Jesus Christ is the King and the only head of the church. He mediates the presence of God to his people when he stands in the midst of the people of God who are gathered together to worship the living God. Jesus acts as the worship leader of the people of God (Heb. 2:12). He stands as the great High Priest of the Church, making the worship, prayers and praises of his people acceptable before the throne of God (Rev. 1:12-20). Whenever the people of God are gathered together to worship God in Spirit and in truth, according to the means that He has appointed for His church, God is present. 

A friend of mine was recently speaking to a pastor of a large congregation about how things were going in ministry. This particular pastor proceeded to tell my friend that a prominent public figure was coming to speak at the church he pastored. He then went on to boast about the large turnout that they expected at this event. To this, my friend said, “Oh yeah. Jesus comes to our church every Sunday.” Though some might consider this to be a flippant, cynical or juvenile response, it is, in fact, one of the most under-acknowledged and under-appreciated truths to cherish. In every church where the word of God is faithfully proclaimed, the sacraments are rightly observed and discipline is administered, God has promised to attend His people with His presence.

The true and living God has promised to manifest His presence when His people gather together to worship Him according to His appointed means of grace on the Lord’s Day. If we really believed that God manifests His presence in a special way in the gathered assembly, we would prepare ourselves accordingly to come into His presence. We would prayerfully desire to come every Lord’s Day in brokenness, humility, thankfulness and joy. We would, in the words of the writer of Hebrews, “draw near with boldness” (Heb. 4:16) as we come to worship Him in “reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28).

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul explained that Christ “came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near” (Eph. 2:17). The question is, “When did Jesus go to the church in Ephesus and preach to those who would come to believe the Gospel?” There is only one possible answer. Christ was present in the preaching of the Gospel through the ministers He appointed. When the word is faithfully preached, Christ is preaching. The Apostle Peter explained this when he referred to Gospel ministers as “those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Peter 1:12). The Holy Spirit is none other than “the Spirit of Christ” who spoke in the Old Testament prophets about the sufferings of Christ and the glories that follow (1 Peter 1:10-11). It was “by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18) that Jesus went and preached to those who were on the earth “in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:20). Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) through whom Christ was preaching by the Holy Spirit. So it is with those men whom Christ has commissioned to preach today. Whenever Gospel ministers are preaching the word of God to the people of God through the Spirit of God, Christ is preaching through them. In a very real sense, in every true church where the word is faithfully proclaimed, the risen and reigning Christ is the minister who is preaching salvation and judgment.

The people of God should love Lord’s Day worship more than anything because of the confident anticipation that they are going to hear from God.

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