Introduction
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
Man was created to be a worshipper of God. Of himself, man does not know how to worship God, yet he longs to worship. Therefore Christian men, over the years, have come up with various forms of what they call worship. Man designs forms of worship or some sort of program for religious services and then asks God to bless his program. Because man does not know how God desires to be worshipped, he develops a variety of forms. Christians generally congregate or gravitate to the particular form that suits their individual tastes, their spiritual disposition, and that which does not offend their mentality.
In our lifetime we have experienced four different types of churches, each with somewhat different emphases on what they call worship: (1) a denominational church; (2) a predominantly white charismatic church; (3) a predominantly black charismatic church; and (4) a New Testament house church. What follows is what we have seen, heard, experienced, and sensed by the Holy Spirit in each of those types of churches. Of course there are some minor variations within each type of church. In addition, we have visited a few Hispanic churches, but not to the degree of the four types, above.
Let us make the following very clear: In NO way do we mean to belittle or be critical of any of those churches. We do not doubt the motivation or sincerity of the leaders in any of those churches. We do, however, ponder their understanding. On March 26, 2006, the Lord woke me up very early and spoke a word to me, i.e.: Many pastors, even in charismatic churches, love the Lord and sincerely desire more of the Lord in their life and in the lives of the members of their church, but they want to incorporate more of the Lord into their own traditions, formats, programs, cultures, etc. Such, of course, will never happen; the Lord will never allow it.
I remember, before the Lord apprehended me in 1967, that my wife somehow persuaded me to start attending a Methodist church. I remember that Methodist church had a Sunday program for their "worship service." It consisted of 17 items, starting with an organ prelude, a "call to worship," three hymns, responsive reading, a few written prayers, an offering collection with an offertory solo, the "sermon," and ending with an organ postlude. I know that there were 17 items because I counted them every Sunday. I could not wait for the "service" to end! The written program always followed the same pattern. Everything was very prim and proper and orderly, with little display of emotion. Of course everything had to be completed in precisely one hour because the people got a little antsy if the service ran over time. Then everyone would come back the following Sunday and repeat the process. Then the Lord apprehended me and all things began to change! Man's methods of worship are mechanical and binding to those whose spirits are being drawn ever upward to the heart of the Father.
Then we have the predominantly white, charismatic worship service, of which there are many somewhat minor variations and emphases. The larger churches have several singers on the platform to "lead" worship, plus several musical instruments, primarily guitars and drums, or an occasional piano or keyboard. The music is oriented towards the younger generation, with a beat somewhat like the worldly up-tempo music. After about 30-40 minutes of that music, the offering plate is passed. Then the pastor comes on stage and gives a typical sermon, which rarely emphasizes the gospel of the kingdom of God or the working of the cross in our individual life. The message is usually oriented to how God loves us and wants to bless us in so many ways, followed perhaps by a closing prayer and announcements. The worship service generally lasts about two hours.
Next is the predominantly African-American worship service. This consists of an opening prayer, upbeat music that folks can dance to, loudspeakers that amplify the music to where it can hurt the ears, and a lengthy message from either the pastor, bishop, or a traveling "apostle." The service has a distinct emotional fervor as if the louder and more exuberant the people can be, the more they can call down the presence of the Lord. Almost everyone in the church is either an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, bishop, elder, or deacon. The local or visiting preacher then preaches a (perhaps) good word, usually lasting close to an hour. After that, the preacher for the day prays and lays hands on some of the believers, and some of them get slain in the Spirit. Most of those who get slain in the Spirit attribute it to a wonderful blessing through the hands of a mighty man of God. (We have a separate word on being "slain in the spirit.") The messages again are of the blessings variety, with particular emphasis on how the Lord is going to make everyone prosperous soon. The offering plate is not passed; rather the people march or dance up to one or two big offering containers which are held up front, so that everyone can see who comes forward to deposit their money.
Unfortunately, in far too many cases, all three of the above types of churches involve transferring money from the pockets of the "flock" to the pocket of the pastor. In the first three types of churches, above, the worship service is routinely planned out beforehand, including what songs or hymns will be sung when, and in what order, and the message that the pastor will preach. The pastor knows exactly what is going to happen next. That leaves no room for the Holy Spirit to move as He wills.
Our final variation of the worship service is what we experienced in a New Testament house church from the late 1960's to the early 1980's. Unlike the three previous churches, we never had a paid minister, no one had ever been through a seminary or bible college, no collection plate was ever passed, no podium was used, no messages were recorded, no written programs, and in general we never knew who was going to sing what, when, or say what, when. There was a freedom for all to participate, but in general everything was decent and in order. Although there was no written program, there was an implicit program; i.e., an opening prayer, sing three fast songs, then three slow songs, sing in the Spirit, wait for the prophecies, a message from someone (usually one of the elders), followed by prayer, and fellowship (which was more like socialization). Gifts of the Spirit flowed freely, like turning on the kitchen faucet.
Again, the previous stereotypes of worship services were not meant to demean any of the four types we have experienced. But of the four types, the latter one had distinct advantages over the other three. The first three types of churches were/are all pastor-dominated, where the pastor normally gets a salary and is expected to be the preacher, except for special occasions. In the New Testament house church (which was predominantly white), the pattern was for multiple ministries to govern, not a single pastor. In other words, we tried to function after the pattern of the Church at Antioch, rather than the Church at Jerusalem (neither one of which is the pattern for church government, which must be dynamic, never static). In addition, the New Testament house church allowed for more spontaneity and freedom for the Holy Spirit to move as He wills. Even Moses, the man of the law, said:
We acknowledge that, in the natural realm, the culture of the people involved, as well as traditions, previous teachings and experiences, all play a part in setting the tone for the worship services. But if the word of God is independent of time, race, culture, and geographical location (as we believe) then worship is worship anywhere. Consider the discourse between the woman of Samaria and Jesus.
Many believers quote John 4:24, but how many understand what that really means? First, let us try to describe what "worship Him in spirit and in truth" does NOT mean.
The verses above were the only time that the Lord spoke to Aaron alone. Nothing may be done to excite or stimulate the flesh in the sanctuary (assembly of believers); neither drink within, nor music without, nor sensuous surroundings. The old nature must not be stimulated by our natural senses or mere human eloquence. All must be of the Spirit.
To worship "in spirit" is to allow the Holy Spirit to move upon the believer's redeemed spirit, causing love, adoration, devotion, honor, and respect to ascend to God. Because "Thy Word is truth" (John 17:17), to worship "in truth" is to worship according to the Word of God. God has laid down in His Word how we are to worship Him. He has shown His acceptance of a variety of expressions of praise and of worship from those who truly love Him. This word attempts to shed some light on what God is looking for in terms of worship.
We believe that worship is not defined by the outward manifestations of the people. Further, we believe that all four types of churches that we have personally experienced miss the mark concerning worship, because they all focus on what we do, rather than on what we are or should become. There IS a "doing" involved with worship, but it must spring forth from a state of "being."
The worship of God is nowhere explicitly defined in Scripture, and we should never use Webster's Dictionary to define scriptural terms. Worship is not confined to praise, nor are they the same. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says: "Broadly, worship may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment." That seems to be a reasonable definition as long as we understand the significance. But perhaps we can do even better. Let us try to put some meat on those bones.
We will need to search the scriptures carefully to arrive at a more true meaning. Five different Greek words are translated as "worship." In the New Testament the most frequent word rendered "to worship" is the Greek proskuneo, (pronounced pros-koo-neh'-o), which literally means "to kiss towards," like a dog licking his master's hand; to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore), bow (self) down, make obeisance, or worship. That is a reasonable definition. Jesus said that if any man would be His disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. In other words all of our being must acknowledge the centrality and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But we believe we can add more meat on the bones in attempting to define "worship."
Worship is not only the heart of a gathering of believers, but also the heart of our every day life. Ministry to the Lord is vital! Ministry to the Lord is worship and worship is ministry to the Lord. A number of years ago, as I enjoyed fellowship with some brethren in another state, I had a brief conversation with the wife of a man who seemed to have some maturity about him. When I asked her about worship, she said, "Oh, I never worship at home ... only in the meetings." How sad! We should be free to worship in all circumstances and contexts. Our life should be a praise and worship to God no matter where we happen to be.
The Westminster Catechism states that the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy Him forever. Strange as it may seem at first, God also wants to enjoy us!
One of the major means God established to provide enjoyment and pleasure is the avenue of worship. There is a difference between worship and the activities often associated with the word "worship" and the traditional forms it often takes.
The worship desired by God primarily refers to an inner attitude, consisting of prostrating ourselves (not necessarily physically) before our Holy God. It also speaks of homage, reverence, service, and adoration. We would do well to understand that while worship is often usefully expressed in outward praise, not all praise is an expression or form of worship. Although there are many physical, outward expressions or forms of worship, worship is our inner attitude or state of our heart toward God. Clearly, from numerous verses, God is after our heart, not a routine. Consider these scriptures:
Although we have been fortunate to have been part of a number of gatherings where the presence of the Lord has been manifest in many ways, we are still waiting to see a fulfillment of Verse 14 in our life on earth! Just as we grow toward seeing the hand of the Lord in every circumstance and hearing His voice from many sources, we also grow toward more perfect worship in the midst of all of life's activities. We become more thoroughly available to Him throughout the day and we become "living epistles, read of all men." We have been aware for 40 years that the level of congregational worship seems to be proportional to the maturity level of those believers present, where "maturity level" is defined by the degree to which we become as little children before Him.
One of the most immediately effective expressions of worship, especially in gatherings, is song. However, song is equally effective when we are alone with God. I remember that my grandmother would frequently try to sing as she worked around our house (she lived with us). She always said that she wished that she had a better singing voice so that she could praise the Lord better. Well she got her wish because she is in the presence of the Lord now, singing His praises for eternity!
Every kind of appropriate song, whether psalms like those of the Old Testament, or hymns directed to God, or spiritual songs, blesses the Lord. It pleases the Lord to reveal Himself to us during such moments. Some have even heard the Lord singing in the midst of the congregation!
However, if our expressions of worship grow no further than singing together then it grieves the Holy Spirit, and eventually even the singing may develop into nothing more than a mechanical routine.
I remember one local gathering of about 12-15 saints many long years ago. One relatively young couple had a gift in music, so they led us in singing praises to our God. The only problem was that they exceeded their anointing and went on and on. The Lord brought to my mind a picture of the Israelites coming out of Egypt during the Exodus. They marched five in a row Exodus 13:18). With at least one million people (counting women and children), the parade of people must have been at least 114 miles long, assuming three feet between rows. (Some simple arithmetic will confirm this.) The singers and musicians, like everyone else, had their specific position in the parade. However, if someone had been sitting on a grandstand and viewed the parade as it passed by, after the singers and musicians passed the grandstand there would come a point in time when they could no longer be heard because of the great distance. The moral of that picture is that a little pepper is good but a lot of pepper spoils the broth. In other words, the singers and musicians have a purpose to lead us into praise and worship, but once their function has been completed, they need to be careful not to exceed their anointing. They can become an end in themselves. We need to know when to minister overtly and when to stop ministering overtly.
Marion Fretwell, a good brother who was serving the Lord many years before what men call Latter Rain began, put it this way: "I will come unto thee" is the essence of worship (see Exodus 20:24, below). Our approach to God is quite secondary. Unless He comes unto us, our worship service may be nice, but unfruitful. Jesus said,
Verse 19 has been greatly distorted by many preachers. That Verse does NOT mean that you and I can agree that we both will be given a new Mercedes car every year!
Jesus did NOT say that where two or three gather together on Sunday morning (or any other time) that He would be present. He said that where two or three are gathered together (by the Holy Ghost in His name) then He would be in our midst. There IS a difference! The Holy Ghost MUST be in control. Hundreds of thousands gather together every Sunday morning in churches at various levels. But is the Holy Ghost in control? Is there a manifestation of the Lord?
An altar is a place of worship. Exodus 20:24, above, seems to indicate that the Lord's first choice was an altar of earth. I have not yet found one verse in scripture where a natural altar of earth was built. What then, is the altar of earth? It is you and me! It is the Church! We are that altar of earth! Paul put it this way:
Verse 24 is forward-looking to the new covenant and the time when the tabernacle of God is with men (Revelation 21:3). What moves the Lord to come unto us? James answers that question:
An altar of stone (Exodus 20:25) was acceptable under certain conditions. Please note that it is not acceptable for man to have a part in shaping the stones that are used for an altar unto the Lord. This too is God's work and it is marvelous in our eyes. Man's ways pollute.
The "gate" speaks of the mind. The human mind is the gateway to the heart and soul. The "door" speaks of the heart. God's gateway to our spirit is our heart. In the above verse, "enter into His gates" means to understand the mind and the ways of the Lord. Note that Psalm 95:2 and Psalm 100:2 speak of coming BEFORE His presence, not coming into His presence.
How do we enter into His presence? First of all we can NOT enter into His presence or be aware of His presence by our own works, strength, or power. We enter into His presence by His grace and mercy and by keeping our garments clean.
We also have a responsibility in order to enter into His presence. This responsibility is stated numerous times in the Psalms. We could also add to Psalm 100:4 that we enter into the Holy of Holies, or enter into His presence, with worship.
Further, because no flesh can glory in His presence and because no sin can be in His presence, it is vital that we keep our garments clean. We keep our garments clean by walking in the light which we have received.
Notice the order in Verse 2 ... they ministered to the Lord and fasted. It does NOT say they fasted and ministered to the Lord. There IS a difference! Some believers fast in order to better minister to the Lord. That constitutes the preplanning of (Christian) man, not the spontaneity of the Holy Ghost. The prophets and teachers in Antioch became so caught up in ministering to the Lord that they "forgot" to eat and thus fasted. It wasn't so much that they "forgot" to eat, however. Rather it was because they had only one thing on their minds ... to minister to the Lord in praise and worship!
A solid, guiding principle, when you want to determine the significance of any scriptural term, is to go back and see where that term is first used in the Bible. A second, solid, guiding principle is to look for the spiritual significance rather than the natural-level meaning. The first occurrence of "worship" is in Genesis 22.
In the Old Testament the most commonly used Hebrew word for worship is shachah (pronounced shaw-khaw'). This is a primitive root; which means to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, or worship.
Do you find it interesting that scripture does not record anything that most Christians today call worship? The scripture says only that Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, his son Isaac, fire in his hand, and a knife. That represents true worship. Please note also that in Genesis 22, the Lord never promised Abraham anything in exchange for sacrificing his only son, Isaac; neither did Abraham ask for anything in return for sacrificing his only son. In other words, obedience is better than sacrifice. When the Lord told Abraham to go and sacrifice his only son, Abraham simply said, "Yes, Lord." He asked no questions; he simply obeyed! Note that the Lord told Abraham to take his son Isaac, his only son, and offer him for a burnt offering. What about Ishmael? Was Ishmael not Abraham's son also? Yes, Ishmael was Abraham's son but Ishmael was a product of the flesh, not born of God. Since this test was from God and since this is true worship, we must conclude that there is nothing about the flesh that can be offered to and accepted by God as worship. There is nothing in our emotional realm that can substitute for worship. Worship must be born of God. Deep calls unto deep.
Worship never asks for something for me but desires to give everything to the Lord. As such, worship is a heart attitude, rather than any kind of outward manifestations. Therefore, we believe that all of our singing, dancing, clapping, shouting, etc., falls under the category of praise, not worship.
In Genesis 22:5, Abraham said that he and the lad would go and worship. Did Abraham change his mind? Did he forget to worship? NO! Genesis 22:6-13 says that he DID worship.
Therefore, from Scripture, true worship is defined by our voluntary, unquestioned obedience to the rhema word of the Lord as revealed by the Holy Ghost. Further, worship springs out of a pure heart that fears God.
Let us look at another scriptural definition of worship from the New Testament.
First of all, do you find it rather ironic that the devil tried to give back the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them to the One Who created them in the beginning? Of course, the devil had his price for returning the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them ... the devil wanted Jesus to fall down and worship him. If the ultimate plan and desire of the devil was for Jesus to fall down and worship him, what do you think is the ultimate desire of the Lord?
Did the devil have that "right" in the first place? Did he have the authority to give back to the Creator the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them? Yes. God, in the beginning, had given to man (Adam) dominion over all of the earth (Genesis 1:26-30). When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, they did so by obeying the voice of the devil rather than the voice of the Lord. In effect, Adam and Eve fell down and worshipped the devil (by being obedient to him). In the process the devil became the new "owner" of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them ... until Jesus died on the cross.
In Verse 10, above, the word translated as "worship" is the Greek proskuneo, which we previously defined. The Greek word in Verse 10 translated as "serve" is latreuo, which can also be translated as "worship." The distinction is that latreuo means an outward manifestation of worship, or what we "do," whereas proskuneo is a condition or state of the heart, which is inward. It seems to us that most Christian worship services today concentrate much more on our interpretation of latreuo, or external acts, rather than proskuneo.
Some pastors have no idea about all of the commandments of men that are commonly taught as correct doctrine. If the truth were known, none of us currently see all of the traditions and commandments of men that are taught as "standard" teaching. Further all of the ways of the Lord are clearly written in the law and in the prophets, if we only had ears to hear. Please read Verse 9, above, one more time!
In our lifetime we have experienced four different types of churches, each with somewhat different emphases on what they call worship: (1) a denominational church; (2) a predominantly white charismatic church; (3) a predominantly black charismatic church; and (4) a New Testament house church. What follows is what we have seen, heard, experienced, and sensed by the Holy Spirit in each of those types of churches. Of course there are some minor variations within each type of church. In addition, we have visited a few Hispanic churches, but not to the degree of the four types, above.
Let us make the following very clear: In NO way do we mean to belittle or be critical of any of those churches. We do not doubt the motivation or sincerity of the leaders in any of those churches. We do, however, ponder their understanding. On March 26, 2006, the Lord woke me up very early and spoke a word to me, i.e.: Many pastors, even in charismatic churches, love the Lord and sincerely desire more of the Lord in their life and in the lives of the members of their church, but they want to incorporate more of the Lord into their own traditions, formats, programs, cultures, etc. Such, of course, will never happen; the Lord will never allow it.
I remember, before the Lord apprehended me in 1967, that my wife somehow persuaded me to start attending a Methodist church. I remember that Methodist church had a Sunday program for their "worship service." It consisted of 17 items, starting with an organ prelude, a "call to worship," three hymns, responsive reading, a few written prayers, an offering collection with an offertory solo, the "sermon," and ending with an organ postlude. I know that there were 17 items because I counted them every Sunday. I could not wait for the "service" to end! The written program always followed the same pattern. Everything was very prim and proper and orderly, with little display of emotion. Of course everything had to be completed in precisely one hour because the people got a little antsy if the service ran over time. Then everyone would come back the following Sunday and repeat the process. Then the Lord apprehended me and all things began to change! Man's methods of worship are mechanical and binding to those whose spirits are being drawn ever upward to the heart of the Father.
Then we have the predominantly white, charismatic worship service, of which there are many somewhat minor variations and emphases. The larger churches have several singers on the platform to "lead" worship, plus several musical instruments, primarily guitars and drums, or an occasional piano or keyboard. The music is oriented towards the younger generation, with a beat somewhat like the worldly up-tempo music. After about 30-40 minutes of that music, the offering plate is passed. Then the pastor comes on stage and gives a typical sermon, which rarely emphasizes the gospel of the kingdom of God or the working of the cross in our individual life. The message is usually oriented to how God loves us and wants to bless us in so many ways, followed perhaps by a closing prayer and announcements. The worship service generally lasts about two hours.
Next is the predominantly African-American worship service. This consists of an opening prayer, upbeat music that folks can dance to, loudspeakers that amplify the music to where it can hurt the ears, and a lengthy message from either the pastor, bishop, or a traveling "apostle." The service has a distinct emotional fervor as if the louder and more exuberant the people can be, the more they can call down the presence of the Lord. Almost everyone in the church is either an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, bishop, elder, or deacon. The local or visiting preacher then preaches a (perhaps) good word, usually lasting close to an hour. After that, the preacher for the day prays and lays hands on some of the believers, and some of them get slain in the Spirit. Most of those who get slain in the Spirit attribute it to a wonderful blessing through the hands of a mighty man of God. (We have a separate word on being "slain in the spirit.") The messages again are of the blessings variety, with particular emphasis on how the Lord is going to make everyone prosperous soon. The offering plate is not passed; rather the people march or dance up to one or two big offering containers which are held up front, so that everyone can see who comes forward to deposit their money.
Unfortunately, in far too many cases, all three of the above types of churches involve transferring money from the pockets of the "flock" to the pocket of the pastor. In the first three types of churches, above, the worship service is routinely planned out beforehand, including what songs or hymns will be sung when, and in what order, and the message that the pastor will preach. The pastor knows exactly what is going to happen next. That leaves no room for the Holy Spirit to move as He wills.
Our final variation of the worship service is what we experienced in a New Testament house church from the late 1960's to the early 1980's. Unlike the three previous churches, we never had a paid minister, no one had ever been through a seminary or bible college, no collection plate was ever passed, no podium was used, no messages were recorded, no written programs, and in general we never knew who was going to sing what, when, or say what, when. There was a freedom for all to participate, but in general everything was decent and in order. Although there was no written program, there was an implicit program; i.e., an opening prayer, sing three fast songs, then three slow songs, sing in the Spirit, wait for the prophecies, a message from someone (usually one of the elders), followed by prayer, and fellowship (which was more like socialization). Gifts of the Spirit flowed freely, like turning on the kitchen faucet.
Again, the previous stereotypes of worship services were not meant to demean any of the four types we have experienced. But of the four types, the latter one had distinct advantages over the other three. The first three types of churches were/are all pastor-dominated, where the pastor normally gets a salary and is expected to be the preacher, except for special occasions. In the New Testament house church (which was predominantly white), the pattern was for multiple ministries to govern, not a single pastor. In other words, we tried to function after the pattern of the Church at Antioch, rather than the Church at Jerusalem (neither one of which is the pattern for church government, which must be dynamic, never static). In addition, the New Testament house church allowed for more spontaneity and freedom for the Holy Spirit to move as He wills. Even Moses, the man of the law, said:
Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither. Exodus 10:26
We acknowledge that, in the natural realm, the culture of the people involved, as well as traditions, previous teachings and experiences, all play a part in setting the tone for the worship services. But if the word of God is independent of time, race, culture, and geographical location (as we believe) then worship is worship anywhere. Consider the discourse between the woman of Samaria and Jesus.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4:20-24
Many believers quote John 4:24, but how many understand what that really means? First, let us try to describe what "worship Him in spirit and in truth" does NOT mean.
8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. Leviticus 10:8-11
The verses above were the only time that the Lord spoke to Aaron alone. Nothing may be done to excite or stimulate the flesh in the sanctuary (assembly of believers); neither drink within, nor music without, nor sensuous surroundings. The old nature must not be stimulated by our natural senses or mere human eloquence. All must be of the Spirit.
To worship "in spirit" is to allow the Holy Spirit to move upon the believer's redeemed spirit, causing love, adoration, devotion, honor, and respect to ascend to God. Because "Thy Word is truth" (John 17:17), to worship "in truth" is to worship according to the Word of God. God has laid down in His Word how we are to worship Him. He has shown His acceptance of a variety of expressions of praise and of worship from those who truly love Him. This word attempts to shed some light on what God is looking for in terms of worship.
We believe that worship is not defined by the outward manifestations of the people. Further, we believe that all four types of churches that we have personally experienced miss the mark concerning worship, because they all focus on what we do, rather than on what we are or should become. There IS a "doing" involved with worship, but it must spring forth from a state of "being."
The worship of God is nowhere explicitly defined in Scripture, and we should never use Webster's Dictionary to define scriptural terms. Worship is not confined to praise, nor are they the same. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says: "Broadly, worship may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment." That seems to be a reasonable definition as long as we understand the significance. But perhaps we can do even better. Let us try to put some meat on those bones.
We will need to search the scriptures carefully to arrive at a more true meaning. Five different Greek words are translated as "worship." In the New Testament the most frequent word rendered "to worship" is the Greek proskuneo, (pronounced pros-koo-neh'-o), which literally means "to kiss towards," like a dog licking his master's hand; to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore), bow (self) down, make obeisance, or worship. That is a reasonable definition. Jesus said that if any man would be His disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. In other words all of our being must acknowledge the centrality and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But we believe we can add more meat on the bones in attempting to define "worship."
Worship is not only the heart of a gathering of believers, but also the heart of our every day life. Ministry to the Lord is vital! Ministry to the Lord is worship and worship is ministry to the Lord. A number of years ago, as I enjoyed fellowship with some brethren in another state, I had a brief conversation with the wife of a man who seemed to have some maturity about him. When I asked her about worship, she said, "Oh, I never worship at home ... only in the meetings." How sad! We should be free to worship in all circumstances and contexts. Our life should be a praise and worship to God no matter where we happen to be.
But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God. Ezekiel 44:15
The Westminster Catechism states that the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy Him forever. Strange as it may seem at first, God also wants to enjoy us!
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11
One of the major means God established to provide enjoyment and pleasure is the avenue of worship. There is a difference between worship and the activities often associated with the word "worship" and the traditional forms it often takes.
The worship desired by God primarily refers to an inner attitude, consisting of prostrating ourselves (not necessarily physically) before our Holy God. It also speaks of homage, reverence, service, and adoration. We would do well to understand that while worship is often usefully expressed in outward praise, not all praise is an expression or form of worship. Although there are many physical, outward expressions or forms of worship, worship is our inner attitude or state of our heart toward God. Clearly, from numerous verses, God is after our heart, not a routine. Consider these scriptures:
13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lift up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For He is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14
Although we have been fortunate to have been part of a number of gatherings where the presence of the Lord has been manifest in many ways, we are still waiting to see a fulfillment of Verse 14 in our life on earth! Just as we grow toward seeing the hand of the Lord in every circumstance and hearing His voice from many sources, we also grow toward more perfect worship in the midst of all of life's activities. We become more thoroughly available to Him throughout the day and we become "living epistles, read of all men." We have been aware for 40 years that the level of congregational worship seems to be proportional to the maturity level of those believers present, where "maturity level" is defined by the degree to which we become as little children before Him.
One of the most immediately effective expressions of worship, especially in gatherings, is song. However, song is equally effective when we are alone with God. I remember that my grandmother would frequently try to sing as she worked around our house (she lived with us). She always said that she wished that she had a better singing voice so that she could praise the Lord better. Well she got her wish because she is in the presence of the Lord now, singing His praises for eternity!
Every kind of appropriate song, whether psalms like those of the Old Testament, or hymns directed to God, or spiritual songs, blesses the Lord. It pleases the Lord to reveal Himself to us during such moments. Some have even heard the Lord singing in the midst of the congregation!
11 For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren,12 Saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee. Hebrews 2:11-12
However, if our expressions of worship grow no further than singing together then it grieves the Holy Spirit, and eventually even the singing may develop into nothing more than a mechanical routine.
I remember one local gathering of about 12-15 saints many long years ago. One relatively young couple had a gift in music, so they led us in singing praises to our God. The only problem was that they exceeded their anointing and went on and on. The Lord brought to my mind a picture of the Israelites coming out of Egypt during the Exodus. They marched five in a row Exodus 13:18). With at least one million people (counting women and children), the parade of people must have been at least 114 miles long, assuming three feet between rows. (Some simple arithmetic will confirm this.) The singers and musicians, like everyone else, had their specific position in the parade. However, if someone had been sitting on a grandstand and viewed the parade as it passed by, after the singers and musicians passed the grandstand there would come a point in time when they could no longer be heard because of the great distance. The moral of that picture is that a little pepper is good but a lot of pepper spoils the broth. In other words, the singers and musicians have a purpose to lead us into praise and worship, but once their function has been completed, they need to be careful not to exceed their anointing. They can become an end in themselves. We need to know when to minister overtly and when to stop ministering overtly.
Marion Fretwell, a good brother who was serving the Lord many years before what men call Latter Rain began, put it this way: "I will come unto thee" is the essence of worship (see Exodus 20:24, below). Our approach to God is quite secondary. Unless He comes unto us, our worship service may be nice, but unfruitful. Jesus said,
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:19-20
Verse 19 has been greatly distorted by many preachers. That Verse does NOT mean that you and I can agree that we both will be given a new Mercedes car every year!
Jesus did NOT say that where two or three gather together on Sunday morning (or any other time) that He would be present. He said that where two or three are gathered together (by the Holy Ghost in His name) then He would be in our midst. There IS a difference! The Holy Ghost MUST be in control. Hundreds of thousands gather together every Sunday morning in churches at various levels. But is the Holy Ghost in control? Is there a manifestation of the Lord?
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto Me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. Exodus 20:24
An altar is a place of worship. Exodus 20:24, above, seems to indicate that the Lord's first choice was an altar of earth. I have not yet found one verse in scripture where a natural altar of earth was built. What then, is the altar of earth? It is you and me! It is the Church! We are that altar of earth! Paul put it this way:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
Verse 24 is forward-looking to the new covenant and the time when the tabernacle of God is with men (Revelation 21:3). What moves the Lord to come unto us? James answers that question:
6 But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 4:6-10
An altar of stone (Exodus 20:25) was acceptable under certain conditions. Please note that it is not acceptable for man to have a part in shaping the stones that are used for an altar unto the Lord. This too is God's work and it is marvelous in our eyes. Man's ways pollute.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. Psalm 95:2Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Psalm 100:2Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4
The "gate" speaks of the mind. The human mind is the gateway to the heart and soul. The "door" speaks of the heart. God's gateway to our spirit is our heart. In the above verse, "enter into His gates" means to understand the mind and the ways of the Lord. Note that Psalm 95:2 and Psalm 100:2 speak of coming BEFORE His presence, not coming into His presence.
How do we enter into His presence? First of all we can NOT enter into His presence or be aware of His presence by our own works, strength, or power. We enter into His presence by His grace and mercy and by keeping our garments clean.
We also have a responsibility in order to enter into His presence. This responsibility is stated numerous times in the Psalms. We could also add to Psalm 100:4 that we enter into the Holy of Holies, or enter into His presence, with worship.
Further, because no flesh can glory in His presence and because no sin can be in His presence, it is vital that we keep our garments clean. We keep our garments clean by walking in the light which we have received.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in Thy presence. Psalm 140:13The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou will not despise. Psalm 51:17He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. Micah 6:8
1 Thus says the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto Me? And where is the place of My rest?2 For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. Isaiah 66:1-2
For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15
1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts 13:1-2
Notice the order in Verse 2 ... they ministered to the Lord and fasted. It does NOT say they fasted and ministered to the Lord. There IS a difference! Some believers fast in order to better minister to the Lord. That constitutes the preplanning of (Christian) man, not the spontaneity of the Holy Ghost. The prophets and teachers in Antioch became so caught up in ministering to the Lord that they "forgot" to eat and thus fasted. It wasn't so much that they "forgot" to eat, however. Rather it was because they had only one thing on their minds ... to minister to the Lord in praise and worship!
A solid, guiding principle, when you want to determine the significance of any scriptural term, is to go back and see where that term is first used in the Bible. A second, solid, guiding principle is to look for the spiritual significance rather than the natural-level meaning. The first occurrence of "worship" is in Genesis 22.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. Genesis 22:5-6
In the Old Testament the most commonly used Hebrew word for worship is shachah (pronounced shaw-khaw'). This is a primitive root; which means to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, or worship.
Do you find it interesting that scripture does not record anything that most Christians today call worship? The scripture says only that Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, his son Isaac, fire in his hand, and a knife. That represents true worship. Please note also that in Genesis 22, the Lord never promised Abraham anything in exchange for sacrificing his only son, Isaac; neither did Abraham ask for anything in return for sacrificing his only son. In other words, obedience is better than sacrifice. When the Lord told Abraham to go and sacrifice his only son, Abraham simply said, "Yes, Lord." He asked no questions; he simply obeyed! Note that the Lord told Abraham to take his son Isaac, his only son, and offer him for a burnt offering. What about Ishmael? Was Ishmael not Abraham's son also? Yes, Ishmael was Abraham's son but Ishmael was a product of the flesh, not born of God. Since this test was from God and since this is true worship, we must conclude that there is nothing about the flesh that can be offered to and accepted by God as worship. There is nothing in our emotional realm that can substitute for worship. Worship must be born of God. Deep calls unto deep.
Worship never asks for something for me but desires to give everything to the Lord. As such, worship is a heart attitude, rather than any kind of outward manifestations. Therefore, we believe that all of our singing, dancing, clapping, shouting, etc., falls under the category of praise, not worship.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken [or give heed] than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
In Genesis 22:5, Abraham said that he and the lad would go and worship. Did Abraham change his mind? Did he forget to worship? NO! Genesis 22:6-13 says that he DID worship.
Therefore, from Scripture, true worship is defined by our voluntary, unquestioned obedience to the rhema word of the Lord as revealed by the Holy Ghost. Further, worship springs out of a pure heart that fears God.
And He said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me. Genesis 22:12But as for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy: and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple. Psalm 5:7O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth.
Psalm 96:9
Let us look at another scriptural definition of worship from the New Testament.
8 Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;9 And saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:8-10
First of all, do you find it rather ironic that the devil tried to give back the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them to the One Who created them in the beginning? Of course, the devil had his price for returning the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them ... the devil wanted Jesus to fall down and worship him. If the ultimate plan and desire of the devil was for Jesus to fall down and worship him, what do you think is the ultimate desire of the Lord?
Did the devil have that "right" in the first place? Did he have the authority to give back to the Creator the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them? Yes. God, in the beginning, had given to man (Adam) dominion over all of the earth (Genesis 1:26-30). When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, they did so by obeying the voice of the devil rather than the voice of the Lord. In effect, Adam and Eve fell down and worshipped the devil (by being obedient to him). In the process the devil became the new "owner" of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them ... until Jesus died on the cross.
In Verse 10, above, the word translated as "worship" is the Greek proskuneo, which we previously defined. The Greek word in Verse 10 translated as "serve" is latreuo, which can also be translated as "worship." The distinction is that latreuo means an outward manifestation of worship, or what we "do," whereas proskuneo is a condition or state of the heart, which is inward. It seems to us that most Christian worship services today concentrate much more on our interpretation of latreuo, or external acts, rather than proskuneo.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,8 This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.9 But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:7-9
Some pastors have no idea about all of the commandments of men that are commonly taught as correct doctrine. If the truth were known, none of us currently see all of the traditions and commandments of men that are taught as "standard" teaching. Further all of the ways of the Lord are clearly written in the law and in the prophets, if we only had ears to hear. Please read Verse 9, above, one more time!
14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. Acts 24:14-16
In the words of that great hymn, which is appropriate for every day of the year,
and which speaks of worship,
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant;
come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels:
O come, let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
sing all ye bright hosts of heav'n above;
Glory to God, all glory in the highest:
O come, let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.
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