5 Theological Truths Of Worship

Here are 5 essential theological truths of worship these need to be understood by all believers in all denominations.

1. Biblical worship demands the active participation of every member of the congregation (1 Chron. 15:28; 1 Peter 2:5, 9). The Lord loves everyone in your congregation, not just the extravagant worshipers and loyal church members. Worship leaders have the responsibility to gather each one, even those who don’t like you or agree with you. Each one has to be gathered into a holy royal priesthood to minister before the Lord. Worship is not a spectator sport - each member of your congregation is invited to participate in tan intimate relationship with God through worship.

2. We can, and should expect the manifestation of God’s presence in every service (2 Chron. 5:11-14; Psalm 22:3; 1 Cor. 14:26). If we look at the first century Church, we see Christians worshiping the Lord and enjoying the benefits of His manifest presence (Acts 2:31, 47; 13;2; 16:25-26).

Lutheran bishop Bo Giertz acknowledges that the presence of God should be experienced in our worship, calling it “the nearness of the eternal.” He concurs that the chief enemy of worship is “that dull passivity which wants to hear and enjoy a service of worship instead of taking part in it.”

God has a plan and purpose for every service – He desires to be present with us even more than we long for Him.

3. Christian worship involves the actions of our entire being - heart, soul, mind and strength - to praise and adore our Lord. (Mark 12:30) As we actively worship Him, our journey takes us into His throne room, before his very presence. Every song and act of praise, every reading, prayer and response, every movement of the worship service is a “sacred action” designed to bring us to an awareness of God’s presence. Without the presence of the Lord, we sing and speak empty words, our attempts at music and artistic expression are in vain and our gestures meaningless. The psalmist says, “My soul yearns and faints for the living God.”

The presence of the Lord fulfills the Church! Apart from God’s presence, we are only another social club, a concert hall, a humanitarian organization. But, with the living Christ in our midst, we become the Church, the ekklesia, the house of God.

4. We also need to understand that worship involves a journey—a journey into Him. He dwells in our midst, but we are also called into His presence. This is not a “pretending” place, but a place where the entire Church is called to meet Him. Consider the following scriptures:

Ps 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Emphasis mine)

Your whole congregation is invited to move towards the Lord in worship—to come into His very courts and commune with Him. He is a God who welcomes us into intimate communion with Him.

The best worship occurs when we break in on Him and we invite Him to break in on us.

5. Any true worship will bring enduring change to the soul. Worshipers can expect the ever-emerging character of Jesus as their prize. Passionate worshipers are not the crazy, flaky, hysterical, unbalanced people in the church—no, true worship will make us more sane, more gracious, more powerful, more humble, more balanced, more sensible, more wise, more forgiving, more attractive to the lost than we ever were before. Why? Because we become like the One we worship. It is quite simple really—if you are not changing, you are not worshiping. This verse is the truest test of your worship leading skills, and the congregation’s authenticity in their worship ministry before the Lord—2 Cor. 3:18

NIV And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

NKJV But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Wey And all of us, with unveiled faces, reflecting like bright mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of radiant holiness to another, even as derived from the Lord the Spirit.

7 principles of worship from this verse (NKJV 2 Cor. 3:18)

But we all…worship is for everyone

With unveiled faces…we must come in transparency

Beholding as in a mirror…worship is about seeing and reflecting what we see

The glory of the Lord…it is all about His glory

Are being transformed into the same image…we are constantly being changed

From glory to glory…we are changed from one degree of glory to another

Just as by the Spirit of the Lord…this is the greatest work of the Holy Spirit – to make us like Christ.