a thought on true worship...

The Apostle Paul was not, as many Christians assume, a theologian. He wrote no theological treatises or doctrinal propositions. He was a missionary, and thus a theologizer: he took his theology and applied it to certain situations that he dealt with. He was a church planter, and most of his letters deal strictly with issues within the church. Though Paul is not a theologian, we can draw out his theology by examining how he responds to certain rhetorical situations within the churches he writes letters to (or the individuals to whom he writes letters to). Oftentimes, we find that Paul’s theology is different from mainstream theology in certain aspects. One of these aspect is the definition of worship.

Worship in our modern day-and-age is viewed primarily as singing songs to God, praying certain prayers, going to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights, etc. Yet this approach to worship is quite different from Paul’s approach to worship. In three separate passages, we are able to catch a glimpse of Paul’s theology of worship and, from that, build up a portrait of what Paul might have thought regarding the spiritual act of worship. Three of these main passages are Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 6.12-20, and 1 Corinthians 13.

Romans 12 approaches worship not simply as “prayer and praise songs” as seen in many Western churches, but as living a life of service to others. Paul admonishes us to “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual service.” (12.1) What does this mean? How is this done? It is done by not conforming to the world but renewing our minds (12.2): we are to pursue the renewal of our minds, for without a renewal of our minds—turning our focus off of the self and onto God—we cannot live a life of acceptable worship. What, though, is true worship? What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? What is this kind of worship that is holy and acceptable to God? This true worship is subordinating our body so that we reflect our status as Christians and so that we live a life of appropriate worship to God. It is sacrificing the interests of the body for the interests of the Spirit; this sacrificial maneuver is the “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” the worship that Paul speaks of. This is our spiritual act of service to God. Thus real worship can be summed up as this: “Sacrificing the interests of our body for the interests of the Spirit.” Singing, then, is just an extension of real worship; but if it is divorced from true worship, then it is pointless! One of the greatest acts of true worship, as verses 3-8 explore, is unity: here Paul emphasizes unity in the church and how Christians have different roles to play in the pursuit of unity. Unity is an important act of worship, for in pursuing unity, one must put aside his or her interests for the interests of others (and this is the second commandment given to us by Christ, thus being one of the greatest desires of the Spirit). In verses 9-21, Paul then examines practical ways of living a life of real worship, tailored to the life, culture, and circumstances of the Christian church in ancient Rome.

Our attention now turns to 1 Corinthians 6.12-20, another brilliant examination of what it means to worship God through sacrificing one’s interests for the interests of the Spirit. In verse 12, Paul says (and I paraphrase), “All things are lawful for me, because I am free in Christ, but not all things are helpful. I will not be mastered by anything; no, I will be the master of my own body.” He speaks in verse 12 of subordinating his body for the purpose of pleasing the Spirit; i.e., seeking the desires of the Spirit rather than the desires of the body. Using sexual immorality as an “incidental foundation,” in verses 13-20, Paul advances the concept that Christians do not belong to themselves [i.e. do not live to seek after their own interests] but belong to God [i.e. to seek after His interests]. Thus we need to reflect this true ownership of our bodies by living a life of sacrificing our own interests and desires for the interests and desires of the Spirit. We must consider all aspects of life—morning to night—and we must then live to honor and please God, to reflect our true status as His holy and chosen people, in every aspect of our lives, from the most mundane and trivial to the most important and significant.

1 Corinthians 13 examines the kind of love—Greek agape—that Christians are to have for other people. In context, this chapter says, “Love is greater than any spiritual gift, and it is essential to unity between the brethren.” Yet this still gives us a portrait of the greatest act of sacrifice: sacrificial love towards others. A life of worship involves, at the core, agape love.