What Does The Bible Say About Worship?

What does the Bible say about Worship?

— John Farrington

As with a lot of the topics that we've been looking at in the 'What Does the Bible say About?' series, the Bible does indeed have a lot to say regarding worship. In one sense, the entire book is an instruction manual on how to worship God.

What Is Biblical Worship?

Before we go any further, I think it would be appropriate to define what I mean by worship. What is worship according to the Bible?

I think there are two kinds that the Holy Bible defines.

1. The act of worship.

2. The lifestyle of worship.

An act of worship to God is something that we intentionally do or say to place Him above anything else in our lives, to declare that He is the most important. An example from the Bible of this might be when Mary Magdelene anointed Jesus with a perfume that was worth probably the equivalent to about a year's wages. Matt talked about that story on Remembrance Sunday a couple of months back.

A lifestyle of worship is looking at every individual activity that takes place in your life, and seeing if when you add them all together, whether God is ultimately exalted, lifted up and glorified by the way that you live.

How Does The Bible Say We Should Worship?

Until Jesus came along, worship had become synonymous with sacrifices and burnt offerings. It was all about following the letter of the Law that God had laid down for His chosen people, Israel. Now, this Law was good. It was through the Law that the Israelites were instructed on how to receive forgiveness for their sins. It taught them how to stay healthy and live a moral, Godly life. It also taught them how to be set apart and stand out from the other nations and tribes of that day. The Israelites glorified God through obeying the Law.

However, in the New Testament, after Jesus Christ has died and risen again for our sins, the author of Hebrews says this,

“Sacrifices and offerings you (God) have not desired... in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. ”

-- Hebrews 10:5-6

Now we've got a problem. On the one hand, in the Old Testament there's instruction after instruction and book after book involving the required offerings and sacrifices that must be made in order to be made right before God, and to please Him. But here, in the New Testament, it's saying God doesn't want these things.

Why?

In short, the problem was, the Law was too good, and nobody was good enough to keep it. It revealed our sinful nature. That's why God had to send Jesus as our substitute. He was the only one who could fulfill the Law.

So, if offerings and altars aren't the way forward in worship, what is?

What Does Jesus Christ Say About Worship?

One time when Jesus was out and about in the Temple, he gets asked by one of the scribes there, what is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replies,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

-- Mark 12:30

This is what I'm talking about when I say a "lifestyle of worship". That is worship. Jesus isn't talking about a specific action here, but our whole lives. We are to love God and honour Him in everything that we do.

It is also a wonderful answer because Jesus is actually quoting two verses from the Old Testament Law which highlights that from the very beginning God intended us to live a lifestyle of worship. God wasn't ever interested in the one-off act of worship if it wasn't followed up by a long-term, permanent devotion to Him. It wasn't like He said one thing in the OT and then changed His mind in the NT. His intention all along was for us to live a life in faithful obedience to Him and His Word. In fact, He commands us to do so.

Matthew 16:24-26 says this,

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

-- Matthew 16:24-26

That is what pleases God and brings Him glory. Interestingly, it still involves a sacrifice. We sacrifice our lives and offer it up to God so that we might find life in Him. So even though God has said He no longer wants the sacrifices and offerings of the OT, there is a new sacrifice required of us, which is to lay down our lives for Jesus. We are called to give up our plans, our dreams and our wants to follow Him. Worship involves sacrifice.

King David alludes to this in the book of 2 Samuel 24:24 where he says,

“I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”

-- 2 Samuel 24:24

Similarly in Romans 12:1 Paul appeals to the reader,

“...by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ”

-- Romans 12:1

Why Is This Such A Big Deal?

Because I think if you're familiar with church and have been in Christian circles for a while, it has become easy to only associate worship with singing songs on a Sunday morning. But God wants our whole existence to be about Him and to reflect Him. If we look into the mirror of our lives then the reflection we should see is the glory of Jesus.

Therefore, the lifestyle of worship that God calls us to is lived out through deliberate acts of worship everyday.

I just want to take a moment to say that I think music and singing is an incredibly important part of how God wants us to worship Him. That's why our Sunday services are filled with music. The book of Psalms in the Old Testament is a book completely devoted to songs and poetry to God. Paul encourages us as Christians to gather regularly,

“addressing one another in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.”

-- Ephesians 5:19

What I felt was really important to highlight to you today is that worship is not limited to singing songs and making music. Far from it.

You can worship in the way that you love and serve your spouse. You can worship in the way you talk about others. You can worship in the way that you use your gifts and talents.

What Does It Mean To Worship In Spirit And Truth?

In John's gospel, Jesus has a pretty interesting conversation with a woman who's been asking him questions about the Jewish Law and sacrifices. He says,

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. ”

-- John 4:23-24

What does Jesus mean by worshipping in "spirit and truth?"

Let's split it up. Starting with " spirit ". I think the answer to this is twofold. Firstly, it refers to an inward heartfelt sincerity that you truly believe in what you are worshipping. This might cause you to worship in emotive and expressive ways.

In pretty much all of the major sport settings, the crowd or audience express their heartfelt support of whichever team or individual they are cheering on, by shouting or singing words of encouragement and affirmation. For some people, this is worship. That sport, that sportsperson is so important to the supporters life that it has become worship to them.

The second part to this definition of "spirit" is in reference to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity. It means your life of worship has been breathed on by the Spirit of God and is alive in Him. You will know this has happened by the fruit of your worship. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.

" Truth " means to do this in the knowledge and understanding of what the Bible says about who God is and how He has called us to live. The two work in tandem. That is how we are called to worship Him.

So every individual act of worship is to be done in spirit and in truth. Acts of worship that come from the heart, that are breathed on by the Holy Spirit and are done in the knowledge of who God is and according to how He has called us to live.

Why Should I Worship God?

One last thing I want to touch on before I finish is this,

You might be listening to me talking right now and be thinking, why does God need us to worship Him so badly? Is he so insecure that He needs us mere mortals to pet His ego for Him?

#1 - God Is 100% Good

No. The thing is, God is perfect. He is 100% holy, 100% loving, 100% merciful, 100% gracious, 100% righteous. He is completely good.

So think about it like this, if you have children, you want your kids to make good friends. You might even organise hangouts with certain families because you want your child be good friends with their child. You know that they'll be good for them.

Well it's a bit like that with God. God's looking for the best people for us to be with and actually, that's Him.

God is the best person for us to spend time with. Why wouldn't we want to be with someone who is all of these things in perfection? God wants us to live a life in relationship with Him because He knows He is the best thing for us. and is the only one who can bring us complete satisfaction. The Psalmist says,

“In your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right are pleasures forevermore. ”

-- Psalm 16:11

That's the first part.

#2 - We All Worship Something

The second part is this, all of us worship something. All of us devote our lives to something, be that our families, our jobs, our hobbies, ourselves, anything. The problem is God does not share His glory with anyone or anything. Isaiah 42:8 says,

“My glory I give to no other.”

-- Isaiah 42:8

God simply refuses for anything else to be on the throne of our lives except Him. Why? Because He is the only one worthy of it. Only He is perfect. All of these other things disappoint. None of them satisfy.

That is why God commands us to worship Him. He knows that He is the best thing for us. His glorification is the best thing for us. The old Westminster Catechism puts it like this, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.' How do we do that then? By enjoying Him forever. God's glory is His greatest priority and it should be ours too.

#3 - The Cross

Part three. If you're still not convinced by what has been said so far, that God is worthy of your praise, I would encourage you to look to the cross. Look to what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross, through his death and resurrection. We were once lost forever in sin, so far removed from God's holiness, but through Jesus we are forgiven and can come into relationship with the God of Heaven and Earth. The one who breathed the galaxies into being. The one who knew you before time began. The God who is Holy, who is perfect in love, perfect in mercy, perfect in grace. He is the only one who satisfies and the only one worthy of worship.

To use C.S. Lewis' analogy,

“Do not be like the ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”

• C. S. Lewis

In other words, don't be content with a life devoted to anything but the best.