Lesson One - The Meaning of Worship
The word worship as used in the Bible means to serve, praise, honor, glorify, and to reverence. For it to be meaningful, it must be rendered by one intelligent being to another as stipulated by the one being worshipped. But let us take a little closer look.
1. We worship by serving
In this case the word serve means to minister, obey, work, worship, etc. The Bible pictures a child of God as a servant, with the Lord being his master. Paul described himself again and again as a servant. He said, Romans 1:1 (KJV) 1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, Peter and James did likewise in 2nd Peter 1:1 and James 1:1. What did they mean by this? They meant that they were now serving the Lord, having given their all to him. We are to do likewise. Paul exhorted, Romans 6:22 (KJV) 22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
To see what kind of service the LOrd wants, then let us notice the following verses of scriptures. Acts 20:19 (KJV) 19Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: Romans 14:16 - 19 (KJV) 16Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. 19Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Romans 12:11 (KJV) 11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Concerning our service, Paul writes, Romans 12:1 (KJV) 1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Ephesians 6:7 (KJV) 7With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: The Lord speaking to the church at Thyatira, said, Revelation 2:19 (KJV) 19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
We often times speak of the worship service. This is correct in that we are doing service unto the Lord. In another sense, all our lives are spent in service to God, and in this way we spend our lives in worship to him. How could we ever hope to worship the Lord either on Sunday, or through our life, if we failed to obey and serve him?
2. We worship the Lord by praising him.
When Paul and Silas were in prison, the record says, Acts 16:25 (KJV) 25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. Speaking of how the Lord has blessed us, and of our duty toward him, Paul writes, Ephesians 1:12 (KJV) 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. We read again, Hebrews 13:15 (KJV) 15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Peter says, 1 Peter 1:7 (KJV) 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 4:11 (KJV) 11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
We are to praise the Lord daily in all of our actions, in all that we do and say, but expecially when we come together on the Lord's Day for worship, we do so for the specific purpose of praising the Lord. We praise him to begin with by our presence, for the correct motive in being there, and then in that which we do while there. Our hearts are to be humbled, and through our study, prayers, singing, giving, and partaking of the Lord's Supper, we are to praise him. How could we praise him if we refuse to do so?
It is the Lord who has saved us, who blesses us, who gives us the hope of a better life, and it is the Lord that is to receive our honor.
4. We worship the Lord by glorifying him.
To glorify means to exalt, to honor, to praise. This is in keeping with our theme concerning the meaning of worship. But let us again notice some scriptures that set forth this idea:
Romans 15:6 (KJV) 6That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV) 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Peter 4:16 (KJV) 16Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
It should be our desire in life to point to God, to magnify him, to exalt and glorify his name, rather than to take any credit for ourselves. In comparison to him, we are nothing. Our purpose in gathering on the Lord's Day is to focus all attention on him and thus to worship.
5. We worship the Lord by showing reverence.
God is our maker and Christ is our savior. We are to respect them. We are to hear them. We are to obey them. We are to humble ourselves before them. We are to reverence them. The Psalmist said in the long ago,
Psalms 111:9 (KJV) 9. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. Then the Hebrew writer said,
Hebrews 12:27 - 28 (KJV) 27And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
It is only when we love the Lord, humble ourselves before him, that we can really and truly pour out our hearts and souls to the Lord in worship and praise. It is then that we can truly appreciate what Paul meant when he said,
Colossians 3:17 (KJV) 17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
So many go to worship only out of habit, because of the insistance of someone or to even be entertained. Many just go through the routine of worship, but never actually worship. These are the people who have never discovered the meaning of worship and consequently never get anything from it.
In the future, when we worship, let it be done in all seriousness, in all sincerity, with a pure heart, and thanksgiving, going before the Lord to his honor and glory both for now and for evermore. When we learn to worship him with meaning, we will want to worship him, and therefore it will mean something to us and to him that is being worshipped.
Study Questions
1. Give the subject of the lesson.
2. Define the word worship.
3. For it to be meaningful, how must it be rendered?
4. What does the word serve mean?
5. How is a child of God a servant?
6. Were Paul, Peter, and James servants?
7. What kind of service does the Lord want?
8. List some verses of scripture on this.
9. Why do we often speak of worship as being a worship service?
10. Can we worship the Lord acceptably apart from obedience?
11. Discuss some verses of scripture that teach that we are to praise the Lord.
12. How can we praise him?
13. Is it possible to honor the Father without honoring the Son?
14. Why is the Lord to be honored?
15. Tell what the word glorify means.
16. What should our desire in life be?
17. Explain the purpose of our assembling on the Lord's Day for worship.
18. Who is our maker? Who is our Savior?
19. How are we to respond to them?
20. Whose name should be reverend?
21. Quote Colossians 3:17.
22. How do the majority of people worship?
23. In what way should we approach worship?