Corporate Worship

So I finished my paper, and I want to share what I learned! I'm so glad I did this project––it's something that's been on my mind during my four years here at Bible school.

Let me discuss a few highlights; if you want to read the whole paper, there's a link down at the bottom. Let me know what you think!

My questions going into this were: What does "church" mean? What were the reasons that the early church gathered in the New Testament? Why are Christians supposed to gather together for worship? How does God manifest himself uniquely among a group of believers?

So...The Biblical Purposes of Corporate Worship

Church matters, because our faith is not just a private thing. It never has been a private thing! Being a Christian is not only being a "follower of Christ;" it is being a disciple along with many others in the community of faith. In the Old Testament, God chose a people––the Israelites––to be set apart for Him. He used individual men and women, but the focus was on a people, a nation, being His own. In the New Testament too, God formed a new people. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, when all the believers were together. The point of God rescuing the Israelites in the Old Testament and redeeming people like us who are under the New Covenant was for the purpose of worship.

So why is it significant that we continue meeting together today? Four reasons (besides that it is a biblical directive): first, because by participating in corporate worship we are able to reflect our identity as the people of God; secondly, to celebrate the work of Christ on the cross; thirdly, to experience the unique presence of God in our midst; and lastly, to serve and be edified by one another.

 It is important to see that the Bible never calls the building where believers gather a "church." We are the church. We are ekklesia––the assembly of the 'called-out-ones.' The biblical idea is that God's people make up the Church (universal and timeless), and it is vital that we meet together.

1) To Express our Identity
In the New Testament there are several metaphors that emphasize the corporate nature of the church. The first metaphor is that of a family (see Gal. 5:10; Eph. 1:4-5; Eph. 2:19; Heb. 2:11). We are, in a spiritual sense, brothers and sisters, fellow members of God's household. When we refer to each other as "brother" or "sister", it isn't just 'churchy' talk––it's a reflection of our very identity! And what family can function well if it is not together? We meet because we're a family.

The second metaphor is that of us, together, being a temple (Eph. 2:19-22, 1 Pet. 2:5). Yes, individually each of our bodies is a temple of the Holy Spirit, but also we are corporately being built together to become God's dwelling; we are living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God. The Holy Spirit dwells among us in a corporate sense as each living stone is in fellowship with others.

The third metaphor is that of the body. This is probably the most familiar pictures. In 1 Corinthians 12 we read that we are the body of Christ, and each of us is a part of it. Being a body implies the togetherness of all the members. We belong to one another (Rom. 12:5) and each part must do its work in order to be built up in love (Eph. 4:16).

So we meet as a reflection of who we are: a family, a temple, a body. And just by our meeting together in unity, we serve as a witness to the world. (See my paper for more comments on that.)

2) To Celebrate Christ
What do we do when we meet together then? Of course Christ should be central to any Christian gathering. It is ‘in the Lord’ that believers can rejoice (Phil. 3:1), in Him that they stand firm (Phil. 4:1), in Him that they are strong (Eph. 6:10), in Him that they were chosen and have redemption (Eph. 1) and in Him that they are now being built up (Col. 2:7). Therefore participation in corporate worship is about expressing our identity as God’s people, as well as celebrating the work of Christ. We celebrate through our singing, through our encouraging one another, through our praying, through our giving of offerings. One very significant celebratory act in corporate worship is participating in communion, or the Lord's Supper. Jesus told his disciples to eat the bread (symbolic of his body which was about to be broken for them) and drink the wine (symbolic of his blood about to be poured out for them) in His remembrance. And Paul explained to the Corinthians that whenever believers gathered to eat the bread and drink the cup, they were proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes again (1 Cor. 11:26).

3) To Experience God's Presence
Celebration and praise are important. But we can do that anytime, can't we? Aren't we called to give thanks in all circumstances? Aren't we called to daily offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord as acts of worship? I discovered that the New Testament writers, when they talk about corporate "worship services" or Christian gatherings, do not use the typical language of worship such as "offering," "sacrifice," etc. They use those words when referring to an individual's relationship with God (such as Romans 12:1) but never in the context of corporate worship. Christ should always be central, yes, but there's a reason beyond praising Him for which he calls us together. God does something unique in the midst of his people when they worship together. Here are a couple examples:

In 2 Chron. 20 we read the story of King Jehoshaphat, who when faced with a vast army coming against him proclaimed a corporate fast for all of Judah to seek the Lord for help. He prayed in the midst of the assembly, and then “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel” (v. 14). God spoke specifically to Jahaziel in this corporate context, giving instructions for the people and telling him to remind them that the battle was not theirs; God would deliver them. They next day they set out for battle, and Jehoshaphat appointed men––at the head of the army––to sing to the Lord and praise him, saying “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” Verse 22 recounts, “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” The men of Judah, led by Jehoshaphat, returned to Jerusalem and praised the Lord with harps and lutes and trumpets (v. 28).
The Lord, in the assembly of his people, had revealed his plan, and through corporate worship, victory was granted to the people of God and they were preserved!

A similar story, though on a smaller scale, is found in the New Testament. The corporate praise of Paul and Silas brought about great victory as well. After casting a fortune-telling spirit out of a young girl, these two men were flogged and thrown in prison. Acts 16:25-26 tells the story of what happened next: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” All the prisoners were set free, and even the jailer asked how he could be saved! Truly where two or three come together in Christ’s name, he is there with them (Matthew 18:20). God honors the meeting together of his people, and as they celebrate Him, he reveals Himself in power!


4) To Serve and be Edified by One Another This is, I believe, one of the most important points. I say this because I think it's where, in so many of our churches, we are getting it wrong. As I mentioned before, in the New Testament, corporate gatherings are never described specifically as "worship times," nor is worship even mentioned as the reason for gathering. The terminology that writers such as Paul do use though, is that of "up-building" and edification. Examples of this are found in 1 Corinthians 14––”strengthening, encouragement, and comfort….that the church may be edified….try to excel in gifts that build up the church” and Ephesians 4:11-16––“so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith….we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head….the whole body….grows and builds itself up in love.”

How does edification happen then? To a large extent this is the purpose of spiritual gifts. But how many believers actually know what their spiritual gifts are, or have the opportunity to use them on an average Sunday morning? Corporate gatherings should be times of participation. In most of our services, it is easy to go in the morning, sing a few songs, sit through a sermon, and leave, without having even contributed anything or said hi to anyone. This isn't what the New Testament church looked like!

This leads into some suggestions I have for those who are involved in planning corporate gatherings. Firstly, I believe that the New Testament encourages extemporaneous input by believers in corporate worship. Yes, “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40), but this does not negate the possibility of individuals not “on stage” to speak up during church services.
 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that when believers came together, each one had a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. This is powerful! Every part of the body, each living stone, and every family member was able to participate. In our services today this may look like a time of open testimony, an opportunity to hear what God is doing in our midst.

The second challenge is to grow in prayer. We see that the early church met quite often to pray––they gathered in homes (Acts 12:12) on numerous occasions to pray, as well as a variety of other contexts. We are told of corporate prayers for guidance, meetings to give thanks for deliverance from persecution, prayers for effectiveness in ministry, leaders' meetings to pray for those beginning a new ministry, and a church meeting to pray for the release of Peter from prison. In the churches that I have been part of, prayer is given such a minute role. It may happen at the beginning or end of a service, in between a couple songs, and before the offering. But I believe God is calling us to a higher level of intercession––praying for the needs amongst ourselves, praying for our cities, praying for the world. He has given us the authority, and if we want to see Him move, we will have to step it up!

The third suggestion is to have a stronger focus on small groups (or cell groups, Bible studies, whatever you want to call them). This is probably the closest representation of what "church" looked like for the earliest group of Christians, as they met in people's homes, and occasionally all the home churches in a city met together to pray or hear Scripture read. Many of the actions of worship that may be difficult to implement in a large corporate setting may be done in a small group. These include everything from sharing meals, singing, and praying to teaching, prophesying, and fasting.

Dan Kimball, who wrote a book about emerging worship, states that to most people, "church" (as in the Sunday-morning version) involves only 1.8% of their time and facilitates only about 20% of their spiritual formation. Why, then, as church leaders, do we seem to put 80% of our time, effort, and resources, into something that produces such little long-term spiritual growth? We need to begin focusing on small groups, relationships, discipleship, mentoring, and leadership opportunities outside of once-a-week gatherings.


So...church. What has your experience been? What are your thoughts or questions?

Oh, here is the link to my full paper if you're interested: The Biblical Purposes of Corporate Worship: By Kristyn Mogler

Thanks for reading this! I'd love your comments and discussion.

Your sister and fellow living stone (not sure what part of the body I am :-) ),

Kristyn