Truly Spiritual Worship I. INTRODUCTION A. Man seems to be an inherently worshipful being. 1. The fact of the existence of a supreme being is revealed to man in the creation, Romans 1:20 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, (even) his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: Psalms 19:14 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language; their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 2. Since man at all time and everywhere has been able to realize the existence of a being greater and more powerful than himself and that man, therefore, is not completely autonomous, he has sought to conduct himself in a way that would be pleasing to the higher power, and this would result in man worshipping the supreme being. 3. Men of every age, geographical area, culture, race and language have worshipped some deity in some way,. Acts 17:22 22 And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that Ye are very religious. B. Creation, however, neither reveals the person, wisdom nor will of the supreme being we are to worship, and, without additional revelation, many have ignorantly worshipped either the wrong god(s) or perhaps the right God in the wrong way, Acts 17:23 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore Ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. 1. Since the very beginning of time, though, the God of heaven has revealed Himself and His wisdom and will to mankind so that He might be worshipped in a way pleasing to Him. 2. The first time we read in the Bible of man worshipping God we learn that God had instructions for how He was to be worshipped, Genesis 4:1~8 1 And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with (the help of) Jehovah. 2 And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 1
7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it. 8 And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. a. There are only two possible reasons for why God accepted the worship of Abel and rejected that of Cain. (1) God showed partiality (respect of person) for Abel, accepting his sacrifice without having any reason for doing so other than he liked Abel. (2) Or, God had given instructions to both Cain and Abel regarding their worship, which Abel followed and to which Cain paid no attention. b. Because the Bible teaches that God is not a respecter of person (does not show partiality), the first answer cannot be the proper explanation, Acts 10:34 34 And Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 1 Peter 1:17 17 And if Ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear: F~. c. Therefore, God must have given instructions to both Cain and Abel, and God rejected the sacrifice of Cain because he was not following divine instructions for worshipping God. (1) This is implied in the context, Gen. 4:6,7. (2) Abel offered his sacrifice "by faith," (Heb. 11:4); and "faith comes by hearing the word of God," Hebrews 11:4 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh. Gen. 4:6-7 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Romans 10:17 17 So belief (cometh) of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (a) Abel had to have heard the word of God (God's instructions for worship) in order to have offered His sacrifice "by faith." (b) Since God does not show partiality, he must also have spoken to Cain, giving him the same instructions He had given to Abel. C. Since it is obvious that God has always had instructions for how He is to be worshipped, it is important that we learn what those instructions are and follow them carefully if we want to be sure our worship is pleasing to Him. 1. The purpose of this lesson is to learn some general principles with regard to worshipping God. 2. In succeeding lessons we will learn about the various ways in which God wants us to worship Him now. 2
II. BODY OF LESSON A. A definition of worship. 1. Today's English word, worship, is from an old English word, "weorthscipe," which means "to honor, or dignify." a. It is composed of two common words: "worth" and "shape." b. To "worship," then, is to do that which shapes or forms the value or importance of what is being worshipped. c. Webster defines worship as an "act of paying divine honors to a deity; religious reverence and homage, adoration, or reverence paid to God II 2. The most common word in the Hebrew scriptures which is translated with the English word "worship" is SHAHAH. a. Its literal meaning is "to depress," "bow down," or "prostrate." b. The context must be used to determine whether it is describing a physical action or a volitional and emotional idea. c. The Old Testament idea of worship is that of "the reverential attitude of mind or body or both, combined with the more generic notions of religious adoration, obedience, service" (I.S.B.E., Vol. V, p. 3110). 3. In the New Testament there are several Greek words which are translated with the single English word "worship." a. The most frequent used word is PROSKUNEO. (1) It literally means "to kiss the hand to (toward) one, in token of reverence" (Thayer). = (2) Vine says it means "to make obeisance, do reverence to."_ (3) It is used to describe an act of homage paid to God in Matthew 4:10 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. John 4:23-24 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 1 Corinthians 14:25 25 the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed. Revelation 4:10 10 the four and twenty elders shall fa" down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Revelation 7:11 11 And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and (about) the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, (4) It is used to describe an act of homage paid to Jesus in 3
Matthew 2:2,8,11 2 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when Ye have found (him,) bring me word, that I also may come and worship him. 11 And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 9:18. 18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. Matthew 14:33. 33 And they that were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. Matthew 15:25. 25 But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Matthew 20:20. 20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping (him), and asking a certain thing of him. Matthew 28:9. 9 And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. John 9:39. 39 And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become blind. Hebrews 1:6. 6 And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (5) It is also used to refer to homage paid to man in Matthew 18:26 26 The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. to the dragon in Revelation 13:4 4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him? to demons in Revelation 9:20 20 And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk: and to idols in Acts 7:43 43 And Ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of the god Rephan, The figures which Ye made to worship.them: And I will carry you away beyond Babylon. 4
(6) All of these passages indicate some definite action being performed as an indication of the worshiper's reverence for the one being worshipped. (7) Matt. 28:9 ~-The disciples came to the resurrected Christ, and, taking hold of His feet, they worshipped Him. (8) Rev. 4: 1a -- The twenty-four elders fell down before the one sitting on the throne as they worshipped Him. b. Another word is SEBOMAI, which means "to revere" and stresses "the feeling. of awe or devotion" (Vine). (1) Lydia and Titus Justus are said to be the kind of people "that worshipped God," and this seems more to describe their attitude of reverence toward God more than anything they did in obeisance. (2) Matt. 15:9 -- Jesus called in question the reverence or respect of these men for God because they taught the commandments of men instead qf.tbe doctrine of God. c. SEBAZOMAI means "to fear, be afraid, to honor religiously, to worship" (Thayer). It appears only in Rom. 1:25, and suggests the attitude more than any action performed. d. A fourth word is EUSEBEO, which means to "act piously toward" (Vine). It is sometimes translated "reverence" instead of worship. e. Two other Greek words express the idea of service, including all we do in ob~ying God, and not limited to the idea of praise and adoration as we think of worship. (1) LATREUO means to "serve for hire, to serve, to minister to, to render religious service or homage, to worship" (Thayer). It is often translated "to serve." (2) THERAPEUO means "to serve, do service to" (Vine), and is rendered 'worship'' in the KJV, but "served" in the ASV in Acts 17:25. 4. When we use the word "worship" today we are probably thinking more in terms of what is meant by the Greek word PROSKENEO than the other words. 5. "Reverence," "godliness" or "piety" are probably better translations of SEBOMAI, SEBAZOMAI and EUSEBEO ~hese refer more to the attitude one has toward God more than any action performed in obeisance to God. 6. "Service~ or "ministry" are probably better words to express the idea in LATRE_UO and THERAPEUO than our word "worsnip'' today..b. "Worship," in the broad sense of the word, is not limited to the "five acts of worship" nor to that which is performed in the public assemblies of the saints r 1. Worship may be an attitude of respect and reverence for God which should elj_aracterizethe Christian at all times. 2. Anything done in serving God or in obedience to His will may properly be thought _. of as "worshipping" God. 3. "Acts of worship," performed in the process of private devotions are no less worship than those performed in the assemblies of the saints. 5
C. God desires men to worship Him in a truly spiritual way, John 4:21-24. Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 1. Where men worship God is no longer a consideration, John 4:21. 2. True worshippers will worship God in a truly spiritual way, John 4:23,24. D. It is possible for worship to be unacceptable to God. 1. Cain's sacrifice of the fruit of the ground was rejected by God, Gen. 4:5. 2. The "strange fire" which Nadab and Abihu tried to use to burn the incense was unacceptable to God, Lev. 10: 1-3. 3. Worship offered by those who are teaching as their doctrines the commandments of men, Matt. 15:8,9. 4. Worship offered in company with a lying spirit is rejected by God,:inasmuch as such is evidence of a failure to respect God, Acts 5:1-11. 5..Will-worship (or, "self-imposed religion") is of no value, Col. 2:23. 6. Worship of angels or men is rorbidden.acts 10:25,26; Rev. 19:10. III. CONCLUSION A. Our worship should be motivated by how we feel about God. 1. We worship Him because He is the Creator, and we are His creatures. 2.jfjJe wor:ship Him.because of His power, majesty and glory. 3. We worship Him because of what He has done to redeem us from sin. 4. We worship Him because He wants and has commanded us to do so, and we ~ant to be pleasing to Him. ' B. In order for our worship to be meaningful and peneficial to ourselves it is necessary for us to put our whole being into worship that is designed to please and honor God. 6