The distinctive presence of Christ in corporate worship

In my humble opinion, Dr Garry Williams is always worth listening to. I have just had an excellent pre-breakfast work out with his paper from the John Owen Centre 2015 conference on Putting Theology Back into Practice - Everything is Ordinary: Pragmatic Minimalism and the Presence of God.

Really helpful Reformed Scholastic clarifications on the presence of God applied to corporate worship (especially preaching, supper and prayer). Some very scrappy notes below will give a flavour: How normal might public worship be? How comfortable can the non-Christian expect to feel in church? A peculiar presence of God in public worship A Reformed Scholastic map of God’s presence God’s infinity – an aspect of God’s moral qualities – God is infinitely holy immeasurability – (1) temporal – eternal – (2) space – immensity – in and beyond all places, unbounded by place Omnipresence – (1) his operations – he everywhere acts, of power (2) His knowledge (3) His essence – the Socinians denied this – Stephen Charnock – God fills heaven and earth God’s immutability implies omnipresence We are present circumscriptively, circumscribed Angels have a definitive presence – place but not circumscribed God has his own unique repletive presence – he fills all space Turretin – this language is possibly too physical Helm – our language is time infected – it is also place infected God accommodates himself to us – he speaks creaturely to us God speaks richly to us God not contained by creation. It is contained by him. God is not extended like a body but simple infinity of essence. (Turretin)   God is everywhere, but not physically by multiplication, mixture, extension, diffusion, division etc. (Charnock) God is beyond the world but not just by being in other places – e.g. not just in the heavenly throne room – beyond all worlds – God is beyond space in himself – but notice the “in” even here How is God distinctively present in some places? Visibility Operation – sustains all things In heaven – not by essence but by physical manifestations of his glory – not the prison of his essence but the court room of the revelation of his majestical presence (see Charnock) Gracious and covenantal presence with his people, efficaciously God’s presence to the lost – in grace, sustaining but also in wrath Present to bless or departing from us with his blessing, leaving us to his frown or coming to us in with the arms of his blessing Distinguish but not separate these presences – God’s essential presence is the foundation of his operational presence Tabernacle – not more there in essence than elsewhere but in a heaven like visible manifestation of his presence, there for Col 1:19 – in Christ – the essence of God not more present there than elsewhere – the distinctive operation of the hypostatic union – God made Christ’s humanity uniquely his God’s presence in us by the Spirit – which bit of me? Not like my heart or lungs! Not physical – God relates to us in a new way, operates in us Corporate worship – special operational presences of God in corporate worship (1) Preaching – 2nd Helvetic Confession – the preached word of the God is the word of God – God is present speaking Eph 2:17 – when did Christ preach like this? In his death? In his earthly ministry? Through the preaching of his messengers, the ascended Christ preaches Rm 10:14 – how do they believe him whom they have never heard? – Cranfield, not just heard about – Christ is the one who is heard – he speaks to bring about faith Acts 26:23 – the risen Christ proclaims to the Gentiles – also 4:31; 13:34 1 Thess 2:13 Gal 3:1 – The preacher’s words, which are the words of Christ, presence Christ in his glory before the people – an oral manifestation of cross aurally received – equivalent effect of the physical presence of Christ Calvin (2) The Lord’s Supper 1 Cor 10:16 – cf. Pagan concepts of communion with demons – you can feast with demons OT background Thisleton – sharing in Christ We share in Christ’s body and blood in the Spirit An actual deepening of the believer’s relationship with Christ – an exclusive union which excludes others (demons), bound in covenant with Christ (3) Prayer Mt 18:19-20 relate to previous section v18, “on earth” – thing – pragma – the stuff you agree about – sometimes a specifically judicial sense – subject of forgiveness next too – primarily about the judgements of the church which Christ is present to underwrite – name, presence – Ex 34 – Christ is the glory of God present with his people who meet in his name All 3 of the above presences of the risen Christ by his Spirit All of life is lived in God’s essential presence Christ’s operational presence in corporate worship Christ is here to do stuff in corporate worship – what are the practical implications of this? See Westminster Directory of Public Worship for attempt to state the non-negotiable elements of public worship – preaching, praying etc. – The debates are about how / the manner of preaching and praying An ethos and habit for corporate worship “atmosphere” / “temperature” – The Lord Jesus is here to do something A habit – habitus – disposition of the soul What if the preacher thinks of his words as the presence of Christ speaking, not a person standing up to talk about Jesus or explain the Bible? Not just A talking to B about C. God remote, removed, 3rd person – almost deist. C talking to B through / in the words of A. I / you. The operative presence of God should be accompanied by fear (awe) and joy (Acts 2, phobos came upon every soul). Not joking around, flippancy, triviality, not dower, dull, cold, unfriendly, uptight.