What Does the Bible Say about the Church’s Worship?

There is a sense in which worship encompasses all of life. Everything we do—eating, drinking, working, playing, sleeping, etc.—should be done for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Yet the Bible also calls the church to gather corporately for the purpose of worshiping God. 

The church’s weekly gathering is critical to its life, health, and mission. Below we’ll consider eight priorities of biblical worship when the church gathers.¹

1. Biblical Revelation

According to Jesus, true worship requires worshiping God “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). 

That requirement of truth is critical: you cannot rightly worship someone you do not know. Knowledge of God is necessary for worship of God, and knowledge of God is only possible because of revelation from God, which comes primarily through God’s Word. That’s why God’s Word should be central in our worship. A significant amount of time in worship should be given to hearing, teaching, praying, and singing the words and truths of Scripture.

2. Spiritual Direction

True worship is not only “in truth” but also “in spirit” (John 4:24). Jesus is likely referring to the fact that God is spirit rather than being a material or physical being. We should not treat God as if he is confined to a particular location (John 4:21), nor should we attempt to create something in his likeness as a part of our worship (Exodus 20:4–5). 

God lives and operates in the realm of the Holy Spirit,² who is not visible (John 3:5–8). The Spirit should direct, lead, and guide our worship, and he does this primarily through the Word he has inspired (2 Timothy 3:16). The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and transforms the hearts of people.

3. Community Participation

There ought to be many times throughout the week when we worship God alone as individuals, but the church’s gathering is a time to worship God in the context of a community of faith. We should avoid an individualistic approach to corporate worship where we focus on our own preferences or pursue God as isolated individuals. 

We do not ignore each other in worship; we value each other and prefer one another over ourselves. And we do all this as participants in worship. The church is not an audience of spectators; it’s a community of worshipers. 

4. Reverent Affection

The God we gather to worship is the God who rules the world, the God who spoke and the entire universe came into being, the God who created us and is sustaining us right now. He is worthy of our deepest reverence (Psalm 96:9; Isaiah 66:1–2). However, this is not the kind of reverence that simply cowers in fear. It’s the kind of reverence that is accompanied by great affection for God. 

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Therefore, our hearts are the most important component of our worship. God has designed us to be satisfied in worshiping him.

5. Honest Confession

God exposes our sin because he desires to cleanse us from our sin, which he promises to do when we confess it (1 John 1:9). However, we cannot truly worship God with our lives if we are not honest with God about our lives. Rather than trying to hide our sin, we should come in honest confession before the One who knows our sin and has made a way for our sin to be forgiven. 

God often exposes our sin through his Word, and he sometimes uses the loving correction of others. In addition to cleansing from sin, God also wants to provide comfort in our sorrow. Living in a world corrupted by sin (including our own) and its effects often leads to grief, fear, and anxiety. God invites us to cast our cares on him because “he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

6. Gospel Celebration

Jesus has died on the cross to forgive our sins, he has risen from the grave in victory over sin, and he has promised eternal life to all who believe in him. This is the gospel, and it is worth celebrating every single week. We sing this gospel message, we preach this gospel message, we pray according to this gospel message, and we celebrate this gospel message as it works in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

The gospel is also celebrated in the two ordinances God has given the church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism pictures the new life God gives through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection; the Lord’s Supper reminds of our common participation in the benefits of Christ’s salvation as we partake of the bread and the cup.

7. Intentional Intercession

God’s Word commands us to pray with and for one another (Ephesians 6:18; 1 Timothy 2:8), so we should do this when we gather together for worship. Far from being a thoughtless routine or a transitional element of the weekly service, prayer should be focused and intentional. As we join together in prayer, we adore the living God, confess our sins to him, thank him for his grace in the gospel, and make supplication for one another’s needs.

8. Global Commission

The church’s gathered worship has effects that go far beyond one location on a Sunday morning. True worship always leads to mission, and Christ has given his church a global mission, namely, to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). 

Worship is both the fuel and the goal of this mission: our gladness in God should lead us to share the gospel with others so that they can experience the same kind of gladness in God that we experience. When our souls are satisfied in God, then his satisfaction should not just be welling up in us; it should be overflowing from us. 

1. The eight priorities of biblical worship are an adapted excerpt from David Platt, 12 Traits: Embracing God’s Design for the Church. ↵
2. Jim Hamilton, “John,” in John–Acts, ESV Expository Commentary, Vol. 9, 253. ↵