With this post I plan
to begin a series on why we do what we do in Sunday worship. Corporate worship is central to our lives as
Christians, and as many Christian pastors have pointed out, it is one thing we know
we will be doing for all eternity. It is therefore important to periodically
think about the way that it should be done, and to make every effort to worship
not just in Spirit, but also in truth.
Further, I believe that a better understanding of the biblical rationale
which undergirds the structure and elements of a worship service, serve to
greatly enhance our appreciation and engagement in worship. Before we examine the particulars of a Sunday
service, however, there are a couple of big picture questions that need to be
addressed by way of introduction. The
first, given in the title to this post, is about the uniqueness of Sunday
worship. Is there anything different
about corporate worship compared to what happens during the rest of my week? The answer, I believe, is yes. In this post I
want to show you that when God’s people gather corporately for worship on the
Lord’s day, God is present with us in a unique and special way.
This may sound
surprising, after all, isn’t it true that God is present everywhere? And does not the Scripture teach that as a
believer, God himself dwells within me? Yes
of course. These are both wonderful
truths that should not be forgotten. However, it would be a mistake to conclude
from this that there is essentially no difference between what happens on
Sunday and what happens during the rest
of the week. The Bible itself teaches
that God is present with his people in a special way, different from his
general omnipresence or indwelling of believers, when his people gather
corporately. As my seminary professors
used to remind us, it is true that God is present everywhere, but he is not present everywhere in the same way. God is just as present in Hell as he is in Heaven,
but his presence in these locations are quite different. Or think of the story of the Exodus. God was certainly present in Africa when
Israel was being led out of Egypt.
However, God manifested his special presence to Israel, leading them
with the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, indicating that His presence
with them was both unique and redemptive.
Similarly, while God is
present with us when we are at work or school throughout the week, this is not the
same as his presence when we are corporately gathered in worship. After all, Jesus promised that “Where two or
three are gathered in my name, there I am among them” (Matt 18:20). In
saying this, Jesus is not denying that he is present with us as individuals,
but is promising a special presence when there is a corporate gathering of
Christians “in his name.” Further, Paul
writes in 1 Corinthians that when the body of believers is assembled together,
they are assembled “with the power of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor 5:4). These considerations have led the PCA Book of
Church order to conclude:
A service
of public worship is not merely a gathering of God’s children with each other,
but before all else, a meeting of the triune God with His chosen people. God is present in public worship not only by
virtue of the Divine omnipresence but, much more intimately, as the faithful
covenant Savior.[1]
PCA pastor Jeff Meyers, in his book The Lord’s Service, captures this point
well:
Even if we cannot define it precisely, God is
nonetheless present in a heightened special sense when His people gather as the
church on the Lord’s Day. For one thing,
He is present there “for us.” This is a
place and time where he gathers His people around the Word and Sacraments…The
bread and wine are singular signs designed to assure us of His special,
gracious presence with us.[2]
If we believe this,
it should radically change our view of Sunday worship. We do not come to worship primarily to “do”
something for God, but to enter his presence and receive something from him! We do not come hoping that God will meet us if our worship is good enough, but
confident that He is not only there, but is there in a special, unique way - to
bless and strengthen his people by his grace. If Jesus, by a special revelation from heaven,
promised to show up this week at Charger Stadium to speak to his people and
bless them, how many of us would miss it?
And yet this is precisely the opportunity we have every Sunday, as Jesus
has promised us that at the appointed
hour for worship, “there I am among you.”
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