What is worship?
The origin of the word, “worship”, is “worth-ship”; it is the response to an object because of the intrinsic worth that it has. Thus, the object is something that is worthy and, therefore, results in a response to this thing.
Used in a neutral sense, the word “worship” can be applied on God, art pieces, pop idols, etc.
Dynamics of worship
There are 2 parties involved - the object of worship and the worshipper. The dynamics of worship can be described using 4A’s: attributes, ascribes, adores, actions.
The object of worship has certain attributes that it possesses and displays. The worshipper then ascribes these attributes to the object and he adores it. This is followed up with action as a response to the adoration of the object of worship.
Examples of worship in the bible
1. Past (Exodus 34:6-8)
Moses asked God to show him His glory and God showed His glory to Moses by proclaiming His name (e.g. merciful, gracious). Moses’s response to the glory of God was that he “bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” (v8)
2. Future (Revelations 4:8-11)
The four beasts in Revelations proclaiming God’s holiness and the twenty-four elders who cast down their crowns and said “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” , in response to the glorious Being who sits on the throne.
3. Present (John 4:23)
Worship must be built in spirit and in truth.
- Truth: to develop a deep understanding of God’s attributes based on what the bible reveals to us. The higher we value these attributes of God, the more sincere our response will be.
- Spirit: the whole being of a worshipper is to be invested in worship.
The core of worship is Matthew 22:37-40. All our being - the heart, soul and mind - is to be focused on God, invested into the adoration and love of God and His attributes. The manifestation of this adoration of God is through our actions, in loving our neighbours as ourselves.
The practical application is seen in Romans 12:1. Paul spent 11 chapters explaining to the Romans that we are saved by the mercies of God. He then draws the logical conclusion that, because we are saved by the mercies of God, we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God.
What does it mean to present our bodies as a living sacrifice? It is the idea of bringing myself to the altar, dedicating my life wholly to God., to the worship and service of God.
Worship involves dedicating our whole life to God, springing from a Christ-Centred heart, e.g.
- Work: our attitude towards colleagues, quality of work, conduct at work;
- Home: our attitude towards family members, are we loving or are we slack in investing our time in loving them;
- School: attitude towards friends and teachers, am I diligent with the work I am required to do;
- Church: preparedness and attitude for Sunday worship, concern for God’s people, desire to learn and fellowship with one another, are we dedicated in bringing ourselves to worship with the right and obedient heart.
The attitudes that we have, the actions that we take are all based on us receiving Jesus into our lives. Our actions are a manifestation of loving and adoring who and what Jesus is, our lives ought to mirror Jesus and this is why we need to have a deep understanding of Jesus and who He is, so that we know what to reflect out in our lives.
God also warns of hypocritical worship (Matthew 15:8-9), one where all worship actions are done but without the heart to worship. This also describes Israel in the time of Exodus. It shows that the description of true worshippers is the same.
1 Peter 2:9-10 describes Israel as a chosen generation and this applies to NT believers today as well. Just as God had called Israel out from Egyot for them to praise Him and pique the curiosity of surrounding nations, God has also called us out from darkness so that we will display our praises of Him and people around us will be curious about the God we are praising.
Faith – The Key To A Sincere Worship
How do we know that God is worthy and why do we love Him and His attributes while we are here on this earth?
- Faith is the link for us to ascribe the attributes of God to Him
- Faith enables us to adore God because of the attributes that we know and our actions are driven by how much faith we put in Him.
Faith is the expression of worship that pleases God the most and, in turn, God gives grace because we place our faith in Him and this allows us to continually go to God in faith.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
We, the worshippers, go to God in faith to believe in Him and God rewards those who seek Him. God rewards those who obey His instructions in the Bible and this pleases God.
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