Hey Church!
There are at least three things that God desires to accomplish through our corporate gatherings of worship. He is glorified and we are nourished in the faith when our worship is used by the Spirit to conform us to the image of Christ, edify the Body, and testify of the gospel’s truth to the watching world. The Bible tells us that gathered worship ought to operate simultaneously in all three of these dimensions, or fall short of the intentions for which God first gave it to us.
Conformity: Do not be conformed to this world but to Christ (Rom. 12:1-2). A marble block is not formed into a statue without breaking, cutting, scraping, and chiseling off every uncharacteristic feature. In a similar way, God tells us to humble ourselves in worship, turn to Him with a heart that says, “Lord, have your way!,” and to receive the (at times, painful!) chipping away of things that are not becoming of a son or daughter of the King.
Edification: The Church is like a spiritual temple-house that is built out of many living stones (Eph. 2:19-22). As each stone (that’s us) is chiseled into the likeness of Christ, they comprise part of the larger whole–the dwelling place of God. That building-up work is what the Bible calls “edification.” We all spend the week in personal worship but then we come together so that our progress might be evident to all, that others (and we) may be mutually sharpened, encouraged, strengthened, and fitted into the construction of the house that bears His Name. (See also 1 Cor. 14:26; 1 Pet. 2; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16)
Witness: Unbelievers should feel welcome in our services, see how we worship God and edify one another, and thereby seek passage into the fold (Read 1 Cor. 14:24-25). Evangelism is not the primary goal of worship; it is the necessary consequence of worship that conforms the individual into the image of Christ and edifies the whole Body through the Word and Spirit.
This Sunday, we have the opportunity to participate with the Spirit’s work in and through these three dimensions of corporate worship: conformity to Christ, edification of the Body, and witness to unbelievers. It is no small thing to be built up into the dwelling place of God! So let us all prepare ourselves in heart (settle debts with God and others), mind (focus on how you can give God your best worship), body (get a good night’s sleep!), and spirit (pray that He will grace us all with a palpable sense of His presence).
Your brother,
Ryan