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.

THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP PART 2: WORSHIP IN CREATION AND COVENANT

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WORSHIP IN CREATION AND COVENANT

The church is a singular body designed by God to exist in union or in covenant with him. Covenant is thematic throughout the story of Scripture and reoccurs throughout the narrative. While Satan tries to thwart God’s plan of redemptive covenant throughout the Bible, it becomes apparent that God turns dire situations into circumstances that glorify himself (Gen 50:20). Creation is meant to glorify God, and humankind is meant to glorify God by worshipping him alone. The purpose of everyone’s existence is worship. Worship and creation and stalwartly linked in such a way that no one may escape their own dominating purpose of worship.

Humankind Was Created to Worship

Everyone worships someone or something. What the object of one’s worship is, however, is one of the most fundamental questions in human nature. Furthermore, everything that has been created has been so to offer God pleasure (i.e. worship). John writes, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Rev 4:11). The Apostle Paul contends that everything in existence is from God, through God, and to God (Rom 11:36). Thus, solely for the joy and pleasure of God does all creation subsist, including humankind.

The first use of the word translated as covenant is seen in Genesis 6:18. It is “an understanding intended to regulate conduct and relationships between two parties.”[1] The implication of the term utilized in this instance is a vow from God initiated by divine creation in which the created world and order exists for his purpose and glory but also for the benefit of his most prized creation: humankind created in his own image (Gen 1:27). The fundamental concept in God’s covenant with creation is that everything has been created for his own glory. Certainly, a way God glorifies himself is through his people’s benefit. Nonetheless, the governing purpose of everything in existence is God’s glory and pleasure.

As created beings, humankind is not exempt from the purpose of glorifying God. Covenant rests as a secure foundation of God’s eternal purpose in glorifying himself. Even through the means of sin in the Garden, William Dumbrell argues, “The Eden account (Gen 2:4–17), by the presence of evil in Eden, cannot reflect God’s final purpose but seems to model what is to come. This purpose is an Eden world in which God will be continually present, from which saved humanity will never be expelled (Rev 22:1–5).”[2] Said another way, God’s covenant, particularly that which subsists between himself and his beloved people, is perpetual and realizes renewals throughout the story of Scripture, although multiple feeble attempts have been made to thwart it. Without expositing the nuances of covenant theology in the Covenant of Redemption (between the members of the Godhead) and the Covenant of Grace (between the triune God and his people), sufficient is the fact that recipients of covenant’s benefits exist, as all of creation, to glorify God [or] to worship.

The solid foundation of Christian worship is covenant. Vividly evident in the Exodus story, God hears the cries of his people and responds but not based merely on such cries. Rather, God responds to his remembrance of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod 2:24), for such was the foundation of his promises and his offering of grace to his people from then and throughout history. As worshipers of the living God, the church does not have any standing before him without covenant. Covenant is what allows God’s people to come boldly before him and, for the church, unambiguously the New Covenant in Christ (Heb 4:14-16).

Christian worship is replete with symbols of covenant. Even in the disparate approaches of worship between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, typologies exist that point to what would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ: a new and better covenant (Heb 8:6). Where the lamb’s blood protected the people of God in the Exodus, the blood of the Lamb eternally secures God’s people in the New Covenant; where sin entered humankind through Adam, righteousness favors God’s people through Jesus; and where only an animal sacrifice allowed God’s people to temporarily approach him, the permanent sacrifice of Jesus Christ allows the church to boldly worship in the covering of his righteousness. Old Testament theology and practices should be understood by God’s people, for the exceeding goodness of the New Covenant may not be fully realized without a proper understanding of the Old Covenant.

Upon creation of the world, God initiated a covenant between himself and creation where everything exists for his glory and pleasure. Moreover, such glory is received by his bestowing of benefits upon his people through creation. The process then is cyclic: God creates his people to worship him; God’s people receive the benefits of creation; and God is glorified through the perpetual employment of creation to his name. This is worship. Creation exists to glorify God, and humankind is no different. People were created to worship the triune God. Therefore, where worship of the living God does not occur, it is the church’s mission to ensure that it does (i.e. missions). God’s covenant with creation and (especially) with humanity is for the purpose of worship; humankind exists for the purpose of the Lord’s worship.

Christian Worship Is Produced from the Covenant Between God and His People

Christian worship is built upon the foundation of covenant. During the sacrament of Communion, Christ commands his people to do so in remembrance of the New Covenant (1 Cor 1:24-25). It is such a covenant that believers remember the unfathomable sacrifice Christ paid on behalf of his beloved people. Nonetheless, while God’s gift of grace transcends human comprehension, Christians worship God primarily for who he is rather than what he has done.

The prophet Isaiah had a unique and unforgettable experience in his vision of the Lord (Is 6). In fact, the experience was so unforgettable that his response was one of fear and trembling rather than jubilation and excitement. There are certainly times for joy in the presence of the Lord but not until after one realizes who he or she is and who God is, which should illicit the same response as Isaiah: “Woe is me” (Is 6:5). For those who contend that worship should be fun, they have perhaps largely missed the proper response in worship. Worship must begin with a realization of who God is and, in response, a humbling realization of who humankind is.

Believers now seemingly worship God for what he has done or what he is able to do. It is surely not wrong to thank God for his plurality of undeserved blessings. Nevertheless, without the primary foundation of an unimaginably worthy God, people may not rightly worship. Worship occurs when the people of God are in his presence, which assuredly is evidenced by life-change.

One day every person will bow down and declare the glory of God (Phil 2:10-11) upon the realization of who he is. Until then, however, those who are redeemed not only understand who God is but have also received his matchless grace: the practical result of covenant. Thus, Christian worship is built upon a unique foundation: God’s covenant between himself and his people. Scripture teaches that believers love God because he first loved them (1 John 4:19). Accordingly, Christian worship is built greater than the worship of those who ultimately reject Christ, for not only does Christian worship understand who God is, God’s people also receive his grace abundantly and respond in thankfulness to him.

The corporate worship gathering is a dialogue between God and his people. Moreover, worship is a dialogue with a solid foundation: namely covenant. Covenant continuously produces worship, for the undeserved covenant between God and the church, mediated by Jesus Christ, fosters a greater love offered to God by his people. Richard Foster writes, “The point of a covenant is commitment—the very thing to which we have such an aversion. But where would we be if God had not committed himself to blessing the world through the offspring of Abraham? Where would we be if Jesus had refused to commit himself to washing away the sins of the world? Where would we be?”[3] When believers consider the reach of God’s covenant and the extreme measures to which he went to fulfill his covenant of grace, the only appropriate response should be unceasing worship. Worship is built upon a foundation: namely covenant, a covenant that may not be replicated or matched but one that should spur God’s people to eternal worship. 

Sin, in Its Simplest Form, Is Idolatry: Not Worshiping Who We Were Created to Worship

The seriousness of sin may not be overstated. Sin, in fact, is the element that disallows humankind to rightly worship God. The only reason believers may rightly worship God is the mediation of Christ, for when the Father looks upon his people, he does not view the sin of humanity but the righteousness of the Son. Here I suggest (and with stalwart biblical and theological support) that worship is life and life is worship. As such, sin is nothing short of idolatry (i.e. it is wrongly placing something else in a position higher than God). When one sins, he or she has stated, by action, that a thing or a person is more important than honoring God: the essence of worship.

God has created everything for his purposes, but sin has tainted such a purpose. Humanity has violated God’s creation whether against other people or else. “All sins are against God. If we have wronged a person we have wronged that person’s Father in heaven. If we have violated creation, we have offended the Creator.”[4] To properly worship the triune God, it is obligatory that God’s people understand the serious nature of sin.[5] In its simplest form, sin is idolatry.

Speaking to professing believers, the Apostle Paul writes, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more” (Gal 4:8-9). “Here…we have a further description of the enslavement from which Christ has liberated his people: they were in bondage to counterfeit gods, ‘dumb idols’ (τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ ἄφωνα), as they are called in 1 Cor. 12:2.”[6] While literally realized as false gods, these idols to which the Christians of Galatians turned should bring a warning to all Christians: the war between the spirit and flesh (Gal 5:17) is such that any professing Christian may fall sway to the most unthinkable elements of the mind and actions of the heart. For worshipers to honor God in spirit and truth (John 4:23), God must be greater than number one on a priority list; he must indeed be the entire priority list.

Idolatry subsists at two levels: by nature (nonbelievers) and against the new nature (believers). Nonbelievers do not participate in idolatry in rebellion to the new nature, for they have never possessed such a changed state. Christians, rather, oppose the new nature in Christ when they sin.[7] At two different levels then, humankind engages in idolatry, for without exaggeration, anything that is placed at greater importance than the honor of King Jesus is an idol, and it must be severed, for it holds no place in Christian worship. For such to occur, Christians should allow God to examine their hearts and then rid themselves of all that hinders their totality of worship.

Additionally, idolatry is usually expressed in a failed personal expression of worship rather than in corporate worship. What is meant by this is personal worship should always align with what transpires in corporate worship (i.e. there should be no discrepancy between the two). The world is pervaded with idolatry and without any attempt, for it is the natural way of humanity. Thus, a Christian cannot rightly worship God and seek the ways of the world. Paul, writing to the Romans, says:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things (Rom 1:21-23).

A striking description of the world’s ways, Paul’s indictment is stark and should be heeded by all believers. Since the ways of the world are to be avoided at all costs and Christians are to live according to Scripture (the ways of Christ), when modern churches make feeble attempts to draw a lost world by adopting their ways (e.g. the world’s music, the world’s visuals, the world’s lingo, etc.), one should rightly question the methods such a church employs.

The covenant between God and humankind was broken in the Garden originally but restored permanently through Jesus Christ. As a fallen world does not honor God and has distorted what he has created for good, Jesus Christ has reconciled his people to himself to honor him and worship him in righteousness. The church is eternally forgiven already so when God’s people sin, they are not being who they are (i.e. alive in the new nature Christ has implemented). Sin then is idolatry and, although forgiven, should be heeded with the highest warning, for God is jealous for his people’s worship (Exod 34:14).

Covenant Includes a Right to Commune with God Which Only Christians Possess

In God’s covenant with creation, everything that exists does so for the purpose of his pleasure and glory; this includes humankind. Although seemingly thwarted in the Garden, God continued to renew his covenant throughout Scripture and realized a permanent and better covenant through the New Covenant in Christ, which affords the church a way to rightly worship God and commune with him. Such communion, symbolized through the sacraments, is an aspect of the faith that only Christians possess. No one may commune with God unless found in covenant with Christ. Without entering in that covenant, one’s attempts to worship and, thus, commune with God are futile. God’s covenant with humankind began with Adam, and although rebellion entered the hearts of humanity through Adam, “God did not give up on people altogether because he selected one man, Noah, to restart the population on earth… [yet, in an amazingly refreshing grace], God involved humans in his work.”[8] Worship is communion between God and his people: a people with a new nature who seek to exemplify the change in their lives that only comes from Jesus Christ. God has created his people for the purpose of worship. Therefore, all that the church does should endeavor to fulfill that overarching and governing goal.

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[1] William J. Dumbrell, Covenant and Creation: An Old Testament Covenant Theology (Milton Keynes, MK: Paternoster, 2013), 1.

[2] Dumbrell, 1-2.

[3] Richard J. Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992), 123.

[4] Glenn Packiam, Blessed, Broken, Given: How Your Story Becomes Sacred in the Hands of Jesus (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2019), 115.

[5] Sin is employed here as a singular and broad term because human nature should be understood as sinful rather than an inventory of individual sins. Said another way, God’s people must realize that their specific sins are not what separates them from God but their birth nature as a sinner. People sin because they are sinners; they are not sinners because they sin.

[6] F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), 202.

[7] All sin is idolatry, no matter how seemingly big or small.

[8] Vang and Carter, 43.

THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP PART 1: WORSHIP DEFINED

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INTRODUCTION

Raised in a Baptist minister’s home, I became familiar with the church and the things of God from an early age. Compounded with such an upbringing, I also became familiar with modern worship lingo since I played the piano and began leading music for churches when I was young. Like most believers in Western society, however, my understanding of worship was not only flawed, it was perpetuated by a society and even a Christian subculture that truly did not understand biblical worship.

Years later a seminary professor suggested that believers must rediscover the missing jewel: namely worship. For decades, worship has been falsely understood, taught, and believed, which has caused the issue the spiral further out of control. In this text, it will be made clear that worship is primary and indeed the most important act in which the church participates. Perhaps, unintentional, a glaring reason worship has become so misjudged by Christians is its deceitful connection with music. While worship includes music, music is not synonymous with worship. How many comments, however, have been heard equating worship with music: “The worship (i.e. the music) was good this morning” or a pastor instructing a so-called worship leader to close worship via prayer before he preaches. Language must change to facilitate a biblical idea of worship to the church.

This text engages in a concise biblical theology of worship in an overarching manner. I believe that people remember nuggets of information greater than deep analyses. This book then is a compilation of the most vital nuggets of information regarding worship. It is my hope that those who encounter my writing here discover a newfound understanding of biblical worship and begin to ameliorate the worship gatherings and experiences of modern churches by intentionally changing the culture. To do so, a deep awareness of Scripture and theology surrounding worship must be acquired. Without conforming to a specific claim or tradition, this text aims to achieve such a goal in a broad way. This is a concise theology and understanding of practice regarding Christian worship.

WORSHIP DEFINED

The subject of worship seems to be one of the most debated topics in churches in recent decades. I boldly suggest that such debates center around a misunderstanding of worship. In response, the church must rediscover the nature and essence of worship from a biblical perspective. Incorrect language has perpetuated a false understanding of worship and, thus, continues to be (often unknowingly) taught and discussed in improper and exceedingly convoluted terms. Much must change if Christians desire to not only understand biblical worship but also change the narrative and practice to that which honors God. To do so, God’s people should appropriately define worship and then act in accordance with such a definition, which requires comprehending the what, who, when, and why of worship.

What: Worship Is Primary

John Piper suggests that missions is not the ultimate goal of the church but worship is.[1] Often, churches seem to place worship at a lower level of importance than other elements (e.g. missions, evangelism, preaching). The attribution to such a sad reality is a misunderstanding of worship. In its simplest form, I define worship as a continuous act of offering glory to God. As simple as such a definition might be, humanity has failed at worship because we have made feeble attempts to steal glory that belongs only to the Lord.

Worship is primary and is, in fact, the ultimate goal of the church. God is jealous and exceedingly about his own glory (Is 43:6-7).[2] Missions exists because worship does not; sermons exist because worship does not; evangelism exists because worship does not. Unfortunately, the modern church seemingly does not understand who God is (i.e. his glory) and who humankind is (falling abundantly short of God’s glory). Since worship is primary, believers should realize its essence and shift to a framework where worship is primary rather than secondary.

To achieve such a daunting task, Christians should understand first what worship is. In both Greek and Hebrew, the words denoting worship are not linked to music. These terms mean either 1) a posture or an attitude or 2) a service rendered. Said another way, worship involves individuals who realize that a worthy God has offered himself on behalf of an unworthy people but respond first and foremost to who he is rather than what he has done or may do, for God would ever be worthy of people’s praise even if he had never done anything for them.

For worship to be primary, the false link to music must be severed, which requires a shift in thought and subsequently a shift in language. A biblical theology of worship understands that worship is action. Moreover, worship is uniquely Christian, for worship of anything or anyone else is idolatry. Believers must understand the what of worship prior to changing its action.

I would suggest that anyone who walks into any modern Christian church would quickly observe such a church’s priorities. Moreover, when a church has the proper perspective on worship, all other aspects and ministries are aligned correctly. Where worship is not primary is where misunderstandings of how a church should operate are misguided. Christian worship is the most crucial element of life. Where worship is not present, the goal of the church has been lost. In corporate worship, all elements must be included (e.g. the sacraments, the message or sermon, congregational singing, etc.), for all combine to encompass the dialogue of worship. Personal worship is then what is connected to the sending from corporate worship. Personal worship should be a reflection of what has occurred in one’s heart and life during corporate worship.

If worship is not primary, what is the goal of missions and of evangelism? If worship is not primary, the end has been lost so making it a means to an end is a feeble and futile attempt. Christians should understand that “worship is the reverential response of creation to the all-encompassing magnificence of God.”^[3] Governing all acts in which the church participates in worship; guiding all perspectives in Christian thought is worship; and indeed, causing all believers to live radically disparate lives from that of the world is worship. Worship governs, and worship is primary.

Who: All That Have Breath Are Created for Worship

In an all-encompassing guide to Christian worship (the where, why, how, and who), Scripture contends that all who have breath qualify as a worshiper of God (Ps 150:6). While English translations have rendered Psalm 150:6 to read, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord,” a more accurate translation of the text would read, “Let all breath praise the Lord.” An analytical mind might immediately consider all breath to include the animals of nature, which is not inaccurate, for other places in the Bible call beasts, cattle, creeping things, flying birds (Ps 148:7-12), and the entirety of creation (Ps 19) to declare the glory of God. Such an act is nothing short of worship to which God has created everything.

What makes Christian worship unique, however, is that humankind possesses an eternal spirit while creation does not. Psalm 8 even declares that babies are created for the purpose of worship (Ps 8:2). While the who of worship is abundantly evident then, a difficulty is that humanity does not worship God by nature. In fact, humankind opposes God and is, by nature, an enemy of him (Rom 5:6-10). For God-honoring worship to occur, therefore, a radical change must take place. Such is the stalwart connection between Christian worship and missions.

All believers are called to missional living (Matt 28:19-20), for without missions, the overarching purpose of life (i.e. worship) may not be achieved. One who understands the primary goal of the church, namely worship, should be spurred to active engagement in missions; yet, even then, missions is not the ultimate goal. When the ultimate goal of missions is merely conversions, the higher purpose of life is missed. When the ultimate goal of missions, however, is a declaration and spreading of the fame and glory of God, the end is realized so that all missional efforts become a means to an end.

The who of worship is everyone. While not everyone will realize such an ultimate goal, all who have breath qualify and are called to worship of the living God. The church must get it right regarding worship, but for too long, other elements of Christian life have overtaken the church’s chief goal. The first answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is that “man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”[4] The truth that worship is primary comprises a firm understanding that for it to be so requires satisfaction in God, for when one is satisfied in the Lord, the work for him (i.e. worship) is not an issue; people enjoy working for what or who they love. Such work is the epitome of worship. Thus, all who have breath qualify as worshipers of the living God and must find satisfaction in him to understand worship’s essence.

When: Always

Worship in heaven is ceaseless (Rev 4:9-11). God has invited his beloved people to participate in such worship while on earth, for the day will come when God’s people, eternally with him, participate as one body worshiping him in an unending display of praise.[5] As Psalm 150 commands, worship is to take place at all times and in manifold ways (e.g. the use of various instruments, for various reasons, and in various places). Dr. Robert Webber explains that worship is a verb.[6] Thus, Christian worship should subsist continuously.

Worship is a dialogue: a call to God’s people and a response by his people to who he is. This is true in both corporate and personal worship. As such, worship might be considered prayer. Worship then is prayer, and prayer is life. Brian Wren contends that “whoever sings to God in worship prays twice.”[7] The aspect of unceasing worship is most relevant to personal worship, for although impossible for believers to gather continuously and live productive lives in the world to which they are called, the sending from corporate worship should hold an unbreakable tie to personal worship. Upon God’s people corporately participating in a holy dialogue between themselves (as a single body) and their God and being changed by him, individuals are sent into the world to whom they are called, which continues a process of unceasing worship.

Paul instructs believers to pray continuously (1 Thes 5:17), which is the essence and medium of Christian worship: a continuous dialogue. When God’s people understand worship, they understand that it does not stop with the conclusion of a weekly worship gathering. In fact, God’s people worship when they pray, when they hold gospel conversations in everyday life, when they help someone in need, and even when they join in the pleasures of life. Since people were created for worship, worship must not stop but, in fact, should continue from a point of understanding who God and humanity is. “Worship is at once about who we are, about who or what our god is and about how we choose to live.”[8]

Unceasing worship considers little sacred and secular divide asserted by societal and sub-societal norms, for all that God has created was done so with the purpose of worship in mind. While humanity has perverted what God has intended for good, Christians should recognize that God’s creation makes no such distinction, except that sin is considered to exist in the world. Nonetheless, ceaseless worship requires utilizing all tools at one’s disposal so that God is glorified through any means available. When believers leave the worship space of the weekly gathering, they must hold a fervent desire and conviction that personal worship continues. Worship is ceaseless, for God is worthy of an act unending and more.

How: Telling God’s Story

Christian worship, especially in a corporate context, tells and does God’s story. Throughout history, the story begins and ends with God, and God gave “creation an expression of his own image—the human being.”[9] Made in the image of God, humanity is tasked with the purpose of declaring God’s story: recounting his story in Scripture and church history, living within the reality of God’s story in the present, and proclaiming the truth of God’s story in the future. Moreover, all declarations of God’s story are employed in the power of the Holy Spirit, through the mediator Jesus Christ, and to the glory of the Father. In other words, worship is both triune and christocentric.

To tell the story of God, the biblical narrative must be declared. A church that does not proclaim the entirety of Scripture is a church that does not understand the importance of the story. Believers certainly participate in the story of God presently, but the portion of God’s story that is without error is the Bible. Historically, the order of worship in the church has been a fourfold model: Gathering, Word, Table, Sending.[10] Such an order tells a story: specifically the gospel story where God gathers his people, God declares the word (who he is), his people respond in communion with him, and his people are sent to the world to continue declaring his glory. While the fourfold order is not explicitly prescribed in Scripture, the fact that it has been utilized more than any other throughout church history is telling.

The story of God involves the past: where God’s people have been. Church history is certainly crucial to such a component, but the story of God must be found in the text of Scripture. For God’s people to understand where they are and where they are going, it must be realized where they have been. Additionally, a recounting of God’s past acts connects the people of God to saints of the past since the people of God (past, present, and future) are a part of one body.

The story of God also involves where God’s people are currently. Each believer and indeed each church has a story and a unique identity in where they are currently. Worship should consider such an aspect. Nothing new under the sun exists (Ecc 1:9). Therefore, the marvelous acts of God, the struggles, and the peace of God’s people in the past should be used to help the modern church (Ps 46:1). God’s people have a unique story, which should be told and narrated even in individual contexts.

The story of God also encompasses the future. God’s grace is for all times and for all people; yet, it is the people of God who repletely understand such truth, for they have experienced his grace and mercy beyond degree. Understanding God’s story in the past should yield a realization of the glory that belongs to the people of God as heirs in the future (Rom 8:17).

Worship tells the story of God: a story that not only has happened but is currently happening and will happen. This story is prevalent through the text of Scripture; yet, local churches should apply God’s story to the place they are in the present and understand that God has never failed them and never will. God is for his people (Rom 8:31) and will always watch over them. Possessing right doxology surely requires an understanding of God’s story.

A Shift to the Primary

To exemplify a correct view of how the church should operate, believers must first understand the primary nature of worship. In its essence, worship is the most crucial act in which the church engages. The primary nature of worship has been held by the church throughout history but is seemingly absent in many local congregations. Not linked solely to music, worship occupies all aspects of life. Even in corporate worship, although important, artistic endeavors do not form the entirety of the worship gathering. For a proper understanding of worship, believers should understand the what, who, when, and how of worship so that the full counsel (Acts 20:27) is declared and the people of God respond to it.

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[1] John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022), 7.

[2] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.

^[3] Esau McCaulley, “Worship,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

[4] Westminster Assembly (1643-1652). The Assembly's Shorter Catechism, with the Scripture Proofs in Reference: with an Appendix on the Systematick Attention of the Young to Scriptural Knowledge, by Hervey Wilbur (Newburyport, MA: Wm. B. Allen and Co., 1816), question 1.

[5] It should be noted that Scripture utilizes the words, praise and worship, in disparate manners. Although used interchangeably in discussions of Christian theology, the two must not be confused or joined as one.

[6] Robert E. Webber, Worship Is a Verb (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1992), 2.

[7] Bian Wren, Praying Twice: the Music and Words of Congregational Song (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), 1.

[8] Harold M. Best, Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press), 17.

[9] Preben Vang and Terry Carter, Telling God’s Story (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2006), 1.

[10] Robert E. Webber, Planning Blended Worship (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998), 21.