The church
exists for the purpose of worship and witness. In the latter the church seeks,
draw and gather more people to worship the Triune God by the gospel. Worship is
the primary reason for the existence of the church. If Christ’s church will
miss this, then she will lose her direction and purpose. In fact in glory we
will spend all eternity in worship – it better begin now and here! This is the
most important thing for us to consider – for we must worship God and get it
right!
It is tragic that the church of our day is making
unnecessary imaginations and sometimes-blasphemous inventions of worshipping
God, without any regard or with little consideration on whether such worship is
acceptable and pleasing to God. There is no question that God demands and
commands His people to worship – in fact the Father is seeking such people who
will worship Him. But the question is how? Christ provides a very definite
answer to this:
“You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, for
salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the
true worshippers will worship the Father, in spirit and truth, for the Father
is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him
must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:22-24
Will you continue to
worship what you do not know or you will worship the thrice-holy God? As
Christians we worship what we know.
We worship God who has saved us and made us His covenant people. Of course
salvation came from the Jews. For to them belonged the special revelation - the
law, the patriarchs, the promises, the prophets and even the Messiah. However, God
has made Gentiles, who were far off, to belong to the commonwealth of Israel so
that He has made us both one (Ephesians 2:14,15). The remnant of Israel and the
fullness of the Gentiles make the full Israel (Romans 11:25,26), which is the
church. “For we are the circumcision who
worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in
the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3)
The hour has come
for true worshippers to worship the Father in Spirit and truth. What does this mean? Christians worship God guided by His Spirit so that
it is spiritual worship and worship Him as He has revealed Himself in His Word
(in truth) glorying in Christ who is
the truth, that has been revealed to us. For
why did He reveal Himself to us?
The Bible is the story of God’s redemptive history. But it is also a guide
of how God should be worshipped. God is not just looking for any worshipper but
for true
worshippers to worship Him as He demands and commands. Therefore we ONLY
worship God in the manner He has commanded in the Scriptures and draw our
example from the New Testament church. Let us consider these two aspects as to
how we may worship God:
A.
TRUTHFUL WORSHIP – Notice The First Four Commandments:
1.
The Object Of Worship – The Lord our God
The 1st commandment requires us to know and acknowledge God to be the
only true God and our God (1 Chron.
28:9; Deut. 26:17), and to worship
and glorify Him accordingly (Mt. 4:10;
Ps. 29:2). This command forbids the denying (Ps. 14: 1), or not worshipping and glorifying the true God (Rom. 1:21), as God and our God
(Ps. 81:10, 11), and the giving
of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to God alone (Rom. 1:25). In this
commandment we are taught that God, who sees all things, takes notice of and is
much displeased with the sin of having any other god (Ex. 8:5ff).
2.
The Manner Of Worshipping The True God: as prescribed by God
The 2nd commandment requires the receiving,
observing, and keeping pure and entire all such religious worship and
ordinances, as God has appointed in his word – the Bible (Deut. 32:46,47; Mt. 23:20; Acts 2:42). This commandment forbids the worshipping of God by images (Deut.
4:15-19; Ex. 32:5, 8), or any other
way not appointed in His word. Why must we worship God ONLY in the manner He has revealed to be worshiped in His Word? The
reasons annexed to this command are God's sovereignty over us (Ps. 45:6) His propriety in
us, and the zeal He has to His own worship (Ex. 34:13, 14).
3.
The Subject Of Worship – The name of the Lord
The 3rd commandment requires the holy
and reverent use of God's names (Mt. 6:9), titles (Ps. 68:4), attributes (Rev. 15:3, 4), ordinances, (Mal. 1: 11, 14), word and works (Job
36:24). This commandment forbids all profaning and abusing
of any thing whereby God makes himself known (Mal. 1:6, 7, 12; 2:2; 3:14). You notice that
the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord
our God will not let them to escape His righteous judgment (1 Sam. 2:12, 17, 22, 29; 3:13; Deut. 28:58, 59).
4.
The Specific Time For (Public) Worship – one day in seven
The 4th command tells us that God has
appointed a day to be the weekly Sabbath. The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day (Ex. 20:8, 10), even from such worldly employments and recreations
as are lawful on other days (Ex. 16:25-28; Neh. 13:15-22); and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship (Luke. 4:16; Acts 20:7; Ps. 92; Is. 58: 13-14; 66:23), except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy (Mt.
12:1-13). It forbids the omission or careless performance of
the duties required (Ez. 22:26; Amos 8:5; Mal. 1:13), and profaning the day by idleness (Acts 20:7, 9), or doing what is in itself sinful (Ez. 23:38), or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about worldly employments
or recreations (Jer. 17:24-27; Is. 58:13).
The reasons given for observing this command, are
God's allowing us six days of the week for our own lawful employments and
labour (Ex. 20:9), His challenging a special propriety in the seventh, His own example, and
His blessing the Sabbath (Ex.
20:11). By implication, unfaithfulness in having a special
time for public worship of God will mean unfaithfulness in labour for the rest
of the week!
Before the resurrection of Christ, God appointed
the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-14); and the first day
of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the
Christian Sabbath (Ps. 118:24; Mt. 28:1; Mk. 2:27, 28; Rev. 1:10;
Luke. 24:1, 30-36; Jn. 20:1; Acts 1:3; 2:1, 2; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1, 2).
Those who think that the Ten Commandments are no
longer applicable or are abolished need to explain from the Scriptures if God
has ceased to be holy. He is thrice holy!
B.
SPIRITUAL WORSHIP: Let The Lord Show
Us Right Worship
In considering what spiritual worship, we could
fast track the heavenly worship – which must be most truthful and most
spiritual. God’s own definition of worship is set out in a remarkable detail in
Revelation 4 & 5 (Please read them) and this provides key insights into the
arrangement, tone and matter of worship.
Notice the following in the heavenly worship:
1)
The Object
of worship is God – He sits on the throne and is at the center of those who
worship Him – God is surrounded by worshippers – whether angelic or human.
Everyone is facing the throne.
2)
The worship described is the most glorious and awful as such appearances as jasper and
carnelian, rainbow with an appearance of emerald surrounds the throne of God,
Elders (not children, or youth, but mature men!), flashes of lightening, sea of
glass like crystal.
3)
The worship is very orderly and meticulous. There is a great sense of reverence and
holy fear before God. The arrangement is amazing. The objective praise comes
first from the four living creatures round the throne, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to
come!’ God is named and described by several of the divine attributes – His
holiness, sovereignty, power and eternity. Subjective thanksgiving comes
afterwards. The second worship described is that of the 24 Elders, representing
the church of all ages (Old and New Testaments), who fall down in humility and adoration and cast down their crowns
before the throne of God, acknowledging God to be their sovereign ruler (see.
4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4). Then they all join in worship as described in
5:9-10. The third contribution is made by the vast angelic voices (5:12). The
final worship is subjective worship
about us and what God has done for us in Christ. There is no place for
confusion and disorder in the worship of a God of such meticulous order.
4)
Human worship is described before the angelic
worship!
5)
Both human and angelic worship is composed of
excellent words. They said or spoke
or sang such words that honor and exalt and glorify the Lord God and each case
the Name of God takes a very central place in the songs or words spoken to Him.
Public worship is primarily done in words.
6)
The human worship is also accompanied with
prostrating before God (4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4). Worship literally means
bowing before God.
7)
The heavenly worship does not concern itself with
the accomplished work of Christ on the cross, of His reign and His glory.
THEREFORE THE HEAVENLY WORSHIP IS:
1) TRUTHFUL – Biblical truths are at the center of heavenly worship
2) SPIRITUAL – The Holy Spirit is at the couch and director of worship.
There are no externals in heaven except the prostration because it is in the
spirit.
3) IT IS SIMPLE AND UNADORNED – there is no human inventions.
4) IT IS ORDERLY & DECENT – NO CONFUSION: our worship must be predictable so that everyone composes
Himself for the next item (1Cor. 14:33,40)
5) THOUGHTFUL AND SERIOUS – no place for inordinate jesting.
Conclusions:
1) Nothing should be done to attract men or make the worshipper feel better
– worship is directed at God not men. We must always go home asking ourselves
if our worship was acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.
2) We must make sure that the songs we use are very Scriptural
3) They must be Trinitarian and Christocentric (not man-centric)
4) We should be thoughtful and fully involved at heart in the worship
5) We should employ reverence and holy joy in our worship (Hebrews 12:28)
6) If body movements like raising of hands (1Tim. 2:8), kneeling or
prostration (no dancing, as this will take away thoughtfulness and reverence),
then such must not be to excite human emotion but to show the awfulness and
reverence to God.
7) If instruments at all, then they should be used to aid singing and must
not overwhelm it.
Bibliography:
1. The Baptist Catechism
2. Hallelujah, Herbert Carson
3. Worship In The Melting Pot, Peter Masters
4. More Than Conquerors, William Hendricksen
