True Biblical Worship

Worship is an attitude originates from the spirit of man. When a regenerated man worships God he shows the inward attitude of his heart towards God.

"Worship" derives from the Greek word "proskuneo" which means "to prostrate oneself in reverence and adoration towards God", or "kiss of the hand" of the object of worship to show reverence.

Biblical Example of True Worship

Psalms 95 paints a vivid picture of the steps to be taken in worshiping the Lord our God.

First, the psalmist gives his reason for praising Him with shouts of joy:

"For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods" (Ps. 95:3 and 4, NKJV).

We praise Him because He is our great and mighty God and He is worthy of our praise.

Notice the prelude to worship is praise and thanksgiving (verse 1 and 2). After this we enter into true worship:

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker" (verse 6).

The reason for worshiping Him is:

"For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand".

In other words, God wants every one of His sheep to worship Him. Any person who has no reason to worship Him is not His people!

Notice that to praise and to give thanks to God is a decision a man needs to make (in his soul realm) before he is able to enter into true spiritual worship.

The benefits of worship is hearing God's voice and entering His rest (Verses 7 and 11). God's voice comes with the revelation of God's purpose for the worshipers. If the worshipers obey and followup with the revelation he shall enter His rest.

Do we hear God's voice in our weekly "Worship" service in the Local Church? If we fail to hear His voice and fail to enter His rest then it is quite possible that we fail to worship him the way He wants us to. It is possible to praise Him correctly but fall short of true worship.

The Intimacy of Spiritual Union with God in Worship

As we have seen in my previous posting "The Saving of Souls" the spirit of the regenerated man enables him to relate to God directly in intimate union in the spiritual realm. Out of this Spirit-to-spirit union man gets to know Him and to worship Him. Man's ability to have union and communion with God in one Spirit is restored in the new birth.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians:

"Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh'. But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit" (1 Cor. 6:16 and 17, NIV, emphasis added).

Here Paul paints a vivid picture of the intimacy brought about by the union in one spirit between God and man by comparing it with the physical union between a man and a prostitute. The former is a Spirit-to-spirit union and the other is a body-to-body union. Both unions are equally intense and intimate. But, the former is pleasing to God and the other is an abomination to God. I am not saying that all body-to-body unions are not acceptable to God. The body-to-body union between a man and his wife is not only acceptable but honorable (Hebrews 13:4)!

Worship that is Acceptable to God

Jesus own Words declared who are the true worshipers and what form of worship God the Father seeks after:

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23 and 24, NKJV, emphasis added).

The two spiritual conditions laid down by Jesus to make believers' worship acceptable to God are "worship in spirit and in truth".

Worship God in Spirit

Believers need to worship God in spirit because God is Spirit. As I have mentioned earlier it is the spirit of the regenerated man and not his soul or his body that is capable of having direct relationship and fellowship with God. Fellowship and worship are both in the spiritual realm and they go hand in hand together. Our soul and body are not capable of worshiping the true God. Un-regenerated religious people usually worship their god in the soul realm - using their intellect to observe man-made rules and regulations; using their reasoning and their own strength and effort.

Let us examine the attitude of the Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritan woman was a sinful un-regenerated person. Obviously she was spiritually blind and only her soul realm was active. She did not understand things of the spirit and so she used her reasoning to explain her idea of worship. Her emphasis was the right place of worship (John 4:20). To her the place of worship is more important than the acceptable way of worshiping God. She was accustomed to follow rules and regulations.

Notice the words spoken by Jesus to the woman were prophetic. Within 100 years of the meeting with the woman the temple in Jerusalem (where the Jews gathered to worship) was destroyed. Jesus was telling her if she would worship in the spirit, then the place of worship became unimportant.

Worship God in Truth

I believe this means worshipers need to conduct themselves in sincerity, absolute openness and honesty before God. They need to come to God holding nothing back, concealing nothing and exposing their whole heart and life to Him. This excludes many things found in religious practice - things like hypocrisy, mere outward show, lip service and lying (insincerity).

The worship of Ananias and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5) illustrates this truth perfectly. They sold a possession and offered to God (as an act of worship) the proceeds of their sale. But their action was not sincere for they lied to the Holy Spirit. They pretended to have given all, but in actual fact they kept back a part for themselves. This action of failing to worship God in truth costs them their lives!

Major Spiritual Activities related to Worship of Regenerated Men

The Scripture reveals three major activites only the spirit of the regenerated men could accomplish. These are worship, fellowship and revelation taken in this order. Out of worship we have fellowhip with God and with other believers. Out of fellowship there is revelation and out of revelation there comes a spiritual birth.

This truth is vividly illustrated by the worship and fellowship of the believers in the first Church at Antioch.

"In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaeo (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off" (Act 13:1, 2, 3, NIV, emphasis added).

A group of believers including prophets and teachers were fellowshiping in the Church at Antioch. They were worshiping and fellowshiping with the Lord, ministering to Him together. Out of these spiritual activities (with prayer and fasting) came forth a divine revelation of a divine purpose - "The Holy Spirit said, ....". The Church received a divine instruction to send Paul and Barnabas for the First Missionary Journey.

The end result was that they accomplished the purpose of God as recorded at the end of Act 14.

"From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now accompleted" (Acts 14:26, NIV).

They've got the job done because it was born out of the Spirit and not out of the soul realm. The purpose of God is always fulfilled in the spiritual realm.

"What ever is born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4, NKJV).

What ever is born of God must succeed and cannot fail. What ever is born of God cannot be touched or be defeated by Satan. The same cannot be said about what ever is born of the human soul -mind, intellect, reasoning, will and emotion!

In fact, the soul realm could open a place for Satan's foothold. Satan cannot touch our spiritual worship to God because all true worship is in the spiritual realm.