Lesson 4 SOLUS CHRISTUS Who is the leader of our worship?

  Photo above depicts Wittenberg 1517  (Photo by author)

 (Part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)

 SOLUS CHRISTUS -  CHRIST AS THE LEADER OF OUR WORSHIP  

Ron Man of Worship Resources International describes the impact of Luther’s teaching on worship.  The following material has been adapted from his article “The Reformation of Worship.” 

Many think of the Reformation of the 15th Century in terms of doctrinal renewal. This was clearly central but true doctrine will influence all aspects of church life.  And so it was, that doctrinal renewal also brought about a renewal of worship. 

There was a renewed understanding of the role in worship of the living Christ whose full humanity had been neglected during the Middle Ages leading to serious distortions in worship practice. People were taught that one could not approach God directly but needed a priest as an intermediary. People were also taught that one needed to go through the Virgin Mary or one of the saints in order for one’s prayers to be heeded by God.

The Reformers restored the precious New Testament truth of our full and confident access to the Father through the work of Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22). The Bible teaches that in Christ every believer can enter directly into God’s presence in worship and in prayer because “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV Strong's) 

Only in and through Christ can we enter into God’s presence in worship.
Hebrews 12:24 (ESV Strong's) and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

​Jesus takes our imperfect offerings of worship, perfects them and presents them to the Father in our place and on our behalf. Because this is God’s grace for our worship, we don’t have to worry if our worship is “good enough” if we come through Christ, Our worship to God is acceptable when we come through Christ. Then God is always pleased with our worship because He delights in His Son and His perfect offering of praise. Our worship is pleasing and acceptable to God not because of its own excellence, but because of—and only because of—the excellence of his Son Jesus.

As both God and man, Christ is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between God and man. As both God and man, His mediating work is uniquely two-way: between God and man, and between man and God. As such He mediates God’s self-revelation to us, and also represents us before God in our response. This is expressed with beautiful succinctness in the words of Jesus speaking to the Father found in Hebrews 2:12 (quoting Psalm 22:22):
“I will proclaim Your Name to my brethren;
and in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

 Not only is Christ present in our midst when we gather for worship but Christ is the leader of our worship..

What are the implications of this?
1) Do we choose songs, keeping in mind that the living Christ is present in our midst when we gather for worship?  Do our words and actions reflect that?

2) Does the Word of God, by which Christ proclaims His Father’s name to His brethren, have  priority and centrality in our worship?

3) The utter supremacy of Christ is the message of Colossians.  The Reformers saw that the bible clearly teaches that Christ is above all human wisdom and tradition, Christ stands forth as preeminent over all and sufficient for all. In him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”
Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.  

 Is Christ the source, centre and focus of our worship? Does our worship reflect the utter supremacy of Christ?

 [For more on this transformative truth for worship leaders, see Worship Notes 1.8, and Ron Man’s book Proclamation and Praise: Hebrews 2:12 and the Christology of Worship (Wipf & Stock, 2007)