WAG-3

WAG-3

WORSHIP

LESSON 3

There are different kinds of worship mentioned in the Bible

Vain Worship

And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matt. 15:9)

Vain Worship = man made worship, anything not authorized by God.

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. (2 John 1:9-11)

When we worship mans way we are not abiding in the doctrine of Christ. Remember we are not to add to or subtract from God’s Word.

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev. 22:18-19).

Ignorant Worship

for as I (Paul) was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:23-31)

Ignorant Worship = not knowing God and without understanding

True Worship

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.” (John 4:21-24)

Here we see the Object of our worship is GOD

Our attitude is to be IN SPIRIT

And

The way we worship is to be IN TRUTH.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)

What is worship?

James Burton Coffman has this to say:

“Just what is worship? Is it the carrying out of any kind of ritual, the observance of any days or times, or the presentation of any kind of gifts and sacrifices? Despite the fact that worship, from the earliest times, has been associated with such things, actual worship is spiritual.”

        In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the         train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he         covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another         and said:
        “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
        The whole earth is full of His glory!”

        And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was             filled with smoke. So I said:
        “ Woe is me, for I am undone!
        Because I am a man of unclean lips,
        And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
        For my eyes have seen the King,
        The LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he         had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
        “ Behold, this has touched your lips;
        Your iniquity is taken away,
        And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
        “ Whom shall I send,
        And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:1-8)

“A good description of worship is that of Isaiah 6:1-8, an analysis of which shows that worship is:

(1) an awareness of the presence of God,

(2) a consciousness of sin and unworthiness on the part of the worshipper, (3) a sense of cleansing and forgiveness, and

(4) a response of the soul with reference to doing God's will: "Here am I, send me!"

Coffman continues, “In the New Testament, it is evident that the worship of God involved the doing of certain things:

(1) meditating upon God's word in sermon or Scripture reading,

(2) singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,

(3) praying to God through Christ,

(4) observance of the Lord's supper, and

(5) the giving of money, goods, and services for the propagation of the faith and the relief of human needs.

Very well, then, does the person who DOES these things worship God? Not necessarily, because an apostle spoke of certain persons who ate the Lord's supper in a manner unworthy of it, not discerning the Lord's body. Moreover, the singing and praying were commanded to be done "with the spirit and with the understanding also." From this: it is clear that the things done in the New Testament worship were the authorized channels through which the true worship flowed, and that worship has the same relationship to the channels that electricity has to the power line that carries it. This, of course, does not disparage the authorized channels, nor suggest that man may select channels of his own. True worship is the soul's adoration of the Creator functioning obediently to the divine will. [3]

Defining terms – Worship: (literally or figuratively) to prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore). Since our worship is to God, we must understand that God is the audience and the worshipers perform worship according to the will of the One who commanded it. When people forget God and consider themselves to be the audience, they are taking from God what is rightfully His (Matthew 4:10). [4]

Coffman says: “Must worship in spirit and in truth ...
This speaks thunderously of the fact that the worship of God must be done properly, the two requirements being that it must be engaged in with utmost sincerity and as directed by the word of God. God has revealed the manner in which he should be worshipped, and those who hope to have their worship accepted should heed the restrictions.” [3]

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)

Worship in spirit: True worshipers do not engage in the avenues of worship in a mechanical fashion while our minds are focused on what we are going to have for Sunday dinner. Our worship to God must be with the inner man. God requires us to be intellectually engaged when we worship.

Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth. (Psalm 96:9)

Worship in truth: Jesus prayed, Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17). Since our worship is to God, we must give God what He specifies as worship.

The key is to understand WHO it is that we worship; and that HE is the audience. [4]

Today we find many are wanting to be entertained in worship… they want it to be fun, exciting, emotional… We must remember, WE are not the audience GOD IS! It is not what we want, the way we want, we did not deserve God’s grace and mercy.

Acceptable worship to God is In Spirit and In Truth. Therefore, we who want our worship to be accepted by God will turn to the scripture and follow the pattern left by the early Church.

QUESTIONS

(please give scripture references to prove your answers)

1. Name different types of Worship mentioned in the Bible?

Please define the above ways of worship?

2. When we worship, who is the audience?

Who is to perform the worship?

How should we worship?

3. John 4:24 says that those who worship God must worship how?

4. How does one worship in spirit?

5. How does we worship in truth?

6. What is acceptable worship to God?

Where do we find how to worship God acceptably?

7. Give the description of worship that is mentioned in Isaiah?

8. Name the things mentioned in the New Testament that we are to be doing in our worship to God?

9. Does everyone who engages in the above worship God?

10. Please quote Rev. 22:18-19 and then in your own words tell me what it means to you.

11. Find other places in God's word, both Old and New, that is similar to Rev. 22:18-19.

Foot Notes:

3. Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament (http://www.studylight.org/com/bcc/)

4. Worship in Spirit and in Truth vs. Covetousness by Paul Ditoro, St. George, Utah