Gathering for Worship

GATHERING FOR WORSHIP

Hebrews 10:25-26

While in view of God's great mercy to us in Christ, Christians are called to live every moment of their lives as an act of worship, doing all things to the glory of God (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Cor 10:31), God also calls His people to set apart particular times to gather together corporately to worship Him and to build up one another in the faith (Heb 10:25-26; Ps 95-96, 100; 1 Cor 14:26ff.). Corporate worship is the response of God’s people to His royal summons to gather before Him in His presence, along with the angels and the saints of previous ages in their unceasing, heavenly worship (Heb 12:22-24; Rev 4:1-11, 5:8-14, 7:9-17, 11:15-19), to hear and to properly respond together to His Word in a posture of heart, mind, and body that proclaims His infinite worth, glory, and rightful praise, for His glory (Deuteronomy 19:1-25; Heb 12:18-29; Psalm 29:1-2; Psalm 100; Psalm 95-96), for the strengthening and perseverance of His people (Hebrews 10:19-39; 1 Cor 14:26), for the conversion of the unbelieving (1 Cor 14:24-25), for the relief of the suffering and needy (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37; 1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 8-9), and for the overthrow of the principalities and powers of darkness (Eph 6:10-20; 2 Cor 10:3-6; Rev 8:3-5).  In short, corporate worship is a revolutionary embodiment of the Kingdom of God in testimony against the false, usurping powers of the world (i.e., Caesar), a foretaste of the world to come in answer to the prayer our LORD taught us to pray – “may your Kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10; Heb 12:18-29; Rev 4:6-11, 5:9-14, 7:9-12).  Corporate worship is not something that God takes lightly (nor should we), and is therefore not something that should be entered into half-heartedly, casually, or thoughtlessly (Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13; Ecclesiastes 5:1-3; 2 Samuel 6:5-6; Leviticus 10:1-7; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  Inasmuch as God is the focal point of all creation (i.e., all things exist by Him, through Him, and for Him [Colossians 1:16; cf. Psalm 19:1-4]), He is the focus of all worship due to Him by all created beings [worship in the church both gathered and scattered; cf. 1 Cor 10:31; Rom 12:1-2), an unfortunately novel concept in a self-centered, consumeristic culture that appears to believe that everything, even the worship of God, should be about us – our preferences, our ideas, our comfort, our entertainment, our stimulation.  As the creator and sovereign, the holy King of all, God is the only one who determines how He is to be rightly approached, and rightly worshiped – as to do otherwise is to commit idolatry, and to court His wrath and our own destruction (2 Sam 6:5-6; Lev 10:1-7; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor 11:30).  So what has He revealed to us in His Word about how He desires to be worshiped by His people when they gather together in response to His royal summons?

1.        Propriety – God’s Word tells us that He desires to be worshipped properly (i.e., in accordance with His character and revealed will), in Spirit and in truth, both in the forms/ways by means of which He has commanded His people to worship Him, and with the proper posture of heart - not simply on the basis of an external conformity to custom and/or tradition (John 4:16-24).  The Triune God is to be worshiped in conformity to His Word as the Spirit leads His people, as He has called us to gather in His name through Christ by the presence and power of the Spirit (Heb 4:16; Eph 2:18, 22; Jn 4:24; 1 Tim 2:5) – to hear and respond to His Word (1 Tim 4:2, 13; Col 3:16), to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), to pray (1 Tim 2:1), to confess our sins to God and to one another (Jas 5:16; 1 Jn 1:9), and to partake of the sacraments (1 Cor 11:17-34; Mt 28:16-20) that initiate and continually reaffirm our covenant relations with Him and with one another, which He has instituted for His glory and for our edification. It is not an option for His people to simply do things that we think might be fun, cool, or “relevant,” or to ignore the things that He has commanded us to do (for to do so would be both idolatrous and potentially deadly; see 2 Sam 6:5-6; Lev 10:1-7; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor 11:30).  We don’t mindlessly check the “went to church this week” box, but we come before the LORD in the proper ways and with the proper heart posture, one of humble reverence and joyful thanks (Heb 12:28-29) without vanity or hypocrisy (Mt 15:8-9), with clean hands and pure hearts (Ps 24:1-6), in unity, as one diverse body in Christ transcending all cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic divisions (Gal 3:26-29; Eph 2:11-22; Col 3:9-17; Rev 7:9-12), reconciled to Him and to one another through Christ (1 Jn 1:9; Heb 4:16; Mt 5:24). 

2.        Purpose – God’s Word tells us that we gather corporately; 1) to worship God, to give Him thanks, and to ascribe to Him the glory that is due His name, proclaiming His glory and marvelous deeds among all peoples (Ps 29:1-2; Psalm 95; Psalm 96; Psalm 100); 2) to encourage and to strengthen one another to persevere in faith and in obedience to our LORD, that we might not be deceived or fall into sin and face the wrath of God both in this life and/or in anticipation of the ultimate day of judgment (both through covenant nurture and through church discipline; Heb 10:19-39; 1 Cor 11:27-32, 14:26; 1 Cor 5; 1 Timothy 5:20-21; Titus 3:8-11), 3) to demonstrate the presence and power of God to unbelievers that they might encounter Him, be convicted of their sins, repent and believe the gospel (1 Cor 14:23-25), 4) to remember and renew our covenant relationships with God and with one another through proper observance of the sacraments (1 Cor 10:14-22, 11:17-34; Lk 22:20), 5) to meet the needs of the poor and needy among us to the best of our abilities (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37; 1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 8-9), and 6) to wage war against the powers and principalities of darkness through our prayers, our singing, our preaching, and our humble obedience to the Word of God (Eph 6:10-20; 2 Cor 10:3-6; Rev 8:3-5; cf. 2 Chr 20) – i.e., to embody the Kingdom of God in the corporate worship of God, “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10; Heb 12:18-29; Rev 4:6-11, 5:9-14, 7:9-12). We do not gather for our own private spiritual experiences (i.e., “to get fed”), to be entertained, to hang out with/make friends, to hear a self-help, motivational speech (i.e., “to be inspired”), or to mechanically or legalistically follow some kind of religious routine, however popular these ungodly, dangerous motivations might be in our day.

3.        Preparation – As mentioned before, the corporate worship of God is not something that He takes lightly (nor should we), and therefore it is not something that should be entered into half-heartedly, selfishly, casually, or thoughtlessly (Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13; Ecclesiastes 5:1-3; 2 Samuel 6:5-6; Leviticus 10:1-7; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). In a similar way to how God called the Israelites to prepare themselves (i.e., to consecrate themselves) to appear before Him (Ex 19; Lev 1-7; Ps 15, Ps 24; Ecc 5:1-7; Heb 10:22, 12:18-29), so in Christ we prepare our hearts to come into God’s presence corporately through meditation on God - His character (Psalm 8:3-6; Psalm 145:5) and His Word (Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119:97), by confessing our sins (1 Jn 1:9; Psalm 51; Jas 5:16), receiving His forgiveness and cleansing in Christ (Heb 10:22), and by being reconciled to Him and to one another (Mt 5:24).  We prepare our minds by meditating on the Scripture (perhaps particularly those Scriptures and liturgical elements applicable to that particular gathering), listening to God’s voice and prayerfully asking to be led by the Spirit as to how God would have us contribute our gifts to the body and to participate in the corporate gathering to build up our brothers and sisters and to provide for those in need (Job 33:14-15; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17; 1 Cor 14:26-40, 16:2; Acts 2:42-47).  We prepare our bodies by obtaining sufficient nourishment, rest, travel time, and otherwise maintaining adequate physical health so that we can be fully focused and engaged in every aspect of corporate worship, for God’s glory, for the building up of our brothers and sisters, and for the sake of bearing faithful witness to those who are apart from Christ (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Cor 6:19-20; 1 Tim 4:8, 5:23; 1 Pt 5:8-13; Mk 14:38).

4.        Passion – Corporate worship is not an inconvenience, a burden, a mindless routine, or some sort of Christian obligation that we do out of simple habit, guilt, or fear of public opinion (see, e.g., Mal 1:6-14; Isa 1:1-20).  It is a great privilege and blessing, perhaps the greatest privilege and blessing we can experience in this life (coming together into the throneroom/presence of God, conversing and communing together with Him and with one another along with all of the angels and the saints that have gone before us [Heb 12:18-29]– are you kidding me??), prior to life the New Heavens and New Earth when we shall see Him face to face (Rev 21:1-5, 22-27, 22:1-5). Therefore, we gather in God’s presence with gratitude, joyful thanksgiving, reverence, fear, and awe (Heb 12:28-29), with hearts, minds, and bodies fully engaged (Lk 10:27; Rom 12:1-2), expectant to hear from God (Lam 3:25; Mic 7:7; Ps 62:1-12, Ps 119:18), eager to respond fittingly to Him (Ps 119:5,13-16,18-20, 31-32; Jas 1:22), trembling at His Word (Isa 66:2, 5; Psalm 119:120, 161; Ezra 9:4, 10:3; Joel 3:16), with great zeal for His name, His honor, His Word, and for His “temple” (Rom 12:11; Jn 2:13-17; cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17;), and with great love for Him, for His people, and for the lost, poor, and the broken (Psalm 42:1-2; 84:1-2, 10; Mk 12:30-31; 1 Cor 11:22; 1 Jn 3:16-17, 4:19-21).

5.        Participation – Corporate worship is never boring or a burden (see Mal 1:13-14) because it is in its essence a living, active conversation and communion with the living God and His people (1 Cor 14:24-26; Heb 12:18-29; Eph 4:1-16).  God summons us into His presence (the call to worship), He speaks to us (through the Scriptures read and preached, through Spirit-led exhortations, reflections, songs, prayers, etc. offered for the edification of one another), and we respond to Him and to one another (in singing, in prayer, in reciting the creed, in reaffirming our baptismal vows, in participating in the sacraments, in obedience to His Word, in giving/sharing our resources to meet the needs of others, etc.).  Therefore corporate worship properly, obediently engaged in is never passive, consumeristic, self-centered, or lazy.  The pattern of worship described in God’s Word is one of every member of the body using their gifts and contributing to the gathering for the glory of God, the encouragement and building up of God’s people, for the evangelization of the lost, to meet the practical needs of others (1 Cor 14:24-26, 16:2; Acts 2:42-47), and to wage war against the principalities and powers of darkness (Eph 6:10-20; 2 Cor 10:3-6; Rev 8:3-5; cf. 2 Chr 20).  There are no spectators – everyone in Christ has been gifted by God to contribute (1 Cor 12:6-7; 1 Pt 4:10-11), and every contribution, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant, is needed (1 Cor 12:12-31; Eph 4:7-16).

6. Power – It is unfortunate (and arguably deeply unbiblical) what often passes today as “worship” in the modern, Western churches, often in such great contrast to the worship of the OT and of the early church, which routed armies (2 Chr 20:1-30), broke prisons open (Acts 16:25-26), shook the earth (Acts 4:23-31), brought about mass conversions (Acts 2:1-47), and so evidenced the presence and power of God Himself that unbelievers in the midst fell on their faces in repentance and worship of the one true God (1 Cor 14:24-25). If we believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8), that he is now reigning at the right hand of God in power (Ex 15:6; Eph 1:20; Mk 14:62), that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead indwells His people (Rom 8:11), and that God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine by the power of His Spirit at work in and through us (Eph 3:20) in accordance with the words of Jesus that his disciples would do even greater works than he did by His Spirit (Jn 14:12), then the unfortunately “normal” posture of the passive consumption of shallow spiritual experiences and the complete lack of expectation that God is not only present with the gathered worshiping community (Mt 18:20; Ps 22:3), but is at work, in power, mighty to save, ready to forgive, sanctify, and heal, actively speaking, bringing deliverance, raising the dead to life, destroying strongholds of darkness, and routing his enemies through the praise and worship of His people not only defies logic, but is most likely gravely sinful, as whatever is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23) – and generally speaking, typical worship in the modern, Western world is arguably nothing if it is not faithless.  We must repent.  True worship that pleases the LORD is worship in Spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24) – and the truth is that the Spirit of God that dwells in His people and who is present with them when they gather in His name is a living and active Spirit (Heb 4:12, 12:25), an all-powerful Spirit (Zech 4:6), a presently speaking Spirit (1 Tim 4:1; 1 Cor 14), and a life-bringing Spirit (Jn 6:63).  As such, the worship of God’s people ought to reflect this understanding in its sense of divine expectation, in its posture, and in its engagement in the movements of corporate worship.  Not only will God meet His people, comfort them, and speak to them, but when His Spirit indwells and fills them, they receive His very power (Acts 1:8), and through their prayers, preaching, singing, and faithful obedience, He destroys the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8; cf. Jn 14:12), demolishes spiritual strongholds of darkness (2 Cor 10:4-6), and establishes His kingdom, on earth as in heaven, hastening the day of Christ’s return (2 Pt 3:12; Mt 6:10).  Maranatha! Come LORD Jesus!