“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
Luke 4:8
In the introductory post for the Speaking of the Kingdom series, I began by saying that “I have mistakenly attributed certain aspects of scripture to religion, when in fact they are deeply connected to the concept of a kingdom. I have often accepted unfamiliar or peculiar elements as spiritual characteristics of Christianity, without realizing that they are actually common features associated with life in a kingdom.”
We have explored the concepts of the Kingdom of God, the Gospel, preaching, faith, baptism, and messiah, all within this framework. They are not purely religious ideas, but rather kingdom language that describes God’s relationship with creation.
But worship, our topic this week, is clearly a religious term, right? Jesus’s command in Luke 4:8 is to worship God. People worship God. It couldn’t be any more apparent that worship is a religious word.
Also in the introduction to this series, I said that, “We’ll uncover the fascinating kingdom context behind these words, and discover how this knowledge can transform our understanding of scripture and strengthen our faith in God.“
Surprise is a powerful teacher
My experience has been that the more obviously religious I thought a word or phrase was, the more powerful and helpful it was when it turned out to have a broader kingdom usage.
And the word worship was no exception.
As I did with many other words that I assumed were limited to religious contexts, I defined worship by my own experience with it. The most narrow understanding I had at one point was that worship was the 20 minutes on Sunday morning where we sang songs. A musician, which we called the worship leader, began by inviting us to stand and worship together. We then sang songs with some scriptures mixed in, both of which were generally about how good God is to us. Then the worship leader would invite us to sit and they would leave the front. The senior/preaching/teaching pastor would appear and began speaking to us. Through all of what was said and done, I made assumptions about when worship began and ended in that service. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Not only did we refer to those 20 minutes of singing as worship, but we also affectionately called the entire Sunday gathering a worship service. It always seemed a bit ironic to me because the part of the worship service that seemed to hold the greatest significance (preaching) was the portion that we didn’t officially designate as worship.
Then there are the worship wars that involve the debate of hymns versus praise songs, as well as discussions about worship as a genre of music, and other related topics. So, while it may initially appear evident that worship is a religious term, it becomes apparent that we do not possess a clear consensus on its precise definition.
What is it?
When I searched online using the question, “what is worship?”, the results were all over the place:
- “Worship is based on a right understanding of God’s nature, and it is a right valuing of God’s worth.”
- “True worship of God is when we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s when we prize God above everything else and put Him first in our hearts.”
- “True worship is God-centered worship”
- “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His Beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”
- “In one sense, worship is the whole point of everything. It is the purpose of history, the goal of the whole Christian story. Worship is not one segment of the Christian life among others. Worship is the entire Christian life, seen as a priestly offering to God. And when we meet together as a church, our time of worship is not merely a preliminary to something else; rather, it is the whole point of our existence as the body of Christ.”
Hope that cleared up any confusion for you. Personally it seems more abstract and more confusing after reading some of these responses.
In the search for a more concrete and consistent understanding of worship, I looked up the Hebrew word that is most often translated as worship since Hebrew is the original language of the Old Testament: Shachah
Shachah means to bow one’s self down, fall down flat, or take a posture of reverence submission in homage to a revered authority.
I also looked into the Greek words translated as worship because Greek is the original language of the New Testament: Sebomai, Latreuo and Proskuneo.
Sebomai is the word for worship used the least in the New Testament and it means to revere or hold in awe. It is often used to describe the worship of people who participate in the religious actions, but do not have an deeper internal devotion or submission to God. Several biblical authors call it “vain worship”
Latreuo is also translated as worship but specifically refers to religious service done to honor God. Its meaning is derived from a similar word that simply means a hired servant.
Proskuneo is by far the most common Greek word that is translated as worship and originally means to kiss like a dog licking his master’s hand, to fawn, or crouch to. The idea is clearly not a religious one and is representative of subjects falling down to kiss the ground before a king or kiss their feet.
If we can consider the notion that worship primarily represents a language utilized within a kingdom’s context, referring to the act of humbling oneself and showing submission to a king who is considered deserving, and then apply this to a religious context, we may come to understand that the question at hand is not about choosing between worshipping or not worshipping God, but rather about deciding whether we will worship God or another king. Which ruler, authority, or power are we designating as deserving and willingly submitting ourselves to serve? Instead of pondering whether we will engage in worship, it would be more appropriate to evaluate whom we worship.
When we understand this, it not only deepens our understanding of the scriptures, but also gives us a helpful framework for how we can engage in worship today.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
Psalm 95:6
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
Exodus 34:8
Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:6
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.
Job 1:20
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Philippians 2:9-10
In some sense we are closer to embracing this concept of worship in our traditional posture for prayer than in our designated worship activities. We kneel, bow our heads, and even close our eyes as we kneel humbly in the presence of the Lord. We acknowledge that we are in the presence of one who is greater than us and humbly present ourselves before the sovereign one in service.
So how do we Worship?
I’m glad you asked! In a letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle (one sent on behalf of the king) Paul explained how to properly worship King Jesus in response to his loving and merciful reign over us:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1
Additional Scriptures and Discussion Questions
Question: What does Romans 12:1 mean when it says that your true and proper worship is to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice?
Question: How is asking “who do you worship?” different from asking “do you worship God?”
Question: Using the definition of worship as the act of humbling oneself and showing submission to one with power who is considered deserving, what can be another biblical word for worshipping someone or something other than God? And what are we tempted to worship today instead of God? Why do you think that is a temptation?
Next week’s Topic: Angels
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Tanner H Griffin 
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