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Worship – Pt 4

THE PLACE OF BOTH THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD IN WORSHIP

We need to understand these two (2) dimensions:  What is the place of the Spirit and the Word in worship?  Sometimes I hear people say, “If only we could have longer times of worship without preaching.  But according to the Scripture, preaching is worship. Paul says, “Be filled with the Spirit!  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and Spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in hearts to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19).  In this case, the Spirit produces worship, but then we read, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and Spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).  Here the Word produces worship.  So New Testament worship is always in Spirit and Truth.

THE SPIRIT IN WORSHIP

The natural result if the Spirit filled life is worship.  When the apostles were baptized in the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they spoke in tongues and glorified God. Tongues release our heart to worship and help us to express our deepest feelings to God.

The Greek word translated, ‘worship’ in John 4 is ‘proskuneo’ which means to come towards, to kiss.  This implies great intimacy.  When Paul says, “We … are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3), he used the word, latreuo.  This word has nothing to do with expressing intimacy.  Rather it is about worshipping God in everything that we do.  So we need the help of the Spirit to express intimacy with God in our worship times, and in the way we live with others.

The baptism in the Spirit is not the same as being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).  When Paul says, ‘be filled with the Spirit”, he does not mean to be filled in the same way as an empty glass is filled from a jug.  He means, ‘Be preoccupied with the Spirit’ – just as you can be totally immersed in a hobby.  God wants us to live each day under the control of the Spirit, so that when we come to a worship time, we will be able to enjoy His presence right away.  So true worship which takes place in the realm of the Spirit, expresses intimacy and also embraces the whole realm of life’s activities.

THE WORD IN WORSHIP

The Word is also important in worship.  We must be careful not to emphasise subjectivity, experiences and feelings.  God’s truth remains constant and it will sustain us when we are battling with emotions, pressures and trials.  If we are going to be worshippers in truth, we must get truth into us.  So let us study theology and let us read and memorise Scriptures about God’s greatness – His faithfulness, mercy, justice, compassion and righteousness.  Let us go through the Psalms and learn what David said about God.  Let us sing hymns that give us a sense of God – consciousness, which say things about God that are revealed in the Scriptures.

If we know the Word, we would not always be frantically leafing through the Bible to find a verse. The Scriptures will pour out of us and our worship will always have content.

THE POWER OF THE WORD

The Word has amazing power (Ephesians 1:19). 

  • God’s intrinsic power – the fact that He is powerful.
  • God’s saving power – the fact that He has saves us from sin and the devil.
  • God’s manifest power – the fact that He loves to manifest His presence among His people.

We do not worship to create an effect but when we worship, faith grows in us.  The Old Testament Hebrew word for meditate means to ‘chew the cud’.  So when we meditate on Scripture, the truth of the Scripture gets hold of us.  This is not mindless repetition; it is meditation and can inspire great faith in us.

God is not primarily interested in worship.  He is seeking worshippers – and that has to do with our relationship with Him, expressing our love for Him and knowing our security in Him.  We have the Holy Spirit and the Word to enable us to bring Him the kind of worship that He is looking for.  Let us do that!

REFERRENCES

Lockyer, Herbert, Sr., Bruce, F.F. and Harrison, R.K. (1986). Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

Oxford Student’s Dictionary (2002). Oxford University Press.

Pope, Dave (1991). Giving the Best in Worship: A Heart Response to the Love of God. CWR, Waverley Abbey House, England.

The Amplified Bible (1987). Zondervan Publishing House, U.S.A.

The First Scofield Study Bible, King James Version (1986). Barbour and Company, Inc.