In corporate worship, all three priorities of the church—communion with God, edification of the body, and evangelism—are beautifully melded together. May we recover this same emphasis today, recognizing that worship is not a spectator sport but the glorious, active, and ordered work of the people of God.

This past week we celebrated the Protestant Reformation for recovering doctrines like justification by faith alone and Sola Scriptura. But among these theological restorations, the Reformers also recovered a biblical theology of worship.

During the Middle Ages, errors had crept into the church’s worship. Beyond the doctrine of transubstantiation, worship itself had been taken from the people. It became the exclusive work of priests and professional musicians. A fourth-century church council in Laodicea established a guild of professional singers, declaring that “No others shall sing in the Church.” The language of worship was restricted to Latin, which few laypeople understood, and the entire service degraded into a performance that could be conducted even if no one else was in attendance.

While some of these changes were intended to prevent the disorder and heresy that plagued the early church, the result was that worship was taken away from the people. The New Testament, however, gives us an account of similar problems in the Corinthian church and provides a different solution. In 1 Corinthians 14:26–40, the Apostle Paul addresses the disorder in Corinth not by removing worship from the people, but by regulating it. His instructions reveal a foundational truth: corporate worship is the people’s work.

Paul’s main concerns in this passage drove the Reformers, and they have direct application for our worship today.

Corporate Worship Is the People’s Work

Worship in Corinth had become chaotic. People came with their own hymns, lessons, revelations, and tongues, all wanting their voices heard simultaneously. Rather than silencing the congregation, Paul affirms that corporate worship is the people’s work. He doesn’t restrict the elements of worship to a few leaders; he continues to affirm the people’s active involvement while prescribing guidelines to restore order. Let’s look at these elements.

The first element is the “hymn” (psalmos), a general term for congregational songs. Singing in Corinth had become chaotic, but Paul does not take it away from them and give it to professionals. He elsewhere encourages the people to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another as a way to let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly and to teach and admonish one another (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Singing is the people’s work.

The Reformers recognized this. Martin Luther believed that “next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.” He wanted the people to sing. “Let God speak directly to His people through the Scriptures,” he said, “and let his people respond with grateful songs of praise.” This meant songs had to be in the language of the people. Luther demanded “as many songs as possible in the vernacular which the people could sing.” This emphasis led him to write around 35 hymns himself, and by the time of his death, he had facilitated the creation of 60 hymnals in German.

Congregational singing should be a central emphasis of the people’s work in worship. Unfortunately, many churches today have returned to the practice of Rome, putting all the emphasis on performers on a stage. While trained musicians can certainly aid corporate worship, all of God’s people should actively participate in singing God’s praise.

Verse 26 also mentions a “lesson” (teaching) and a “revelation” (a direct message from God). Together, these represent the proclamation of God’s Word. Since the canon of Scripture was not yet complete, the early church relied on direct revelation, which is why Paul says in verse 29 that what a prophet says must be “weighed” by others to ensure it aligned with God’s Word. Today, these terms apply to the reading and preaching of Scripture—God’s complete revelation for us.

In the Middle Ages, preaching had diminished, and Scripture reading was restricted to specific passages, often in Latin. The sermon, if there was one, was usually a short homily comprised of stories from the church fathers rather than an exposition of Scripture. The Reformers, following Paul’s instructions to Timothy to “preach the word,” restored the centrality of proclamation. The Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli began the practice of preaching lectio continuo—preaching straight through books of the Bible. This practice ensures that the text is explained in its proper context and prevents the preacher from skipping difficult or controversial passages. The reading, explanation, and application of God’s Word is a necessary part of corporate worship.

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