A call for a new Reformation in the church: Who do we worship?

I have found myself drifting more and more into thoughts of “how” and “where” we should worship and in doing so, while recognizing that those are valid and valuable questions, I have neglected my personal study and reflection on some of the more important and foundational questions pertaining to Christian worship.

Before we even examine the “how” of worship, you need to answer the “who” and the “why” of worship. The answer may seem easy on the surface: “I am just worshippin’ Jesus!” but the reality when you dig deeper is that who God is by no means is a settled question in the church. The “why” is one that even fewer people have given much thought to. I know I have often approached worship without the proper gravity and reflection on who I am worshipping and why I am worshipping Him. A lot of this has been spurred on by some conversations I have had online regarding the so-called “regulative principle of worship” but before I delve into that, I want to spend some time in reflecting on who the Body of Christ is worshipping in our personal, family and corporate expressions. After that I want to get into the “why” we worship “who” we worship. Only after that do I want to get into specifics on the "how" and "where" as I try to get that cart back behind the horse where it belongs.

The answer to the question of “who” we worship is more than merely “God” or even a list of the attributes of God. The attributes of God are valuable to understand and given short shrift in our study of the Word, but a list of attributes is inadequate to answer the question of who He is. We can only and must only turn to the Word, for that is where He has revealed Himself to us. The image of God has been terribly tarnished by many who name the name of Christ. I don’t think most of it is a willful act, although in some cases it is, but it is something that needs be redeemed.

First and foremost, God is holy. I know some people focus on God is love, but I assert that we cannot even begin to fathom God’s love until we squarely face God’s holiness contrasted with our sinfulness. God is not merely a much better person than we are, He is holy on an order of magnitude that separates us from Him infinitely outside of His intervention. When I think of the holiness of God, I instinctively turn to Isaiah 6.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isa 6:1-5)

That image is one that captures the awesome and awful majesty of God. The seraphim who dwell in His presence sing eternally of His holiness and dare not even look upon Him, covering their eyes and feet. The great prophet Isaiah, in seeing the King is “undone” by what he sees for he recognizes that he and all of humanity stand condemned before the throne.

How carelessly we tread in the presence of our Lord! How cavalier we are in the handling of His Word!

Because of God’s holiness, He hates sin. Not just doesn’t much care for it, or is displeased by it or is disappointed by our behavior. Sin doesn’t hurt God’s feelings. God hates sin. We ignore or gloss over that truth at our own peril because God is not an impotent being who dislikes sin but can do nothing about it.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. (Exodus 12:12)

We read that and gulp. To make ourselves feel better, we often throw out “God hates the sin but loves the sinner” to try to make God seem more fair. Two problems though, first that doesn’t appear in the Bible and second just the opposite does:

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. (Psalm 5:5)

The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. (Psalm 11:5)

(These verses raise a question outside of the scope of this conversation: If God loves sinners but still sends them to hell, what does that say about God? He is impotent to stop them from going? Anyway, that is not the topic at hand.)

But what about Jesus, He is all love isn’t He, not like that mean God of the Old Testament? Hardly. The Son of Man is not a hippie flashing peace signs and holding love-ins with sinners.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matt 25:41)

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Rev 1: 12-16)

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 20: 11-15)

This is one of my favorites and it should send a chill down your spine to think on the Lord of Hosts coming in glory…

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Rev 19: 11-16)

Six times in Matthew alone Jesus speaks of outer darkness or the fiery furnace where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. So Jesus is no 98 pound weakling getting sand kicked in his face at the beach. He willfully humbled Himself in the Incarnation, but make no mistake about who He is. He is not going to be on the outside looking in, plaintively crying for us to let Him in so He can love us. He is riding that door down mounted on a warhorse!

One of the assurances of the Christian in this life is that God is just and will set all things right when His Son returns to sit in judgment. When faced with iniquity and wickedness in the world, when bad things happen to “good” people and evil people prosper, our comfort is that it is not our place to punish the evildoer, it is His. He comes not as a humble servant on a donkey, but as a conquering Lord riding on a white horse arrayed with the armies of heaven for war.

But Jesus Christ is also not just the new sheriff in town coming to clear out the villains and save the day. It is a hard truth, but even those of us (which is most of us) who think that we are the good guys will find in the Word that we are actually wearing black hats, not white hats in this Western (not to be confused with black and white cowboys). Praise God that He is indeed also a God of not just wrath and judgment but also of love and mercy. Were God nothing but a God who is holy, just and wrathful He would still be deserving of our worship but our worship would be all of fear, and not at all of love. But that is not the God we worship because of one word: grace. His grace, His love, His mercy to those who were His enemies is a splendor to behold.

He dwelt among us, the Father sending His only begotten Son to take on flesh…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

He humbled Himself, poured Himself out to be like us…

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2: 5-11)

He knows our suffering…

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb 2: 14-18)

He died for us, laying down His life willingly...

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10: 17-18)

He did so not because of anything good in us, indeed He died for us while we were yet sinners…

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5: 6-11)

Christ didn’t die for good men, He didn’t die to make good men better, but He who was infinitely righteous died for those who by nature are children of wrath and self-made enemies of God (Eph 2:3 )

In the greatest and most unexplainable act of mercy sublime, Jesus Christ, very God of God, became sin for us and bore in His flesh the wrath that we deserved so that we might be found righteous before God based on His merit.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21)

On the cross He fulfilled the demands of the Law, he bore the penalty in His flesh and with the wounds in His hands and feet He settled the debt forever. He was pierced for our transgressions and by His stripes we are healed….

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53: 4-6)

And it all happened on a cruel cross, a symbol of shame that has been turned into an emblem of hope for countless Christians purchased by the blood of Christ, the debt paid, the trespasses forgiven…

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2: 13-14)

THAT is who I worship. The Sovereign most High and Holy, most Merciful and Loving. He and He alone is worthy to be worshipped. That is who I pray to, plead with, love, adore and fear.

That is but a tiny sliver of who God is revealed to be in His Word but even that brief intro should suffice to show that the One we worship is due and deserving of all worship, honor and glory.

Next, the question “why” do we worship?