Gospel Prism

Here is an interview with Chris Tomlin. It’s not too in-depth with relatively short answers. But I really liked this one question and answer:

Do you think about how we worship with our bodies? Some raise their hands, some dance, some stand still, and so on.

Tomlin: It has a lot to do with our culture. We’re pretty bad at our bodily expression of worship. It can be a bit frustrating when people are standing there with their arms folded.

The West has bought into the “let me be reserved” look of worship hook, line, and sinker. It is as if to fold ones arms and worship is a biblical form of posture. And for those who think posture does not matter, need only to look at the Bible to see that worship has so often a physical response. And lest anyone say, “Well, that type of worship is cultural too,” I need only to direct such a person to Revelation 4:10 which says:

The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11″Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

And then there is Revelation 5:11-14:

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

And Revelation 7:11-12:

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Worship with physical expressions is in heaven!!! This is not a cultural phenomenon, this is a worship of the Almighty Living Slain Christ phenomenon. Ahh, how there are far too many folded arms during worship. In other places around the world, this needs to be balanced with truth. People are stuck on emotionalism and it does not flow from a true understanding of the majesty and awe of Christ as the slain Lamb. But in our culture, how we sorely need the corrective that to be of folded arms during worship, and then to say one is worshipping in such a posture, is to ignore the Bible’s expressions of worship and future worship. I think Chris Tomlin is absolutely right. It is frustrating and I have to believe that the Lord is frustrated as well by such worship.

One last note, I love the image of the elders casting their crowns. They are kings who are in a sense worshipped themselves. But when they see Christ, their natural desire in response to Christ is to say, “This crown is mere dung next to the glory of Jesus. What is it doing on my head? I want this out of here.” And then that crown is flung with almost a sense of disgust as if to say, “Why did I ever think this crown was so great in the first place when I have Christ?” I long for my church and me to be a Crown-Casting church. Oh how I long for that.

We have way too many crowns and not enough disgust over choosing the smallness of such crowns over the greatest of the Slain Lamb.