Put simply, God is the object of worship. If you are worshiping someone/thing else, you are in sin and need to repent. It’s as easy as that. There is a plethora of articles, audio sermons, and videos that I could point you too for more depth on the topic. So much so that I don’t know where to start, so I am moving on. Worship is just too important to put things simply and leave it at that. We worship the one true God, Jehovah (YHWH – LORD). There are different aspects that one can and needs to keep in mind while worshiping. You can emphasize different parts of God’s character for different approaches. One must worship with His essence in mind, which is simple, uncompounded, immutable, infinite, and eternal. Remember that He is the Lord “thy” God. In other words, He is your creator, benefactor, supporter, and preserver. According to John Gill, the name Elohim is derived from an Arabic word that signifies to worship. However, I haven’t found any other sources that say that, and have only found that it is the plural of El. His citation for it does not even seem to be in English. He could be saying that because El means God, or a diving being, the very nature of which evokes worship. Which happens to be the very argument of this section. ^__^

Trinity
We worship God the One, and we also worship God the three. We worship Him as the triune Godhead, three in one. Baptism is a form of worship and it is administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is done under God’s authority and command, and to baptise into the name of a creature would be idolatrous. Prayer is another form of worship and it is, imho, one of the best displays of the triunity of God at work. Access and address is most frequently made to the Father because He has no office. Christ is our mediator to the Father, and the Spirit assists our supplications to the Father. Through prayer (not solely of course, nor that it is by any work of our own) the Father grants us, Jesus is the petition for, and the Spirit is the increase of grace and peace. Of course, we pray to Jesus or the Spirit directly as well. Acts of faith, hope, and love are also forms of worship. The Father was the object of Christ’s love as man and mediator, so He is the object of love of those that believe in Him (John 14:31). As Jesus’ people, we hope in Him for happiness, and have an affectionate devotion for Him. Graces from the Spirit are exercised on the Spirit; we have faith, trust, and hope that He will finish the good work.

Covenant Lordship
This part is an idea that John Frame really likes to push, and rightly so. We worship God as our covenant Lord, our prophet, priest, and king. His relation to us is lord, but it is not a mutually dependent covenant. His divinity precedes our existence. He is the one that is not only in complete control (king role) of the universe, but created it as well. We are totally dependent on Him and our worship should reflect that. His authority (prophet role) denotes his right to be obeyed. We should not question Him. His authority covers all other authorities that may be. He is above all, and therefore should take precedence and those finite authority should be in submission to Him as well. His authority covers all of life and all the ends of the earth. Just as He created the universe, there is no corner that is outside His realm. Our worship should reflect this also. Lastly, as our covenant Lord, He has a great presence (priest role). He is always with us and involved with us. This last role presupposes the previous two, and none of them are independent of the others. They are tied together so closely and are but a different perspective of God’s almighty power. This one, i think, is the one that can really bring worship home for someone. How can you know that God is there with you and not worship properly? The very God who gave and sustains your life is there with you. All powerful but made Himself available for us, for our happiness and peace, for His glory. That idea alone should bring you to your knees.

To the exclusion of all others
One cannot worship God in addition to others. A person must not worship idols. This includes images of things in heaven, earth; or the sea or man-made works of gold and silver. All these things are not bad, but it can only point back to God’s glory at best and is not something that should be worshiped. This also includes idols of the heart. This one is more tricky since it can often be subtle and not as obvious as worshiping a statuette. A person must also not worship creatures in the heavens or on the earth. It is sinful to worship the sun, moon, or stars. They are but mere creations and with all their radiance only reflect back a fragment of God’s glory. We should not worship men, heroes, or kings/presidents, whether good or bad. Even the most virtuous, honorable person is only a sinner created in the image of God. Anyone who worships a man is missing the point. Lastly, we don’t even worship angels, and especially not demons. These are celestial beings but they too were created for the purpose of worshiping God and should not be worshiped themself.

Gospel-centered
Most importantly, our worship is to be with the beautiful truth of the gospel front and center. In the garden (of Eden), Adam and Eve had a pure worship, an adulterated paradise of life and God. It was a pretty sweet deal, but, well you know the story. At any rate, pre-Fall it was a unique type of worship. Afterwards, the worship centered around sacrifices. I will get more into more detail on this in part eight of this study. Times where the word group for worship is used in the old testament is referring to the various sacrifices and detailed procedures that God instructed Israel to do. It was atonement of sins of sorts, but it didn’t work since they had to continually do it. It was worship because they are displaying the knowledge that they are in need of a savior. It’s a recognizing of this Supreme Being and being in total submission to Him. Christ fulfilled so many things on the cross, among which is worship. We now worship a risen Lord. Where all worship in the old testament was a shadow, a pointing forward of things to come, worship in the new testament and beyond is a fulfillment of that. Every act of worship today should point to the wonderful work of Christ. There is no worship without a true understanding and appreciation of the mercy and grace of our great God.

Stayed tune for the next discussion, where we will look into the qualifications of the worshiper. Yep, not any joe can just decide he feels like worshiping. There are some important qualities that must be present first for his worship to have any significant value, by God’s grace (ooh spoiler: that is one!).

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• Gill: “Godliness is the ground work of internal worship, and without which there can be no worshipping(sic) God aright.” (A Body of Practical Divinity: Book I, Chapter 2)
• Piper: “Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.” (p.84)
• Morey: “True worship is ministering to the Lord.” (p.105) and “Worship is all of life.” (p.14)
• Frame: “Worship is the work of acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord.” (p.1)

You may ask which one is correct, but the point of this is to gain an understanding of what worship is, so I would argue that they all are correct. My study will incorporate all definitions, as they are not contrasting, but simply different perspectives from pastors with different personalities.

First, let’s take some time to examine the word “worship” as used in the Bible, in the original languages. (For a more extensive study, see my friend Glenn’s blog for starters.) There are two main groups of words that are most commonly translated “worship.” The first is “Abodah” in Hebrew, and “latreia” in Greek, which means “service.” From this, we can see that worship is an action. A person must actually participate in worship; it is not sufficient to be a mere spectator at some entertainment event. Also, it is a conscious act, not consequential. It is not something you end up doing while singing or clapping your hands. A person must set out with the intent to worship, and then anything else is consequence. This is because worship starts in the heart, which we will get to in a minute. The second set of words is “shachah” in Hebrew, and “proskuneo” in Greek, which means “to bow down.” The first thing that this implies is that we are honoring someone superior to ourselves. This is the right mindset to get into, to remember that God is above you, and not your buddy or boyfriend. A person must have the highest reverence for God and understand WHY he is worshiping Him. He is superior in all things, bow to Him! To do otherwise is contradictory in the root of the very word worship itself. The second thing this means is that the purpose is to please Him first, and any benefits we receive are secondary. A person should not worship with the intent of cheering themselves up or reaching some sort of spiritual high. It is to please the Almighty, and then it just so happens that we obtain feelings of joy or bliss from that. Those secondary benefits don’t even always come, even when a person is truly worshiping in his heart. It is in those times he presses on, because he has the hope that even if the LORD doesn’t lighten his heart in this life, He will in the life to come. That joy is ever flowing. If a person worships to obtain spiritual highs, he will never be satisfied. His worship would be self-centered and one would doubt his salvation. There is no rock to stand on when the tide rises if worship is only a means to happiness. So from the origins of the word, we see that worship is a conscience act of service to a being greater than yourself for their benefit.

Having an understanding of the word worship is not sufficient to say we have an understanding of what it is. We know it is an act towards a being, but what is the act and who is the being? Stay tuned for the answers to these questions and more. Part 1 will continue in two more sections, with a Part 2 to follow, length undetermined as of yet.

The sources I am referencing for this study are as follows:

1. Frame, John – Worship in Spirit and Truth
2. Morey, Robert – Worship: It’s Not Just Sunday Morning
3. Gill’s Archive (http://www.pbministries.org/books/gill/gills_archive.htm)
4. Piper, John – Desiring God
5. Nave’s Topical Dictionary

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