Quick Summary
Liturgy, derived from the Greek leitourgia (public work), is the ordered pattern of corporate worship where God’s people gather to meet with Him. Far from being merely a set of rituals, it is a covenantal dialogue where God speaks through His Word and His people respond in prayer and praise. In the Reformed tradition, liturgy is governed by the Regulative Principle, shaped by the Gospel, and involves the active participation of the congregation (Hebrews 12:22-24, 1 Corinthians 14:26).
The word liturgy is often associated with ancient buildings, formal rituals, or unfamiliar religious language. In reality, the concept is far more ordinary and unavoidable. The term comes from the Greek leitourgia, formed from laos (people) and ergon (work).
Historically, in ancient Greece, a leitourgia was not a religious service but a public work—such as building a bridge or funding a chorus—carried out by a citizen for the benefit of the state. Early Christians adopted this secular term to describe a sacred reality: worship is a “public service” offered by Christ on behalf of the world, and a “work” in which the people of God actively participate. In a Christian context, it describes the ordered pattern by which God’s people gather for corporate worship
The Inevitability of Liturgy: Homo Liturgicus
In this sense, every church has a liturgy. As philosophers and theologians have noted, human beings are Homo Liturgicus—creatures made for worship and ritual. Whether a congregation follows a printed service with historic prayers or prefers a flexible, informal gathering, there is always a sequence of actions. Scripture is read, prayers are offered, songs are sung, and the Word is preached. Even churches that describe themselves as “non-liturgical” still follow a recognizable order. The question, therefore, is not whether a church has a liturgy, but what kind of liturgy it practices and what biblical principles shape it.
The Dialogical Nature: A Covenantal Conversation
Within the Reformed tradition, worship is understood as a real encounter between God and His people. The goal is not aesthetic preference or historical nostalgia, but faithfulness. At the heart of Reformed liturgy is the understanding that worship is dialogical in nature.
When God’s people gather, they do not merely express religious feelings; they enter into a Covenantal Dialogue. In the Old Testament, Israel worshiped at the “tent of meeting,” where the Lord spoke to His people and they responded to Him (Leviticus 1:1). The New Testament affirms this reality, teaching that believers come to God through Jesus Christ in the heavenly assembly (Hebrews 12:22–24).
A worship service, then, is a holy conversation initiated by God:
- God speaks through His Call to Worship, His Law, and the preaching of His Word.
- God’s people answer through prayer, confession, praise, and obedient hearing. A well-ordered liturgy reflects this vertical movement of divine initiative and human response.
The Regulative Principle of Worship
Flowing naturally from this is the conviction that God Himself governs how He is to be worshiped. In systematic theology, this is known as the Regulative Principle of Worship. This principle holds that acceptable worship is not invented by human imagination but is revealed by God’s will in Scripture. This stands in contrast to the Normative Principle, which suggests that anything not forbidden is permitted.
The Reformed tradition insists that the Lord speaks first and sets the terms of the encounter. His people gather not to entertain Him or to impress Him, but to listen and obey. This posture is captured perfectly in the words of young Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10). When worship is regulated by God’s Word, the church avoids offering what Scripture calls “unauthorized fire” or “vain worship,” which God explicitly rejects (Leviticus 10:1–3; Matthew 15:9).
Congregational Participation: The Priesthood of Believers
A further characteristic of Reformed liturgy is its emphasis on congregational participation, rooted in the doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers. Worship is not a performance delivered by a few clergy on a stage while the rest observe in silence. Nor is it a spectacle designed for passive consumption.
Scripture assumes that the gathered church is an active body. Believers are called to pray together, sing together, confess their faith together, and hear the Word together in a language they understand (1 Corinthians 14:16–19). True liturgy invites the whole assembly to take part in the service offered to God through Christ.
The Gospel Shape of the Service
Most importantly, Reformed worship is shaped by the gospel itself. The order of the service is not random; it follows the Logic of Redemption (often mirroring the Ordo Salutis or Order of Salvation):
- Call to Worship: God calls us from death to life.
- Confession of Sin: Confronted with His holiness, we acknowledge our guilt.
- Assurance of Pardon: God declares forgiveness through Christ’s atonement.
- Proclamation: We are instructed and shaped by the reading and preaching of Scripture.
- Sacrament: Communion, where practiced, visibly confirms that reconciliation.
- Benediction: The service concludes with God’s blessing and commission, sending His people into the world. This pattern teaches the gospel not only through words but through the very movement and structure of the service.
Formation: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
The way a church worships inevitably forms the people who worship there. This truth is summarized by the ancient maxim: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi (“the law of praying is the law of believing”). Liturgy is never neutral. Over time, it shapes how believers understand God, themselves, and the Christian life.
When worship is centered on God’s Word and ordered according to the gospel, it produces people who are likewise oriented toward God and shaped by grace. As believers behold the glory of the Lord in corporate worship, they are transformed, being shaped into His likeness by the very means He has appointed (2 Corinthians 3:18). In this way, liturgy is not a burden or a relic of the past. It is the church’s weekly participation in the drama of redemption—ordered by God, carried out by His people, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scholarly examination of the primary theological, historical, and biblical inquiries addressed in this guide.
What is the biblical and etymological definition of liturgy (leitourgia) in the Christian tradition?
The term "liturgy" derives from the ancient classical Greek compound leitourgia (λειτουργία), formed from laos ("people") and ergon ("work, service"), denoting a public service or civic duty undertaken for the welfare of the commonwealth. In the Septuagint and the New Testament, the term was sanctified to designate sacred sacerdotal and priestly service unto God (e.g., Luke 1:23; Romans 15:16; Hebrews 8:6). In historical Christian dogmatics, liturgy refers to the ordered, public, and corporate worship of the assembled church. Rather than being an empty display of dead formalism or theatrical ceremonialism, Christian liturgy is the public service of the body of Christ gathered in holy convocation before the face of God (Coram Deo).
