O'Brien Commentary on Hebrews

My favorite two authors of Bible commentaries are Peter O'Brien and Don Carson. So, what could be better than a commentary written by O'Brien in a series edited by Carson!? 

The Pillar New Testament Commentary series, edited by Don Carson, just released O'Brien's volume on Hebrews.

I'd also recommend Carson on John, Moo on Colossians/Philemon and James and O'Brien on Ephesians. (Okay, just get them all.)

Singing Songs that Teach: The Role of Song in Corporate Christian Worship

© Eric M Schumacher – Delivered at the 2009 Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference

Session 3 of 4

[On August 14-15, I had the privilege of leading four breakout sessions at the Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference. In preparation, I preached these sermons at Northbrook Baptist Church. The manuscript below is what I used at the conference. The link to the audio is from my sermon at Northbrook.]

Audio available here.

If Not First, Then What?

I remember distinctly an occasion as a child when my mother told me that she loved God the most, then my father, and then my brothers and me. God had the first place, my father the second and my brothers and I tied for third.

I remember being very upset by that thought for two reasons. First, I was born a sinner with a self-centered, idolatrous heart. I was distraught at the idea that my mother did not make me the center of her life, as I had made myself the center of mine. And second, I made a logical error. I assumed that if I was not primary (most important) in the life of my mother, then I must not be important at all. Of course, simply because someone is not the most important, it does not mean that that person has no importance.

This morning, I our session was entitled “The Primacy of Preaching in Corporate Worship,” arguing that the New Testament presents preaching as the primary act of corporate Christian worship.

It would be wrong, however, to make the same mistake that I just described, that I made as a child. It would be wrong to listen to that sermon and conclude, “Well, then he’s saying that everything else is unimportant. He’s saying that singing is not important.” That would be wrong. Just because one thing is presented as the most important, it does not mean that everything else is unimportant.

The Importance of Music

Music is incredibly important. I am in full agreement with the sentiment of Martin Luther, who wrote, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. She is a mistress and governess of those human emotions...which control men or more often overwhelm them.”

The Bible certainly agrees, emphasizing the importance of music with over 600 references to it from Genesis to Revelation.

The Role of Music

There is no doubt that music and singing is important. But, as we think about what we’re doing here, in corporate worship, the question that I am seeking to answer this morning is: What is the role of singing in corporate Christian worship?

In my last sermon, I defined corporate Christian worship in this way:

Corporate Christian worship is the gathering together of God’s redeemed people to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by presenting their whole selves to God as a living sacrifice, seeking by faith to be conformed in the image of Jesus Christ.

So to the question of the role of singing in corporate Christian worship is the question: What does singing have to do with that?

New Covenant Singing

God cares about how he is approached by his people. If we want to know how to worship God properly as a church, and what singing is all about, then we must look to the Bible.

The Bible does not give us a strict liturgy for our corporate services. It provides remarkable freedom. But, that is not to say that he has said nothing. Therefore, we should give careful consideration the those certain things that he has said.

On the subject of song in the church, aside from reading that Jesus sang a hymn with his disciples or that the Apostles sand hymns while in prison, the New Testament includes only a handful of verses. James 5:13 tells us that if anyone is cheerful, he should sing. In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul says, “I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.” And, in verse 26, he instructs, “Let all things be done for building up.” Therefore, we can conclude that singing should be intelligent and edifying to the body.

In his letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians, Paul gives us two rich parallel passages that say much about the role of singing in corporate Christian worship. To the Ephesians, Paul writes:

Ephesians 5:18-21 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

And to the Colossians, Paul writes:

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

I want to examine these two verses this morning, to see what the Word of God says about the role of singing in our corporate Christian worship.

Colossians 3:16

I want to work our way through the logic of this verse, and then I’ll make some quick observations and applications about corporate singing.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians begins with his explanation and defense of the Gospel and then moves into how the Gospel applies to their lives. He begins by thanking God for the progress the Gospel has made in their lives, and moves on to remind them of the Gospel. It is through death and resurrection of Christ, who is supreme over all things, that God is reconciling alienated sinners to himself, making peace through the blood of the cross.

In chapter 2, he counters the false teaching that has been attacking the church. And, in chapter 3, he begins to apply it to their lives—they are each to be putting to death sin and putting on the virtues of the Gospel.

We should notice that our verse falls within the context of living out the Gospel in a community. In the context of living out the Gospel corporately, Paul gives this central command: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…”

“The word of Christ” is the same word that Paul referred to in Colossians 1:5, “the word of truth, the gospel.” It is the message about Christ, the message of what God has done in Jesus Christ. It is the message that God has reconciled sinners to himself through the blood of the cross. Those who repent of their sin and trust in Jesus, even though they were once alienated and hostile in mind, are reconciled in Jesus’ body of death. When he died on the cross and was buried, they died and were buried. When he rose from the dead, they were made alive together with him. The believer is assured of his salvation with these words:

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

That is the Gospel.

That Word is to “dwell in you richly.” The Gospel is to have its gracious and glorious way in the Colossian church. It is not to be applied to their lives haphazardly or occasionally, but given full sway.

The Gospel is to be normative. It is to be the controlling influence in the lives of believers, defining how they believe and behave.

And while this has individual application, Paul is speaking to them collectively. They, as corporate body, are to be characterized and controlled by the Word of Christ, the Gospel, dwelling in them richly. The Gospel is to be an “operative, transformative, dynamic, powerful force” in the life of the congregation.

Dwell, how?

How is this indwelling of the Gospel to occur?

Paul follows his command with two participles, which describe just that. He writes: “…in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another…”

“Teaching” and “admonishing” are participles that define how the command is to be carried out. And this is to be done “in all wisdom,” that is, in a tactful and thoughtful way. The Gospel, the “word of Christ,” dwells within the gathered body of believers as they are “teaching and admonishing one another.”

To teach is to instruct, to declare that this is true and that is not true. To admonish is to exhort in application of the instruction—to get in a person’s face (so to speak) and spell out the implications that this has for their life.

It is interesting to notice that these two words used here for “teaching and admonishing” are the same words that Paul used in 1:28 to describe his ministry, “Him we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we might present everyone mature in Christ.” Paul labored to make mature disciples by means of publicly proclaiming Jesus, admonishing and teaching everyone.

But Paul does not say here that they are to “let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly, as the pastor teaches and admonishes.” The ministry of teaching and admonishing is not limited to Apostles and pastors. No, Paul now includes the phrase “one another.”

Teaching and admonishing is a congregational activity. It is the duty of the whole congregation to see to it that the Word of Christ dwells in them, through the means of admonishing and teaching one another. Every believer in the church, and the church as a corporate body, has the obligation and responsibility to be involved in teaching and admonishing one another.

Teaching and admonishing, how?

How is it that they are to teach and admonish one another? Are they to take turns giving sermons and lessons and devotions?

The next words that Paul writes are: “…in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs…” The way that they are to teach and admonish one another is through the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. “Teaching and admonishing” are not a separate activity from “singing.” They are done in and through singing. The way that Paul wrote this sentence communicates that the Word of Christ is to dwell in the body. It dwells in the body through the believers teaching and admonishing one another. They teach and admonish one another in psalms, in hymns, and in spiritual songs.

Paul envisions the local church members communicating Gospel truth to one another by the means of singing. This idea is brought out when we look at the parallel in Ephesians 5:19, where Paul says they are to be “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

Singing, how?

And this singing is to be done, Paul writes:

…with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

The singing that teaches and admonishes one other believers is to be singing that is a glad and heartfelt response of thanksgiving to God for what he has done in the Gospel.

Summary
From this, we can make at five summary observations about singing in corporate Christian worship.

Singing in Corporate Christian Worship…

1) …is a means through which the Gospel dwells in God’s people.

The verse began with the command to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” As the verse continues, we learn that this happens through teaching and admonishing. And this teaching and admonishing is done through the means of corporate singing. This is not the only means or the primary means, but it is a means through which the Gospel dwells in the church.

That is no small thing. Our life comes through—and only through—the Gospel. God has always given life through his word: to Creation, to Adam, to Israel, through the Word-Made-Flesh. Where there is no word, there is no life. Apart from it, we are dead. Therefore, this makes corporate singing a very, very important matter.

2) …is a means through which the Holy Spirit dwells in God’s people.

It is worthwhile to compare Ephesians 5:18-21 and Colossians 3:16 side-by-side. They are almost identical, except for the command that begins both of them. The command in Colossians 3:16 is to “let the word of Christ dwell in you.” The command in Ephesians 5:18 is “be filled with the Spirit.”

There is a strong connection in the New Testament between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. In John 14, Jesus makes multiple connections between the Spirit dwelling in and with his disciples and their abiding in his word.

The word for “spirit” in both Hebrew and in Greek is the same word for “breath.” It is impossible for God to speak his “word” apart from his “breath.” Where his word is, his Spirit is. Where his Spirit is, his word is.

That means that if we want to be a congregation in which the Holy Spirit dwells, then we should seek to be a congregation in which the Word of God dwells. And, that means we should be a congregation that gives a high place, not only to preaching, but to singing (as it is described in these verses).

3) …is a means of grace.

God’s grace is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of Grace. God’s grace is applied to our hearts and lives through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

But, through what means does the Holy Spirit apply the grace of God available in the Gospel? God’s word is a means of grace. Paul begins his letters, “Grace to you,” expecting God’s grace to be mediated through his inspired and authoritative word. We should come to the word of God expecting to receive grace.

Likewise, since the Gospel and the Holy Spirit dwell in God’s gathered people through the thankful singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we understand that corporate Christian singing is a means of grace.

We should come to our corporate worship and to singing, expecting God to give us grace to believe and follow Christ. We don’t do this in a ritualistic way, as though the mere act of mindless singing assures us of God’s favor.

We do it as this passage describes—with the teaching and application of the Gospel overflowing in song from grateful hearts.

This should caution us against an overly private approach to Christian devotion. We need each other. We need to be sung to by other Christians. It is how God works.

4) …is a means through which God’s people teach and apply the Gospel to one another.

This is the role of song in corporate Christian worship—to teach and admonish from the Gospel.

Christians teach each other the Gospel each week as they sing it to and with each other. The facts of the Gospel are recited, explained, and celebrated in a variety of different songs.

Christians admonish one another as they sing songs that call for application of the Gospel, as they sing songs that exhort and encourage Christian living.

5) …is to God from hearts full of thankfulness for the grace given in the Gospel.

Singing must be full of gratitude to God for what who he is for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

It must take place in our hearts – a reference to our whole being, everything that we are. As one commentator writes, (Lohse): “Man should not only praise God with his lips. The entire man should be filled with praise.”

As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:19, in your song, you should be “singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Application

If this is what Paul is teaching in Ephesians 5 and Colossian 3 about singing in Christian gatherings, then certain applications must follow.

Therefore, Singing in Corporate Christian Worship…

1) …is the central and primary music ministry in every New Covenant church.

As I said, not much is said in the New Testament about singing in worship. These passages comprise the bulk of it.

Singing isn’t optional. It is commanded. Look again at the context of this verse. It is in the midst of a collect of commands given to all believers. We would never argue that “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” along with “bearing with one another” and “forgiving one another” and “love” and letting “the peace of Christ rule” are only given to those who are particularly gifted in these virtues or enjoy them. No, they are for all believers—as is the command to sing.

We should notice that Paul’s command to sing is not given to a special group within the church—to a choir, a soloist, an ensemble. This command is to every believer. Every believer has an obligation to sing to other believers with thankfulness in their heart to God—even if they do not particularly like singing.

There is certainly room for choirs, ensembles, and soloists. 1 Corinthians 14 might refer to such “special music,” where “each of you has a hymn.” But, the main thrust in these verses is on corporate singing. The main thrust in these verses is what all Christians do when they come together and relate to one another.

This means that the main instrument, the central choir, and the only indispensable element in the church’s music ministry and corporate worship is the congregation. Everything else is either music leadership or special music.

The one thing that a church must have in order to have a music ministry is a singing congregation. And if a church has a singing congregation, then it has a biblical music ministry.

2) ...should employ songs that…

…are both vertical and horizontal.

There is both a vertical and a horizontal element involved when the church gathers to sing. You are to sing “with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” And, at the same time, you sing “teaching and admonishing one another.”

That means that we will sing songs addressed to God, such as “Complete in Thee” or “Be Thou My Vision.” And, we will sing songs addressed to each other, such as “Come, Christian, Join to Sing” or “Be Strong in the Lord.”

This also means that we should be able to hear the congregation sing! If we are teaching and admonishing one another, then we must be able to hear one another. A music leader, a choir, vocalist and instrumentalists whose volume drowns out the voice of congregation is working against Paul’s instruction.

We should also encourage listening. It is valuable to occasionally stop, be silent, and listen to the congregation sing the Gospel to you.

One very practical applications of this is that we should look at each other when we sing. We should be singing to one another. You would not be a very good teacher if you had a face that looked like you’d been sucking on green persimmons and you buried it in your book. Look up! Look around! Look other believers in the eye! Sing to each other!

There are plenty of churches that are known for their praise bands, for their choirs, for their worship teams. But, how many congregations are known for their congregational singing? How many congregations are known for being the church where the whole body teaches and admonishes one another in song?

…are God-centered, Christ-centered, Gospel-centered.
If the central function of singing is to be a means through which the Gospel dwells within us, then the Gospel must be in the songs.

The Gospel should have a rich presence within the overall selection of songs. This means that we should look for and use songs that focus on what God has done for us in Christ. This does not mean that every song should harp on the bare facts of Christ crucified for sins and his resurrection from the dead. But, it does mean that all the songs involved, working together, present and apply and celebrate the Gospel message.

If we go through a whole service (or musical program) and the facts of Jesus atoning death on the cross, resurrection from the dead, and the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God through faith are completely lacking or marginalized, then the Word of Christ has not dwelt within us richly.

And if a Gospel-lite or Gospel-less diet of songs characterizes a congregation week after week, it will produce Gospel-lite or Gospel-less Christians in the long-run.

…explain, apply and celebrate the Gospel.
In seminary, I had a woman tell me that churches should sing choruses because they are “all Scripture.” The songs we sing should be merely Scripture set to music. Such songs are fine, but they are not to be the bulk of our singing.

We do read Scripture in our services, but the emphasis in the New Testament is on preaching and teaching the Word. Merely reading Scripture is not the same as teaching and admonishing. Likewise, merely singing the Scripture is not the same as teaching and admonishing.

The difficultly with songs that are merely Scripture verses is that they can easily be taken out of context and sung without understanding.

We need songs that outline, explain and apply Christian doctrine. We should therefore look for songs that teach and admonish us in the Gospel.

The songs we sing should instruct us in the facts of the Gospel. They should teach us about who God is, particularly as it relates to the Gospel.

Our songs should also admonish us. They should call us to respond, to believe, to repent, to obey in faith.

…are biblically grounded and theologically sound.
Music is incredibly powerful. You can think of the stirring power of a school fight song or a national anthem. They stir people to action, to allegiance, to loyalty.

Most of us tend to like a song when we hear it sung, and only afterward pay attention to what it says. That is incredibly dangerous.

The text of a song should be considered before the tune is ever heard. If the text is not grounded in the Bible and theologically sound, there is no point in going forward with hearing its tune.

This is true even if a song is “much loved” by a large number of Christians. I’ve heard people argue that because a particular hymn is a favorite of so many or because a song is sung so widely in the Christian community that is must be a good song, regardless of what it actually says.

The Bible, and not popular opinion, is our grounds for truth and the standard by which we judge everything. Every other church in the world can applaud something, but if it gets the Bible wrong, it’s wrong.

…that engage the mind and the heart.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:15, “I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”

A song that teaches must engage the mind. A song sung with thankfulness to God from the heart must engage the heart.

This requires that our people understand how to think as they sing. Our church entered into a 10-month hymn-study project aimed at helping us to learn just that. I’ll be sharing more about that in session four.

…vary in style.
Paul says that we should sing “psalms, hymns, spiritual songs.” Theologians and commentators differ on what the distinction is between these three terms. “Psalms” probably refers to the inspired Psalms of the Old Testament. “Hymns” may refer to human compositions that focus on Christ. “Spiritual songs” might refer to songs that are spontaneously prompted by the Spirit. “Songs” is used in the New Testament of songs that praise and glorify God for what he has done in Christ.

Probably, we are not able to make sharp distinctions and classifications about these three terms. But, what they do show us is that Paul wants the church to use a full range of music in our worship. Paul is describing the variety and richness, the range of songs that should be used in Christian worship.

Our songs should vary in their style. Some should be joyful. Some should be reflective. Some should be simple. Some should be complex. Some should repeat, allowing us to meditate and emphasize truth. Others should progress, making doctrinal arguments. We should recognize that certain styles and forms of songs speak differently to differing generations. And, because we want to teach and admonish the whole body, we want to use such a variety.

3) …should be accountable to pastoral oversight.
It has been said, “We are what we sing.” Andrew Fletcher once wrote, “I know a very wise man that believed that, if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation.”

Singing is incredibly powerful in determining the theological shape of a congregation. Gordon Fee rightly comments, “Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.” It was said of Martin Luther by his opponents that he made more “heretics” through his hymns than through his sermons. Warren Wiersbe writes (as quoted in Sam Storms, The Hope of Glory, 284):

I am convinced that congregations learn more theology (good and bad) from the songs they sing than from the sermons they hear….[Music] has power to touch and move the emotions, and for that reason can become a wonderful tool in the hands of the Spirit or a terrible weapon in the hands of the Adversary.

If this is true, and it certainly is, then those who are charged by God with being “overseers” of the flock, should pay close attention to what is being sung, even if they are not planning the services themselves.

4) …should be planned by those who are rooted in the Word, doctrinally sound, mature in their faith, and desire to serve the congregation’s spiritual interests.

Mark Ashton (in Worship by the Book, 93) writes:

The person who controls the music at the church service plays a very powerful role in its life, often on par with the power wielded by the person who controls the church’s finances and beyond that of any [appointed lay leader]. It is well to recognize this fact and to pray for a mature, godly, humble person with a servant heart, who wants to use music in the service of the gospel and not for his or her own ends.

The person who is choosing the songs that a congregation will sing is playing a key role in the spiritual formation of the congregation.

Therefore, the person choosing the songs should have a firm grip on the Word of God. They must be theologically discerning. They must be a mature disciple. They must desire the serve the spiritual interests of the congregation, before they desire to win congregational approval. As the songs go, so goes the congregation.

5) …should be regularly led by those who…

Those who lead the church in music include those who lead the service, instrumentalists, and vocalists (whether in the choir, in solos or ensembles).

…are believers, who love the Gospel and live godly lives.

Proper singing is to be done “with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” True thankfulness to God from the heart is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ, and can only come from a person who has a regenerate heart. An unbeliever cannot sing “with thankfulness in his heart to God.” So, how can he lead Christians in song? Do we find any place in the Bible where idol-worshippers, unbelievers, or the unrepentant are given a role in leading worship?

…serve the church and God from thankful hearts.

Does a musician who is only willing to join and participate in a congregation in so far as he gets to use his musical gifts set a good example of being a servant to the congregation?

Should vocalists, instrumentalists, choir members, and soloists be people who are known for their gossiping, complaining, murmuring, and criticism of the church? Are they a good choice for those who are leading people to sing with thankfulness in their hearts to God?

The mouth speaks the overflow of the heart. A person characterized by unthankful, ungrateful, bitter, murmuring, complaining words has an ungrateful heart. And such a person fails to meet the most basic qualification for Christian music ministry—namely, thankfulness. A person with such a heart, who stands on a platform and leads the congregation in song is worthy to receive Christ’s condemnation in Matthew 15:7-9:

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me…”

This also means that preparation to minister to the congregation through music involves much more than showing up to a mid-week or Sunday afternoon practice. It means that you must steep yourself in the study and application of the Gospel, so that your heart is overflowing in thankfulness to God for what he has done for you in Christ. Otherwise, you will never be able to lead a congregation to do the same.

6) …requires and cultivates Gospel-humility and Gospel-unity.

If our singing is for the purpose of “teaching and admonishing one another,” then we must have “one another’s” interests ahead of our own.

Too often, the “worship wars” in churches are fought by people who are looking out for themselves, and not for the other believers. They leave churches, split churches and plant churches based on having what they want in singing. They want to be traditional, contemporary, or otherwise. (Such battles are only valid if it is to get the Gospel at the center of the singing! Otherwise, if the Gospel is present in the singing, the division might be a denial of the Gospel!) Our goal is to minister to one another.

This is why Paul ends his instruction in Ephesians with “submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ.” A body in which the Gospel dwells richly will be a body that lives out the Gospel.

Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3-4:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

That is what we should be doing in our singing—not looking out for our own interests, but for the interests of others.

Every generation develops unique musical expressions. This is why changes in musical style are so controversial—the language in which you learned to worship is changing or lacking.

This means that those who are younger must be sympathetic to those who are older. Gladly learn their songs, so that you can minister to them in song. And, it means that those who are older must be likewise sympathetic to those who are younger. They also must gladly learn newer, modern songs so that they can minister to the younger generation in song.

The one constant that must remain is that the songs be God-centered, Christ-centered, Gospel-rich, appropriate for mutual teaching and admonition.

The young people should be asking the question, “What songs will help the older people be instructed and admonished in the Gospel? For their sake, I want to sing those.” And, likewise, the older people should be saying, “What songs will help the younger people be instructed and admonished in the Gospel? For their sake, I want to sing those.”

If the mind of Christ is in a congregation, they won’t be fighting to get what they personally want in singing. They will be fighting to get what the other person needs in singing!

7) …requires a congregation that loves God, the Gospel and each other.

Simply put, a people who love the Gospel and are full of the Gospel are a people who overflow in song. They are a people who love each other, and seek to teach and admonish one another, so that the Word of Christ might dwell in them richly.

Singing can only be used properly in Christian corporate worship when we simultaneously have both God and other Christians in our mind. (And why should that surprise us, if the whole law is summed up in loving God and loving neighbor?)

And that is what song is about—loving God in Christ as we love one another and seek through music to help each other know and love Jesus better.

Bring the Book! The Primacy of Preaching in Corporate Worship

© Eric M Schumacher – Delivered at the 2009 Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference

Session 2 of 4

[On August 14-15, I had the privilege of leading four breakout sessions at the Tennessee Baptist Convention Music Ministry Leadership Conference. In preparation, I preached these sermons at Northbrook Baptist Church. The manuscript below is what I used at the conference. The link to the audio is from my sermon at Northbrook.]

Audio available here.

What is Worship?

The word “worship” comes from the word “worthship.” It was originally a title given to a person who had worth or significance. It came to be used to describe the act of ascribing worth to a person.

At its simplest, to worship God is to declare and to display the worth of God. It is to speak and show what is glorious about God. And, the New Testament informs us that what is glorious about God is revealed supremely in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

In John 1:14, the Apostle John tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Moses had asked to see God’s glory but could not. God hid him in the cleft of a rock and spoke. Jesus Christ has come revealing to us the worth of God.

Therefore, to declare what is excellent about God is to preach Christ. And, to show what is excellent about God is to show forth Christ.

This, I believe, is what Paul is getting at when he defines Christian worship in Romans 12:1-2:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul is essentially exhorting his readers to respond to the Gospel by displaying the excellencies of God in Christ by living lives that are conformed to the will of God.

Paul’s appeal to worship is “by the mercies of God.” That is, in light of the Gospel that he has just spent eleven chapters expounding, here is how believers are to live. And, had we more time to explore the book of Romans, we would see that being conformed to the will of God in our lives is simply being conformed into the image of Christ, living out the Gospel in every aspect of our lives.

From this, we can make our definition of worship more explicit to Christians:

Christian worship is the response of the believer to the Gospel by presenting the whole self to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

What is Corporate Worship?

Corporate Christian worship is the gathering together of God’s redeemed people to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by presenting their whole selves to God as a living sacrifice, seeking by faith to be conformed into the image of Christ.

In corporate worship, the body of Christ presents itself as a living sacrifice. The local church gathers to hear the Gospel and to respond to the Gospel together with their whole selves (heart, soul, mind and strength) in the ways that God has proscribed in his word (preaching, reading Scripture, prayer, singing, observing the ordinances, etc.).

What is Primary in Corporate Worship?

That leads to the question at hand: What, if anything, is primary in the act of corporate Christian worship?

That question is important because our answer will determine the shape and substance of our worship gatherings. If we believe that singing, evangelism, or the ordinances are primary, our services will reflect that emphasis.

I believe that the Bible teaches that preaching is the primary act of corporate worship in the church—and therefore, we should embrace and encourage the primacy of preaching in our corporate worship.

What is Preaching?

Before we move, let me give a brief (and, for now, undefended) definition of Christian preaching:

Christian preaching in corporate worship is the proclamation of the text of the Bible, through the explanation and application of its meaning, to the assembled followers of Christ, so that they might love God and glorify him with everything that they are as they are conformed into the image of Christ.

Why is Preaching Primary in Corporate Worship?

There are a host of places we could go in the New Testament to defend this idea (John 4; 14; Hebrews; 1 Tim; 2 Tim; Acts). But, for our purposes, I’m focusing on Colossians 1:24-29 because I think that it touches upon most of the reasons that preaching is so important.

From this passage, I want to make several observations about the place of preaching in Paul’s ministry. Some of these points will deal with the primacy of preaching and others will show that preaching is itself an act of worship. When taken together, these observations lead to the conclusion that preaching is both an act of worship and primary in corporate Christian worship.

1) Preaching was primary in the ministry of the Apostle Paul, who called for it to be primary in the life of the local church.

In verse 25, Paul says that God has given him a “stewardship” and of which he became a servant (minister). This ministry had one primary purpose—“to make the word of God fully known,” (literally, to “fulfill the word of God”).

So, primary in Paul’s ministry was the preaching of the Gospel. Christ sent Paul to preach the Gospel (1 Cor 1:17). Even as the word of the Lord was a burning fire in Jeremiah's bones, the preaching of the Gospel was a necessity for Paul, he was compelled to do it (Jer 20:9; 1 Cor 9:16; Acts 20:24).

And this was not merely evangelistic preaching. This was preaching “for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” Paul preached to believers so that he could “present everyone mature in Christ” (28). In both evangelism and discipleship, preaching was primary in Paul’s ministry.

This is not surprising, since preaching was primary in the ministry of Moses and the prophets, of Jesus’ public and private ministry, of the Apostles in the book of Acts and in the life of the early church.

Preaching and Preachers

Paul insisted that preaching be primary in the ministry of pastors. Timothy is to “devote [himself] to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Tim 4:11-13). He is to present himself to God “as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). Paul writes solemnly in 2 Timothy 4:1-2:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

To preach is to “herald.” It is to stand up and declare with authority, “Hear ye! Hear ye! Thus says the King!” and then to explain what the King’s declaration says and means for the lives of the people.

Paul commands Titus (Titus 2:15) to “declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

Paul insists that Timothy and Titus train and appoint other men in this task. Paul tells Timothy to take what he had heard from him and to “entrust” it “to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). And Paul left Titus in Crete to “appoint elders” who would be “God’s steward[s]” (Titus 1:5-7). As stewards, pastors then follow in Paul’s responsibility to “make the word of God fully known.”

Preaching, then, continues to be primary in the ministry of pastors. And, if preaching is central to the ministry of a church’s overseers, we can expect it to be central to the life of the church.

2) Preaching creates, sustains and defines the people of God.
In his introduction, Paul described how the Colossians became “saints and faithful brothers in Christ.” It was through Epaphras preaching “the grace of God in truth” (1:5-7). The preaching of the Gospel made them God’s people.

Remaining in that faith is the defining characteristic of God’s people. They are reconciled to God through Christ’s death and resurrection (the message preached), “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard” (21-23).

This was the case throughout the Old Testament. The universe was created and is sustained by the Word of God’s power. Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets all declared that God’s people had their life in the God’s Word (Dt 32:47; Ps 119; Isaiah 55).

Who can forget Ezekiel 37, where the Lord illustrated through the preaching of the prophet in the Valley of Dry Bones how he would redeem his people.

Jesus claimed (John 5:24), “…whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”

Throughout the New Testament, we find that God saves people through his Word. The Ephesians were sealed in Christ, when they “heard the word of truth” (Eph 1:13). Peter told his readers that they were “born again…through the living and abiding word of God,” which is the Gospel (1 Pet 1:23-25). And James says that “[the Father] brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18).

Furthermore, God normally works to save people through the preached Word. Paul writes that “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Cor 1:21). That is why Paul was “eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” He was convinced that the Gospel “is the power of God for salvation” (Rom 1:15-16). Apart from the preaching of the Gospel, those who had not heard of Christ could not be saved, for “faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:14-17).

This is a startling claim when it is considered. Paul is declaring that the means God uses to save people is preaching. A fallen, sinful man speaking and heralding the Word of God is the instrument that God uses to call the dead to life.


Sustained and Defined

True Christians are also sustained and defined by the preaching of the Word.

In verses 22-23, Paul states that the Colossians have been reconciled to God in Christ, “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.” Paul writes as though he fully expects them to remain in Gospel. Nevertheless, we are reminded that the people of Jesus Christ remain in his word.

Jesus taught as much. His sheep hear his voice and follow him (John 10:27). Thus a people who refused to listen to his voice are those who are not his sheep. Jesus said (John 8:31), “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” In John 14-15, Jesus repeatedly emphasizes that his disciples are those who remain in his word.

Apart from the preaching of the Word of God, God’s people do not exist. Therefore, the preaching of God’s Word is primary in the creation and on-going existence of the church.

3) The preaching of God’s Word is God speaking.

In verse 25, Paul says that what he proclaimed and made fully know was “the word of God.” Paul’s message did not originate with Paul. He proclaimed God’s word.

That is the task of every preacher—to make known what God has said. And that is what the preacher’s word is when the message is faithfully proclaimed. Paul gave thanks for the Thessalonians because when they heard Paul preach, they recognized it as God’s word:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

In one sense, Paul’s preaching was unique. He was an apostle—hand-picked by the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to be his authorized representative. The preacher today is not an apostle. Nevertheless, the one who preaches the Word of God is to preach “with all authority” (Titus 2:15) because the content of his preaching is the authoritative Word of God.

The content of preaching is not to be the invention of the preacher. It is the careful explanation of what the inspired, authoritative, written Word of God says. And, by way of extension, so far as what the preacher proclaims is what is taught and contained in the Word of God, then he is proclaiming God’s truth, God’s word.

Worship

It is here that we can stop and meditate on the fact that preaching is primary in Christian worship.

First, how could we assign a higher place to anything else than God speaking? If the sermon is the point at which we hear the voice of God speaking to his people, what more could we long for, short of the personal presence of our Lord himself?

Second, when you value something, you demonstrate its worth by desiring and seeking to have it out. When you value a person, you demonstrate their value by focusing your attention on them. When we turn to the sermon, we come worshipping. We come expecting and desiring and longing for God to speak. It is an act of worship to sit and desire God to speak.

More than our desire to speak in song or in prayer or in confession of our faith, we desire God to speak to us. That is an act of worship. As Al Mohler writes:

Worship is not something we do before we settle down for the word of God, it is the act through which the people of God direct all their attentiveness to hearing the one true and living God speak to his people and receive their praises. God is most beautifully praised when his people hear his word, love his word, and obey his word.

A preoccupation with ourselves, with us speaking and doing, betrays a love for self. (Is it possible to come to church because I love me, and not God?)

We live in self-absorbed, narcissistic culture. Preaching is a counter-cultural act in which the congregation reverently pauses and humbly confesses, “What we need most is not to speak. What we need most is to hear. Our ideas are not supreme. God’s ideas are truth and life.” That is what the act of listening to a sermon is—a humble demonstration of the worth of God. It is worship.

This means that the sermon should be approached with great reverence on the part of the preacher and the congregation. The congregation should approach the sermon with hearts and minds ready to receive, obey and realign with God’s word. The preacher should come reverently with a readiness to deal honestly with the text; to deal reverently with God’s word, not flippantly, dismissively or with disrespect.

4) God dwells in and with his people through his Word.

In verse 27, Paul writes that what he makes known is the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Paul proclaimed the glorious message that God would dwell within his people, within all believers, directly and personally.

This is what Jesus promised in John 14, where he says that the Spirit of truth “will be in you” and that he and the Father “will come…and make [their] home” in the believer. The Triune God of the Bible now dwells within his people as the guarantee of the hope of glory that awaits them in the future.

But that raises the question of how God dwells in the midst of his people. The Bible does not give us a metaphysical explanation of in-dwelling. However, the Bible does make a strong connection between the word of God and the presence of God.

In the beginning of John’s Gospel, Jesus Christ is introduced as “the Word”—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And it is the Word that “became flesh and dwelt among us.” God dwells with us through the incarnate Word.

In John 14-15, Jesus makes repeated connections between his disciples abiding in his Word and his presence amongst them:

John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

John 14:23 If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Paul makes the same connections. Later in this letter to the Colossians, in Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:18-20, which we will examine in the next session. For now, it is worth noting that the main difference in these parallel passages about singing is the central command.

All the elements of those two verses are the same, as regards addressing each other in songs and having thankful hearts. The only thing that changes is that instead of writing, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another,” Paul writes, “be filled with the Spirit.” One can draw the conclusion that being filled with the Spirit is closing linked to, if not the same as letting the word of Christ dwell in you.

Scripture seems to teach that the primary way the Spirit speaks to God’s people, comforts God’s people, guides and directs God’s people, transforms the minds of God’s people, and conforms God’s people into the image of Christ—is through the external, written, Spirit-inspired words of Scripture.

Worship

The application that we should take away from this is that Christ is present among his people through the preaching and teaching of his Word. And, where his word is absent, Christ is absent.

How is this truth related to worship? If worship is the acknowledgement and display of the worth of God, then we show God’s worth through both our desire for him to be with us and our enjoyment of his presence.

Do you desire the presence of God? A.W. Tozer once lamented:

It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments.

The presence of God should be the primary attraction in every local congregation. Would you attend a meeting where the only attraction is God? That is the heart of Christian worship—to focus on the glory of God and conform our lives to reflect its worth.

The greatest thing that could be said about any church is that it is a congregation amongst which God dwells. But, this cannot be said about a church where the Bible is not faithfully preached. For it is only amongst those who abide in Christ’s Word that Christ promises to come and dwell.

If we are a people who worship God, who desire God to be present among us, then we must be a people who desire to hear God’s Word read, taught and preached to us—for in and through this the presence of God is mediated.

5) Preaching most clearly puts on display the redemptive work of God in Jesus Christ.

Paul states that he preaches in order to “make the word of God fully known.” And again, that word is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In verse 28, Paul summarizes the content of his preaching—“Him we proclaim.” In Colossians 2:2, God’s mystery is “Christ.”

The message that is preached is simply Christ. And, what a message it is! If it does not excite you, you are not a Christian!

As Paul writes in Colossians 2:3, “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in Christ. When Paul preaches Christ, he preaches him as a treasure-chest full of the riches of God.

When Paul preaches Christ, he preaches him as “supreme.” In Colossians 1:15-20, Christ is the image of the invisible God. Christ is the creator of all things in heaven and on earth. Christ is before all things. Christ holds all things together. Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the firstborn from the dead. In Christ the fullness of God was present, reconciling the world to himself, making peace by the blood of the cross.

When Paul preached, everything that he proclaimed was Christ. He told the Corinthians, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). And yet, Paul could tell the Ephesian elders that he proclaimed “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). That is not a contradiction to say that he proclaimed “the whole counsel of God” and yet knew nothing “except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

That is because Paul understood that all of God’s purposes and plans find their fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. All of God’s promises are “yes and Amen” in Christ. Everything in all of Scripture had pointed forward to Jesus Christ—the Son of God in the flesh, living a perfect and sinless life of obedience and worship unto to the Father, to lay down his life on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice to atone for sin and redeem him people, to rise from the dead, to ascend into heaven and be exalted to the right hand of God from where he would pour out the promised Holy Spirit into all who would repent and believe, and to come again to rule forever. Everything once written pointed to this. And everything that Paul preached flowed out of it.

Worship

What does this point have to do with worship? It means that preaching puts on display—in a clear and compelling way as no other act can—the most beautiful thing imaginable, which is Christ. Preaching offers to the Christian listener that which he desires more than anything else in all the world—God in Christ. Preaching holds up the jewel of the Gospel and turns it this way and that so that every facet of it may shine forth with all its splendor.

It is an act of worship for the preacher to hold out the beauty of God in the Gospel—and to rejoice over it as he does.

And, it is an act of worship for the congregation to come desiring to see Christ lifted up and held forth in all his splendor.

Expository Worship

Of course, this means that Christian preaching must be a certain kind of preaching. It must be careful, expository preaching that explains the meaning of passage in the context of the Bible. The preacher must understand how all of Scripture fits together, so that he can show forth the beauty of Christ from every passage of Scripture, which is how Christ (Luke 24:27) and the Apostles preached.

6) Preaching is the primary means for presenting Christians “mature in Christ.”

In verse 28, this is Paul’s goal in preaching, to “present everyone mature in Christ.” It is through the preaching of the Word of God that believers grow into full maturity.

Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” And Paul told Timothy (2 Timothy 3:16-17) that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Worship?

But what does this have to do with worship?

First of all, it is an act of worship to live a life conformed to the image of Christ, which is what God does through preaching.

As we saw earlier, in Romans 12:1-2, Paul teaches that our act of worship is responding to the Gospel by presenting the whole self to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is done by being conformed not to the world but to the image of Christ, which takes place through the renewal of the mind so that we know what God desires. Preaching is the primary means that God uses in the corporate gathering to renew the mind.

But, someone might argue that preaching is merely a means to worship, not an act of worship. But, this is a wrong conclusion.

The desire to present yourself or to present another as a living sacrifice to God is itself an acknowledgment of God’s worth, an act of worship. It is an act of worship to labor to conform another to God’s will, which is what preaching is. It is an act of worship to desire and strive to be a living sacrifice, which is what listening to preaching is.

As we seek to mature others in Christ through preaching or as we seek to be mature through the listening to preaching, we are acknowledging the worth of God. We are worshiping.

7) Preaching involves authority.

In verse 28, Paul says that his preaching involves “warning everyone” or “admonishing every man.”

Admonishing has to do with exhortation, with getting in a person’s face and spelling out the implications that the message has for their life. It involves rebuking sin and calling for repentance.

Paul emphasized this aspect of preaching in instructions to Timothy and Titus:

2 Timothy 4:1-4 …preach the word…reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Titus 2:15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Likewise, Paul also says that his preaching includes “teaching everyone with all wisdom.” Teaching involves instruction, declaring that this is true and this is not true. It involves proclaiming that there is a right way to live and a wrong way to live. Paul emphasized this aspect of preaching (1 Tim 4:11-13).

Both admonishment and teaching imply that the message has authority over the receiver. Giving admonishment and teaching requires that the preacher recognize God as the one who has all authority. It requires recognizing that God has authority over him as he preaches and over his audience who listens.

Receiving admonishment and instruction also requires that the audience, the listener, recognize that God has authority over him and is to be heard and obeyed.

Authority and Worship

What do admonishing, teaching and authority have to do with worship?

Authority is not popular. Admonishment is not comfortable. People get upset and offended when they are told what to do, especially when they are told that they are in the wrong.

Therefore, preaching requires that the preacher worship—that he recognize and proclaim the supreme worth of God, that God is to be valued and respected more than his audience. It requires that values God over man, which is an act of worship.

Likewise, it requires humility on the part of the listener to receive admonishment and teaching. The one listening to the sermon worships God by confessing that God is to be valued over himself. A congregation is worshipping when it honors the authority of the Word of God and understands that God is speaking to them through the proclamation of God’s Word.

8) Preaching displays and rests in the power (and wisdom) of God in Christ.

In verse 29, Paul describes his preaching ministry in an odd way. He says that he pursues the maturity of every believer through “toil” (or, labor). He describes it as a struggle. And yet, Paul says that he struggles “with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

In short, preaching is hard work. It is difficult. It is discouraging. It is disheartening. It brings the preacher to the end of himself. The task of preaching makes the preacher painfully aware that he a jar of clay, weak, fragile and powerless in himself.

In 2 Corinthians 2:16, Paul asks, “Who is sufficient for these things?” The implied answer is that no one is sufficient, apart from the grace of God. (Preaching at this conference reminds me of my insufficiencies! I’m an unknown, young pastor from Iowa!)

Likewise, in 1 Corinthians, Paul says that his preaching was not “with lofty speech or wisdom.” In fact, his preaching of a crucified Messiah was weakness in the eyes of the Jews and foolishness in the eyes of the Gentiles.

But “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” God chooses to work through weak, powerless, foolish things, “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

God makes the ministry of preaching a ministry that no man can accomplish through his own strength, so that it will be obvious to both the preacher and his audience that it is God’s power at work.

Paul knows that the fulfillment of his ministry, both in the act of preaching and the results, are “his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

And so, preaching is an act of worship, when the preacher humbly preaches the word, in season and out of season, trusting that God will empower and uphold him.

9) Preaching involves a high cost—sufferings, afflictions, toil and struggling.

The mention of “toil” and “struggling” in verse 29 takes our minds back to verse 24, where Paul writes of his “sufferings” and his “afflictions.” Paul says that he “fills up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” This does not mean that Paul adds to the atoning value of Christ’s death on the cross. What he means is that the message of Christ’s afflictions must be spread and proclaimed through messengers who suffer as Christ did.

The one who would be Christ’s ambassador will look like Christ. The messenger looks like the message. Preaching the Gospel requires and involves great suffering.

Paul emphasized this repeatedly in 2 Timothy, telling Timothy:

2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God...

2 Timothy 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 4:5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul wrote this as he himself prepared to die for the Gospel.

The blood of martyrs has been the seed of the church. The Gospel has always gone forth through God’s persecuted people and suffering servants. The preacher whose ministry is absent of suffering is a minister whose ministry is absent of Christ.

This is worship because…

The suffering and hardship involved in preaching make it an act of worship because it displays the high worth of God. The willingness the gather to engage in this task when it can and does cost both the preacher and the listener their lives, demonstrates that the worth of God is greater than the value of one’s own life.

Every time that a congregation gathers to submit itself to the word of God and a preacher ascends the pulpit to declare the Word of God, a question is present: What do we value most? Do we value the approval of the world, comfort and safety? Or do we value the person, work and will of God revealed in Jesus Christ?

The willingness to suffer for preaching proves that the preacher and the congregation believe everything we’ve seen already—that God’s word is the source of our life and sustains it; that God is present with his people and speaks to them through his word; that God’s word will conform us into God’s image and has authority over us.


Applications

If all this is true, then both the pastor and the congregation must insist that the first priority of pastoral ministry be the preaching of the Word—and insist that it be honored as such.

Both the congregation and the pastor should be careful to remove any obstacle that would prevent the preacher from given adequate attention to the preaching of the Word—for therein lies the life of the congregation and their enjoyment of the presence of God.

Both the congregation and the pastor should give adequate preparation to the preaching of the Word. The preacher should spend his time carefully meditating on the Word of God and preparing to make it plain to the congregation. The Christian should get plenty of rest on the night before, examine his heart, focus his mind, and treat preaching as an opportunity to hear God and experience the presence of Christ.

The congregation should be like the people in Ezra’s day and demand of the preacher, “Bring us the Book!” because the greatest thing that we could ever have is God in our midst speaking to us.

A Great Sermon on our Great Christ

While I was listening to Piper on Sunday morning, my associate pastor, Joshua Krohse, painted a wonderful picture of the supremacy of Jesus Christ from Colossians 1:15-20 -- Which Jesus?