True Worship
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship [proskuneo] the Father in spirit and truth; for such people, the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:20-24
In Old Testament times, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob built altars to the Lord and called on His name. In Genesis 24:63, And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening, and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. This kind of worship of God was unstructured and required no priest to complete. The Hebrew word most often translated as “worship” is shachah, and its basic meaning is to prostrate oneself or bow down. It is found more than 170 times in the Hebrew Bible and has, at its core, a recognition of the superiority of God. It can also be translated as to bow down, to prostrate oneself, to crouch, to fall down, to beseech humbly, and to do reverence. In Psalm 29:2, Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in holy array [hadarah – adornment, glory, majesty – in the beauty of holiness]. It is derived from a recognition of the glory due to His name.
Similarly, the Greek word translated as “worship” in the above passage is proskuneo. It can best be translated as paying reverence and homage to deity, rendering divine honors, worship, adore, with the basic idea of prostration. The issue being addressed by Jesus to the Samaritan woman is that of the structure of and motivation behind worship in the new covenant age. Jesus defines worship not by its location, either Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim, but by the heart and intention behind it.
In Spirit and Truth
Worship "in spirit" is worship within the liberated human situation newly disclosed by God. It happens in the "truth" that has come through Christ). Jesus Christ and His Word are recognized as "truth". God's Spirit leads the believer into "truth." Worship "in spirit and truth" is worship made possible by Jesus Christ and realized in the believer by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Fellowship with Jesus leads to correct worship of the Father. It is a right relationship with God from the heart and not centered on religious activity. Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote (Isaiah 29:13).
Pleasing God
So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness [hupomeno – endurance, perseverance]; and patience [makrothumia – longsuffering] joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Colossians 1:10-12
A genuine knowledge of Christ reveals itself in transformed character and a desire to please Him in all respects. This is the heart of worship. It bears fruit in every work and is a means of increasing in the knowledge of God since it brings the believer into the very heart of God. Within the richness of worship is found endurance and longsuffering, and a thankful heart with great joy, looking forward with great expectation to in the inheritance of the saints in Light. True worship is the by-product of a life devoted to walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury during WWII, made the following definitive statement about true worship:
For to worship is to quicken the conscience with the holiness of God, feed the mind with the truth of God, purge the imaginations by the beauty of God, open the heart to the love of God, and devote the will to the purpose of God.
It is not just a Sunday morning activity but the expression of an all-encompassing devotion to God.
The Refiner
“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. Malachi 3:2-4
The coming Messiah will be a purifier and a refiner to the sons of Levi, the faithful Jews. In Isaiah 48:10-11, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another. The Messiah would address all the impurities of idolatry and immorality of the people through His sacrificial offering of Himself on the cross. His offering would prepare the way for the Church but also look forward to His return for those Jews not yet reconciled to Jesus as Messiah. In Zechariah 13:9, “And I will bring the third part [the remnant] through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” Jesus would deliver the remnant through the Tribulation when they would declare Jesus as Lord.
To qualify as offerings in righteousness, the believer’s motives must be tried and tested. True worship is not the repetition of religious activities that conform to some acceptable standard but the sacrificial offering of self to the higher purposes of God. The believer accepts the challenges of his life as a by-product of that Refiner working Himself into the believer’s heart by the Holy Spirit, producing an expression of gratitude and thankfulness, being filled to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).
From the Psalms
The Psalms give us a number of dynamics associated with worship that provide a framework for new covenant believers in the current age. They include:
Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:11
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in holy array [hadarah – adornment, glory, majesty – in the beauty of holiness]. Psalm 29:2
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and they shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God. Psalm 86:9-10
Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness. Psalm 95:6-8
Worship the Lord in holy attire [in the beauty of holiness]; tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; indeed, the world is firmly established; it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.” Psalm 96:9-10
Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols; worship Him, all you gods. Psalm 97:7
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; Holy is He. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called upon the Lord, and He answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept His testimonies and the statute that He gave them. O Lord our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, and yet an avenger of their evil deeds. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the Lord our God. Psalm 99:5-9
Insights from Simeon
We can get insights from the patriarchs, including Enoch and Simeon. Hebrews 11:5 tells us that By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing [euarestoe - gratify entirely, to please] to God. True worship is a life intent on pleasing God. The Testament of Simeon gives us some insights into how God rescued him from jealousy with respect to his brother, Joseph (see Genesis 37). Through the Lord’s dealing with Simeon, he found his godly purpose:
My children, avoid all jealousy and envy. Live a devoted life with a good heart so that God will bless you like He did Joseph. Joseph never brought up the incident. Instead, he loved us and gave us great riches. Love each other and forsake envy because it ruins both the soul and body. It turns anger to war and puts you in a frenzy so that you cannot sleep. It destroys your wisdom, gnaws at your soul, stresses the body, and brings confusion. You actually begin to look like your body has been poisoned.
Joseph was so good-looking because he did not poison his body with wicked intentions. You can always see this in a person’s face. My children, be righteous before God, and you will find favor with God and men. Do not fornicate; it is the mother of all evils. It separates you from God and pushes you toward Belial [Satan]. I have seen in the writing of Enoch that your sons will be corrupted by fornication and will attack Levi with the sword. But Levi will win the war of the Lord and will conquer all of you. Levi and Judah will always produce the true kings and priests and rule over you as our father Jacob has prophesied.
I have foretold you all these things to make myself clear about the sin of your souls. If you forsake envy and stubbornness, you will flourish like a rose, like the cedars of Lebanon, and you will be holy forever and will branch afar off. Testament of Simeon 4-6
True worship is the direct work of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 14:15, What is the outcome, then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind also. It is the result of cooperation and agreement between the Holy Spirit and the believer’s mind (soul). Can two walk together unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3). It includes a concern for others (Hebrews 13:16). A desire to please God is the fertile ground that produces true worship.
Approaching the King
Now, it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight, and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So, Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be given to you.” Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” Esther 5:1-4
After three days of fasting, Esther was
ready to go to the king with her request. Even though she had not been with the
king in over a month, he was pleased that she came (although apprehensively),
and he held out the golden scepter, representing his total authority, toward her.
He sensed that Esther had come to request something, so he asked her for her
request. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need
(Hebrews 4:16). And he offered to give her whatever she wanted, even up to half
the kingdom. Esther's request was simple: she asked that Xerxes and Haman (an
enemy of the Hebrews) come to a banquet she had prepared. She asked for
something easy for the king to honor. True worship approaches God as totally
sovereign (God does whatever He pleases), not afraid to make any request, ready
to accept whatever God decides.
Matthew Ward wrote a wonderful song entitled “I Will Worship You.” The words capture the essence of true worship:
My God is faithful, my God is truthful
My God is boundless in all He is
My God is wisdom, my God is righteous
My God is vision for all who seek
So I will worship You In the beauty of holiness
And I will worship You for the things You've done in me
And when my life's complete, I'll place my crown at Your feet
And I will worship You on bended knee
My God is power, my God is glory
My God is ruler over all that is
My God is timeless, my God is justice
My God is mercy to the oppressed
So I will worship You In the beauty of holiness
And I will worship You for the things You've done in me
And when my life's complete, I'll place my crown at Your feet
And I will worship You on bended knee
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