Should the Church worship like the priests of the Old Testament?

Is the form and subject of Old Testament worship the same as that of the New Testament church?

In 1 Peter 1:23 - 2:8, Peter both compares and contrasts Christian and Jewish worship. The character of our worship is spiritual, involving a spiritual birth, a spiritual house, and spiritual sacrifices. Christ is the subject of our worship and, generally, the Father is the object to whom we express our worship (John 4:23). Since our high priest is in heaven, we worship in "the true tabernacle" (Hebrews 8:2), heaven itself, rather than an earthly sanctuary. Rather than out ward ritual, we worship from redeemed spirits controlled by the Spirit of God (John 4:23; Philippians 3:3, JND). Old Testaments believers called on instruments to assist in their praise (Psalms 150:3-5), where as public worship today is by prayer and singing "with the spirit" and "with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15). Actually, the character of worship in this age is the ultimate of God’s plan for worship. The pattern of Old Testament worship was a visible representation of the spiritual character of Christian worship (Hebrews 8:5).

All believers are priests who worship individually at any time and in any place; however, public worship in the Old Testament was associated with a place of testimony, so God intends that the present priesthood should function visibly in a testimony.

"Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, . . . By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to (confessing, JND) His name" (Hebrews 13:13-15).

D. Oliver
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