Invisible Aspects of Worship

What do we consider when coming together with other believers for Sunday worship? No, I do not mean what we see, hear, smell, taste, or feel. Those are common to all in attendance—unless distracted. My question is more of what we consider that cannot be grasped with our five senses but are nonetheless very present. In a lecture Dr. John Kleinig gave on Hebrews (see embedded link at bottom), he noted that the writer recognized seven of these in Hebrews 12:22–24 (ESV). I give them below with a few notes from his lecture.

1. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem – We in the States tend to think of meeting in a structure with a roof and walls, however, we come to God’s dwelling place from which He reigns over heaven and earth.
2. And to innumerable angels in festal gathering – Angels have the initial focus of leading in worship. Our worship is only imperfect, but they are able to do so perfectly.
3. And to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven – Christ is the firstborn over all creation (Col 1:15), and every believer has their name registered in heaven. In our locale, we join with all others also worshiping around the world.
4. And to God, the judge of all – Every Lord's day is judgment day and should be treated as such. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (He 10:31), but we are vindicated in Christ.
5. And to the spirits of the righteous made perfect – These are the faithful who have fallen asleep in Christ and are now before the throne.
6. And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant – This is the summation of the book Hebrews. He is the mediator of that covenant ensured by better things.
7. And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel – The blood speaks, “This is the blood of the new covenant for the remission of sins.” It cries for mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

As Dr. Kleinig went through each of these, I noticed what appears to be a chiastic structure.

A. Location of worship (Mount Zion, holy ground) (Rev 4:2; 7:9)
     B. Heavenly host worships (Rev 4:6–11; 5:11–12; 7:11–12)
          C. Church Militant worships (Rev 7:9–10)
               D. Recipient of worship (Rev 14:7; 16:4–7; 19:1–5)
          C'. Church Triumphant worships (Rev 5:8–10; 7:9–10)
     B'. Heavenly Mediator for worship (Rev 7:15–17)
A'. Qualification for access (Rev 7:13–14)

I may have forced the structure on the text, but as I considered what was happening, the parallels to Revelation came to mind, especially those passages in which the worshipers acknowledge the Lord’s righteous judgment.

What is my takeaway thought after looking at these things? We miss a great deal in our worship. By and large, Christians grasp neither the scope of activity in heavenly realms nor the solemnity and reverence due to God. In some measure, we are simply ignorant;, never having been instructed on the wonder and vastness of whose company we keep as we are assembled; in another we are just casual and complacent in our comfortable pews. You see, for the most part are comfortable in our pews.

The solution is to understand the wonder of the majestic unseen company with whom we are privileged to join in the adoration of a holy and just God.

The 11-part series can be found here. Each video is about an hour long and well worth the time investment.