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How should we worship? What happens in the next life?
7. How should we worship? (Westminster Confession, Chapters twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one)
7.1 Statements of the Confession on Worship
Chapter XXI carries several statements about worship:
But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.
Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone: not to angels, saints, or any other creature: and since the fall, not without a Mediator, nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
Prayer . . . is to be made . . . in a known tongue.
Prayer is to be made for things lawful . . . but not for the dead (Chapter XX, paragraph 1-4).
Paragraph 5 states the basic format for Reformed worship:
The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching and conscionable hearing of the word, in obedience unto God with understanding, faith, and reverence; singing of psalms, with grace in the heart; as also the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: besides religious oaths, and vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings on special occasions; which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner (Chapter XXI, paragraph 5).
Comment is then made on the place of worship (everywhere, especially in the home), and the setting apart of the Sunday Sabbath as dedicated to the worship of God, and excluding other forms of work or recreation.
Of particular interest in this segment are 1) the references to the use of images, 2) no other mediator than Jesus, 3) prayer offered in a known tongue, and 4) forbidding prayer for the dead. These are all problem issues that Reformed believers have with Catholic patterns of worship.
1) The issue of representation of God in visible, non-biblically sanctioned forms, harks back to the iconoclast (breaking of icons) controversy of the 8th century. One class of believers, reacting against the saturation of Orthodox churches with icons forbid their use in any form and imprisoned those who advocated their use. Some of this activity was in response to the Muslim advance which forbade the use of images in worship. Iconodules (servants of icons) eventually won the day in the seventh ecumenical council, and the use of statues and pictures of Christ and the saints in worship became an accepted permanent practice in Orthodox and Catholic churches. This brief sentence in the confession repudiates that practice.
2) Another issue addressed is that there is only one mediator in worship, that is Christ. This is a repudiation of the Catholic view of the priesthood. This doctrine whas a long history in the Catholic faith going back to Ignatius of Antioch and, Catholics would say, to Jesus and the apostles. A foundational doctrine of the reformation was the priesthood of believers. While the Reformers believed in an ordained ministry to administer the public worship of the church, they rejected the idea that a priest was necessary for the individual to approach God, receive the forgiveness of sins, or to worship. The visible ministry existed for the purpose of establishing order in the life and activities of the visible church.
3) Reference to prayer made in a known tongue is reference to the use of Latin in Catholic worship. 4) Mention of prayer for or to the dead is addresses a violation of Protestant views of biblically acceptable prayer.
7.2 Old Testament Worship (A brief statement)
Our understanding of worship in the Old Testament dates back to Genesis. We know Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord, and Abraham did the same. Animal sacrifice, tithing to Melchizedek, taking a sacrificial meal with Melchizedek, and following the covenant of circumcision were essential practices of Abraham. The family or clan offering animal sacrifice appears to have been the basic congregational unit, and the patriarch the primary priest (See Job Chapter 1).
Moses established a more elaborate system of corporate worship under the covenant at Sinai which included, tithing, feasts (calendar), animal sacrifice, various sacrificial meals, a detailed ceremonial law, a tribal (Levitical) priesthood, vestments, and required the ministry of a high priest.
The ark of the covenant, the tent of meeting, and later the temple in Jerusalem gave worship a central location for the community of the faithful. With the destruction of the temple, the synagogue, or local gathering, became a primary place of corporate worship. Synagogue worship followed a loose, but established pattern of prayers, psalms, readings, sermon, and benedictions. The rabbi would also perform ceremonies required by the law such as circumcision. Many see the influence of the synagogue in the New Testament patterns of worship and polity. (For instance, R.T Beckwith in “The Jewish Background to Christian Worship,” in The Study of Liturgy).
7.3 New Testament Worship (A Brief Statement)
The pattern which most deeply affected worship in the time of the New Testament was that of the synagogue. Jesus worshipped in synagogues regularly. Paul always addressed the synagogue congregation if there was one, in each new town. The synagogue, governed by elders, had a basic liturgy mentioned above. Add to that the charismatic dimension of spontaneous prayer, tongues, prophecy, psalms, hymns, and lengthy teaching (even putting some to sleep! Acts 20:7f., I Cor. 14:1ff.) we get a kind of free form synagogue service among New Testament Christians.
Paul allows the observance, or non-observance of the Sabbath (Rom. 14:2-6), great latitude in observing food laws, but warns against embracing the Old Testament system of keeping an elaborate church calendar. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come, the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize” (Col. 16-18a). And in Galatians: But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you” (Gal. 4:9-10).
The Jewish believers in Jerusalem did observe Temple rites and vows: Then they said to Paul: ‘You see brother how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law . . . so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you . . . .(Acts 21:20-24). But this is nowhere encouraged for non-Jewish believers.
7.4 Distinctions between the Old and New Testaments
The Confession states that all requirements peculiar to the Old Testament system of worship are no longer binding for New Testament Christians.
Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give the people of Israel, as a church under age, ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits: and partly, holding forth diverse instructions of moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated, under the new testament (Chapter XIX, para. 3).
7.5 Developments in the Liturgy
It seems the post-apostolic church developed a sophistication and detail in its liturgy that resembles the temple system and its priesthood, but abandons the simplicity and spontaneity of the synagogue service and the practice of the New Testament Church (for instance, that seen in I Corintians 14:1ff.).
The New Testament Church, and the early patristic church, practiced a love feast along with its Eucharist. Fellowship, worship, prayer, charismatic gifts, and teaching seem to have been primary in the primitive church. Attention to form and ritual were probably minimal.
The communion, along with Scripture-based teaching was central to the corporate gathering. Eventually, the practice of praying over the communion became the central act of the worship service and a liturgy was built around this aspect of the gathering. (See Owen Chadwick on “Worhsip and Art”). The epiclesis (Gr. for calling upon) was eventually seen as a kind of “magic moment” in the service transubstantiaiting the bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ which was then elevated for all to adore. Various liturgical elements were added around this action and became set in stone as “the way” to worship (do liturgy), and to be repeated each time the church gathered with some variations. Such rote methods of worship could not be further from New Testament practice, and tend to make worship a mechanical exercise rather than an encounter with the Living God. On the other hand, corporate worship which has no definition often lacks a sense of form, beauty or intelligence.
The sacraments of communion, baptism, confirmation, penance, and marriage all came to be performed in the context of worship (whether large or small gatherings), and were always part of the liturgy. Protestants did away with five of the seven sacraments and tend to emphasize the role of Scripture and preaching as opposed to the sacraments or other liturgical forms. This is less true in some “high church” traditions.
There is also the question of the church calendar. These are the regularly practiced feasts and services of the church. These include Sunday worship, Holy Week observances, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, Advent and the Lenten fast. The calendar of the early church developed many feasts and observances such as martyr’s feast days and Holy Days to be observed by the whole church. This is in contrast to the relatively simple practices of the apostolic church.
With regard to vestments, Justin Martyr is the first church Father to speak of donning special garb as a Christian. He wore the philosopher’s gown as a way of showing that Christianity was a superior philosophy. This had nothing to do with liturgical function. Distinctive vestments did become a mainstay of the clergy by the 5th century, and remain so in some communions today. Most contemporary churches reject vestments and actually seem to glorify casual and undistinguished dress. The author of Bruchko, a missionary to a remote South American Indian tribe, tells a humorous story of Indians who had been taught to wear coat and tie after conversion to Christ, provoking speculation that this was the core meaning of Christianity. I doubt that the need to adopt peculiar dress was ever the essence of Christ’s message.
7.5 Developments in Music and Art
Music and art developed early in the life and practice of the church (See Chadwick). Of course, the psalms were always a part of the corporate worship of the people of Israel. Creative forms of song were practiced by many early church fathers and were cited even among gnostic sects as early as Philo of Alexandria – contemporary of Paul. Simple early art forms developed into elaborate iconography by the fifth century. Both pictures and statues were used to enhance worship, and according to some subverted worship, redirecting it to the idolatrous veneration of images. The iconoclastic controversy of the 8th century (see Leith, “The Image Ocntroversy”) addressed the question of the role of art in worship.
By the middle ages sophisticates iconography was the norm in Orthodox churches. The Renaissance period saw the development of extremely elaborate musical productions as the basis for worship services or productions requiring the participation of highly trained composers, musicians and choirs. Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Masses, and Requiems by various composers are examples.
7.6 Our Church’s Stance
Where does our church sand on issues such as liturgy, church calendar, use of art in worship? Staunton Grace Covenant and Grace Presbytery (a.k.a. Grace Network) are among the churches traditionally known as Free Churches. The term comes from the fact that such churches have refused regulation and entanglement with state institutions in the past. They also tend to avoid many of the practices of the churches with longstanding traditions, and attempt to be entirely biblical in their practice of the Christian faith, including methods of corporate worship. Since our churches are all less than a generation old, we lack policy statements on many questions of this sort. Like Free Churches of the past, we tend to pick and choose what we feel is edifying and biblically based.
That is not to say there are no guiding principles. We observe commonly regarded Christian feasts of Christmas, Easter, Advent, and Palm Sunday – much like the primitive post-apostolic church. We are not obligated to observe such festivals, but feel their observance in this culture enhances rather than diminishes effective worship. In another culture (say a mission to an Islamic society) such observances may be dispensed with as diminishing true worship in that culture. We do not wear vestments. While we do not condemn their use by others, they are considered entirely unnecessary for worship and actually tend to create an unbiblical distinction between ordained ministers and the rest of Christ’s congregation. We use some forms of art, such as painting, drama (an anathema in ancient times, incidentally), and music (mostly contemporary), but tend to reject the use of statues because of traditional Protestant concerns about the idolatry of their veneration. We do not practice and epiclesis or mass in our communion service, and hold to a fairly standard Protestant form of liturgy (though many charismatics won’t admit this). That is, our corporate worship consists of song, reading scripture, prayer, preaching, and perhaps testimony, prophecy, and a fellowship meal. Except for the lack of a weekly communion service, the elements of our worship services are a contemporary expression of the historic Christian faith.
In short, we have great freedom to choose our mode of corporate worship, as long as it does not contradict the Bible, and assists the congregation in drawing near to the Living God. It is His presence or absence that marks whether we have truly worshipped or not – the form is entirely secondary, except to the extent it enhances our ability to draw near to Him.
Discussion Questions:
How does one’s view of the Irenaeus’ Rule of Faith affect the way they would view things like liturgy and the church calendar? (The Rule of Faith established both Scripture and tradition as sources of truth).
Is the observance of feasts like Lent and Advent in violation of the Colossians 2 passage quoted above?
Should we insist that ordained elders always preside at communion services? Why or why not?
Is having a published order of service a violation of I Corinthians 14?
Does the use of candles or an advent wreath in worship services have Scriptural warrant? Should they be used? Why or why not?
When is religious art an acceptable as an expression of faith or worship? On what do you base your answer?
Readings:
Owen Chadwick. “Worhsip and Art,” in The Early Church. New York: Penguin Books,1967.
John a Lasco. “The Abolition of Vestments,” in The Reformation of the Church. Iain Murray, ed. London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1965.
John Leith, ed. “The Image Controvesy,” in Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine from the Bible to the Present, Third Edition. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.
Geoffrey Wainwright. “Periods of Liturgical History,” in The Study of Liturgy, Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, eds.New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Glossary
Adiaphora: Those expressions of faith or liturgy which are considered to be neutral in their significance as being neither commanded nor forbidden by Scripture. Adiaphora may be performed or not according to the conscience of the person or community without jeopardizing the faith of the performers.
Advent: A season in the church calendar which marks a period of preparation for celebration of the incarnation (first advent or coming of Christ), but also looks toward the second advent or coming of Christ. In the western church Advent begins on the Sunday closest to November 30 and is the beginning of the ecclesiastical calendar for the new church year.
Anaphora: The central Prayer of the Eucharistic liturgy. (The Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church, Elizabeth Livingstone, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 19).
Church Calendar: The regularly practiced feasts and services of the church. These include Sunday worship, Holy Week Observance, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, Lenten fast. The calendar of the early church developed many feasts and observances in contrast to the relatively simple practices of the apostolic church.
Easter: One of the first feasts of the church, which in addition to regular Sunday worship was observed in memory of the resurrection of Christ. Originally its date was based on the Passover observance of Judaism, but later, to keep the observance on Sunday (resurrection day) was changed to a strictly Christian observance always falling on a Sunday.
Epiclesis: From Greek for “calling upon,” it came to signify the part of the service when the presbyter calls the Holy Spirit to transform the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. In most traditions, the communion could not be celebrated without and epiclesis. The term also refers to the calling upon the Holy Spirit to fill and empower a candidate in the process of ordination.
Iconostasis: An ornate screen erected around the altar which separates the priest from the laity, particularly during the epiclesis and other preparations of the communion elements. The iconostasis is a settled tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Holy Week: The week beginning with Palm Sunday which commemorates Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, Agony in the Garden, Trial, Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection. Many churches, especially liturgical churches, commemorate the week with special services.
Lent: In the western and Eastern churches a period of fasting prior to the Easter celebration was practiced. This period was gradually extended to include a forty day period analogous to Christ’ forty day wilderness fast.
Liturgy: From the Greek word for worship, it has come to mean the form or order of a religious service. Liturgy may include prayers, songs, proclamation (preaching), the reading of Scripture and various other acts and traditional forms. Liturgy in the Christian Church, both East and West, experienced a definite development through the centuries.
Nativity: An early feast of the church celebrating the incarnation, the birth of Christ through the virgin Mary. Due to the differences in the Julian and Gregorian calendars the Eastern Orthodox celebrate the feast on January 6, the Western Church on December 25.
Pentecost: The feast of ingathering in the Old Testament Jewish calendar. Meaning fifty, it is the feast which came fifty days after the feast of first fruits and was the feast being observed by Jews in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Christ’s disciples. It was later observed by the church as a feast fifty days after Easter Sunday commemorating the outpouring of the Spirit.
Sacrament: A classic definition of sacrament is an outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. The Roman and Orthodox Catholic Churches came to recognize seven sacraments: Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Orders, Matrimony, Anointing of the sick (Last anointing).
Sunday Worship: There is evidence in the Bible and early church documents that the church has chosen Sunday, the first day of the week and the day of Christ’s resurrection, as the principal day for the corporate worship of the Christian church since its inception. The Westminster Confession enjoined the observance of a Sunday Sabbath on the followers of the Reformed faith.
Vestments: The distinctive garments worn by members of the clergy, especially in liturgical churches. Their use dates to Roman and Greek antiquity and is patterned after common garments of the time. “It originated in the ordinary clothes of antiquity and developed into a specifically priestly costume between the 4th and 9th centuries, largely because the laity abandoned the use of long tunics and mantles” (The Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church, Elizabeth Livingstone, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 537). The use of vestments was a significant controversy during the early stages of the English Reformation.
Bibliography
Owen Chadwick. “Worhsip and Art,” in The Early Church. New York: Penguin Books, 1967.
John a Lasco. “The Abolition of Vestments,” in The Reformation of the Church. Iain Murray, ed. London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1965.
John Leith, ed. “The Image Controversy,” in Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine from the Bible to the Present, Third Edition. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.
Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, eds The Study of Liturgy,.New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
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Pastor P. Steve Paulus D.min. ~ pastor@stauntongrace.org
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