The Elements of Worship

The old covenant and new covenant enjoy a substantial unity. For instance, the way of salvation through faith in God’s promises is the same under both covenants (Gen. 15; Rom. 4; Heb. 11). New covenant believers see more clearly the substance of God’s promises—Christ the Lord—but those who lived before the incarnation nevertheless were saved by faith in Him. Through shadows and types, Abraham and other believers who lived before the birth of our Savior in Bethlehem saw His day and were glad (see John 8:56).

Nevertheless, when it comes to God’s relationship with His people, there are differences in its external administration, but not its essence, between the old and new covenants. We see this especially in the corporate worship of the covenant people. As many have noted, there is no detailed liturgy given to the new covenant church, no new covenant equivalent to the book of Leviticus with its prescribed practices for old covenant worship. Yet the same old covenant principle that worship must be agreeable to the Scriptures is true for the new covenant. The second commandment tells us, positively, that we must worship according to God’s directions and not what we think is best (Ex. 20:4–6). The outward form of worship looks different under the new covenant than under the old, especially because we no longer sacrifice animals (Heb. 10:18), but right worship under the new covenant, no less than under the old covenant, is conducted in the proper spirit according to the truth of God’s Word (John 4:24).

Although God has not given the new covenant church a prescribed liturgy, the New Testament provides some explicit guidance for new covenant worship. Many passages touch on this subject, including Acts 2:42, wherein Luke gives a description of the worship of the Apostolic church that he intends as a model for new covenant worship. The early Christians together devoted themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Here we find the exposition of the Word of God, the only place where we find the Apostles’ teaching today; corporate gathering, where we find Christian fellowship; the sacraments, for the breaking of bread most likely refers to the Lord’s Supper in conjunction with a larger fellowship meal; and prayer, including hymns and psalms, which are sung prayers and proclamations of Christian truth. Christian worship agreeable to the Scriptures features these elements.