The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Regulative principle

I've heard that argument before and I even believed it for a while, until I started looking into what worship really is. The problem with that view of worship is that we end up calling worship whatever we feel we doing "for God" that measures up. In other words, we become the measure of what is right and how well we are doing.

Gotribe,

I totally agree with you! Same thing for the "institutional words" around the Lord's Supper, it seems that some people think "everyone should do as he thinks is right" according to his own eyes! There has to be order, a correct fencing of the table, and someone to " regulate" things! Otherwise there would soon be chaos, and our God is a God of order.

In His Hands,

Ruth

Only the Scriptures are the measure of what is right and wrong in every part of life. Therefore, only those things which are righteous by biblical standards can rightly be called acts of worship.

The true regulative principle is not that Scripture is to regulate what we do in church meetings, it is that Scripture is to regulate what we do throughout our lives. Those who think of worship as something that one does in a building for an hour or two have a compartmentalized and unbiblical view of the worship of God.

Of course, I will whole-heartedly agree with you that the Scriptures are the measure of what is right and wrong in every part of life. But that was not my point.

My point was this: God requires that we worship Him in Spirit and in truth. He has also given a great deal of instruction as to how we are to do that. Unless you see no connection between the instructions that the Lord God gave the Israelites re: how to approach Him in worship, then surely you would agree that God desires to be worshiped in a corporate setting with Himself as the object of and reason for that worship.

What I see you describing is how the church glorifies God. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. I believe that proper worship will result in the kind of changed lives that you are describing.

Let me see if I can explain what I mean (anyone can jump in here and help me out!) The proper worship of God requires that we use the means that He has given us. The corporate worship service is about Him, not us. He has ordained the preached Word of God as a means of grace both to bring us to Christ and then to instruct us in His truth and His ways. The acts of service are a result of our worship and informed by our worship, but they are not strictly acts of worship in and of themselves. It is true that our lives should, of course, be regulated by scripture, but I believe that a distinction should be made between the two.

Agreed.




Agreed.



No, God desires to be worshipped at all times and in all settings. Your error is that you are interpreting what the Bible says about worship in accordance with your compartmentalized concept of worship. The principles that were taught regarding the Temple worship have application today but they have a much wider application than you are ascribing to them.

For example, the story about Nadab and Abihu. They were slain by God because they offered strange fire before the Lord. What was their sin? Those who profess to adhere to the so-called "regulative principle of worship" say that their sin was that they added to the worship of God. That is, they added something to the ceremonial law which was not prescribed therein. This is true. But their sin was not just that they added to the ceremonial worship, it was that they added to the commandments of God. The story does not teach us only that it is wrong to add to the Bible's doctrine regarding what is to be practiced during church meetings. It teaches us that it is wrong to add to the Bible's doctrine. Period.

It is true that the Bible should regulate what Christians are to do in church assemblies, but those assemblies are not "worship services." The Bible does not support the definition that worship is the performing of rituals (even God-ordained ones) at certain times and in particular places, and the delineation, which many maintain, that there are times when a Christian is in worship and other times when he is not in worship, is a delineation which is not made in the Scriptures. Christians are not in a state of worship any more or less when they obey scriptural principles to gather themselves together on the Lord's Day to practice God-ordained functions (such as to hear preaching, sing psalms, exhort and teach one another, etc.) than they are when they obey scriptural principles on the other six days of the week by, for example, laboring diligently (Pro. 13:4, 22:9), submitting themselves to the ordinances of civil government (1 Pet. 2:13), or treating their wives as their own flesh (Eph. 5:28), and their behavior is no more or less biblically-regulated at any one time than it is at another.

The idea that worship consists of performing outward rituals only for brief periods at certain times and in particular places is an Old Testament concept which only applied to the sacrificial rites performed primarily in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple at Jerusalem. These rites were only symbolic of the true spiritual worship and they have been abolished. In the New Testament, the only times that the word "worship" is used in connection with the performance of particular outward actions at certain times and places, is when referring to the Temple worship in Jerusalem (John 4:20, 12:20, 24:11, Acts 8:27). Neither the term worship, nor any synonymous word or phrase, is ever applied to New Testament church gatherings, nor is it applied to the individual functions performed in church gatherings. The reason that Christians are to gather on the Lord's Day is not to perform "worship services," as if they are meeting in a localized version of the Jerusalem Temple and offering ritual sacrifices. The primary purpose of the church meeting is to instruct, and be instructed, in how to worship God throughout everyday life. Again, the true worship of God is not the performing of devotional rituals only at certain times and places. The true worship is, and always has been, to love God "in spirit and in truth." And this love is manifested by diligently applying His commandments to all of life.

HI Gotribe,

I agree that your viewpoint on this. The "error" is not with you. Worship in spirit and truth requires a putting away of the natural man and his actions, and an attitude of humble adoration of the Almighty God, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As created beings, we owe homage and obedience to our creator. Obedience is performing our daily lives and works conforming to His image. That is not worship.

According to Pink,

"To worship God “in spirit and in truth” means in a manner suited to the full and final revelation which God has now made of Himself in Christ It means to worship spiritually and truly. It means giving to Him the homage of an enlightened understanding and the love of a regenerated heart.

True worship is the adoration of a redeemed people, occupied with God.To worship “in spirit and in truth” stands opposed to a carnal worship which is external and spectacular. It bars out all worshiping of God with the senses. We cannot worship Him who is “Spirit” by gazing on ornate architecture and stained glass windows, by listening to the peals of a costly organ, by smelling sweet incense or “telling” of beads. We cannot worship God with our eyes and ears, or nose and hands, for they are “flesh” not “spirit”. “Must worship in spirit and in truth” excludes everything that is of the natural man Himself.

Worship is the new nature in the believer stirred into activity, turning to its Divine and heavenly Source. It is that which is “spirit” (John 3:6) turning to Him who is “Spirit”. It is that which is the “workmanship” of Christ (Eph. 2:10) turning to Him who recreated us. It is the children spontaneously and gratefully turning in love to their Father. It is the new heart crying out, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift” (II Cor. 9:15). It is sinners, cleansed by blood, exclaiming “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). That is worship; assured of our acceptance in the Beloved, adoring God for what He has made Christ to be unto us, and what He has made us to be in Christ.

Now just as the sons of Aaron were required under pain of death (Ex. 30:20) to wash at the layer before they entered the holy place to burn incense, so must the Christian today have the defilements of the way removed before he can suitably approach unto God as a worshipper. Failure at this point brings in death, that is, I remain under the contaminating power of dead things. The defilements of the way are the result of my passing through a world which is “alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:18). If these are not removed, then I continue under the power of death in a spiritual way, and worship becomes impossible."

If we accept Pink's thought and conclusions, we cannot "worship" God as we go about our daily secular work.

As Jesus went into the synagogues to read and teach,the Apostles also followed this, and when the Jews were converted, they carried over the practices in the synagogues to the new churches being established. The New Testament churches followed the same practice as meeting places where reading of Scripture, expositions of the Word, singing psalms, and praising God was done. We are following their established practice.

In His Hands,

Ruth

Agreed.



Let me offer a few words of admonition from Samuel the prophet in reference to the symbolic worship rites of the Old Testament, to the end that the reader not be caught up in the error of so many today who do not understand that the worship of God does not now, and never has, consisted of outward rituals performed only during brief periods in particular situations. Again, the true worship is, and always has been, a love for God manifested by an obedience to His will in all of life.

“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Sam. 15:22-23)




It sounds like you are making an unbiblical sacred/secular division when you refer to "secular work."

And I don't see how you reached your conclusion about Arthur Pink's words. But I'm more concerned with Paul's thought, which, like Pink's, tells me that God cannot be worshipped by carnal means. In other words, the things that we do in obedience to God are not worship in themselves, they are only outward manifestations of a heart that is always in worship to God.

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands...” (Acts 17:24-25)

In the passage of Scripture quoted above, in which an audience of pagan Greeks is being addressed, Paul the apostle is correcting a group of men of their idolatrous concept of God and, in doing so, revealing to them the fundamental truth that those who would worship God rightly must do so in a manner consistent with His nature as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. In this discourse from atop Mars Hill, Paul goes on to say that God “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (vs. 25), that “he be not far from every one of us” (vs. 27), that “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (vs. 28), and that, therefore,“we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (vs. 29). In other words, Paul is teaching his audience that they ought not to think of God in carnal terms and, likewise, they ought not to think that such a God can be worshipped by carnal means. For “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)




As you ought to do. But don't make the false delineation that these things are acts of worship, while obedience to other biblical precepts outside of this setting are not acts of worship. That is a compartmentalized view of the worship of God which cannot be biblically supported.

Every true Christian should understand that the Bible regulates all of his actions to the same degree in all facets of his life and that there is never a time when he is to cease from worshipping God “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) and doing all things “as to the Lord” (Col. 3:23) Those who make statements such as: “Our worship begins at 10:00 A.M.” or ask “Where do you worship?” -- as if worship is something that is limited to brief periods of devotional activities in certain places -- show that they do not understand what it really means to worship God. And those who allow the Bible to strictly regulate their activities in church assemblies (most don't even go that far) but shrink back from allowing the Bible to regulate every facet of their lives, worship God in vain.

Let me ask you a couple of questions.

Do you think it is possible to "never cease from worshipping God?"

And if so,

Do you think you are always in worship to God?

I suppose that if we were not fallen creatures we could be worshipping God in all that we do at all times. But we are, so we don't.



I doubt that I am worshipping God when I sleep. But I try to manifest a worshipful heart in everything that I do, by being obedient to His Word in all that I do. But I often fail, and I am certainly not worshipping God when I am thinking sinful thoughts or doing sinful things.

gotribe:

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems you believe that worship is something that a Christian does in a church meeting (or "worship service," as you might call it). Would you please show me from the Scriptures why you believe this? And would you please tell me why you hold to a distinction that what a Christian does in a church meeting is worship, while what he does in other parts of his life is not worship? Where is this delineation expressed in the Scriptures?

Sure, I'd be happy to answer that question, but it will take some doing and I have a very busy day in front of me. So I hope you don't mind me getting back to you when I have had time to compose a thoughtful reply.

Thank you for your patience.

I think the difficulty we are having is in the definition of worship. Your definition, if I understand you correctly, is that every single thing we do is to be considered worship. If that is true then eating is the same as worship, cooking is the same as worship; gardening, fixing the car, mowing the yard are all worship. This is where I disagree with you. By broadening the definition of worship to include all aspects of the Christians life, you divest it of all meaning.

I agree wholeheartedly that our Christian faith must have a radical impact in every area of our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The life we live as Christians is to be glorifying to God. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. When we live a life of obedience, prayer, and devotion, letting our lights shine, so to speak—others will see our good works and give glory to God. I am not at all disagreeing that we are to live lives of obedience before God, only that it is for the purpose of glorifying God.

My concern is that if we say that everything we do is worship we immediately go beyond what God has instructed and begin to make up our own rules about what is proper worship and the measure of what is proper is how we feel about what we are doing. The standard becomes ours and not His.

Worship is not only a verb, it is also a noun. It is a thing that has content and God is the One Who determines that content.

You said:

Yes, I do believe that what you call a “church meeting” and I call worship really is set apart as different. Not because I say so, but because God says so. God clearly makes a distinction with the way we go about our lives on the other six days and the way we are to set aside the Sabbath. Why else would He give such detailed instructions?

You said:


While you promote your definition as one that is fuller and more meaningful than “outward rituals only for brief periods at certain times and in particular places” (your words) what you have done is minimize what is going on when the church comes together as the Body of Christ. You make it little more than a class to learn how to “worship.”

As His covenant people, we are not only joining together with members of a particular congregation, in a real spiritual sense we are entering into the heavenlies and join the saints and angels in the worship of God. The components of our worship (remember, this thread was started to discuss the Regulative Principle of Worship) are not simply for the intellectual and spiritual building up of the saints, but they are also for the purpose of showing forth the eternal glories of heaven. These components include the preaching of the Word, reading of the Word, prayer, singing praise, presenting tithes and offerings, the administration of the sacraments and vows. I suspect you seen no continuity between the services and parameters that God established with the children of Israel. God was careful to instruct them on what is permissible and what is forbidden when entering into His presence as an assembly. For, in the final analysis, the service of worship is for Him and to Him.

I am saying that no outward actions are really worship. Worship is of the heart, in the spirit. But I am also saying that one can manifest that heart of worship in all that he does because all that he does can be done to the glory of God. I am saying that whenever a Christian is obedient to God in any situation, he is manifesting the worship of God.




And I'm saying that when one glorifies God in all that he does, he is manifesting a spirit of worship.




I don't know why you would reach this conclusion. You yourself acknowledged that the Scriptures should regulate all that we do in all facets of life (unless I have you confused with someone else). And Paul made it clear that we can glorify God in all that we do, as you pointed out. In other words, there is no part of life which the word of God does not regulate and there is no part of life where we cannot glorify God. Therefore, I conclude that there is no part of life in which we cannot manifest the worship of God.




True. I believe that the noun constituent of worship is the renewed heart of the believer where God is worshipped "in spirit and in truth." And I believe that the verb constituent of worship is the righteous outward actions produced by that heart of worship.




From an article I wrote about worship:

"Another biblically unsupportable delineation made by some is that the Lord's Day (the first day of the week) is a day set apart for worship. It is true that the Lord's Day is not to be like the other six days of the week insofar as what Christians are permitted to do and what they are to refrain from doing. However, this does not mean that one is a day of worship while the other six are not and, indeed, it is never referred to as a day of worship in the Bible. God has commanded that the NT Sabbath Day, just as the OT Sabbath Day, is to be set apart for specific purposes but, unlike the OT Sabbath, it is no longer set apart for the performing of carnal sacrificial rites symbolically designated as worship. The purpose of the Lord's Day is for rest, fellowship, and instruction on how to be obedient to God fully at all times and in all parts of our lives. While it is true that obedience to scriptural precepts concerning the Sabbath Day and its church meeting are acts of worship in themselves, they are not any more or less acts of worship than is obedience to other scriptural precepts on other days. Christians should obey the commands to rest on the Sabbath but doing so is not an act of worship any more or less than obeying commands to labor diligently on the other six days. God's people should obey the precept to gather with the local church on the Lord's Day but doing so is not an act of worship any more or less than obeying the precept that Christians are to minister to each other's needs every day. The godly should obey commands to instruct one another when they meet on the first day of the week but doing so is not an act of worship any more or less than putting the lessons learned into practice during the other six days of the week."




The primary purpose of the Lord's day church meeting is for instruction of the saints. If you want me to prove this from the Scriptures, I will do so.




Please show me where this is taught in the Scriptures.




Yes, and my purpose for participating in this thread is to show that worship is not something that one does in a building once per week. I adhere to the "Regulative Principle of Worship" because I believe that the Scriptures regulate all facets of a believers life and that he can manifest the true worship of God in all facets of his life. Perhaps we should call your regulative principle "The Regulative Principle of Church Meetings," and my regulative principle "The Regulative Principle of Life."




Your view of the Lord's day meeting sounds very "high church" and formal. I mostly agree with the components you named but I believe that the scriptural model for church meeting instruction is that it is to take place primarily by discussion or dialogue rather than monologue.




Apparently, you see the New Testament church meeting place as a scaled-down and localized version of the Old Testament Temple, only with a simplified form of "worship." But the New Testament church meeting is similar to the synagogue meeting, not the Temple worship. The Temple and all of its symbolic worship has been completely abolished being fulfilled in Christ. It is not appropriate to think of the New Testament church meeting place as if it is a holy temple indwelt by the presence of God and that Christians enter into that presence in some mystical way when they gather together. The Temple was representative of the church (i.e., the believers) and the Spirit of God indwells His church at all times and in all places.

The concept that worship consists of performing rituals at certain times and in certain places was only a symbolic one which has been abolished. For “the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:21, 23) It's important to recognize in these words that Christ did not replace the ritualistic and centralized Temple worship in Jerusalem with a simpler set of worship rituals to be performed in local temples all over the world. Rather, He abolished forever the concept that worshipping God was assembling to perform rituals in particular places (“neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem”), and He set forth the true spiritual nature of worship (“the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth”).

Neither the word worship, nor any synonymous term or phrase, is used in the NT Scriptures to define either the collective actions performed or the time spent in gatherings of the church. Nor is the word worship or any synonymous term or phrase applied to individual God-ordained actions performed (such as prayer, preaching, the sacraments, psalm-singing, etc.) The title of worship which designated the carnal rituals of the Temple assembly has been abolished along with the rituals themselves because these things were never the true worship but only “the figures of the true” (Heb. 9:24) spiritual worship. Now that we “worship God in the spirit” (Phil. 3:3) “by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” (Heb. 9:11), and “offer up spiritual sacrifices” (1 Pet. 2:5) rather than perform “ordinances of divine service” in “a worldly sanctuary” (Heb. 9:1) we ought not to be defining a word of God in a way that is at variance with God's definition, by misapplying the symbolic designation of worship to the performing of certain New Testament functions, as if we are still performing the “carnal ordinances” (Heb. 9:10) of the Old Testament which are now described as “weak and beggarly elements” (Gal. 4:9) when compared to the greater New Testament revelation.

Mr. NiNenno,

To come to a proper and biblical understanding of “worship” one needs to have a firm grasp of Biblical Theology, i.e., the progressive development of the self-revelation of God which He Himself has determined to have recorded in Scripture. The concept of worship doesn’t find its origin in the Temple and the festivals celebrated by the nation of Israel but rather beginning in Genesis with the very purpose for which man was created, i.e., to glorify God and to serve Him in the concrete reality of the world.

In the very creation itself we find that the non-human elements of the creation “declare the glory of God” (Ps 19:1), i.e., they show forth God as the sovereign Creator to whom is owed adoration and subservience. Man, however, being created in the imago dei, was far different than all else that God created for it was in this possession of God’s “image” that man was able to have communion with the Creator and to offer to Him that praise and recognition that He is indeed the sovereign Creator and sustainer of all things. It is in this special relationship that “worship” came into being. The original covenant established by God with Adam and Eve, due to the Fall, was broken and thus there existed a natural disfellowship between the Creator and the creature. Yet, it was through the grace of God that this fellowship was to be re-established but through sacrifice to atone for the transgression that broke the covenant that existed. This can be seen initially, in seed form, when Abel and Cain brought offerings to God, which I would suggest was a designated time; the Sabbath, and according to specific regulations given by God Himself. This we see from the fact that Cain’s offering was rejected and Abel’s accepted. (Gen 4:3ff)

The fact that man by virtue of his constituent being and calling is called to worship is seen in the fact that immediately after the Fall men bring an offering. The offerings seems to spring from a desire to satisfy the need for fellowship with God. The offerings were intended to be expressive of gratitude to God, but were also associated with the desire to secure the divine favor and blessing. Based on the previous revelation to Genesis 3, Abel not only has a heart that is right before God (Heb 11:4), but he worshipped according to the command of God. His sacrifice was that which was a response to revelation and contained a germ of substitution, the notion of expiatory sacrifice.

The worship element began to play a prominent role in the days of Enosh (Gen 4:26). “Calling upon the name of the Lord” is an expression denoting the proclamation of that in worship. Calling upon the name of the Lord denotes invocation. It would seem that the people of Enosh’s day were seeking to capture something of the “shalom” ideal which God had ordained form man when He blessed him in paradise. We have here the first explicit account of the commencement of worship that consisted of a celebration of the mercy and help of Jehovah. It may have consisted of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. This is further confirmed when one sees in Gen 8:20ff. that the first thing that Noah did after the flood waters receded was to build an altar for burnt sacrifice, to thank the Lord for gracious protection, and pray for mercy in time to come. This is the first explicit mention of the altar. The altar was erected to God, the offering was presented to Him. Thus we read, “the Lord smelled a sweet savor.” (v. 20) Literally, it was the “odor of rest.” God accepted the offering and responded to this desire for fellowship and creation. It is note worthy that in the intimate relationship between worship and Covenant, sacrifice precedes the institution of the Covenant.

The Patriarchs built altars at various locations where the Lord manifested Himself to them. The altar plays an important part in the history of revelation. The Patriarchs build their own altars and act as their own priests. As the Covenant promise was given to Abraham, he responds by erecting an altar to the Lord which has three features: 1) calling upon His name, 2) acknowledgement of His name, and 3) taking possession of the land in the name of his God. The place of altar building at Bethel is significant. In fact, when he returned from Egypt he erected an altar to the Lord. Leupold writes: “Apparently, this worship was to Abram a matter of personal necessity as well as public testimony. Of personal necessity for he desired to express his penitence at his lapse from truth as well as his gratitude for the undeserved protection of himself and his wife by Yahweh. At the same time, this public act proclaimed the honor of Yahweh, the true and faithful, to whom alone Abram ascribed his safe return.” (H.C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, Volume I, pp. 432, 433.) When Abram settles down in Hebron, that place is sanctified by the building of an altar to the Lord in contrast to the gods of the Canaanites. A further step in preparation for the Mosaic worship system is found in Genesis 22. Isaac is taken to Mt. Moriah to be offered on a altar. Isaac bears the seed of the Redeemer; thus we see, not a pietistic event, but the principle of substitution illustrated.” All the Biblical sacrifices rest on the idea of the gift of life to God, either in consecration or in expiation, is necessary to the action or the restoration of religion. What passes from man to God is not regarded as property but, even though it be property for a symbolic purpose, means always in the last analysis the gift of life. And this is, in the original conception, neither in expiation nor in consecration the gift of alien life; it is the gift of life of the offerer himself” (Vos, Biblical Theology, p. 107).

There exists in the life of Israel a series of institutions and cultic acts forming the service of Jehovah in a narrow sense. These are cultic institutions and ceremonies. However, by the theocratic ordinance, all human relations have a religious quality and therefore must be called “service” (worship) to God. At the same time, in the narrow sense Israel must present herself before the Lord. Because He has chosen the people and brought them into fellowship with Himself as a community which He has sanctified, Israel must regularly consecrate herself and all that she has before the Lord. Thus we must distinguish between those acts of men which are done throughout the daily lives and that special act, designated as “worship”, in the offering of their hearts to express adoration and gratitude to God according to His dictates, in a corporate setting, as the chosen people of God.

Let me quickly move on to the next stage of development in the worship of God, which is that of the Tabernacle. In the giving of the tabernacle, God asserts His right to declare how He shall be worshipped. In Numbers 6:26 the formula of blessing which Aaron and his sons put on the congregation of Israel constitutes the epitome of tabernacle service. It was at the tabernacle, and the tabernacle alone, that it was possible to see the face of God and to realize the fullness of strength expressed by the word “shalom”. E. Jacob has observed that the very structure of the tabernacle with its palm trees and cherubim and holy places were calculated to evoke memories of the “shalom” of paradise. (Jacob, The Theology of the Old Testament, p. 259) One can get an idea of the purpose of the tabernacle by the names that are given to it: “the dwelling place,” to signify that here God dwells among His people and is truly their God; “the tent of meeting,” to show that here God meets with His people and has fellowship with them; “the tent of testimony,” because it testifies constantly to the Covenant which God had made with His people; “the Holy Place,” because it is set apart from everything else by virtue of God’s present there, and thus He is to be viewed with reverence and awe. The “meeting” does not refer to a gathering of the people together, as much as it is the “meeting” of Jehovah with His people. The concept of “meeting” implies that God makes the provision and appoints the time. This is important because the Bible emphasizes that in worship there is a conscious intercourse between God and man (Ex. 29:42) The names of the tabernacle imply not only trustful approach but ear and awe. The sanctuary character of the tabernacle emphasizes this element. The people remain at a distance and are confined to the outer court. Only the priests may enter, and this is due to their representative character, not to their ethical qualifications.

It is also true that the tabernacle is the place where the people offer their worship to God. This aspect can be seen in the symbolism of the Hoy Place. The incense stands for prayer. It ascends to God and is received as a delightful smell in the nostrils of the Lord. The Table of the Bread of Face, represents the meat and drink offering. In the light of Lev. 24:5-8 it symbolizes the consecration of the activities of life to God. The significance of the Lamp Stand is more difficult to discern. In the light of Matt. 5:14 it may indirectly refer to the ascriptions of praise to God. The whole phenomenon was not pure symbol but a real means of grace. The Shekinah emphasizes that the tabernacle actually contained the presence of God. (Vos, Biblical Theology, pp. 168-172)

Now, quickly moving on the Mosaic period, the major time of ceremony was the Sabbath. It was by creation ordinance, bound to the service of God. The most prominent feature of the Sabbath was that it was to be observed as a perpetual “berith” (Ex. 31:16). The Sabbath seems to be essential to “berith”. It served as a condition for Covenant standing. It demonstrates faith in what it typifies (creation, redemption, eschatological rest). The Sabbath was a day of special religious assembly (Lev. 23:3). There were also detailed regulations for its observation. In addition to the regular Sabbath meeting, there were special festivals/Sabbaths that were celebrated. But again, these were additional to the regular meetings of the weekly Sabbath. Although they are important in that they reveal more of the redemptive nature of what the Messiah was to accomplish in His atonement, which are revelatory in nature, it was the weekly gathering of the people of God on the weekly Sabbath that is in focus here and which was to be carried over into the New Testament period.

Meredith Kline and George Mendenhall have demonstrated that a great deal of the form of the Covenant corresponds to the Suzerainty treaties of the Near East. An important element of this ceremony was the public hearing of the terms of the Covenant. In Deuteronomy 9 the people heard the renewal of the Covenant “in the day of the assembly” (Meredith Kline, The Treaty of the Great King, pp. 30-48). The tontinued office of the prophet (oracle of God) is also declared. (Deut. 5:15) So here we find a liturgical use of the Word of God. In addition to the hearing of the proclamation wherein God set forth His love and His demands there was a response of worship which was also evident in this Covenant assembly. The oath or vow to keep the Covenant is a supreme act of worship. The song of Moses, A Covenant Witness, is a model of praise. Indeed it becomes a paradigm for the future praise of Israel. The whole congregation participates in this testimony of the Covenant.

Something of the pattern of this assembly can be seen in the Covenant renewal ceremony in Deuteronomy. Their assembly was to express itself in joyful worship. “Ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God” (Deut. 5:7, 12). Their liturgy was to be based on the revealed will of God; no less, no more. “Thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it” (Deut. 5:32, 13:1). Part of the Covenant response required was a cultic (worship) confession. (Deut. 26:1-11) They were to confess His continuing Lordship and to demonstrate outwardly that Lordship by a tributary offering of first fruits. They were also to confess that their call was attributed to God’s grace. “A wandering Aramean was my father” (26:5). The dependence of Israel on the Lord for continual blessing was expressed in triennial service of presentation. There was apparently a liturgy which followed the presentation of the tithes and first fruits. It involved an avowal of obedience and a petition for divine blessing. (Deut. 26:13-15) This confession and others also involve a historical recital of the great events of redemptive history. The historical recital is seen in the praise of the Psalter. The central act of the assembled people was an oath of allegiance which was given in response to the declarations of the Covenant provisions and stipulations. The people vow and the “Lord graciously acknowledges them as His people and guarantees the blessing of the Covenant (Deut. 26:16-19)

The covenantal aspect is not transient but perpetual as the Lord’s Covenant of Grace extends from Adam to the last believer on earth until Christ returns. Thus the worship of God is to be retained and practiced in its fullness by all of God’s people in every age. This worship, in its narrow sense, i.e., the corporate gathering of the people of God on the Sabbath, varies only in such things as to its meeting place (outward elements) and its depth due to the progressive revelation of God’s redemptive plan as it was made available to God’s people throughout history, culminating in its fullest expression during the time of the Apostles when the New Testament was penned by those holy men of God as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Conclusions to be derived from the above biblical evidence:

• The approach to the issue of worship must be Biblical-theological rather than merely textual.
• The backdrop of worship is the reality of creation and it therefore assumes the creature-Creator relationship.
• Worship is God-centered. It rests on His action, indeed was, and is a proclamation of His action.
• Worship is Covenant memorializing. It has its root in response to or reaffirmation of the Covenant. God comes to man as He dwells in the midst of His gathered people but the people also enter afresh into the Covenant, vis-à-vis prayer, praise, confession, etc.
• Worship (service) “latreia” must be seen in both its narrow sense (cultic institutions, etc.) and in its broad sense (all of life is a service before the Lord).
• The supreme self-realization of the people of God is in their worship. They are the people of God when they gather before the Lord for worship.
• Worship is primarily corporate. Perhaps some have been unduly influenced by pietistic individualism in their view of worship and thus diminish and/or denigrate the corporate aspect of the true worship of God.

In another reply, I'll deal with worship in the Gospels, and D.v., thereafter worship during the first 4 centuries of the Christian Church.

In His Grace,

[color:"blue"]The Worship of God in the Four Gospels[/color]

By John Murray


It could be assumed that the four Gospels would not provide much teaching relevant to the worship that is permanent in the church of God. The four Gospels are concerned to a large extent with what antedated the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ and their story does not extend to the event of Pentecost. It was by these pivotal events that the typical and ceremonial institution was abrogated as to its observance and it might be thought that the worship reflected on in the four Gospels would be the worship of the ceremonial economy as distinct from the worship of the New Testament. There are two observations respecting this assumption. First, it should be borne in mind that there is much in the worship of the Old Testament that bears upon the worship that abides. Many considerations establish a basic identity in the worship of both Testaments. Examples will appear in the course of this study. Second, the assumption is soon shown to be erroneous when the four Gospels are examined. There is a wealth of material directly pertinent to what is basic and essential in the worship of God and therefore indispensable in the worship the New Testament prescribes. This material may be set forth under several appropriate divisions.

I. The Worship of God (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8; 24:53; John 4:23, 24; 9:31)

A. According to Scripture the primary principle of worship is that God alone is to be worshipped. It was our Lord himself who gave unambiguous witness to this principle and exemplified it in the ordeal of his temptation: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8).

1. The test is a quotation (Deuteronomy 6:13). This, at the outset, advises us that the worship of the Old Testament in its essential features is never to be set in antithesis to the worship of the New. There is basic identity and our Lord did not need to state anything new in this respect but to reassert what the Old Testament had emphatically required. This fact of identity is implicit in the principle itself. Since God is one (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4) and God alone is to be worshipped, there could not be any basic discrepancy and so, in respect of essence, the Old Testament is regulative for the worship of the New. To this our Lord himself accords his authority and sanction.

2. The principle lies close to the first commandment, and the correlation implies that worship as to its specific character partakes of the exclusiveness that belongs to God. The absolute distinctness and transcendence of God are to be expressed and verified by that which belongs to him alone, namely, worship. And the rendering to any creature the worship due to God amounts to a denial of that glory which is distinctively and uniquely his. This indictment applies not only to that which is ostensibly worship of the creature but also to that which gives to any creature a deference that amounts to worship. It is in this respect that the first principle of worship may be violated by us and the idolatry of heart and practice exposed.

B. No text in Scripture is more significant for the worship of God than John 4:23, 24: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” This passage merits a dissertation. Only brief comment can be given now and the points of leading significance mentioned.

1. Our Lord is specific in emphasizing the worship of the Father. This indicates that the worship of God must be characterized by the particularity that exists in the Godhead. Worship must be offered in recognition of the Trinitarian distinctions and to each person of the Godhead in accordance with his distinguishing properties and functions, especially as these are expressed in the economy of salvation. The accent in this passage falls upon the necessity of worship “in spirit and truth.” But this requirement cannot be fulfilled if the truth that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does not determine the character of our worship.

2. “God is spirit.” Like other propositions, “God is light” (I John 1:5), “God is love” (I John 4:8, 16), “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), this one specifies the nature of God. The thought is not that he is a spirit and belongs to the classification “spirits.” He is spirit essentially and uniquely and this prescribes the nature of the worship to be rendered to him: it must be “in spirit and truth.”

We may not dismiss offhand the view that “spirit” in this case refers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and truth are brought into such correlation in the teaching of our Lord in this Gospel (14:17; 15:26; 16:13; cf. I John 4:6; 5:6) that it would be easy to interpret the coordination in John 4:23, 24 in these terms and regard Jesus’ intent to be tantamount to “in the Spirit of truth.” We may not, however, insist on this interpretation. It is probably that “spirit” refers to the human spirit (cf. Matthew 5:3; Luke 1:47; John 13:21; Acts 17:16; Romans 1:9; 8:l6b; I Corinthians 2:11 & 7:34; II Corinthians 7:1; I Thessalonians 5:23) and that the intensive and internal quality of true worship is expressed. “Truth” is coordinated with “spirit” to express the reality that must characterize worship in contrast with make-believe and hypocrisy. Truth also points to reality in contrast with type and shadow. Inwardness and reality are required by the nature of God as spirit and from the correlative that God is truth. These qualities of worship are indicated also in “true worshippers” (verse 23). The “true” finds its antonym not so much in what is false, though this is not wholly absent, but in what falls short of the reality which, in the exercise of worship, corresponds with the reality of God’s being as spirit and truth. It is, therefore, apparent how dependent we are upon the Holy Spirit as the author of “Spiritual sacrifice” when we offer to God the worship that is acceptable. “It is the Spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63).

The principle “in spirit and truth” bears directly upon the content of worship. If worship must be consonant with the nature of God, it must be in accord with what God has revealed himself to be and regulated as to content and mode by the revelation God has given in holy Scripture. The sanction enunciated (“in spirit and truth”) excludes all human invention and imagination and warns us against the offence and peril of offering strange fire unto the Lord. No principle more than this inculcates jealousy to ascertain that what we offer has the warrant of divine authority.

3. The words, “for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers” (verse 23) allude to the requirement of worship “in spirit and truth,” implicit in the preceding clause and expressly stated in verse 24. So they accentuate the demand for true worship. But what needs to be observed by way of distinction in this instance is the grace betokened. Again the reference to the Father is to be appreciated. Nothing less than access to the throne of the Father’s grace and to the holy of holies of the Father’s presence is contemplated. And the accent falls upon the assurance that worshippers of the kind stated are sought for by the Father.

It is not merely that they may enter the sanctuary to offer worship but that the Father has delight in this service. In response to the Father’s delight our worship ought to be one of delight and confidence. Language fails to measure up to the benignity of the Father’s good pleasure and to the joy of entering into his courts.

We thus see that in Jesus’ own teaching on this occasion we find a series of principles that are most basic and central in relation to God’s worship.

II. The Worship of Jesus

When we keep in view our Lord’s own explicit witness that God alone is to be worshipped, the worship of Jesus in the record of the Gospels constitutes one of the most astounding features of Gospel history. The visit of the wise men to Jerusalem on the occasion of Jesus’ birth is illustrative of the ways in which the history connected with the begetting, conception, and birth of Christ is charged with the unprecedented. Of particular relevance to our present interest is the fact that when they found the child Jesus “they fell down and worshipped him” (Matt. 2:11; cf. 2:2). All the circumstances associated with this incident combine to show that the worship was of that character exemplified in subsequent instances throughout the life of Jesus upon earth. That the infant Jesus should have elicited worship is evidence of the incomparably supernatural and the recognition of this on the part of the wise men.

It is not necessary to discuss all the cases in which worship has been accorded to Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. There are numerous instances in a great diversity of situations (cf. Matthew 8:12; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17; Mark 5:6; 11:9, 10: Luke 18:37, 38; 24:52; John 9:38; 12:13). Suffice it to observe the implications.

1 . In contrast with other instances in which worship had been reproved and rejected (cf. Acts 10:25; 26; Revelation 22:8, 9), Jesus never declined the worship proferred nor did he reprove it as incompatible with the worship due to God alone. Two examples of acceptance and commendation point up the difference in his case (Matthew 15:25, 28; John 20:28, 29). But not only is there acceptance; our Lord expressly provides the reason.

The Father, he says “hath committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him” (John 5:22, 23). As will be noted, it is the dignity belonging to Him as the Son that not only grounds the propriety of worship but also demands the same.

2. The astounding feature of the worship of Jesus is that his human identity did not interfere with the offering to him of the worship due to God alone. The only explanation of this is the recognition that he was more than man, that is, of his divine identity. How in numerous cases in the days of his flesh this recognition had been formed in the consciousness of his worshippers it is not our purpose now to discuss or investigate. But with varying degrees of awareness there must have entered into their consciousness the implications of the witness borne to him. In this connection is should be observed that his identity as the Son of God is of paramount importance. The import of his divine Sonship is no less than equality with God and Godhood (cf. John 5:17, 18; 10:22). Matthew 14:33 is a noteworthy example of the relation that the intradivine Sonship sustains to worship: “And those who were in the boat worshipped him saying: Verily of God thou art Son.”

The effect of the evidence in the Gospels bearing upon the worship of Jesus is that, in addition to what Jesus taught respecting the worship of the Father, our worship is not true worship if it is not characterized by the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ equally and concurrently with our worship of the Father. The principle already established that the worship of God must take account of the particularity of the persons of the Godhead must apply to the worship of Jesus, and it is in this case that the particularity is peculiarly distinct. The human identity of Jesus must never be absent from our thought of him and so in our worship of him he must ever be conceived of as the God-man. Such a conception is severely excluded in our worship of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. As our Christian faith is constituted by faith in him who is the God-man, so Christian worship consists essentially in the worship of Jesus as the Son of God incarnate, the man Christ Jesus. All of this points up and points to the redemptive conditioning of Christian worship and forcefully reminds us that we worship each person of the Trinity in terms of the distinguishing functions that person performs in the economy of salvation. It would take us too far afield to adduce all the data relevant to this in the teaching of Jesus. Suffice it to mention the prominence given in his own witness to the fact of his being the one sent of the Father and to the place this occupied in the knowledge and faith of him (cf. Matthew 10:30; Luke 4:18, 43; John 5:36; 6:38; 17:3, 8, 18, 23).

III. Regulative Principle (Matthew 15:2-9; 21:12, 13; Mark 7:7-9, 13; 11:15-17; John 2:14-17; 4:23, 24)

We have noted already that John 4:23, 24 bears directly upon the content of worship, that the requirement “in spirit and truth” inculcates the necessity of ascertaining that what we offer in worship has the warrant of divine authority. It is significant that what is implicit in John 4:23, 24 finds its explicit enunciation in Jesus’ teaching elsewhere. Attention may be focused on Mark 7:7-9, 13. It is apparent that the emphasis in this passage is placed on the inviolable sanction of the commandment of God in opposition to the tradition of men and vice versa. This is not restricted to the subject of worship in the specific sense. The occasion particularly in view was the subterfuge by which the fifth commandment has been made void. This, however, was but an example, for our Lord adds: “and many such like things ye do” (vs. 13).
For our present interest what needs to be observed is that worship comes within the compass of application and it is with reference to worship that the subject is introduced: “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (vs. 7; cf. Matthew 15:9; Isaiah 29:13). In the discourse that follows we find a sustained antithesis of human prescription to the commandment of God: “Leaving the commandment of God ye hold fast the tradition of men.. . Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.. .making void the word of God by your tradition” (vs. 8, 9, 13). The conclusions are express. (1) Worship that is regulated by human prescription is vain; it rejects the commandment of God and makes void his word. (2) Adherence to the commandment of God is mandatory; we may not leave it or depart from it. And this means that we must be constantly directed by the prescription of God’s Word.

The repeated reference to the commandment of God is of paramount importance. It shows that nothing less than this is in our Lord’s esteem the regulative principle of the worship of God. It does not mean that “tradition” as such is to be depreciated. But it does require that any tradition which is not based upon and derived from divine prescription is of human origin and sanction and incurs the condemnation so patent in our Lord’s teaching on this subject. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple illustrates his jealousy for the sanctity of the house of God and the holy zeal with which desecration should be expelled.

IV. Requisites of Worship (Matthew 5:23, 24; 6:1-4; 12:7; 18:20; Mark 12:42-44; Luke 21:2-4)

Acceptable worship requires not only conformity to divine prescription in content and form; the frame of mind on the part of the worshipper must also be taken into account. To this our Lord bears witness and therefore inculcates the necessity of adherence to objective norms, on the one hand, and of subjective attitude, on the other. Worship is directed to God alone. But as in ethics so in worship interhuman relations may never be dismissed as irrelevant. This is the lesson of Matthew 5:23, 24: “If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Not only reconciliation with God is indispensable but also reconciliation with our brethren, and the latter is the concrete and practical criterion of our sincerity. “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen” (I John 4:20).

When our Lord reproved theatrical showmanship (Matthew 6:1-4), he exposed an evil far more prevalent than the demonstrative display to which he expressly refers, the evil of attendance upon the exercises of worship to be seen and have glory of men. The principle underlying Jesus’ reproof is that in worship we come into the holiest of God’s presence and that concern for the notice and praise of men is the contradiction of worshipping the Creator rather than the creature and amounts to idolatry.

Jesus’ observations respecting the widow who cast into the treasury two mites (Mark 12:42-44; Luke 21:2-4) advises us that the criterion of devotion is not the amount we contribute to the service of God but the commitment of which our contribution is the measure. Though Matthew l8;20 has a wider application, the gathering together for worship cannot be excluded from its scope. Two considerations should be observed. (1) The assembly of the saints is the meeting of God with his people (cf. Exodus 29:43-46) and he dwells among them. This meeting and dwelling Jesus applies to his own presence; when he is in the midst, God is there. (2) The minimum of plurality is all that is required. If two come together in Jesus’ name he is always there. To suspend the worship of the church because of meagre attendance is to offer insult to the Saviour and shows more concern for meeting with people than meeting with Christ. The implications for worship are patent. “The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there” (Ezekiel 48:35). It is of this that Jesus’ word is reminiscent and with his own presence the promise is realized. Wherever there are two there are always three and the third is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Where Christ is, the Father and Holy Spirit are (Cf. John 17:21-23; 14:16, 17). So wherever there are two there are always five — two meeting in Jesus’ name and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The inestimable grace and privilege need no comment.

V. The Ingredients of Worship. The teaching on this subject comprised in the four Gospels merits discussion far beyond what the limits of this study permit. At the best, comment will be brief and in some instances little more than citation of relevant passages.

A. Prayer. No passage in Scripture is of greater importance on the subject of prayer than is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples (Matthew 6:9-15; Luke 11:2-4). Some salient features may be mentioned. We are advised that, by way of eminence, prayer should be addressed to God the Father. This is not only indicated by the title “Father” in the prayer itself (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2) but also by the repeated use of this title in the context (cf. Matthew 6:4, 6, 8, 14, 15). As has been observed above in connection with worship in general, so now we are reminded that prayer must be characterized by the particularity of approach and access required by the differentiation within the Godhead and falls short of its Christian character if it is not directed to God the Father in the marvel of the revelation he comes to sustain to the people of God as their Father in heaven. Paramount in all prayer must be adoration and supreme must be our interest in God’s glory and kingdom. The prayer is that which Jesus taught his disciples. It was not Jesus’ own prayer. John 17:1-26 is the grand example of the latter and the contrasts need to be jealously observed. In prayer to the Father the uniqueness of Jesus’ filial relation must be kept in mind and his exclusion from the address “our Father” always recognized.

Our Lord’s teaching anent attitude in prayer points up the lessons of faith
(cf. Matthew 7:7-11; 17:20; Mark 11:24), perseverance (cf. Luke 18:1; 9-14;
Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30), watchfulness (cf. Matthew 26:40, 41; Mark
13:33-35; 14:38; Luke 21:36), forgiving disposition (cf. Matthew 6:14, 15; Mark 11:25), contrition (Luke 18:9-14).

B. Fasting. The sequence in which Matthew 6:16-18 occurs indicates that fasting is an exercise of devotion similar to prayer and on occasion conjoined with it. The propriety and acceptableness of fasting as an element of worship are, however, placed beyond doubt by verse 18. It is in the Father’s presence that believers fast and the Father gives the recompence (cf. Luke 2:37). That fasting has its appropriate occasion and should be restricted to such is equally apparent (cf. Mark 2:20; Luke 5:35). Though there is a question as to the text of Matthew 17:21 (cf. Mark 9:29) the thought is no doubt authentic and illustrates the type of circumstance in which the efficacy of prayer is contingent upon the concentration exemplified in fasting.

C. The emphasis placed upon preaching in the activities of the disciples evinces the place it occupies in the worship of the church (cf. Matthew 10:7; Mark 3:14; 5:18, 20; 6:12; Luke 8:39; 9:2, 6; John 21:15-17).

D. Singing. (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). This refers to the paschal hymn comprising the Psalms known as the Hallel.

E. Baptism. (Matthew 28:19, 20).

F. The Lord’s Supper. (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-20).

G. Scripture Reading. The reading of Scripture was an integral part of the synagogue worship. The instance recorded in Luke 4:16-19 provides an example that would have to be regarded as permanently relevant.