Worship in the Glorious Church

(Ephesians 5:27 KJV) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

In this passage, the Holy Spirit says that the glorious church / bride for which Jesus is returning will be “holy” and “without blemish.” Today, we will see that pure worship in spirit and truth is part of what constitutes holiness.

(Matthew 4:10 DKJV) Then Jesus said to him, “Get away [from me], Satan! For it is written (in Deut. 6:13), “[You will] worship the Lord your God, and [you will] serve only him’.”

(John 4:23–24 MKJV) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. (24) God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

(Psalm 22:3 WEB) But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel.

(Acts 15:16–17 EMTV) "After this I will return, and I will build again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen; and its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, (17) in order that the rest of men may seek out the LORD, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the LORD who does all these things.'

Jesus clearly said that “God seeks worshippers”—true worshippers who will worship him in “spirit” and in “truth.” Three main themes are at the heart of our Lord’s statement.

First, true worshippers are expressing pure love to God:

(Isaiah 56:6 NLT) “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD, who serve him and love his name, who worship him …”

This obviously fulfils the commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. In the place of relational intimacy with God—as we pour out love on him through worship—his love pours into us and through us out to others.

Second, worshippers in spirit and truth will become like the one they worship; they will be like him in character and like him in actions. Eph. 5:1 tells us to “imitate God as much loved children” (DKJV), and Jesus himself said he did what he saw with his Father (John 5:19, 20). True worshippers “see” things with God in the spirit. Then they imitate what they see by God’s grace. These are the people who walk in the works that God has prepared for them (Eph. 2:10). This then constitutes a major aspect of the “holiness” of the glorious church described in Eph. 5:27.

The third aspect of worship that contributes to the church being holy and glorious is that “God inhabits the praises” of his people (Psalm 22:3). Yes, in authentic praise, God’s presence is manifested in a way that brings glory to him—Scripture refers to this manifestation as “Glory” (2 Chr. 5:13–14). His glorious presence is manifested in love, salvation, healing, miracles, signs, wonders, and graces, etc.

The precursor of this is seen in the dedication of Solomon’s Temple; God’s glory was manifested in their praise in a way that shows what God wants to do today:

(2 Chronicles 5:13–14 KJV) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endures forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; (14) So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

When God’s glory is manifested in the church, his grace will come on people to do the exploits spoken of by Daniel (11:32); by God’s grace, people will operate miracles, work abundantly, live holy and give supernaturally. In truth, we cannot make ourselves holy; this can be done only by God’s grace—available to us at the Throne of Grace through the Word of Grace by the Spirit of Grace. Only by his grace can we be free of sin and walk in the works God has prepared for us (Pro. 20:9, Acts 14:3, 20:24, 20:32, Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 3:10, 15:10, 2 Cor. 8:7, Heb. 4:16, 10:29)

(Proverbs 20:9 MKJV) Who can say, I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin?

VISION:

The “true worship” that God seeks and the praise that he inhabits are of vital importance in the glorious church. Our vision, therefore, is to develop a culture of authentic praise in the lifestyle of every believer and celebrate it corporately through excellent contemporary praise music every Sunday. As God inhabits our praises, we must worship him in spirit and truth—leading to a life of “serving” as a “living sacrifice,” and walking in the [holy] works that he has prepared for us to walk in.

(Romans 12:1 MKJV) I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.

(Ephesians 2:10 NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.