PRINCIPLE 28 |
We use the word "worship" often, but sometimes we are at a loss when we attempt to define it.
In order to answer these questions and to define worship, we will first take note of the Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible that are translated "worship." Then we will look at what Jesus said about worship, and consider some of the implications for our own personal worship experiences and for the place of worship in the life of the local church.
Recall the sequence of inner functions: impression, then personal functions (intellectual, emotional, and volitional), then expression (see Principle 5). If we keep this sequence in mind, we will easily see the significance of the Hebrew and Greek words discussed in this section.
What are the literal meanings of the principal Hebrew and Greek words translated "worship" in the Bible? The Old Testament word used to speak of the worship of God, shachah, means "to bow self down." Proskuneo, the principal New Testament word for the worship of God, means "to bow down or to kiss the hand toward." Obviously, "bowing down" and "kissing the hand toward" are expressions. They are not merely awarenesses or feelings. By comparing the meanings of these two words with the sequence of inner functions, we conclude that worship is the response or the output. To be sure, this output is an expression which arises from input, awareness, feeling, and decision. But worship does not exist until there is expression.
Thus, we should define worship in terms of expression. Here is a suggested definition: Worship is my voluntary, conscious expression to God of his worth, greatness, and goodness to me.
While in Samaria, Jesus met a woman at a well. In their discussion Jesus taught that, in the near future, expressions of worship would no longer be restricted to a certain location. According to the law, under which Jesus lived, worship had been tied to a particular city (Jerusalem) and to a particular building (the temple). But the new arrangement would not have those restrictions.
The woman said, "... Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:19-24)
Later, Paul wrote that we worship in the Spirit of God and do not rely on the external expressions demanded by the law (Philippians 3:3).
What does it mean to worship God in spirit? For one thing, it seems safe to assume that worship in spirit does not refer to some thoughtless experience of going through an empty ritual. But even in our so-called informal churches we do have our rituals.
Walk.
Sit.
Choir.
Stand.
Always the same; isn't it bland.
Hymn.
News.
Solo.
Prayer.
Always the same; you've been there.
One.
Two.
Three.
Review.
Always the same; déjà vu.
Stand.
Sing.
Walk.
Talk.
Always the same.
Such monotonous uniformity and thoughtless repetition is a violation of the idea of "conscious expression," as mentioned in the definition of worship. If we are not consciously active in our worship, it is not true worship. Paul alluded to this when he wrote, "I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind" (1 Corinthians 14:15).
But let's suppose that our minds are awake and active. The expressions that spring from our awareness of God can be expressed in three different ways: mentally, vocally, and behaviorally. The mental expression is done in our thoughts, rather than externally, as in silent prayer. The vocal expression comes when we speak or sing out loud to God. The behavioral expression lets our actions do the talking – we express God's worth, greatness, and goodness by what we do.
If there is a contradiction between our internal expression and our external expression, then we are guilty of deception. If there is a contradiction between what we say and what we do, then we are hypocrites. Any "worship" that is so chopped up that there is a discrepancy between the mental, vocal, and behavioral expressions certainly cannot be properly called worshiping in the spirit.
Furthermore, if there is a contradiction between my expressions and my beliefs, then again I am not worshiping in spirit. If I am to worship in spirit, there must be a positive continuity between what I believe (my awareness or knowledge of God) and what I express. There must also be a positive continuity between what I express silently, vocally, and behaviorally.
There is a practical principle here: I must let my external worship arise from my mental worship, and I must let my mental worship arise from my awareness of God. In other words, what I say to God by my words or my actions must spring from what I say to him silently; and what I say to him silently must spring from what I know to be true about him.
This brings us to the question: What does it mean to worship God in truth? The sequence of human functions reminds us that worship, since it is an expression, is always a response to knowledge. Knowledge about God's worth is a prerequisite to expression of God's worth. People who do not know about God cannot worship him. Also, people who have a false knowledge of God cannot worship him in truth. The sequence of human functions also reminds us that input or instruction about God is a prerequisite to both knowledge of God and worship of God.
At this point let us examine the phrases "knowledge of God," and "knowing God personally." Sometimes these phrases are used to describe something that is supposedly quite different from knowledge about God – not only far different, but supposedly far better. But knowing God personally should not be separated from knowing about God. Indeed, we must know about God, and then respond to what we know. As we read the Bible, we learn about God's character, about his actions, about his desires and plans, about what he loves and hates. Furthermore, what we learn about God is very personal to us, for what he plans, and what he desires, and what he expects has to do with us. So when we respond to what God says, we are responding personally to him.
Thus, two elements must always be linked together in our thinking. The first is knowledge about God, and the second is personal response to that knowledge. The first is a prerequisite to the second; the second is expected to follow from the first. When we respond positively to what we know about God, we truly are growing in our personal knowledge of God.
A problem arises, however, since many people think that knowledge of God comes from an innate, direct experience with God that bypasses knowledge about God. Such direct "contact" apart from biblical revelation about God is the essence of mysticism. This mystical "contact" sounds very spiritual, but it is heretical. When we have genuine, personal contact with God because we read what the Bible says and respond to it, we are having a spiritual experience, but not a mystical experience. It is a spiritual experience because we are spirits (or, we each have a spirit) and we are interacting with God who also is spirit.
We should not seek mystical experiences. We should not seek God beyond the Bible. Rather, we should seek to know God personally by responding to the personal things he has told us to do. Such knowledge of God (the legitimate kind) will always stem from knowledge about God as contained in the Bible. Any so-called contact with God that is not based on what the Bible says is in reality no contact at all, at least no contact with God! The person who seeks God without the aid of the Bible should be warned that he is opening himself to the trickery and deception of the devil. Remember Eve. She sought knowledge of divine things (good and evil), and when she set aside the command of God she unknowingly had only Satan to deal with. Even if we think we see an angel of light, beware, "for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).
A parallel idea exists in connection with worship. There is nothing mystical about true worship. Worship is spiritual, but not mystical. In its simplest form, worship means telling or showing God how important we think he is. And there is nothing mystical about that! Worship is similar to knowing God personally in the sense that both are dependent on knowledge about God. A person must know something about God's worth, greatness, and goodness before he can worship God. He gains this knowledge about God through biblical instruction or input.
For a more complete discussion of spirituality, see the paper Spirituality, not Mysticism.
The fact that input must precede output should be applied practically to our worship services. Those elements which supply input (such as the pastor's sermon) should precede those outward expressions of our worship (such as prayer or congregational singing).
Let us think for a moment about the selection of songs for worship. Not every song that talks about worship is really a worship song. When we sing "Praise the Savior, ye who know him," we are not worshiping so much as we are exhorting others to worship. On the other hand, when we sing "Jesus, the very thought of thee," we are worshiping. The first song is addressed to others about God; the second song addresses God directly. Remember that we defined worship as an "expression to God." In that light, it is easy to see why only the second song is truly a worship song.
Expressions of worship should not be limited to church buildings. Anywhere you can think, speak, or act, you can also worship. And that worship can be in spirit and truth.
Furthermore, there are many types of genuine worship. When a person claps his hands above his head as he sings, is that really worship? If that is his way of consciously expressing God's worth, then it is real worship. If an act of kindness is done as a conscious expression of God's worth, it is genuine worship. If I restrain myself from copying a neighbor's quiz answer, and if this is consciously done as an expression of God's worth to me, it is worship. If I work hard at my sport and that hard work is consciously an expression of God's worth to me, that is worship. If I sing a song that praises the character of God and if I mean what I sing, that is worship. If I say silently to God, "You are my guide, I need you," that is worship. If I teach a Sunday school class because of God's worth to me, that is worship.
Worship takes many forms. When some other Christian worships, his communication is primarily from him to God, not to us. He and God will be able to tell whether or not his worship is in spirit and truth, but we will not. Certainly we will not be justified condemning his worship just because his form of expression is foreign to us. Jesus warned against such foolishness when he said, "Do not judge according to appearance" (John 7:24).
One more question seems appropriate. Is there such a thing as a worship atmosphere? In one sense there is, and in another sense there isn't. It is true that the atmosphere, or environment, affects people, and this effect can be seen in a number of ways.
First, there is the effect of association. Because of certain surroundings (such as a church auditorium, or a flat rock near a quiet lake), some people might be caused to think about God because of previous experiences at those locations. Thus, because we remember, and because we form associations, our surroundings can provide some input for worship.
Second, there is the effect of sequencing. Because the congregation always rises to sing the doxology at the beginning of the service, we might also rise and sing. But such singing, caused by the sequence of events in our environment, is not necessarily any higher an activity than an unconscious conditioned reflex. And, if it is unconscious, it is not worship.
The combination of these two aspects of the environment (association and sequencing) can be very strong. When the physical surroundings of high ceilings and dim lights are combined with the ritual sequence of stand, sing, pray, etc., it is very easy to be entrapped and to commit the crimes of deception and hypocrisy. We must avoid being carried along through the motions of worship by our environment.
Third, our environment can provide the needed input for the response of worship. If we are reading a good theology book, or if we are listening to a friend tell about the Lord's faithfulness in his life, we are receiving input for worship. In this sense, an atmosphere for worship has been created. So, we can conclude that there is such a thing as an atmosphere of worship. At times this atmosphere is helpful; at times it is dangerous.
Yet there is another sense in which worship is so highly personal that the atmosphere should make little difference. God's worth can be consciously expressed on a busy highway, or in a committee meeting. Of course, there are some environments which are so distracting that thought about God is difficult, such as when we are watching a slam-bam car chase on TV. But there is a deeper sense in which we can neither depend on our environment to cause us to worship, nor blame our environment if we fail to worship. With this in mind, the concept of an atmosphere of worship loses much of its significance.
The person who is responsible for planning worship services should try to remove distractions. Dim lights and rituals should be avoided, lest we program people through some thoughtless motions of worship. And, most importantly, plenty of information about God should be provided as input for worship.
Remember, when we are in a traditional worship setting, we shouldn't just go through the motions. Instead, we should mean what we express. Nor do we wait for the weekly, traditional worship setting in order to worship. If we know something good about God, we should express it to God, silently, verbally, or by our actions.
The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:23)