Michael ReevesThe church has long recognized the priority of worship, acknowledging that we are redeemed in order to become faithful worshipers of the one true God. In this message, Dr. Michael Reeves asserts that worship is the end for which we are created and saved.
The Priority of Worship:
Understanding Our Created Purpose
Introduction: Created and Redeemed for Worship
This theological exposition explores humanity’s fundamental purpose: we were created and redeemed specifically to worship God. The text establishes that being created means receiving life, while being redeemed means being made spiritually alive in Christ after being dead in sin. Both creation and redemption serve the ultimate purpose of enabling us to know and worship God.
The foundation for this understanding comes from Jesus’ definition of eternal life in John 17:3: “That they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” This knowledge is not merely intellectual but relational and worshipful, reflecting the eternal fellowship between the Father and Son in the Holy Spirit.
The Nature of True Knowledge of God
Beyond Cerebral Understanding
The knowledge of God that constitutes eternal life transcends mere intellectual acknowledgment of theological facts. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 4:6, the text explains that God has shone light in our hearts to give us “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” This divine knowledge naturally produces delight and adoration.
The relationship between the Father and Son serves as the model for this knowledge. The Father delights in the Son, loving Him before the foundation of the world, while the Son adores the Father so deeply that He wanted the world to know of His love for the Father. This mutual delight and adoration is what we’re called to experience in knowing God.
Henry Scougal’s Definition of True Religion
The text references Henry Scougal’s influential work “The Life of God in the Soul of Man,” which profoundly impacted George Whitefield. Scougal defined true religion not as:
- Orthodox opinions alone (though important)
- Moral behavior alone (though necessary)
- Emotional ecstasy alone (though valuable)
Instead, true religion is “a delightful and affectionate sense of the divine perfections, which makes the soul resign and sacrifice it wholly unto God, desiring above all things to please Him, delighting in nothing so much as fellowship and communion with Him.”
Worship as the Ultimate End
The text emphatically declares that worship is not a means to an end but the very end for which we were created. We exist to glory in God, and only when we worship Him do we truly know Him as He is. This worship-centered life becomes the key to:
- Growing strong in faith (as Abraham did by giving glory to God)
- Liberation from worldliness and sin’s pull
- Entering into the joy of our Master
The pathway to spiritual strength involves loving God more than we love sin and glorying in Him above all else.
The Vision of Isaiah 6: Heavenly Worship Revealed
The Throne Room Scene
The exposition turns to Isaiah 6 as “the theological Holy of Holies,” providing a window into heavenly worship. Isaiah’s vision reveals:
- The Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up
- His robe’s train filling the temple
- Seraphim (burning ones) with six wings each
- The thunderous declaration: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts”
- The whole earth filled with His glory
- Foundations shaking at their voices
- The house filled with smoke
This scene demonstrates that in God’s presence, everything trembles under the weight of His tremendous glory. The seraphim, despite being holy beings, cover their faces before His unveiled majesty.
Understanding the Triple “Holy”
The Hebrew repetition “holy, holy, holy” represents the highest form of emphasis—a triple superlative expressing the absolute perfection of God’s holiness. This holiness causes such overwhelming worship that even the burning seraphim must shield themselves from its brilliance.
Redefining Holiness: Beauty, Not Coldness
Common Misconceptions About Holiness
The text addresses a significant problem in contemporary Christianity: viewing God’s holiness as something austere or off-putting. Many Christians mistakenly see holiness as God being “set apart” in a cold, distant way, or as moderating His love with stern disapproval.
Holiness as Divine Beauty
Drawing from Jonathan Edwards’ theology, the text redefines holiness as divine beauty rather than divine scowling. Edwards taught that God “is set apart from all other beings and exalted above them chiefly by his divine beauty.”
God’s holiness is not merely:
- Separation from sinners (He was holy before sin existed)
- Distinction as Creator from creation (He was holy before creation existed)
Rather, God’s holiness is “the purity, the beauty, the absolute perfection of who He is eternally.” His holiness doesn’t moderate His love—it is the “lucidity and spotlessness of the God who is love.”
Holiness Expressed in Love
This understanding of holiness finds perfect expression in the law’s summary: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19 demonstrates that being holy like God means:
- Worshipping Him alone (avoiding idols)
- Showing compassion for the poor
- Demonstrating kindness to neighbors
- Living in fellowship with God
Holiness is beautifully, purely loving because “God is love.”
The Attractive Power of True Holiness
Isaiah 57:15 – High and Near
The text cites Isaiah 57:15 to show that God’s transcendence doesn’t equal remoteness: “I dwell in the high and holy place and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” His holiness actually draws Him near to the humble, refreshing rather than repelling them.
The Difference Holiness Makes
Without holiness, God’s power would be tyrannical and terrifying. But because He is holy, His power becomes glorious and beautiful. Holiness is “the luster, the wonderful splendor of the divine nature” and “the very blessedness and nobleness that makes him so glorious to us.”
Why Creatures Hide from Holiness
Using C.S. Lewis’s “The Great Divorce” as an illustration, the text explains that creatures hide from God’s holiness not because it’s evil, but because its pure, brilliant energy overwhelms those accustomed to darkness. Holiness is pure, beautiful light that exposes everything, which terrifies those who fear exposure but attracts those who desire purity.
Jesus: The Perfect Revelation of Holiness
Identifying the Lord of Isaiah 6
The text reveals that Isaiah’s vision was actually of Jesus, citing John 12:41: “Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory.” Jesus is where we see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” most clearly. Without Jesus, we see only “thick clouds and darkness,” but Jesus is “the rainbow set in the clouds” where God’s beautiful perfections are displayed.
The Cross as Ultimate Revelation
Drawing a profound connection between Isaiah 6:1 and Isaiah 52:13, the text shows that Jesus being “high and lifted up” finds its ultimate fulfillment at the cross. There, wearing His crown of thorns, Jesus revealed:
- The holiness of One who came to serve, not be served
- The greatness of His love and righteousness
- His true nature blazing forth most brilliantly
- The “sweet and awesome holiness of his character”
The centurion’s declaration, “Truly this man was the Son of God,” demonstrates that the cross provided the deepest window into Jesus’ true identity.
The Cross: Where Worship is Perfected
The Place of Atonement
Returning to Isaiah 6, the text shows how worship is perfected at the place of atonement. When Isaiah saw God’s holiness, he cried “Woe is me!” recognizing his unclean lips and dwelling among an unclean people. But a seraphim took a burning coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s mouth, declaring his guilt removed and sin atoned for.
The Cross’s Dual Revelation
The cross serves as both the place where Jesus is “high and lifted up” and the place of atonement. This dual function reveals:
- The seriousness of sin: Without seeing God’s blazing holiness, we minimize sin’s gravity. Only when God appears high and magnificent does sin appear “vile and odious.”
- The greatness of grace: At the cross, we simultaneously see our desperate need (“I’m a great sinner”) and God’s abundant provision (“He’s a great Savior”).
The “Blessed Confusion” of the Cross
Drawing from John Bunyan, the text describes the “blessed confusion” experienced at the cross—simultaneously weeping over our wickedness while rejoicing in His grace. This produces the sweet tears of simultaneous repentance and joy, where we decrease and He increases.
The Joy of Worship
Worship as Delight, Not Duty
The text emphasizes that true worship is joyful, not burdensome. God’s holiness is a “happy holiness”—the Father delights in the Son, the Son in the Father. To worship is to “enter into his joy” and find “a source of joy that is not dependent on our circumstances.”
God’s Joy in His People
Citing Zephaniah 3:17, the text reveals the remarkable truth that God doesn’t merely tolerate His people but actively rejoices over them: “He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with singing.” This holy God delights in showing grace and sings over His people with joy.
Growing in Worship
The Mind’s Role in Worship
Romans 12:2 provides the key to growing in spiritual worship: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Knowledge of God creates worshipers—those who know God little will adore Him little and experience much doubt. The solution is to press in like Isaiah to see God more clearly and know Him as He truly is.
Becoming What We Worship
The text concludes with the principle that “we always become like what we worship.” We carry the aroma of what we glory in, and glorying in the Holy One transforms us to become “holy as He is holy, cleaner, kinder, happier, brighter, more loving.” This transformation continues until “that day when he appears and we will be like him for we will see him as he is.”
Conclusion: The Call to Worship
The exposition concludes with a call to worship “the Lord in the splendor of holiness.” Understanding God’s true holiness—His beautiful, loving perfection revealed supremely in Christ crucified—naturally produces the worship for which we were created and redeemed. This worship transforms us progressively into His likeness and provides unshakeable joy grounded not in circumstances but in the unchanging character of the God who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”