I was thinking today about how the Cross and the Resurrection inform our corporate worship. It has been said of Evangelicals that we celebrate Easter every Sunday. There is a great deal of truth in that statement. Every time we gather, we come together with the knowledge that the work of the cross and the victorious resurrection assure us of a completed victory! The victory has already been won. Therefore, all of our worship should be born out of a basis or foundation of victory. That is why no matter the season or the particular emphasis in worship, it is always coming from the glorious ground of victory.
In 1 Cor. 15 we see that "Death is swallowed up in victory which propagates thanksgiving to God who gives us the victory through our 'resurrected' Lord Jesus Christ." Then, 2 Cor. 2:14-15 says, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life." When we sing, praise, and worship according to the instructions and principles from God's Word, we don't just sing or just worship. What we do reminds every believer that we already have the victory through the resurrected Christ! It is also a reminder to satan and his demons that we are already victorious in Christ and are celebrating it when we gather the Body! Against that, satan and his demons cannot stand and will surely shrink back when the church stands and celebrates in the victorious, risen Christ! HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOR! mjm
