What is worship?

Worship is the divinely created response to the glory of God. It is motivated by divine love and springs from God's self-revelation to His creation. In worship, the believer enters into communication with God the Father through Jesus Christ, mediated by the Holy Spirit. Worship also means humbly and joyfully giving priority to God in all things. It is expressed in attitudes and actions such as: prayer, praise, celebration, generosity, active mercy, and repentance.Joh 4,23; 1Joh 4,19; Phil 2,5-11; 1Pt 2,9-10; Eph 5,18-20; Kol 3,16-17; Röm 5,8-11; 12,1; Heb 12,28; 13,15-16).

God is worthy of honor and praise

The English word "worship" indicates that one ascribes value and respect to someone. There are many Hebrew and Greek words that translate as worship, but the main ones involve the basic idea of ​​service and duty, such as that shown by a servant to his master. They express the idea that God alone is Lord over every area of ​​our lives, as described in Christ's answer to Satan in Matthäus 4,10 This is illustrated by the saying: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” (Mt 4,10; Lk 4,8; 5Mo 10,20).

Other concepts include sacrifice, bowing, confession, homage, devotion, etc. "The essence of divine worship is giving—giving to God what is due him" (Barackman 1981:417).
Christ said that “the hour has come for the true worshipers to worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father desires such worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Joh 4,23-24).

The passage above suggests that worship is directed to the Father and is an integral part of the believer's life. Just as God is Spirit, so too will our worship not be merely physical, but will encompass our entire being and be grounded in truth (note that Jesus, the Word, is truth – see...). Joh 1,1.14; 14,6; 17,17).

The whole life of faith is worship in response to God's actions, by "loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength." (Mk 12,30)True worship reflects the depth of Mary's words: "My soul magnifies the Lord." (Lk 1,46). 

"Worship is the whole life of the church, whereby the body of believers says, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen (so be it!) to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jinkins 2001:229).

Whatever a Christian does is an opportunity for grateful worship. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Kol 3,17; see also 1Kor 10,31).

Jesus Christ and worship

The passage above mentions that we give thanks through Jesus Christ. Since Jesus, the Lord, is “the Spirit” (2Kor 3,17), our mediator and intercessor, through him our worship flows to the Father.
Worship does not require human intermediaries such as priests, because humanity was reconciled with God through the death of Christ and through him "has access to the Father in one spirit". (Eph 2,14-18)This teaching is the original text of Martinher's concept of the "priesthood of all believers." "...the Church worships God insofar as she participates in the perfect worship (leiturgia) that Christ offers to God for us."

At important events in his life, Jesus Christ received worship. One such event was the celebration of his birth. (Mt 2,11), when the angels and shepherds rejoiced (Lk 2,13-14. 20), and at his resurrection (Mt 28,9. 17; Lk 24,52Even during his earthly ministry, people worshipped him in response to his work on them (Mt 8,2; 9,18; 14,33; Mk 5,6. etc.). Offenbarung 5,20 proclaims, referring to Christ: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."

Collective worship in the Old Testament

“Five generations will praise your works and tell of your mighty deeds. They will speak of your lofty splendor and meditate on your wonders; they will speak of your mighty acts and recount your glory; they will praise your great goodness and extol your righteousness.” (Ps 145,4-7).

The practice of collective praise and worship is firmly rooted in biblical tradition.
Although there are examples of individual sacrifices and homage, as well as pagan cultic activity, there is no clear pattern of collective worship of the true God prior to the establishment of Israel as a nation. Moses' request to Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to celebrate a festival to the Lord is among the earliest indications of a call to collective worship. (2Mo 5,1).
On their journey to the Promised Land, Moses prescribed certain festival days which the Israelites were to celebrate physically. These are observed in 2.Mose 23, 3This is mentioned in Moses 23 and elsewhere. They refer in meaning back to commemorative celebrations of the Exodus from Egypt and their experiences in the desert. For example, the Feast of Tabernacles was instituted so that the descendants of the Israelites would know "how God made the children of Israel live in booths" when he led them out of the land of Egypt. (3Mo 23,43).

That the observation of these holy assemblies did not constitute a closed liturgical calendar for the Israelites is made clear by the fact in Holy Scripture that later in the history of Israel two additional annual festivals of national liberation were added. One was the festival of Purim, a time “of gladness and rejoicing, a feast and a celebration” (Est 8,17; also Joh 5,1 (possibly referring to the Purim festival). The other was the Feast of Dedication. It lasted eight days and began on the 25th of Kislev (December) according to the Hebrew calendar, and celebrated, through the display of light, the cleansing of the Temple and Judas Maccabee's victory over Antiochus Epiphanes in 164 BC. Jesus himself, "the light of the world," was present in the Temple on this day (Joh 1,9; 9,5; 10,22-23).

Various fasting days were also proclaimed at fixed times. (Sach 8,19), and new moons were observed (Esr 3,5etc.). There were daily and weekly public ordinances, rites, and sacrifices. The weekly Sabbath was a commanded “holy assembly.” (3Mo 23,3)...and the sign of the Old Covenant (2Mo 31,12-18). between God and the Israelites, and also a gift from God for their peace and benefit (2Mo 16,29-30)Along with the Levitical holy days, the Sabbath was considered part of the Old Covenant. (2Mo 34,10-28).

The temple was another significant factor in the development of Old Testament worship patterns. With its temple, Jerusalem became the central place where believers traveled to celebrate the various festivals. "I will think of this and pour out my heart to myself: how I went in great multitudes to go with them to the house of God with rejoicing
and giving thanks in the crowd of those who are celebrating" (Ps 42,4; see also 1Chr 23,27-32; 2Chr 8,12-13; Joh 12,12; Apg 2,5-11 etc.).

Full participation in public worship was restricted under the Old Testament. Within the Temple precinct, women and children were normally barred from the main place of worship. Castrated and illegitimate children, as well as various ethnic groups such as the Moabites, were "never" to enter the assembly. (5Mo 23,1-8)It is interesting to analyze the Hebrew concept of "never." Jesus was descended on his mother's side from a Moabite woman named Ruth. (Lk 3,32; Mt 1,5).

Collective worship in the New Testament

There are significant differences between the Old and New Testaments regarding holiness in relation to worship. As mentioned earlier, in the Old Testament, certain places, times and people were considered more sacred and therefore more relevant to worship practices than others.

From the perspective of sanctity and worship, with the New Testament we move from an Old Testament exclusivity to a New Testament inclusiveness; from certain places and people to all places, times and people.

For example, the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem were holy sites “where one should worship.” (Joh 4,20), whereas Paul commands that men should lift up holy hands not only at assigned Old Testament or Jewish places of worship, but in every place, a practice associated with the sanctuary in the temple (1Tim 2,8; Ps 134,2).

In the New Testament, church meetings take place in houses, in upper rooms, on riverbanks, at the edge of lakes, on mountain slopes, in schools, etc. (Mk 16,20)Believers become the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. (1Kor 3,15-17), and they gather wherever the Holy Spirit leads them to meet.

As for Old Testament holy days such as a “certain holiday, new moon, or Sabbath,” these represent “a shadow of the future,” whose reality is Christ. (Kol 2,16-17)Therefore, the concept of special worship times is rendered obsolete by the fullness of Christ.

There is freedom in choosing worship times according to individual, congregational, and cultural circumstances. “One person considers one day more important than another; another considers all days alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own opinion.” (Röm 14,5)In the New Testament, gatherings take place at different times. The unity of the church was expressed in the lives of believers in Jesus through the Holy Spirit, not through traditions and liturgical calendars.

In the Old Testament, only the people of Israel constituted God's holy people. In the New Testament, all people everywhere are invited to be part of God's spiritual, holy people. (1Pt 2,9-10).

From the New Testament we learn that no place is holier than any other, no time is holier than any other, and no people is holier than any other. We learn that God, "who shows no partiality" (Apg 10,34-35)...does not even consider times and places.

The New Testament actively encourages the practice of gathering together. (Hebr 10,25).
The apostles' letters contain much about what happens in the congregations. "Let all things happen for edification!" (1Kor 14,26)Paul says, and continues: “Let everything be done honorably and properly.” (1Kor 14,40).

The main features of the collective worship service included the preaching of the Word. (Apg 20,7; 2Tim 4,2), praise and thanksgiving (Kol 3,16; 1 Thessalonians 5:18), intercession for the gospel and for one another (Kol 4,2-4; Jak 5,16), exchange of news about the work of the gospel (Apg 14,27)...and gifts for the needy in the community (1Kor 16,1-2; Phil 4,15-17).

Special events of worship included the memory of the sacrifice of Christ. Just before his death, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper by completely changing the Old Testament Passover ritual. Instead of using the obvious idea of ​​a lamb to point to his body that was smashed for us, he chose bread that was broken for us.

Furthermore, he introduced the symbol of wine, which represented his blood shed for us and was not part of the Passover ritual. He replaced the Old Testament Passover with a New Covenant worship practice. As often as we eat this bread and drink this wine, we proclaim the Lord's death until he returns. (Mt 26,26-28; 1Kor 11,26).

Worship is not merely about words and actions of praise and homage to God. It is also about our attitude toward others. Therefore, participating in a church service without a spirit of reconciliation is inappropriate. (Mt 5,23-24).

Worship is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It involves our whole lives. We offer ourselves "as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God," which is our reasonable form of worship. (Röm 12,1).

Summary:

Worship is a declaration of the dignity and honor of God expressed through the believer's life and through his participation in the community of believers.

by James Henderson