WORSHIP IN THE LAND - THREEFOLD BLESSING DEUT 12 - JOHN 13

THREEFOLD BLESSING ROOTED IN DEUT. 12

“And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.” Deut. 12:7

“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”  John 13:1

These words occur amid the most careful and urgent instructions on the matter of worship, as it were to be observed by these people when they came into the land. All the false places of worship which they would find in the land were to be utterly destroyed. In that land, God would appoint them a place of worship, attendance at which was to be obligatory. That is to say that they must go and worship at this place; and that they must not set up any other place of worship. The particular value of these words is that they reveal the Divine thought of worship. It is an exercise of rejoicing, resulting from blessedness. God blesses men, and He blesses them because He loves them perfectly and in that blessedness they are to rejoice before Him. It is important that we remember this. Solemnity, reverence, awe, there must always be when men draw near to God in worship of how He has blessed them; but solemnity is not sadness, reverence is not cringing fear, awe is not dullness. All our worship should have the note of joy, of gladness. It should be full of song. It should be of such a glad nature that all our households, children and servants, should find happiness therein. If when we worship, we do, in special sense, come into the presence of God, then let us remember that in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. There is a place for sadness, for contrition, for penitence before God, but that is the place of preparation for worship. When that preparation is fulfilled, worship becomes a joy and gladness.

This rejoicing through worship ultimately takes place in Rev. 19:1-10. God has from the beginning wanted fellowship with those He loves and is pictured through the sharing of a meal. John 13 gives the church instructions concerning a threefold communion and worship service where Christ’s threefold ministry is symbolized in a way that has its roots here in Deut. 12. Rejoicing in a completed work not yet fulfilled when He gave the church instruction concerning the symbols. Few today comprehend because they do not practice what He taught. "If ye know these things (through doing them) you are blessed if ye do these things." (John 13:17). You can only know through doing. Experiential knowledge.

The penitence spoken above takes place at the foot washing portion of the service where sin is to be dealt with before the actual enjoyment of the supper where the worship of a fulfilled ministry of Christ is enjoyed where He loved them entirely as John 13:1 states and they have finally "came into the land."

This foundation of this joy was the sharing of His body and blood on the cross of Calvary. But His love did not stop there. He cleanses His soon to be bride through a cleansing of His word. And after cleansing He takes her home to His Father's house for the wedding supper of the Lamb takes place and where His friends join in the celebration. All pictured through symbols in John 13.

Do you know? If you know then happiness is yours through His threefold blessing. If you only know the foundation go to a church where the rest of His blessing is celebrated through worship.