A Biblical Philosophy of Corporate Worship in Music

Over the last fifty years, worship music has been a fairly touchy subject in evangelicalism and so churches are reluctant to even discuss the topic. It is frequently one of those “elephants in the room” that everybody is aware of but reluctant to bring up in polite society. Therefore, most people are unaware of their church’s conviction regarding worship and singing, beyond what they able to personally observe. Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to write an article which seeks to clarify GTBC’s convictions regarding corporate worship and music.

A Biblical Philosophy of Corporate Worship in Music

I. Biblical definition of worship.

God is truly worshipped when his creatures recognize his supreme value to all other things (John 4:23-24). The English word, worship, comes from the Middle English weorthscipe—which means, “to acknowledge the worth of something.” Worship therefore is the acknowledgement of God’s worth and value. It is also the supreme end of all creation.

It should be noted that the phrases worship and glorify are synonymous. Technically, to worship is to declare the worth of something and to glorify is to bring glory to something. Worship speaks to responding to God’s inherent worth and God’s glory references the revelation of his splendor. As Bernard Ramm explains, “The glory of God is not… a particularized attribute like the wisdom of God but an attribute of the total nature of God, virtually an attribute of the attributes. (Bernard Ramm, Then: He Glorified, A Systematic Study of the Doctrine of Glorification (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1963), 18). God’s worth is displayed in his glory which is why the two words are used synonymously in English. So, to worship or glorify God is to properly respond to his revealed glory and worth. God’s supreme purpose is to manifest His glory. God is jealous for His own glory and will not share it with anyone (Is 48:11). When contemplating any aspect of ministry, the most pressing question must be, “Will its end be the worship of God?” or, “Will this glorify God?”

When people hear or read the word worship, they often think of music and singing. But that is an unfortunate diminution of the word. Music and singing can greatly assist in worship, but they are not the same as worship. Worship is appropriately responding in thought, word, or action, to the reality of God’s glory (John 4:20; 12:20, John 16:2; Acts 8:27; 24:11; Matt 4:10; Acts 7:7; 24:14; 27:23; Rom 1:9; Rom 9:4; 12:1–2; 2 Tim 1:3; Heb 12:28; 1 Pet 2:5).

Daniel Block in his highly recommended biblical theology of worship explains that “True worship involves human acts of submission and homage before the divine sovereign in response to his gracious revelation of himself and in accord with his will.” Daniel I. Block, For the Glory of God. Recovering A Biblical Theology of Worship (Grand Rapids. Mich.: Baker Academic, 2014). Similarly, J. O. Means defined worship as, “The expression of appropriate conceptions and emotions concerning God in appropriate forms.” (J. O. Means, “What Is the True Conception of Christian Worship?,” Bibliotheca Sacra 22, no. 88 (1865): 531). Brenda B. Coljin defined worship as ““Acknowledging God’s worthiness and giving him praise and honor.” Brenda B. Colijn, “A Biblical and Contemporary Model of Ministry,” Ashland Theological Journal Volume 27 27 (1995): 7. I like these definitions in that they highlight critical aspects of worship. Block emphasizes acts. Means emphasizes ideas and emotions. Coljin emphasizes acknowledgement. Each of these definitions touch on true worship but none grasp it as a whole. True worship involves all of these things—will, mind, emotions, and affection. I think the clearest definition is provided by God himself in Deuteronomy 6:5. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” To obey this command is to worship. Any failure to obey this command is at some level a failure to worship properly.

Given this understanding of worship—the end goal of every ministry should be worship. The evangelist should seek to make worshippers (John 4; Rom 15:16; Phil 2:17). The choir leader should seek to encourage worshippers (Psalms 1-50; Col 3:16). The pastor should seek to instruct worshippers (John 4:20, 17:3, Eph 4; 2 Tim 3:16-17). Worship is the supreme end, yet this can be accomplished in various manners. It can happen through holy living (Rom 12:1-2; I Pet. 1:13-16); acts of service to others (Rom 12:1-8; Heb. 13:16; Phil 2:17,30), and giving (Heb. 13:16; Rom 15:27; 2 Cor 9:12; Phil 2:25). Everything a person does should be an act of worship. All our ministries should seek to create and worshippers of God and to aid those worshippers in their worship.

II. Biblical guidelines for corporate worship music

1. Songs should reflect biblical truth.
• God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
2. Songs should be edifying
• What should you do then, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church (1 Cor 14:26).
3. Songs should reflect order
• God is not characterized by disorder but by peace (1 Cor 14:33).
4. Songs should not be too closely associated with the world
• Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15)
• Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world (James 1:27)
• whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy (James 4:4).
5. Songs should not be offensive
• Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean. 15 For if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy by your food someone for whom Christ died (Rom 14:13-15).
6. Songs should encourage reverence
• So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe (Heb 12:28).

III. Biblical perspective of music in worship.

1. Music is a vehicle for teaching and should be driven by biblical conviction
• Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col 3:16)
2. Music is connected with praise
• "And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord." (Psalm 27:6)
• "Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe." (Psalm 150).
3. Music positively effects the emotions of the heart
• “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.” (James 5:13)
4. Music is an overflow of joy in God
• "And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:3)
5. Music ideally, should be performed by skilled musicians
• "And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was in charge of the singing; he gave instruction in singing because he was skillful." (1 Chron 15:22).
• The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians (2 Chron 34:12)
6. Music should incorporate thew whole congregation
• “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." (Eph 5:18-19)
• "And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and their number by census of men was 38,000. Of these, 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord; and 6,000 were officers and judges, and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise." (1 Chron 23:3-5)
7. Music should be performed with the right heart
• God speaks to His people, "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps" because their hearts are far from God. Again, in…God sends a judgement against those living luxuriously "who improvise to the sound of the harp, and…have composed songs for themselves," at the expense of worshiping and living for God. (Amos 5:23, 6:5)

IV. Practical implications for worship services

The Bible warns us not to let personal preferences interfere with our convictions on how a corporate worship service should be contracted (1 Cor. 4:6). Blanket statements reflecting personal bias on how worship should be performed might encourage legalism, which was strongly denounced by Christ (Mark 7:6-13). Therefore, the worship service should reflect the tastes of the church members as a whole. A worship service should be a blend of appropriate styles with consideration to all the members. It should be constructed with the priorities of exalting God (1 Cor 10:31) and effectively serving others (Phil 2:3-4).