What Worship Looks Like

Ephesians 5:15-20

Introduction

The mission statement for Queen Street Baptist Church says “We are a welcoming community, growing spiritually, worshiping God in Jesus Christ and sharing God’s saving love.” The third part of that says that we exist to worship. There is nothing controversial about a worshiping church. It is something that we just take for granted. But what does it even mean to worship?

When people discuss worship, it is usually in terms of style. What instruments should we use? Organ and piano or guitar and drums? Do we sing Psalms, traditional hymns, 1980s chorus or contemporary songs? Do we use a choir or a worship team or a single worship leader? These discussions are fine but they are not the heart of worship.

During this year we are going to look at worship from different perspectives. What we really need before we ever get to our personal preferences is to look at what the Bible says. The Bible provides some very clear teaching on worship and Ephesians is a great place to start. First of all, this one of the most worshipful letters by Paul. But beyond his example, he give explicit teaching on worship.

The Contrast

In this passage, Paul contrasts two ways of living: the unwise and wise. His warning is not to live foolishly. The foolish way is a lack of understanding of God’s will. The one example he gives is that of drunkenness. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Ephesian church specifically struggled with alcohol. Rather, being drunk is a powerful example of the foolish way. In my younger days, I had more than my share of drunken experiences. I didn’t think I was that bad. But when I got past that and found myself the only sober one in a group, I realized how people are when they are drunk. 

Not only is drunkenness an image of foolishness, it is also a comparison to what Paul is about to teach on. Why do people get drunk? For me, it was because my way of getting past my inhibitions. I was willing to do things after a few beers that I wouldn’t normally. For others, alcohol is a way to cover up the pain they are experiencing, whether physical or emotional. The point is that people do not get drunk for the sake of getting drunk. They are seeking the results that drunkenness brings. There is a sense in which alcohol seems empowering. Of course alcohol always fails on its promises and getting drunk never has a benefit. But this is something the Ephesians were familiar with and it provide exactly the contrast that Paul was looking for.

Worship

Paul doesn’t just warn against the foolish life, he points to the wise life and that is a life of worship. Instead of being drunk with wine, we are to be filled with the Spirit. This is more than just replacing the bad with the good. Just as alcohol has been known to give courage to do something difficult, so does the Spirit, although always with good results. The Holy Spirit is empowering in a positive way, enabling us to do what we need to do. This includes worship. The Holy Spirit helps us to worship. Worship is supposed to be Spirit-led. That is not necessarily the same thing as charismatic or Pentecostal worship. You don’t have to raise your hand or dance for the Spirit to be present. The first time I experienced the Spirit in worship was in the Anglican church I grew up in when I suddenly saw the liturgy with fresh eyes, seeing the beauty of Jesus in the familiar words. It can look different for all of us and we should never try and put the Holy Spirit in a box.

Then Paul says something that may be confusing to us. He says that we are to speak to one another with psalms and other songs. Why would he say that? Worship is to God alone. It is true that we only worship God but there is a community aspect to worship. Yes it is possible for you to worship God alone in your home or your car or out in the woods. That is a nice supplement but it is not the ideal. The best possible situation is passionate worship to God in the presence of other people. The expectation is that we will be blessed by each other’s worship. Some of the most powerful worship experiences I’ve had in this church have been hearing you sing out your praises. You are not singing to me but you are blessing me with your worship. This is so important that in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul criticizes speaking in tongues in a worship service. There is nothing wrong with speaking in tongues as Paul did that himself. But when a person speaks in tongues in a worship service, it is between them and God and it provides no blessing to the others. Worship is meant to have both a horizontal and vertical element. There are people who love God the Father but can’t stand their brothers and sisters in Christ. That is not right. Worship should be a blessing to both God and people.

Paul tells us to give thanks to God the Father. Thankfulness is central to Christian worship. Sometimes it is difficult to feel thankful. That does not mean that we only worship when we have had a good week. Some of the best worship we can offer is a sacrifice of praise. We come together, acknowledging that life has been hard and God has felt distant but choosing to worship anyway. The Psalms are our example. The Psalms were the hymnbook of ancient Israel. Do the Psalms pretend that everything is all right? They are graphic in their honesty about personal suffering and yet still offer thanks to God.

All of this is done through the name of Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we always have something to be thankful. It is because of Jesus that we have access to the Father. It is because of Jesus that we are adopted into God’s family and that his Father is our Father.

Did you notice what Paul did in this passage? He explicitly includes the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Worship is supposed to be trinitarian in nature. I love songs, old and new, that remind us that we worship a Trinity. The Spirit empowers us to give thanks to the Father in the name of the Son. That is a beautiful image.

Conclusion

Christians have long argued about worship and will continue long after we are gone. But what is important is not the style. That is a secondary issue. Paul lays out exactly what we need to know about worship in this passage. Worship is a trinitarian experience that is done in community with fellow believers. It includes the Father, the Son and the Spirit. It also include a joining together in community. We join our voices together to worship the God who is three in one. Let us put aside our personal preferences and give thanks to God for all that he is done. God is worthy of our worship.