Some churches focus solely on glory of God in worship: the purpose of worship is to proclaim the glory of God and to issue a reverential response to his redemptive work. Other churches focus solely on the edification of believers and/or evangelism of unbelievers in worship: the purpose of worship is to encourage one another by testifying to God’s redemptive grace and to spur one another on to love and good works. In short, the former churches view worship as all about God; the latter churches view worship as all about people.
I have stated these positions starkly so as hopefully to make the false dichotomy evident. John Calvin, for one, was adamant about not choosing between the glory of God and edification in corporate worship. As we glorify God through our songs, prayers, preaching etc., Calvin insisted that we must consciously aware of Christ’s body. He concluded, “If we let love be our guide we are safe.” This renewed concern is what led the Reformers to craft worship services that actually were accessible to all worshippers, now enabled to move from performance spectators to active, edified participants (Heb 10:24-25; Col 3:15-16; Eph 5:19-20).
While many will grant the dual goals in corporate worship of the glory of God and edification, but many will also deny that evangelism is included in the purpose of edification. The following claim is common: “Worship is about God and the covenant renewal of his people, not a means to draw outsiders into the fold.” I am afraid this comment misunderstands the ultimate purpose of God’s covenant relationship with his people, namely, to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:2-3). The mission of God in covenanting with his people is a mission to win the world. Therefore, our weekly covenant renewal ceremonies must be world-winning worship, practicing what Edmund Clowney calls “doxological evangelism.” We even have biblical examples of worship as an act of glorifying God causing unbelievers to ask searching question (Acts 2:12) and led to conviction of sin (1 Cor 14:24-25). Worship is part of our witness to the world!
How do the purposes of glorifying God and edification converge in the worship at your church? Is one emphasized to the detriment of the other? Are there ways in which the corporate worship you have experienced prevents opportunities for “doxological evangelism?”
I think that worship must involve not only hearing God’s story (through the reading and preaching of the Word) but also each other’s stories (through testimony). Our stories really are also part of God’s story of redemption. There is no greater miracle than a changed, redeemed heart. Not only do brothers and sisters need to hear each other’s stories, but I believe that God also uses them to touch unbelievers. Believers share common touching points with unbelievers of generally being alienated from God, even though the specific details of the journey to faith may be different.
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A great point. I think testimony is a legitimate and necessary part of our gathering together to glorify God in our worship.
The false dichotomy that you expressed answers the questions that you raise. If a church is to focus on the Glory of God in worship, byproducts of that worship will be the edification of believers and a witness to the world. If, on the other hand, the church focuses on edifying and evangelizing it has lost sight of God and the very reason worship exists.
As Calvin writes:
“I know how difficult it is to persuade the world that God disapproves of all modes of worship not expressly sanctioned by his word.”
“The opposite persuasion which cleaves to them, being seated, as it were, in their very bones and marrow, is, that whatever they do has in itself a sufficient sanction, provided it exhibits some kind of zeal for the honor of God.”
Corporate worship is not about us – we really aren’t that important. It is about God and what He has done. We come before His throne praising Him for the gift of salvation that we did not deserve. When we as believers come to worship knowing and realizing that fact we will be further sanctified by God. Does this mean that there is never any edification of believers from one another, or that there is never evangelism when the focus is on God? Absolutely NOT! Quite the opposite is true. In a worship ‘focused’ on the glory of God, the believer is edified by worshipping the one true God not only with those in attendance, but also the universal church, the Church of all time and all ages – what a comfort to the believer! The evangelism piece, I believe, is even more evident in a worship service that is ‘focused’ on the glory of God. An unbeliever should see and hear that man in his sin and misery is not able to save himself, but needs to repent and believe.
At its core, corporate worship and all of our live are to glorify God, not man. Our stories, as impressive as they may be, are nothing in comparison to that of God, becoming man, sacrificing himself on a cross, so that we may have eternal life.
This understanding is what drove the reformation and the church to define corporate worship as John Calvin states:
“Justly, therefore, does the Lord, in order to assert his full right of dominion, strictly enjoin what he wishes us to do, and at once reject all human devices, which are at variance with his command. Justly, too, does he, in express terms, define our limits, that we may not, by fabricating perverse modes of worship, provoke his anger against us.”
This concept, historically called the Regulative Principle, keeps the focus of God’s church, and worship, on its Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, until which time Christ returns.