Worship and the Assembly I. Introduction A. In popular thinking, the assembly and the idea of "worship" are intertwined 1. Assemblies are often called "worship services" 2. People speak of the "acts of worship" 3. Many people, if asked, would define "worship" as "going to church" B. And yet... 1. In the New Testament, the assembly is never called a "worship service" 2. There is no passage in the New Testament that explicitly identifies any of the acts of the assemblies as "acts of worship" 3. The New Testament never describes the presence or actions of believers in the assemblies as "worship" C. So much of the confusion has centered on the different words involved 1. “Worship,” in English, can refer to both acts of adoration/reverence and religious service 2. Hebrew shahach / Greek proskunein: bow down, prostrate oneself, render obeisance (Genesis 18:12, Exodus 20:5, 2 Kings 5:18, Matthew 14:33, Revelation 5:14) 3. Hebrew ‘abad / Greek latreuein: to minister, to serve (Exodus 3:12, Numbers 18:21, Matthew 4:10, Romans 9:1, 12:1) 4. Many translations define all of these as “worship” D. The biggest disconnect involves use and function of the term “worship”: Christians use the term almost exclusively to speak of the assembly, and yet the New Testament betrays and manifests no such usage! E. How can this be? What are we to make of it? II. Origins A. We can see how “worship” would translate words more specifically involving prostration and service 1. Prostration an act of worship indeed: showing honor and reverence to a superior 2. Service also worship: acts of adoration, "religious service" B. But where is the strong connection to the assembly or the acts of the assembly? 1. Early Christians did not prostrate themselves in the assembly: there is no New Testament command or example of it taking place 2. The only person who prostrates in the assembly is the unbeliever upon having been convicted that “God is really among us” (1 Corinthians 14:25) 3. A person can define the acts of the assembly as service, for thus they are, but yet the New Testament does not explicitly say as much, nor does the New Testament speak of the acts of the assembly exclusively in terms of service 4. In fact, in Romans 12:2-21, speaking of how Christians are living and holy sacrifices, performing spiritual service, a whole host of activities and behaviors are mentioned, among fellow Christians and among unbelievers! C. How did "worship" come to exclusively refer to the assembly and the acts thereof? E. It did not come from the New Testament: it came from the denominations! F. Quote from a Lutheran: “The Christian church is to imitate the pattern in ancient Israel before Christ, where priests and levites were ministers in worship, taught the people, offered prayers and made sacrifices...In this way a Christian clergy came into being, alongside which the universal priesthood of believers was no more than a theoretical entity. Accordingly, the eucharist now understood as a sacrifice. And since the Old Testament law requires daily sacrifice, the Christian priest now offered the sacrifice of the mass every day. Sacrifice in turn needs an altar; church buildings were arranged liturgically and built accordingly. And just as at one time the tent of meeting was the place where Yahweh made himself present, so now Christ dwelt in the tabernacle which housed the transformed hosts. Since Israel had kept the sabbath, and the strict observance of feast days had been a confessional act, it was now important to hallow Christian festivals. The privileged and exclusive status of priests and levites in the Old Testament was transferred to priests and deacons, and the bishop now took the place of the high priest. Just as the eucharist was interpreted in terms of the Old Testament sacrifices, so baptism was interpreted as a rite of initiation after the model of circumcision. Nor were the financial aspects of these analogies ignored: tithes were given to Christian priests as they had once been given to the house of Aaron" (A.H.J. Gunneweg, Understanding the Old Testament:, 107f, as quoted in Gerstenberger, The Old Testament Library: Leviticus, 15-16). G. Consider how many “innovations” in many denominations were really just ideas re-introduced from the Old Testament and the Temple cult! 1. Roman Catholic priest concept comes from separate group of priests in OT; we reject that in the new covenant (1 Peter 2:5, 9) 2. Concept of church building, cathedral, etc. as a "holy place" comes from Temple as place of God's presence in OT; we reject this in the new covenant (1 Peter 2:5-8) 4. Concept of Lord's Supper as equivalent to OT sacrifices also flawed (cf. Acts 20:7) 5. Sunday as Sabbath also rejected (Colossians 2:14-17, Hebrews 4:1-11) 6. We reject all of these, and rightly so! 7. But what about the idea of "prostrating oneself before God's presence"? 8. Where do we get the idea that God is somehow present in the assembly of Christians and not with Christians the rest of the time (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)? 9. Where do we get the idea that God is present in a church building but not with us the rest of the time? 10. All of these ideas flow from imposing the OT Temple onto the new covenant, something condemned in Galatians 2:15-20, Colossians 2:14-17, and Hebrews 7-9 H. Thus, the concept that "worship" requires Christians coming together in the assembly and participating in the acts of the assembly derives from denominations imposing OT Temple concepts on the NT assemblies, and not from the NT itself! I. How has this been missed for so long by so many? 1. People all around us speak about the assembly as "worship" and "the worship service," for one, and we certainly do not want to get the reputation of being people who do not "worship" God! 2. It has been seductive to understand proskunein in more "spiritual" terms, more akin to latreuein, and then see how shahach is so tied to the Temple and the Temple observances, and thus attach all of this to the assembly 3. Likewise, people understand English worship as “acts of religious performance,” and so give a latreuein spin on proskunein and consider specific actions as acts of “worship” 4. Thus we must emphasize that proskunein involved not less than a physical gesture, and as an actual, physical gesture, was directed toward the superior before whom one should humble oneself and to whom veneration is due! 5. Likewise, we must emphasize that proskunein is itself an action; praying, singing, etc. are no more “acts of prostration” than preaching is an “act of breaking bread” 6. If God, Jesus, the Apostles, etc., wanted us to understand that the actions we do in the assembly, or even in life, themselves were proskunein, He had more than enough time and opportunity to provide such an explanation in the New Testament; no such explanation exists 7. Instead, as Jesus makes evident in John 4:20-24, we proskunein in spirit when we submit to the will of God in Christ in all things; we look forward to the day when we will again be in God’s presence and then will properly and rightly proskunein before Him! J. But what are the implications of all of this? Does this change the assembly at all? III. Worship, The Temple, and Believers in Christ A. The big question: does all of this mean that we do not "worship" God today? 1. Again, we must define our terms 2. "Worship" as prostration/proskunein: no example in NT of any believer prostrating themselves to Jesus after He ascends and before He returns 3. In Revelation it is clear that we will prostrate ourselves before God and Christ when we are before them (Revelation 11:1, 14:7) 4. "Worship" as service/latreuein: we most certainly serve God, but such is never limited to the assembly: it should involve our whole beings all the time (Romans 12:1) B. But how can this be? Why this major change if God is the same throughout the covenants? C. A fundamental distinction between old and new covenants at play: God's presence and the idea of the Temple D. Concept of Temple and God's presence in the Old Testament 1. Aptly explained in Hebrews 9:1-10 2. In the old covenant, a physical Tabernacle or Temple located in a specific physical location 3. God's presence, the Shekinah, present in the cloud of the Most Holy Place 4. God's ministers, priests and Levites, performed sacrifices, offered incense and prayers, sang songs and played instruments 5. All of those physical activities, as is prostration (cf. Colossians 2:14-17) 6. Prostration as directed toward presence of God in Temple (Psalms 5:7, 138:2), since that's where God's Presence was located E. In 70 CE, Temple destroyed; God's Presence no longer there F. Thus, to where would we bow down before God's Presence? G. Concept of God's Presence and Temple in the New Testament 1. Where is God's Presence in the new covenant? According to Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:22, 3:17, 2 Timothy 1:14, among other passages, in believers, collectively and individually! 2. And what is the image in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, Ephesians 2:19-22, and 1 Peter 2:5-8? Believers, collectively and individually, as the Temple of God 3. All of the activities also internalized 4. Believers as the priests and sacrifices: Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5 5. Believers' prayers as incense: Revelation 8:4 6. Songs sung, instrument of heart played: Ephesians 5:19 H. Therefore, all that was external and physical in the old covenant now internal and spiritual in the new covenant I. Hence, John 4:20-24: God is spirit, His presence is spiritual and in the midst of His people at this time, and so our souls bow down before Him according to His purposes! J. Therefore, we see that the words of Jesus confirm what we have seen in the Apostles and their teachings: all of the physical trappings of the Old Testament religious system are now spiritual 1. Prostration, then, something that will come when we see the Lord 2. For now, we must subject our will to God our Father who dwells "in" us, however understood 3. There is no Temple that we "go" to: we are the Temple! 4. The ministrations of the new covenant are accomplished all the time in every sort of context as the Christian lives his or her life (Romans 8:29, 12:1, 1 John 2:3-6) IV. Worship and the Assembly A. So where does all of this leave worship in terms of the assembly? B. Isn't God present in the assembly? 1. Matthew 18:20 2. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:5-8 3. All of these speak to the idea that God dwells in the believers as a collective 4. Thus, God would be present in a special way in the assembly, and we are to "bow down" to Him and thus worship Him! 5. Yet the New Testament does not make this argument: there is no passage that uses the idea of prostration or bowing down to God among believers in the assembly, and there certainly could have been 6. God is present in the assembly, certainly, but He is just as present with believers outside of the assembly (Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 7. We do not get the impression from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:19-22, or 1 Peter 2:5-8 that the collective assembly is only to be considered as a Temple of God when its members are assembled in local congregations: God is present in His Temple the assembly at all times! C. Why the assembly if it is not explicitly and uniquely connected to worship? 1. God has specified the reasons for the assembly in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:24-25: encouragement and edification of the saints 2. This does not turn the assembly into a free-for-all; in fact, it should not change anything about the way the assembly is conducted 3. We are still serving God in the assembly, just as we have always been doing! 4. God has indicated that we are to come together to devote ourselves to the Apostles' doctrine, the Lord's Supper, preaching, singing, praying, and giving on the first day of the week (Acts 2:42, 20:7, 1 Corinthians 14:14-17, 16:1-3, 2 Corinthians 8-9, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16) 5. These are to be done to strengthen and build up the members! 6. In the rest of our lives we also go out and serve God according to His commandments (1 John 2:3-6) D. What do we call the assembly? 1. We can just call it what the NT authors called it: the assembly (1 Corinthians 11:18, ekklesia) 2. We can ask people with whom they assemble, etc. E. Therefore, we have seen that there is no need to change the assembly and its acts; instead, we should recognize that it represents a part, an important part, but a part, of our overall service to God! F. Put another way: in the assembly we seek to accomplish a great spiritual pleasure, in which we are equipped and encouraged for the larger spiritual mission! V. Conclusion A. Thus we have examined "worship" and the assembly B. We have seen that the exclusive connection between worship and the assembly derives not from the New Testament but from the doctrines of denominations D. We have seen the major distinction in covenant: the old had a physical location to go to prostrate before God, and the new has internalized and spiritualized those matters E. And we have seen that our actions in the assembly do not change: instead, we can focus on the real purpose of the assembly and integrate the assembly into our overall lives of service to God F. Let us serve God properly in spirit and in truth at all times! G. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: The secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed (1 Corinthians 14:25). In the New Testament 1 Corinthians 14:25 is the only verse that speaks of “worship,” proskunein, in terms of the assembly. It refers to an unbeliever, not Christians! Prostration is never listed as an act of the assembly. Other acts of the assembly are never called or defined as prostration. May we speak as the Bible speaks! 2: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Jesus speaks of a time when Christians will prostrate before God in spirit and truth. It is not spoken of uniquely or even explicitly in terms of the assembly. Since God is a spirit, our spirit should prostrate before Him. We should do all things by His truth. Such is how we can worship God in spirit and truth! 3: In whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21). Israel had a physical Temple where God kept His presence. Israelites bowed down before God there. Today Christians are said to be the Temple. Its service is spiritual, not physical, and not limited to the assembly. May we glorify God in all we do! 4: What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying (1 Corinthians 14:26). A good understanding of “worship” does not mean the assembly must change. God has already specified what is to be done in the assembly. God also established the purpose of the acts of the assembly: to edify, or build up, those who are present. May we assemble with God’s people and do what God says to do in order to edify one another!