Many people equate being religious with worship, and for good reason. Worship may not be all that we do in service to God, but it must be a necessary and fundamental part of it.
What is worship? Let us consider four points about this subject.
The Act of Coming before God
When Jesus discussed the topic of worship with the Samaritan woman, He said to her, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). The word worship denotes the idea of bowing or kneeling before someone as a sign of reverence. It necessarily involves the action (the act performed) and the purpose (the intent of the act).
When we worship, we are humbly approaching God and bowing our hearts before Him. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, God “seeks [people] to be His worshipers” (John 4:23); yet in order for our worship to please Him, we need to have the proper attitude and do the things that He wants us to do.
God Is Worthy of Worship
This recognition is a necessary component of our worshiping “in spirit.” When John received the vision of the scene in heaven, the living creatures and elders around the throne offered their praise to the Lord: “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (Revelation 4:11). All things were made by Him; therefore, He is worthy of all the praise we can offer to Him.
In addition to His work in creation, the Lord also sustains us with all that we need in this life (Colossians 1:16-17), blesses us with everything that is good (James 1:17), and offers us salvation through His grace (Ephesians 2:8). For these reasons and more, He is worthy of our worship.
The Acts of Worship
The New Testament identifies certain “acts” of worship in which the early church was engaged. If we were to eliminate every tradition that originated in the mind of man, what would our worship look like? It would look like what we can read about in the New Testament. Under the direction of the apostles, the early church engaged in the following “acts”:
- Singing (Ephesians 5:19)
- Praying (Acts 4:23-31)
- Listening to God’s word (Acts 20:7)
- Observing the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
- Giving on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
If we want to worship God “in truth,” we will follow the same pattern and worship in the way that we know is pleasing to Him.
Worship Is to Be a Priority
We need to recognize that assembling with our brethren for worship is a reason to rejoice. The psalmist wrote, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1). We should not view this as a burden; instead, we need to look forward to the opportunities we have to gather for worship.
Even with the daily responsibilities and activities that we have, we need to make time for worship. Jesus explained what our priorities ought to be: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Spiritual things – including worship – must come first in our lives.
Conclusion
So what is worship? It is the act of coming before God, humbling ourselves, and offering the praise He deserves. Let us worship Him in spirit and truth – according to what we find in His word – and not allow the things of this life to take precedence over this.
