Articles
"Worship In ... Truth"
In our previous bulletin, we examined the importance of worshipping in spirit. Jesus taught in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (NKJV). In addition to our worship being “in spirit,” it must also be “in truth.” In order to worship God “in truth” our worship must conform to what the truth, which is contained in God’s word (John 17:17), teaches us regarding worship. What are some things we will do if we worship in truth?
- Worshipping in truth will involve us engaging in singing. 1 Corinthians 14:15 shows one of the things early Christians did in their assemblies was sing. Colossians 3:16 commands, “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (NKJV). Ephesians 5:19 speaks of what those who are filled with the Spirit will do. Such people will be, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (NKJV). When it comes to the type of music to be used in our worship in the New Testament, we find the Bible only speaks of singing. Nowhere in the New Testament are we taught by command, approved example, or a necessary inference to worship God by using mechanical instruments of music. When we add something which is not taught in the doctrine of Christ, we go beyond His teaching and are no longer in a right relationship with God (2 John 9). True worship involves us singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs and as we do so melody is made in our heart to the Lord.
- Worshipping in truth will involve praying to God. 1 Corinthians 14:15 points out prayers were a part of the worship of early Christians. Acts 2:42 speaks about the actions of early Christians saying, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (NKJV). Praying is something Christians are to be engaged in on a regular basis in their everyday lives (1 Thessalonians 5:17) but also is something they do when they gather together to worship God.
- Worshipping in truth will involve partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week. Jesus before His death instituted the Lord’s Supper as a memorial by which His disciples would remember His death (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20). Early Christians were expected to remember the Lord’s death by partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The bread used when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper was unleavened bread because it was instituted during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7). Hence, the type of bread which ought to be used in remembering the Lord’s death is unleavened bread. The day and frequency of observance is not spoken about in the accounts of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper. The best way to learn when and how often we are to partake of the Lord’s Supper is by examining the approved actions of early Christians. In Acts 20:7 we are told about the actions of Paul and the saints at Troas. It says, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoken to them and continues his message until midnight” (NKJV). The day on which Christians partook of the Lord’s Supper was the first day of the week, which would be equivalent to our Sunday. The frequency inferred by the language, “the first day of the week,” is a weekly observance. As often as the first day of the week came around they partook of the Lord’s Supper. Worshipping in truth will involve partaking of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine on the first day of every week in remembrance of Jesus’ death.
- Worshipping in truth would involve giving as we have prospered to carry out the Lord’s work. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 teaches how local churches are authorized to raise funds to carry out the work God has given them to do. It says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come” (NKJV). Here is another thing we see early Christians engaging in on the first day of the week and something we ought to do as well.
- Worshipping in truth will include the teaching of God’s word. Acts 20:7 speaks about Paul speaking to the disciples when they gathered on the first day of the week. Acts 2:42 speaks about the disciples, “continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (NKJV), which infers they must be receiving instruction in the apostles’ doctrine.
Worship in truth will consist of these five acts and these are the acts we find the early church engaging in when they came together to worship God.
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