Worship And Glory In The Highest

by R. B. Fullarton, Bathgate, Scotland | Category: General | Sept 1999

Children of God - Praising

The lofty themes covered in the book of Hebrews highlight the glories and excellencies of its Subject, God's eternal Son. The epistle was likely written during the decade prior to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Precious and specific teaching regarding the divine pattern for collective worship is sprinkled throughout the book, along with such truths as divine promise (6:13-20), the new covenant (9:8-28), cleansed worshippers (10:1-22), heavenly service (12:18-22) etc. The pre-eminence of the Son is everywhere in evidence, in creation, redemption, apostleship and priesthood. He is the Archetype of faith and endurance. The background of much of its teaching is the book of Leviticus, with its rich detail of instruction for the assembled congregation of the Lord's called ones. Leviticus prescribes for different types of approach to God (chs. 1-3), for dealing with sin in individual lives and among the people of God (chs. 4-7), for priestly responsibilities (chs. 8-13) and with many other aspects of the people's service to God. Hebrews 2 presents God's Son in His perfect humanity leading the praise of the congregation as it ascends in worship of His God and Father. The citation in verse 12 is from Psalm 22, written some 1000 years before, and two key elements are presented. Firstly, 'I will declare thy name unto my brethren', a declaration of who God is, for whom and through whom are all things; and secondly, 'In the midst of the congregation will I sing thy praise', ascribing the glory due to Him.

This Psalm of the sufferings of Christ commences with the agonized cry of the One forsaken by His God and concludes with that same One, in the glories that follow, leading the praise of many sons who as a result of His sufferings have been brought to glory. Verse 25 envisaged that godly Sufferer receiving praise as well as giving it, for He says, 'Of thee cometh my praise in the great congregation'. The Sanctifier and the sanctified rejoice together in the accomplishments of Deity as 'All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee' (v. 27). The unbounded joy that He has in His own is indicated in the quotation from Isaiah 8:18): 'Behold, I and the children which God hath given me'. What a precious contemplation, children of God gathered in congregation, and swelling the praise of their God who made 'the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings'! (Heb. 2:10).

Children of God - Rejoicing

John's first epistle draws our attention to the Father's love which has reached us in His Son, agape love, lavished upon us in exceeding grace, whereby we have been called children of God, 'and such we are' (3:1). This unbounded, undeserved love is eternal in character, as is also the relationship with God into which it has brought us. Our future manifestation as children of God has not been fully made known, but we do know that we shall be like the Son of God. We are promised glorified bodies, changed in a moment of time from their present corruptible nature into that which will be of the same inherent quality as His body of glory (1 John 3:2; Phil. 3:21). As we shall be like Him then, it is encumbent upon us to become like Him now, by allowing the Holy Spirit to produce this fruit in our lives. Certainly this goal will be more readily achieved if we are consciously rejoicing in the Father's love, and allowing this hope, of being conformed to His likeness, to affect our attitude and actions. The result will be a deepening love for fellow-saints and a godly resistance of sin, as we purify ourselves 'even as he is pure' (see 1 John 3:1-12).

Children of God - being gathered together

The prophecy of Caiaphas, high priest of the Lord's time, directed his audience of chief priests and Pharisees to the necessity of a scapegoat for the salvation of the nation (the Jewish people), see John 11:49,50. It was a remarkable and powerful testimony to the realization of the purposes of God in the death of Jesus of Nazareth. To 'gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad' (v.52) envisaged the divine purpose, not only in individuals exercising believing faith, but also the gathering together of believers into the privilege of united and collective service for God. From John 17:20-23 we note with keen interest that this was the very thing so deeply upon the Lord's heart in His prayer to His Father just before He died. His redemptive work made it possible. This 'gathering together into one' found its fulfilment in the establishment of New Testament churches of God in the days of the apostles. It was in these local churches of God, linked together in a unity of doctrine and practice, that the principles of worship outlined in the epistle to the Hebrews found fulfilment. And if in the apostles' day, surely in our day too, for the pattern has not changed.

R. B. Fullarton, Bathgate, Scotland | Sept 1999
General