The Church and True Worship
Worship does not necessarily involve going to church. The word was originally "worth-ship," the quality of recognizing the worth of God. When we sing, "Oh, could I speak the matchless worth ..." we are getting at the real meaning of the idea of worship.
In the Bible there are incidents which show that worship was carried out apart from any outward act of ritual or liturgy. "By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshipped, strengthening himself with his staff' (Heb. 11:21). A careful study of the Old Testament passage to which the New Testament verse refers will reveal that the worship consisted in being firm to the end, in giving his sons a good example of faith in God, and following the commands given to Him by God.
A greatly misunderstood passage of Scripture is the reference to religion in the Book of James. "Pure religion and undefiled before God is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). Here, the word "religion" means "religious worship" or "religious exercise." The translation would then be understood as follows: "A pure and undefiled religious, worshipful exercise is to visit the fatherless . . ." There is certainly no intimation that social service work can replace the recognition of the worth of Jesus Christ. An unbeliever can never recognize the worth of the Savior, for no man calleth Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). But when a man is saved and has clearly recognized the love of Christ, he can then go about in the name of the Lord Jesus, doing deeds in His name, and the Lord will recognize those acts as being true worship.
A father might say that he is taking his boy out into the woods for a day of exercise. A Christian, starting off on a round of acts of kindness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, could say just as truly, I am going to worship. I am taking the Lord Jesus, who dwells in me, out for exercise. I am thereby recognizing His worth. The New Testament clearly reveals to us a church which was gathered around the Lord Jesus Christ. The acknowledgment of His worth and the worth of the triune Godhead was central to all gatherings of believers. When they were thus gathered in His name, He was in the midst.
As time went on error entered the church. The idea of priesthood came back from Judaism, and from paganism. The clergy became "priests" which means "sacrificers." The communion gave way to the "Mass"; now instead of a recognition of the worth of Christ there was a form and ceremony to take its place. Nature abhors a vacuum and spiritual nature abhors a spiritual vacuum. When the worship of Christ ceased to be the center of religious meetings, form and ceremony took its place and the word "liturgy" stopped meaning worship and began to take on its present meaning.
Scripture tells us that all things must be done "decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40). This does not mean, however, that the spontaneity of spiritual worship must give way to a priestly ritual which can occupy but never satisfy unregenerate hearts, and which will leave true children of God with a spirit of emptiness because form has taken the place of devotion to the Lord. "God is Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). To worship Him in spirit means that the Holy Spirit must be in our hearts; therefore, only redeemed people can worship Him in this manner. When the Holy Spirit guides, the service will be warm and alive, and Christ will be the center of it. Never will He be lost in the fog of ritual for the sake of the service.
1. Can a spontaneous worship service become a ritual in its own way?
2. What are the key elements to individual and corporate worship?
3. What are some primary similarities between individual and corporate worship?
4. How do these similarities influence our getting together on Sunday mornings?
