A Few Thoughts on Worship (1)
God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
During the week, how much time do you think you personally spend in worship? When you attend church, how often do you actually worship?
Worship Defined by Others
Worship is nowhere defined in Scripture, yet aspects of genuine worship abound.
- To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to pen the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God (William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, The Ultimate Priority (Moody Press, p. 147).
- Worship is the grateful and joyful response and overflow of the heart to God when filled with the deep sense of the blessings which have been given from Him. It is giving Him the honor, adoration, praise and thanksgiving which is His due because of what He is in Himself and because of what He has done (R. K. Campbell).
- Worship is recognizing God for Who He is and ascribing worth to Him. It is God’s people telling Him about the worth they see in Him (Dr. Don Weaver).
- Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because He is worthy, delightfully so (D. A. Carson, Worship by the Book, p. 26).
- Worship is honor paid to a superior being. To give homage, honor, reverence, respect, adoration, praise, or glory to a superior being. Worship is a consuming desire to give to God, and it involves the giving or ourselves, our heart attitudes, and our possessions (John MacArthur, Jr. True Worship, p. 2).
Worship involves our response to God and it is not something that takes place just because we attend worship services. It is something that starts in the heart of the believer. God has revealed Himself to us in His Person, works and His Word. Our response then to Him must be faith, love and hope and the expression of these three often results in worship.
Read and meditate on the following verses taken from I Chronicles 16. Is your worship anything like what is noted in this chapter?
Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD (16:8-10). Remember His marvelous works that He hath done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth (16:12).
Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all gods (16:23, 25). Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness (16:28, 29).
In coming posts, we will look more at this subject. In the meantime, consider the following:
- Does your worship look anything like what is given to us I Chronicles 16?
- Is worship any different in the New Testament than the Old Testament?
- Should our worship corporately and individually be any different?
- Are there specifics revealed in God’s Word regarding our worship?
- Are there differences in the way different cultures worship?
- Is worship part of all our gatherings in the local church or just the Sunday Morning Worship service?
- How does music relate to our worship?
- Are there acceptable forms of worship in the various denominational churches?
Certainly, there are many answers to these questions. Give some thought to them and ask yourself if you truly worship God.
George Stiekes serves as a Lay Pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC. See here for a more complete bio of brother Stiekes extensive ministry. We republish his material by permission.