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Chapter 2: Worship:

Gateway to Communion

“I need to express myself more in worship. I feel closer to God when I do.”

“I have learned to come before God’s presence with fullness of joy and humble adoration.”

— FELLOW SPIRITUAL PILGRIMS

I first “caught” the real spirit of the spiritual disciplines through worship. As I stood in the back of a darkened college church during a student-led worship, three girls led the worship chorus, I Love You, Lord. Their faces shone as from their hearts they expressed their feelings in song:

I love You, Lord,

and I lift my voice

to worship You, O my soul. Rejoice!

In their joyful expression of personal devotion suddenly everything made sense for me. Worship became more than a liturgy or order of service, and song became more than “preliminaries.” These young women were reaching out to express love and devotion to God and inviting us to join them. That act had to be at the core of the spiritual life. What my heart learned that evening became something my mind then pursued. I became convinced that worship is the central priority of God’s people. It is at the heart of what He is calling us to do today. And it is the foundation of everything else that He wants to build into our lives.

For many conservative and evangelical Christians the center of life is evangelism or mission. But John Piper makes it clear that there is something more basic:

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.

Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.8

The Bible and Worship

For Christians, however, worship is central not because Jon Dybdahl experienced it or John Piper writes about it, but because the Bible makes it so. Worship is the predominant activity of believers and the natural response when the awesome, loving God of the universe manifests Himself. While biblical instances of worship are sometimes difficult to define, Scripture has at least 400 examples.

But even more than sheer numbers, the call to worship is the most basic command in Scripture. When an expert in religious law asks Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He gives a clear answer.9 First and foremost, He declares, “You are to love God with all your heart, soul and mind. Then second, you are to love your neighbor as yourself.” According to Jesus, the whole Old Testament hangs on these two commands, because the law and the prophets are the two major sections of that sacred collection.

What does it mean to love God? I have heard it said that you show your love to God by loving other people. That can’t be the whole answer, because it turns the first commandment into the second one! While loving God should lead to loving one’s neighbor, it has to be more than that.

Scripture makes it clear that you love God by worshiping Him. The two great acts of God in the Old Testament that tower above the biblical landscape are His creation of the world and His deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery. Both show God’s love and concern for the world and form the reason for all worship. Creation and redemption call forth worship as a loving response to these actions. Since God has created and redeemed us, we ought not only to worship Him, but also to love our neighbors, who also are objects of His love. No wonder Jesus declares that all the Old Testament hangs on these two “commandments.” The starting point, however, always is the worship response to God’s actions—both large and small—in our lives. We must love/worship Him with all of our hearts and souls.

The centrality of worship also becomes clear as we look at the Ten Commandments personally engraved by God on tablets of stone. Those 10 “words” or commands formed the heart of God’s covenant agreement with Israel, and the punishment for breaking them was death. Christianity has a long tradition of connecting the Ten Commandments with the two commandments to love in Matthew 22:10. Commandments 1–4 define love to God, and Commandments 6–10, which admonish us to refrain from stealing, murder, adultery, etc., describe the reality of love to our neighbor.

A close look at those first four commandments reveals that they all deal with worship. They safeguard worship of Israel’s God. Not only that, but the preface in Exodus 20:2 gives the basis or reason for true worship—Yahweh God is the one who has delivered Israel from Egyptian slavery. All calls to true worship stem from the convicting power of that truth about God’s redemption.

The first commandment states: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). In a world that believed in a multitude of gods and in which polytheism was rampant, God summoned Israel to “have” or worship only the Redeemer God Yahweh. The commandment does not specifically or implicitly deny the existence of other deities, but simply says that we should not worship them. They are not worthy of the adoration reserved only for the delivering God of the Exodus.

The second commandment forbids the making of idols (verses 4–6). Since worship of the idols of other gods would already be covered by the first commandment, the real essence of the second commandment would be the forbidding of the use of images of the true God in worship. Israel was to avoid the worship methods of the surrounding peoples—who made wide use of idols. Idols lessen God by capturing or localizing Him. He is too big and too universal to be limited to a humanly made representation. Those who worship Him can do so any place at any time without dependence on a material representation.

The third commandment forbids taking God’s name “in vain” (verse 7, KJV) or misusing it (verse 7). Traditionally many Christians have interpreted the passage as speaking against what we call “swearing” or profanity. Many understand it to mean the use of God’s name to curse someone else, or the voicing of inappropriate expletives when we are angry or hurt. No Israelite who valued his life would have even thought of doing such a thing. In later times God’s people came to consider His name as so holy that they could never utter it, even in worship. What the passage refers to is using God’s name to support one’s own words or promises by an oath, such as “I swear by the name of the Most High that I did not steal your lamb.” We bring disrespect to God and fail to worship Him when we use Him to back up our words that may or may not be true. Such a concept lies behind Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:34–37: “Do not swear at all … Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” Using God to support our human schemes is failing to give proper worship to Him.

The fourth commandment, Exodus 20:8–11 (see also Deuteronomy 5:12–15), speaks of keeping the Sabbath holy in order to remember God as Creator and Savior from Egyptian slavery. It sets aside time to remember Him. Love requires opportunities for remembrance and thus is part of worship. The fourth commandment safeguards that time of love and worship.

Worship is not only the predominant activity of believers in the Bible and the core of our response to God—it is even a preoccupation in heaven. The book of Revelation graphically pictures a divine realm in which praise has a central place. Four living creatures praise God (Revelation 5:11–12). The chorus of praise songs bursts forth from “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them” (verse 13). For the saved believer, praise flows joyfully with a loud voice in the courts of heaven (Revelation 7:9–10).

Why does the Bible identify worship as central to human existence? Why does it call for its careful safeguarding? Why do God’s creatures do it not only here but in heaven?

The answer is a simple one. It is that worship shows we understand God’s free grace. When we earn something, we do not worship the giver. After all, we deserve what we have received. When I get my salary, I do not worship the one signing my check, because I’ve worked for that money. The issuing of the check is the treasurer just doing his job. Rather, worship is so central because it vividly demonstrates a response to something undeserved. God’s rescue of Israel did not result from their merit. His deliverance of us from sin does not have its basis on our goodness. There is no way we deserved the grace that we received and no way that we can repay it. The only response we can make is worship as we acknowledge and clearly realize the tremendous love and grace that we have received. To fail to worship is to misunderstand or ignore grace, the core of Christian belief.

What Worship Is (and Is Not)

We may define worship first of all, as a response to God’s presence and/or action. Worship, then, sees Him as our primary audience, one whom we believe sees our reaching out to Him in praise. While this response can be personal and happen in my private prayer closet, often it will be corporate and take place as a group of believers together seek Him in joy.

Second, worship is a wholistic response in which our entire being reaches out. Matthew 22:37–38 calls on us to love God with all our heart and soul and mind. When that happens, the body is involved as well. Worship, then, includes more than just the cognitive, intellectual reasoning processes. All we are—including body, mind, emotions, will, and spirit—is involved.

Third, worship assumes real divine-human interchange. God sees and responds to worship, and the worshiper knows that God is there and basks in His presence. Just as we delight in being in a place where others cherish and love us, so God joyfully shows up where He is worshiped. True worship then feeds itself. As praise begins and the interchange commences, God’s presence enters that worship, which in turn intensifies the presence and the worship. It is a far cry from the formal “worship” found in many churches.

One of the problems with worship is that it has become a word used for many things that are not really worship. I see at least four common false models of worship. The first three can operate either corporately or individually.

The first false model is that of the classroom. It views worship as learning. In either our private devotions or church gathering we evaluate what goes on by how much knowledge we acquire. Church becomes a lecture hall, and personal study becomes God’s homework. Study is vital, but it is not worship. What study should be is a prelude to worship. Knowledge of God leads to worship, and further study should give birth to even more fervent and meaningful worship.

The second false model is that of the evangelistic tent. It regards the corporate religious services as a place of proclamation that invites sinners to accept Jesus. Private devotions are to convert or perhaps prepare one to share their faith with others. Again, evangelism itself is not wrong, but it is not worship. Rather, evangelism should be the result of worship. Meeting God in worship should inspire and empower us to invite others into the joy of worship.

The third false model is that of the psychologist’s couch. This approach uses worship or private adoration as an occasion in which God meets emotional and psychological needs. The sermon is kind of a mass counseling and private prayer is do-it-yourself therapy. One cannot doubt that true religion helps heal people emotionally. But if worship sets out initially to do that, something is not right. I believe that inner emotional healing often takes place as a result of worship. As we admit our unworthiness and celebrate God’s grace to us in worship, we are blessed, but it is a derived serendipitous fruit of worship, not the essence of what worship is.

The fourth false model is that of a spectator sport. For many, corporate worship is watching the professionals perform. We evaluate them. If they do well, we cheer, and if they do poorly, we criticize. We in the pew “pay” them to perform and want them to do the worship well. Such a model is tragically wrong. Our place in the corporate worship is to be a participant, not a spectator.

For me, worship happens only as I join in and actively participate in the worship itself. God is calling us today to return both privately and corporately to real worship. It must become our priority. Next I will outline some biblical teachings on worship and then seek to make some practical suggestions as to how we might revolutionize our own private worship and then be agents of God’s renewal or worship in His corporate body, the church.

Bible Words for Worship

The Bible has a rich vocabulary in regard to worship, probably fuller than that concerning any other concept. English stretches to do it justice. Words include: reverence, glorify, honor, praise (four different Hebrew words), magnify, bow down, fear, bless, extol, adore, give thanks, and we could go on. Human language and concepts find themselves taxed to the limit when the worthiness of God is the subject of expression.

In the Old Testament the most common word for worship is the verb šachah. Used more than 150 times, it has as its basic meaning “to prostrate oneself, bow down deeply, or do homage.” The Greek equivalent is proskuneo, which comes from the word that means literally “to kiss toward.” Often when people sought to show reverence to someone higher, they would stoop and/or prostrate themselves and kiss the ground or a proffered foot or hand, ring or scepter. By the time of the New Testament, the word was used exclusively with its object being or supposedly being divine.11

The significance of this lies in the fact that for the Bible the root meaning of worship is physical action. For the Hebrew, whose worldview closely connected mental processes with physical ones, worship included a mental awe of God and an appropriate physical response. The body and mind go together in worship and each influences the other.

In fact, Scripture (in particular the Psalms) connects many physical actions directly with worship. They include singing, shouting, dancing, uplifted hands, lifting of the head, kneeling, standing, bowing, prostrating, clapping of hands, bringing offerings, and playing musical instruments. Worship is clearly not intended to be a spectator sport that uses the mind only, but is meant to include the whole person in an active response to God.

When I first began to study this topic, it struck me that I had never prostrated myself before anyone in my life. Early one morning alone in my study I fell on my face and stretched out in awe before God. Something inside of me changed. I felt myself break inside in a way that I had never done before. Since then I have never been the same, and almost every morning now at the start of my devotional time I bow to the ground before the King of kings. I find it puts my life in perspective—I somehow sense who God is and simply maintain that bodily position for a while to let my mind begin to grasp what my body is saying about worship and who God is.

What needs to happen for many Christians—especially conservative, doctrinally oriented ones—is for them to move worship out of the purely rational, cognitive realm. Many such individuals approach worship as a doctrine to accept or believe, not an encounter to experience. Certainly the mind must be part of the worship experience, and people need to know who they are worshiping and why they seek God. However, if it stops there, we miss something essential. Feeling, passion, zeal, and emotion are all part of worship because the whole person must be part of the worship. In John 4:22–24, Jesus calls for true worshipers to worship in spirit and in truth. Some Christian traditions are strong on the truth part but seem to lack spirit. Others may have much spirit and emotion but forget or ignore the value of truth. Jesus wants us to find both as we express our love and adoration to Him.

Not only should worship involve the whole person, it must be participatory. Corporate worship oriented toward performance misses the mark. The congregation is not the audience for worship—God is. As such, all people should be a part of worship and actively involved. Worship and music leaders are not so much worship leaders but lead worshipers. To truly be lead worshipers, musicians must have a heart for worshiping God, not simply musical ability. They both model worship and invite the gathered people of God to join fully in their worship.

Recognizing the wholistic nature of worship and its participatory nature clarifies the key place of music. Since music directly touches more parts of us than the spoken word, it is important. Properly done, music is participatory.

Many Christian churches have in recent years been involved in music and worship wars. Congregations have debated the appropriateness of certain types of music with great heat. Often reactions split along generational lines.

I do not claim to have all the answers, but several observations may be helpful. It is tragic when battles over music keep people from worship itself. We should always ask the question: Is real worship taking place here? Are people meeting God? If the answers seem to be ‘yes,’ then the music is playing the role it should.

Musical tastes and preferences are always culturally and generationally influenced. What moves my children may not touch me and vice versa. Or what leads a Chinese toward God may not affect me and vice versa. We must be careful that our judgments do not rest solely on what we believe is the right way. God can use many types of vehicles for His truth. Even our past history influences the way we perceive various types of music. We must learn to be sensitive to how others see music. Discussions over music should never keep us from using this God-given medium as an effective part of true worship. If there is anything that I hope this chapter does, it is to move people back to the centrality of worship both corporately and privately. Corporate worship all too easily slips back into the learning classroom mold when the center of things becomes a teaching sermon. Worship services should be about worship. People must self-consciously worship, and the one in charge of the service must deliberately lead the congregation into worship. Even the result of the sermon should be a worship response—praise to God for what He has done, awe at His works, or repulsion at our waywardness before Him.

On a personal level, for many people their devotional time centers on a reading of inspirational material or Bible study. Nothing is wrong with such a practice, but again the basic mode becomes the homework cognitive learning model. Devotion time should be at its core—worship. Again, even the study must lead to worship. A time of prostration, a time of praise with hands and heart uplifted, a time of listening to music and responding and joining in, a time of singing or playing of musical instruments—such things are all true devotion and worship, not just something preliminary.

Many worship directors cannot truly lead because they have not worshiped personally in preparation beforehand. And many worshipers find corporate worship a challenge because they also have not worshiped personally. A person transformed in their private prayer discovers new life in otherwise unchanged corporate worship. They find something catching, something drawing—yes, even something evangelistic—about corporate worship that takes place in spirit and truth. When you enter a place where people have a heart for God and are reaching out to Him, you sense it. You find yourself drawn to it and want to be a part of it. Many churches are not evangelistic because, lacking true worship, their sense of God’s presence has become only a distant memory, not a present experience.

Practical Steps

How does one begin to understand and experience worship? How can one who lacks true worship find it? I have a few suggestions.

First, reflect on or seek a new experience of the grace, love, and awesomeness of God. All true worship springs from a sense of who God is, which then reveals who we are. Isaiah in his experience recorded in Isaiah 6 offers a model. His vision of the awesomeness and holiness of God drove him to worship and a deep sense of his own uncleanness. This in turn led to a statement of God’s forgiveness and cleansing and a divine commissioning. Such a realization about God is not a doctrine or a theology, but a whole person insight that affects all that we are.

Second, deliberately begin to take time personally to act and react in response to the experience of God. For Westerners that may best be done personally. Kneel and thank Him for His goodness. Sing a song or write a poem as an offering for what He has done for you. Stand in awe and bow your head at a sunrise or sunset. Lift your hands and offer Him all you are. Voice out loud your praise. Do whatever comes naturally as you respond fully to Him. Remember that what you are doing is not some preliminary to something else. You are fulfilling the essence, the core of a believer’s life. Let your joy and your feelings flow out in praise. You will be surprised by His presence and the response will grow and the presence will deepen. Make worship a major part of your personal private devotional time.

Third, let your new experience of worship transform your corporate experience. One student who studied the topic of worship came back and told how understanding worship itself had transformed her corporate worship experience even though nothing in the actual order of service changed. She had been transformed personally, and that had altered her corporate worship. How does this happen? Pause before entering church and thank God for a place where His name can be praised. Ask Him to move in you and in others during the service. Enter the sanctuary with joy, thanking God for inviting you and for another week of life. Look at other parishioners as brothers and sisters in worship and thank God for them. Kneel briefly as you sit down and then start your worship immediately. Participate fully in every part of the service, listening to the prayers and singing the songs from your heart. Do everything as an offering to God. You are there not to get a blessing, but to give a blessing, having come to bless and to worship God by joining in a corporate worship fest. Not all will know what you are doing, but getting even a few to start joining you will transform the spirit of the service. The worship service will become different even though outwardly it appears to remain the same. And in the end, the order of service may itself begin to alter.

As I teach many eager seminary students, some assume that just changing the order of service or the type of music will bring a worship renewal. That is not true. What needs to alter are people’s hearts and minds. When people meet God, worship will transform itself naturally. The order of service and music can help facilitate true worship, but having the right heart for worship is still the key.

Conclusion

Humanity’s initial true response to God’s action and presence was worship. That never ends. The book of Revelation portrays the inhabitants of heaven in worship forever. Many things begin and then end. But worship for true believers never ceases. Shouldn’t we heed God’s call and start experiencing real worship now? It is one thing that we can enjoy forever.

When we truly worship, we begin at a deep level to see God in all His love and glory. The natural next step is to look at ourselves. When Isaiah did that (Isaiah 6), he immediately found himself overwhelmed with a keen sense of his sin and unworthiness. Following that sequence, our next chapter deals with suggestions to help us take the step of serious self-examination and find God’s solution to our deep need.

8 John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Mission (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993), p. 11.

9 Note the whole passage in Matthew 22:34–40 and the parallel in Mark 12:28–31.

10 See Exodus 20:1–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21.

11 Gerhard Friedrich and Geoffrey W. Bromiley, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), Vol VI, pp. 758–766.