WHY WORSHIP? by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: In our church, people come from all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of understandings regarding worship. For some, worship is singing old hymns that are traditional and nostalgic. Nothing wrong with that. For others, worship is singing new songs that are more reflective of the present culture and more real life. Nothing wrong with that. Yet others have no understanding of worship, and they wonder why Christians have this time of singing before someone comes up to speak. Afterall, we don’t have a time of singing at a staff meeting or at a ball game (maybe the National Anthem) or at some other gathering. Why in church do we have this “time of worship?” In our series on Ephesians, we’re at the beginning of the letter/book where Paul begins with worship. Here’s a definition of worship: It is a time of wonder. Not wonder as in wondering but wonder as in marveling. Worship is the time to marvel at the majesty, sovereignty, power, grace, mercy, salvation, and so much more of the Triune God of the Bible. It is also a time where we temporarily enter the world to come while still living in the present world. We feel the tension between the earthly and the spiritual worlds. We live in the world of pain and suffering, doubts and discouragement. Worship takes us from this world to the next and makes this world bearable and the world to come more desirable. It all happens with a glimpse of what God has done for us in Christ.

Ephesians 1 (page #1795) 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

Context: What we just read is the beginning of one big, long sentence – in the Greek it is a 202-word sentence. It is one long praise to God. It is very important that Paul begins this letter with this call to worship since he will have much to say about the church, the ekklesia, especially the ekklesia all over, not just the one in Ephesus. Most scholars agree that it is very similar to the Jewish blessing (berakhah). In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “berakhoth” opens many praises to God. Although it is used to bless people and even wisdom, most of the time it is used to bless God:

  • Genesis 14      18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
  • Exodus 18:10 And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.”
  • David says in Psalm 28:6 “Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!”
  • Again, David says in Psalm 41:13 “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”

God gave King David such a revelation of the power of praise that he set aside and dedicated an army of 4,000 Levites whose only job was to praise the Lord! How did they do that? 1 Chronicles 23      30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening; 31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the Lord; One of the last official acts of David as King was to organize a formal program of praise.  

In the Bible, the entire universe is depicted as one grand chorus to the Living God who made the Heavens and the Earth. Psalm 148:     1 “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! 4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!”…7 Praise the LORD from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths; 8Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; 9  Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars; 10 Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl; 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; 12 Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.”

Imagine what heaven will be like! Revelation 19:6 “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!”

Application: Do you take the time to praise God for what he has done for you? Do you realize that worship is that time to praise God together with other believers?

Back to Ephesians 1 (page #1795) 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…” God blesses everyone with many earthly blessings in life – food, clothing, shelter, healing, happiness, fulfillment. They are all from God. These are common to all people, saved and lost.

  • Psalm 65:2 “O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come.”
  • Matthew 5:45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
  • James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Having said that, we believers are the only ones who receive his spiritual blessings. The entire Trinity is involved:

1. From God the Father, we receive “Election to holiness” and “Predestination to adoption.”

Ephesians 1       4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself…”

2. From God the Son, we receive “Redemption through the blood of Christ,” “Forgiveness of sins,” Knowledge of God’s purposes,” and “Inheritance through Christ.”

Ephesians 1        7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself…11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

From the Holy Spirit, we receive the seal of our redemption. 

Ephesians 1      13 “…in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Application: Many of us are quite aware of the tangible things like food, clothing, shelter, healing, happiness, and fulfillment, but how about spiritual blessings? We tend to see “spiritual blessings” as fake promises or paper assets (opposite of real assets). People who came out of the depression did not trust bank notes. They would carry all their money in their pockets. The spiritual blessings are far more real and lasting than the earthly blessings. 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Back to Ephesians 1 (page #1795) 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Is “heavenly places” just another way to say “heaven”? No. In fact, Paul uses simple “heaven” as well in Ephesians:

  • Ephesians 1:10 “that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”
  • Ephesians 3     14 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,”
  • Ephesians 6:9 “And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

“in the heavenly places in Christ” is a very interesting phrase. The Greek word is “epouraniois” = heavenly realms. The world is found in other places in the New Testament, but the phrase “en tois epouraniois” = “above heavens” is not found anywhere else in the New Testament. It is found only 5 times right here in Ephesians. (The following is based on the chapter by Christine Gerber on “spatial metaphor in the contradictory experience of the Believers” in Reconsidering the Letter to the Ephesians in Ancient Context):

  • Ephesians 1 (page #1795) 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Meaning: this can only be experienced in Christ. Although, “Christ in us” is also biblical. The focus here is that we are in Christ. That’s so much more!
  • Ephesians 1 (page #1796) 19 “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.” Meaning: This is where Christ is.
  • Ephesians 2 (page #1796) 6 “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Meaning: This is where we are as well. This is not the right hand of the Father.
  • Ephesians 3 (page #1797) 9 “and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Meaning: This is where the church is. What is the church doing? Making God’s mystery known to all principalities and powers. That’s why we have Lighthouse in our logo. That’s why we have the Ministry Expo.
  • Ephesians 6 (page #1801) 12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Meaning: This is also where the evil forces also show up to harass us.

In saying “heavenly places,” Paul is inviting the church, the ekklesia, to come up to the place where we marvel at who the Triune God is and, at the same time, recognize the tension between this earthly and the spiritual. We are seated with Christ and yet there are spiritual hosts of wickedness here.

The reason we don’t think much about worship is because it is done so poorly most of the time. It is done poorly not because of lack of talent or resources but because of understanding and desire. Warren Wiersbe said, “When our theologians learn to move as Paul did from theology to doxology, we will have taken a giant step toward the recovering of mystery and wonder.”

Are you saved? Are you truly worshipping in the heavenly places in Christ?