unity by their use of liturgy.
Liturgy
Shares with Christ
Liturgy
also possesses the inherent benefit of sharing with Christ. Said another way,
since liturgy is centered around the person and work of Christ, believers,
through the liturgical tool, share in the story, glory, and work of Christ.
Scripture instructs God’s people to share in the sufferings of Christ (1 Pet
4:13); yet, sharing in all aspects of Christ should be an outcome of
Christianity as well. Through liturgy, God’s people share, in a succinct and
clear way, with God the Son and his work.
Through
liturgy, Christians first share in Christ’s story. Worship is designed to tell
the story of God and his work, which is focused through the work of Jesus. Scripture
is centered around Jesus; liturgy is centered around Jesus; therefore, when
local churches employ historic liturgy, God’s people share in Christ’s story by
learning it, declaring it, and living in the reality of it. Christ’s story in
Scripture is complete; his work in the lives of his people, however, is not.
The church today holds the matchless privilege, through liturgy, of sharing in
Christ’s story by participating in what he does and declaring what he has done
through the ages. In a pointed way, through liturgy, the story of Jesus is told
and retold among believers of all ages and geographic locations. Different
people they may be, the story of Jesus rings clearly across the hearts and lips
of all people when liturgy is utilized.
Liturgy
also grants God’s people the opportunity to share in the glory of Christ. Paul
contends that by sharing in the suffering of Christ, his people will also share
in his glory (Rom 8:17). Liturgy does not possess any special power but
declares the gospel message and the glory of Christ alone. By utilizing
liturgy, believers, who are promised to share in the glory of Christ, receive a
foretaste of such glory by what is boldly declared. Liturgy, tested and tried,
centers around the truth of Scripture and the glory of God through Jesus
Christ. Therefore, liturgy affords splendid occasion for the church to declare
not only the glory that Christ is worthy to receive but the glory with which
the bride of Christ will also share.
Moreover,
through liturgy, believers share in the work of Christ. The church’s supreme
work is the work of Christ, which gives glory to God. Extending from such work
then are the nuanced tasks given to local churches and individual believers.
Liturgy declares the work of Christ in an overarching sense; churches and
individuals, however, hold a place within Christ’s overarching work so that he
is glorified. Through liturgy, the broad work of Christ is declared not only
through his work in the text of Scripture but through sincere prayers crafted
by saints through the ages. Through liturgy, God’s people join in declaring the
work of Christ past, present and future and share in that work with their Lord.
Certainly, local churches may receive these benefits without historic liturgy; nonetheless, I contend that historic liturgy, led by the Holy Spirit and proven by Scripture and saints of the past, is the most precise and intentional method of receiving the full benefits mentioned here. It should be no argument, however, that for such discussed benefits to be received, focused intentionality is necessary. Liturgy simply removes the vetting process since such has already been accomplished.
Liturgy
Exhibits Unity in the Church
Through
the shared orders employed by Christians around the globe and throughout the
centuries, liturgy exhibits unity in the church like few resources can. While
one local church utilizes planned and heartfelt scriptures and prayers relevant
to the story of God told throughout human time, countless churches around the
globe employ the same elements in their worship practices. It is as if God’s
people join in one mission, one cry, one prayer, for one God through the
elements offered in worship. Tertullian (155-220 AD) suggests, “The unity of the church of God is a
perpetual fact; our task is not to create it, but to exhibit it.”[1] A
predominant way the church has exhibited unity for centuries is through
liturgy. Through liturgy, the church has exhibited for centuries and continues
to exhibit unity in purpose, in belief, and in practice.
Liturgy exhibits unity in purpose in
that its aim is directed toward the glory of God through the proclamation of
his story. To ask one hundred different people what the purpose of Christian
life is would be to expect one hundred different answers. Jesus himself said,
however, that the greatest commandment is to love God with all the heart, soul,
mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). Such a commandment is even greater than the
Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20), which many believers would attest as the
purpose of the church. The purpose of the church, nevertheless, revolves around
God and his glory, i.e. all other purposes and tasks are derived from the underpinning
purpose of God’s glory. Liturgy is designed for the purpose of worship: the
goal and indeed the purpose of Christian life. Too many churches have given
worship an evangelistic purpose to reach those who do not know Christ. While
worship is certainly evangelistic in nature (since it declares the gospel), a
lost person has no capacity to worship or pray to God. Worship is for
Christians and no one else. A worship service then should be crafted to worship
God without regard to anything else. Liturgy accomplishes this said goal by eliminating
distractions, i.e. anything that replaces the focus of worshiping God. Therefore,
through liturgy, the church’s unity is exposed in her purpose.
Liturgy also exhibits unity in
belief. Liturgy expresses the core tenets of the Christian faith and orthodox
beliefs, which have been present in her life for centuries. Many liturgical
traditions even utilize historic creeds, e.g. the Apostles Creed, the Nicene
Creed, and the Athanasian Creed to state what they believe. Such creeds, however,
stem from the truth of Scripture, around which historic liturgy is designed. Thus,
to employ liturgy is to reveal the orthodox beliefs of Christianity. Moreover,
by using liturgy, churches exhibit unity since they express beliefs that are
shared and confessed in the same manner by believers around the world.
Liturgy lastly exhibits unity in
practice. As Christians resort to liturgy, their worship gatherings take the
same focus and themes as countless worship gatherings around the world. On a
given Sunday, many churches utilize the same scriptures, themes, and prayers as
other believers around the world so that the expression of worship and prayer
offered join as one: unity among the people of God. The mystical unity of the
church is certainly exhibited in a tangible and even corporeal way through the
employment of liturgy.
While free traditions may desire to separate themselves from liturgy because of its connection with Catholicism or insincere practice, my argument has, thus far, been, that liturgy is certainly not insincere; furthermore, my contention is that liturgy is not linked solely to Catholicism, for even Protestant believers throughout the centuries (many of whom opposed Catholicism during the Reformation and from whom current Protestant practices originated) have used liturgy in their worship gatherings. Free traditions have an invaluable resource at their disposal in liturgy. Vetted by the church in the many centuries prior, liturgy provides a marvelous tool for the church to visibly exhibit unity. Believers should consider themselves a part of a single body (namely the body of Christ) more than individuals. Surely, Christ loves and has a personal relationship with individual Christians; yet, believers are a part of the bride of Christ first and foremost. A proper understanding of the oneness of the church, therefore, should impact the way God’s people worship, for their state of mind will primarily reveal a plurality rather than an individuality. Liturgy allows for this concept to be exhibited in a real and tangible manner. Even if liturgy is modified contextually, liturgical practices reveal an unbreakable unity in the church; it would be firmly advantageous for free traditions to understand such a benefit that comes from the use of liturgy.
A Church That Understands Her Identity
Liturgy does not hinder Christian worship but rather frees and clarifies it. Through liturgy, the church succinctly declares the story of God and does so in a unified way, as believers around the world declare the same story. The church is one body: one holy and apostolic body. Christians then should understand even their individual identity as a part of the whole more than an individual. The Apostle Paul discusses the makeup of the church in his letter to the Ephesians (Eph 4:1-16). A church who understands her role in the body of Christ understands the importance of worship that unveils unity in the body; liturgy allows for such an unveiling. Through liturgy, God’s people experience a greater connection to the church universal by sharing with saints throughout time, sharing with Christ, and exhibiting her unity. The church’s identity is in Christ. Liturgy reveals not separation between various churches but a mystical unity of the church universal. Free churches, therefore, would not be negatively impacted by liturgy but positively. A church that uses liturgy likely understands her identity but also reinforces it since the gospel and the story of God is continuously and repeatedly declared among the people. In this manner, liturgy is exceedingly beneficial to the people of God in every tradition including free traditions.
[1]
Dow Kirkpatrick, ed., The Doctrine
of the Church (New York, NY: Abingdon
Press, 1964), 187.
