One of my favorite quotes is that good theology (Godly truth) leads to good doxology (Godly praise). To put it another way, authentic worship flows out of Biblical truth.
R.C. Sproul said “Theology must always end in doxology: the joyful praise of our Creator; otherwise we have not truly studied the things of God.”
Sam Storms says, “The ultimate goal of theology isn’t knowledge, but worship. If our learning and knowledge of God do not lead to the joyful praise of God, we have failed. We learn only that we might laud, which is to say that theology without doxology is idolatry. The only theology worth studying is a theology that can be sung!”
In Ephesians 3:14 – 21 we see both good theology and good doxology. Good Godly truth and good Godly worship.
Look at Ephesians 3:14 – 21…
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
We need the truth of God to straighten out our worship disorders. What do I mean when I say, “worship disorders”? Let’s define the word “worship” first. Worship means: to honor or reverence someone as a divine or supernatural being. Worship means to regard someone with great or extravagant respect, honor or devotion. It means to exalt or adore or treasure or to be satisfied with or to desire someone more than anything else.
What do you desire more than anything else? If you could have anything right now to satisfy you what would that be? What do you want more than anything else?
Jesus says that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Jn. 4:23-24) The kind of person that God is looking for is a person who worships him. And a person who authentically worships God is a person who adores, treasures and honors God from deep within their spirit in response to the truth of who God is and what God has done and what God is doing and what God will do.
I made the claim earlier that good theology leads to good doxology. Real truth leads to real worship. We need the truth of God to straighten out our worship disorders. If it’s true that worship means to honor and adore God from deep within my spirit according to the truth of God, then what does it mean to have a worship disorder?
One thing to think about as we navigate our way through this is to think about something else Jesus said. In Matthew 15:8 – 9 Jesus says “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” So a person with a worship disorder has the right words but also has a heart that’s been infected with spiritual deception. This person doesn’t love God or adore God or treasure God or value God or honor God. This person treasures, adores, honors and loves the pursuit of their own thoughts and desires more than God.
You could say that a person worships what he is consumed with. This is what makes this prayer from the apostle Paul so life giving and transforming. In this prayer we find a man who is totally consumed with God. There is no doubt that the apostle Paul is completely in love with God. He is a man who went from being a rebel to a worshipper. He met the Truth and the Truth set him free from his rebellion.
The apostle Paul was a violent enemy of God who was enslaved to his own pursuit of self-glory, self-righteousness and self-promotion. But in one single encounter with the all-powerful God of Heaven and Earth, Paul was changed into a slave of Jesus Christ. And from that moment forward he became a worshipper of Jesus Christ who lived out of the flow of Christ’s righteousness for the sole purpose of bringing glory and honor to Christ.
Good theology (Godly truth) leads to good doxology (Godly worship). We need the truth of God to straighten out our worship disorders. Paul met the Truth and became a true worshipper. This is obvious all throughout Paul’s letters. It’s obvious all throughout his prayer in Ephesians 3. But it’s really obvious is the last two verses of his prayer where he says “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, Amen.” These two verses are more than just the closing statement of a prayer. They are a mixture of theology that leads to doxology. These verses contain a wealth of truth that transforms our worship. These verses contain true answers to questions that are meant to move our hearts to worship.
We ask questions about God all the time. Is God really powerful enough? Will he give me what I ask for? Does he really want to answer my prayers? If we answer those questions in light of our circumstances we can become deceived about God, which means we won’t worship God in the Spirit of truth. But on the other hand, if something trustworthy and unbroken (unlike our circumstances) governs what we believe to be true then our worship will be pure, undefiled and acceptable. Proper theology leads to proper doxology.
This is exactly what we see in these final verses of the apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. The proper theology we learn here is that God is more than able and more than powerful enough. The proper doxology we see here is that we are to glorify God in the church, in Christ, forever and ever.
The last word in this prayer is the word “amen”. It’s a word that calls for agreement. The word “amen” simply means, “so be it” or “agreed”. My question is: So be what? Agree with what? What are we agreeing with when we say the word “Amen” in this passage? What are we saying “so be it” to?
I think the word amen in this context is an affirmation of the theology and the doxology that Paul conveys here. The truth of God straightens out my worship disorders. The truth is that God is more than able and more than powerful enough and in light of that truth I am called to live my life to glorify God in the church and in Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
The question is, do I believe these truths? Do I agree with these truths? Can I say amen to these truths? Am I consumed with these truths as a worshiper of God?
#1: Do I believe or agree that God is more than able?
There are things that I am able to do and there are things that I am unable to do. For instance I am able to leg press 430lbs but I am unable to run a quarter mile without stopping. I am able to answer many questions about God as he reveals himself in Scripture to me but I am unable to make other people believe or obey those truths.
To be honest there are more things I am unable to do than I am able to do. I am unable to be everywhere at once. I am unable to know everything. I am a limited human being. There are things that are simply impossible for me to do. But with God nothing is impossible. In fact all things are possible with God.
God is more than able to do anything beyond my biggest requests and beyond my wildest dreams. There is no request that is too big for him and there is no dream that is too wild for him. This is why Paul ends his prayer by saying, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think”.
I am sometimes guilty of putting God into a box. When I am up against something that seems impossible for me I begin to think it must be impossible for God too. I recreate God into my own image and I begin to chase my desires in my own strength and then I get disinterested or angry with God when I fail to produce the results that only he is able to produce. This is a worship dysfunction.
Here’s the good news though. Even in the midst of my rebellion and my unbelief God doesn’t change. There is no request that is too big for him and there is no dream that is too wild for him. Sometimes he doesn’t answer my big requests the way I want him to and sometimes he doesn’t fulfill my wildest dreams in the timing that I want him to either.
But I’m learning that these moments are the moments where he makes himself the answer to my biggest requests and my wildest dreams. He’s making himself the answer to the biggest request and wildest dream that my heart could ever desire.
God is able to do far more abundantly than all that I ask or think because what I ask or think is tainted by my human desires and emotions. But God is not limited by human desire or human emotion. In these moments what I really need is not what I really want but he makes what I really need into what I really want. And what I really need that I have begun to want more than anything else is his presence. In this way, good theology is transforming my doxology. Truth is making me into a worshipper of God. Do you believe or agree that God is more than able?
#2: Do I believe or agree that God is more than powerful?
It’s easy to question the power of someone that I can’t see when the circumstances of my life are so very visible. It’s difficult to trust that God is in control when it appears that the circumstances of my life are controlling everything. Sometimes it’s tempting to believe that God is like some cosmic impersonal force that only acts when all of the stars align just rightly.
In the midst of all this I have to fight to hold on to the truth that God is more than powerful enough because his power is sovereign and personal. This is why Paul says “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” The kind of power Paul describes here comes from the Greek word “dynamis”. From this word we get the word dynamite. God’s power is explosive, dynamic power. In the words of one scholar it is the sovereign power of the physical and spiritual universe. This sovereign, explosive, dynamic power isn’t just at work outside of me in the physical realm but it’s at work inside the hearts and souls of every believer.
Think about the areas of your life where you’ve seen the Lord move powerfully. You once were an angry person but God has powerfully transformed you into a gentle person. You once were a foolish person but God has powerfully transformed you into a person of wisdom. God takes fearful men and makes them into courageous men. He takes rebellious teens and turns them into God-fearing teens. He takes wounded women and turns them into caregivers.
He takes broken people in broken marriages and restores them. He takes people who were addicted to substances and inappropriate behavior and turns them into people who hunger and thirst for truth. The truth of God straightens out our worship disorders. God is more than powerful enough because his power is sovereign and personal. Do you believe or agree that God is more than powerful?
#3: Do I want to glorify God forever?
There are days when I wonder how God will be glorified through this circumstance or that circumstance. Another mass shooting happens. Another marriage hits rock bottom. The teenager rebels again. The long time friend becomes a mortal enemy. Fear creeps back into my heart. Despair and depression eat away at the hallways of my soul. The finances won’t stretch. The car breaks down again. The house needs repairs. How will God be glorified in these circumstances?
Paul’s answer is simple. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” I have to remember that no matter what the circumstances are, God is bigger and he will be glorified. God is not limited by human circumstances. God designs every human circumstance we face for our good and for his own glory. (Romans 8:28 – 30)
Paul says that God will be glorified in us (the church) and in Christ, forever and ever. This happens every time the church gathers as a family of transformed rebels. Every time we gather to sing songs, study the Bible, participate in the Lord’s Supper, pray, evangelize and fellowship, the Lord is glorified.
You may have come in here struggling with temptation, sin, depression, despair, despondency or any other host of things that separate us from God. But the good news is that when you walked in here you walked into a family of regenerated rebels. You walked into a gathering of sin-soaked saints who’ve been caught by the grace of God and set apart for his enjoyment. You walked into a gathering of once upon a time enemies of God who are now dearly beloved children of God.
Do you believe and agree with these truths? How is this transforming your affections right now? How are you being moved to worship right now in this moment?
The truth is that regardless of the circumstances of your life, God is more than able, he is more than powerful and he will bring glory to himself through his work in and through you if you are in Christ for all of eternity. The truth of God straightens out our worship disorders. Do you want to glorify God forever? Can you say Amen, So be it, I agree with that?
In Conclusion…
Romans 12:1 – 2 is probably the most practical passage in the Bible in regards to theology and doxology. In it the apostle Paul says “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We need the truth of God to straighten out our worship disorders.
In Romans 12, Paul makes his appeal (he earnestly begs) his brothers in Christ, in light of God’s mercy (the penalty for sin withheld), to present or willingly give their bodies as a living, holy, acceptable sacrifice (sounds painful) as an act of worship, adoration or honor to the Lord.
The practical way he calls us to do this is to not be conformed (molded, shaped, formed) by the ways of the world but to instead be transformed (changed, made new, restored) by the renewing (remodeling, reforming) of our minds.
It is through this process of sacrificial worship that we are made into newly formed worshipers. All of this can only happen at the foot of the cross and in the doorway of the empty tomb. It is the cross and the resurrection of Christ as the point of all Christian theology that drives Christian doxology.
In the cross we see what appears to be weakness in death transformed into a display of power in the empty tomb. The truth of Christ at the cross and the empty tomb is that God is more than able to overcome your greatest sin. He is more than powerful enough to transform his biggest opponents. And he is more than worthy enough of all our worship.
The broken body of Christ, the shed blood of Christ and the empty tomb of Christ can transform the most evil person into the most holy person to the glory and honor of God alone for all of eternity. Good theology leads to authentic doxology. The truth of God straightens out our worship disorders. Amen?