Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur
Cincotti. 12/17/2023
Listen to our Bible
Study Discussion at: Worship Podcast
Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Worship
“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.” Jn. 4:23
We were created to worship.
Everyone worships someone or something. Even the atheist is a worshiper. Try
not worshiping some time and see what rises up in your soul.
Gary D. Kinnaman writes in Overcoming
the Dominion of Darkness, “Worship is the ultimate
issue of the universe. Worship is perhaps the most powerful and liberating
weapon in spiritual warfare. Worship affirms the Lordship of Jesus Christ over
all creation and cast down the dominion of darkness” (p.215)
So, what is worship? How do
we do it? How do we distinguish between true and false worship? And what is the
peripheral value of worship?
First, let us distinguish
between praise and worship.
There is much crossover, and
the words are often used interchangeably.
The word Jesus uses in our
opening verse is “proskyneo”
meaning: adorer, to fawn or
crouch, to prostrate oneself in homage.
The word in Hebrew is “saha”
with similar meanings.
In Gen. 22:5, “Abraham
said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder
and worship”
What was Abraham planning to
do? He was planning on sacrificing. This was an act of worship. Worship, like
love, commands action. Abraham was establishing preeminence; sacrificing what
he held dear, to establish what he held dearer, or dearest.
Though praise and worship
have crossover meanings most evangelicals would describe it this way, “praise
is horizontal while worship is vertical.”
With praise we are telling
one another how great and wonderful our God is. In worship we are speaking
directly to God and exalting Him exclusively.
Another way to think of
worship is, to ascribe worth to. This is why worship is universal, because we
all ascribe worth, or value to something. Apart from God, we only have lesser,
temporal, equally created things to ascribe worth to. How foolish!
Ex. 34:12-14 says, “Take
heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land
where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy
their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for
you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)
Ps. 22:3 says, “But You
are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.”
How do we worship?
There is a lot of variation
and controversy about that.
Tom Griffith writes: “The
Hebrew and Greek words translated most of the time in our English Bibles as
‘worship’ could also be accurately translated in many contexts as ‘serve’ or
‘minister.’” see Acts 13:2
This was the priestly
function in the OT, to minister to the LORD. Not that He
needs anything, but there is righteousness in coming in alignment with His
divine order. We see an awesome picture of this in Rev. 4:10. A glimpse into
the heavenly reveals that, “Whenever the living creatures give glory and
honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne…the twenty-four elders fall
down before Him…and worship Him.”
Unfortunately our diminished
sense and understanding of worship has been reduced to three songs on a Sunday
morning. In truth, everything that we do should be an act of worship; our
giving, our service, our love for one another, our love for the lost, our work,
even our most mundane tasks can be an act of worship, if it is done joyfully as
unto the Lord, in an attitude of peace and humility. Rom. 12:1, “I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Distinguishing between
true and false worship
I believe has to do with
attention. We’ve already discussed how God and God alone is and should be the
sole object of our worship. And if you give our attention, or worship to lesser
things, that’s folly.
Worshiping false gods is
false worship, and those who worship false gods, like “the universe” for instance,
deserve the answer they get. But
worshiping the One true God with false motives and intentions is also false
worship. The twenty-four elders of Rev. 4:10 were so caught up and captivated
by the majesty and glory of God that they couldn’t help but fall down and
worship, but we are distracted by many things, thoughts, and influences that make
our worship less riveted.
The peripheral benefits of
worship for us are replete.
Tom goes on to say that
worship dethrones the enemy. It is our most powerful weapon in spiritual
warfare. Ps. 8:2 says, “From the lips of children and infants You have
ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
“God is committed to
defeating the enemy of the Kingdom of God. He will enable his church to worship
Him in such a way as to effectively silence the principalities and powers
assailed against us.” TG
II Ch. 20:18-24 is a great
account of the value of worship in battle against a real enemy in the natural.
Acts. 16:22-34 tells of Paul and Silas in jail in Philipi, and gives a glimpse
into the spiritual dimension.
Pr. Finn use to say, “We give
Him glory and He gives us power.”
Tom Griffith concludes by
saying, “To worship this holy, compassionate, and triumphant King – this is our
privilege and destiny. The worship you offer to God ministers to the Lord,
releases blessing to you and other worshipers, and dethrones the enemy. It
advances the Kingdom! May the Spirit of God bless and gift you with a fresh and
contagious vision for Kingdom worship.”
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