8/9/2019 A Short Theological Reflection on Worship

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In Gods Presence:A Short Theology of Worship

Throughout Scripture we hear the call to worship and we witness many acts of worship. I want to share withyou a short statement or a short theology of worship. As a starting point here is my nutshell definition: worshipis making ourselves present to God. Let us then proceed. God has from the beginning made himself presentto us. Worship is the means by which we make ourselves present to God. It is our response, freely chosen, to

enter into his presence. Worship, then, is the reversal of the experience of Eden where humanity was "barred"from the experience of the immediate presence of God in that it is through worship that we (re)enter hispresence. John Weborg suggested that we make ourselves present to God by his making himself present tous.

God has made himself present to us through his acts. "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and theirexpanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech..." However, this is a "voiceless"declaration. In an even more profound way, God makes himself present through his word. "The law of theLord-the testimony of the Lord ... the precepts of the Lord..." and "... He spoke long ago to the fathers in theprophets in many portions and in many ways..." Through his speech, through his word, God makes himselfpresent to us. The ultimate speech is Jesus who is Emanuel, "God With Us, the Word of God made flesh.

It is through worship that we make ourselves present to God. In the Old Testament this was accomplished inmeasure, by the rules of worship, which freed people to come before God. Though it might be said that theact of following those rules was the act of worship it must be noted that such acts were efficacious only to theextent that the worshiper came with a heartfelt desire to know God expressed through obedience to the law ofGod. Even then there remained a barrier between the worshipper and the One worshipped. It was only in theoffering of Christ that the barrier was removed and the "Door" of heaven opened to the worshipper. As aresult, our logical or reasonable worship (liturgy, service) is to present our bodies (our whole person) as livingsacrifices to God.

In this sense, worship is a broad term that encompasses all of ones life in that it is a way of living. To worshipis to present ones whole self to God, that is, we make ourselves present to God by giving him ourselves as apresent. However, as with the former approach, so with the latter and more perfect approach, we must come

on the basis of the prescribed way. If God makes himself present to us through acts and speech then we alsomust make ourselves present to him in acts and speech. And these cannot be of our own making but must bein accord with his word and character. However proceed in this matter, one thing is clear, God is Spirit andthose who worship him must do so in spirit and in truth.

Another important matter to take note of: The Bible is more conscious of a People then persons. In worshipthere is the sense of Body or community. There is a corporate-ness to worship that cannot be neglected andmust in fact be cultivated and developed. These two ideas (spirit and community) are one way that weunderstand the transformation that Christ brought about. The spiritual Tent called the Church has replaced thematerial Tent known to us the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting (latter replaced by the Temple). Therefore, to bein the presence of his people is to be in the presence of God. As individuals, we present ourselves to God inour words and actions according to the Spirit. In the same way we present ourselves corporately to our God inour words and actions.

Finally, worship is an exchange, a conversation at the deepest level. We make ourselves present to God in ourprayers, praise, thanksgivings and acts of service. But, we also make ourselves present to God in waiting andlistening for his word, his revelation of himself to us and by opening to him the "door" of our heart, our person.In this way we worship.