INTERSECT: What Is Worship?

First in a four-part series on the important yet often-controversial topic...

What is worship? On the surface this seems like a fairly simple question. The way we answer it, however, betrays a number of our assumptions about a host of other issues. For example, what does our answer reveal about the nature of Scripture and its role in worship? Or, how does our understanding of worship reveal our beliefs about the church and the nature of corporate worship? How might we distinguish between corporate versus individual worship, and how do they relate?

Over the centuries, the topic of worship has generated much controversy within the church, partly because one’s view of worship is an outgrowth of broader theological commitments. Furthermore, these commitments are not always self-evident to those who hold them.

We are devoting a series of four Intersect articles to the topic of worship. We would like to deal with the following four questions: 1) What is worship? 2) What governs our worship? 3) What is the role of worship? and 4) What is the relationship between worship and music? In this first installment, we want to briefly define worship.

Biblical Terminology

The most common expression for worship in the Old Testament utilizes the verb hishtah?wah, which essentially means “to prostrate oneself.” The expression is related to the word for ground and simply indicates the posture of being face to the ground. The physical posture of prostration symbolizes an inner posture of obeisance before God. It routinely describes the posture of individuals approaching a king, as in 2 Samuel 14:33: “He came and bowed down with his face on the ground before the king.”

This royal setting is similar to the worship of God. Moses hurriedly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord when he passed before Moses (Exodus 34:6, 8). After everything had been taken from Job, he fell on the ground and worshiped the Lord (Job 1:20). The psalmist invites God’s people to worship, bow down, and kneel before the Lord their Maker (Psalm 95:6).

The New Testament uses similar language. The Greek word proskune?, often translated “worship,” also signifies prostration. The ancient Greek translations used it to translate the Hebrew expression just described. The Greek word adds the nuance of kissing the feet or hem of the garment of the honoree. [1] Matthew used it to describe what the disciples did when the resurrected Christ first appeared to them: “Seeing him, they worshiped” (Matthew 28:17). Earlier in verse 9, Matthew records that His followers “grabbed his feet and worshiped him.” This context applies the same Old Testament language of prostration and obeisance to Jesus.

In both the Old and New Testaments, a coherent picture of worship emerges. The awesome presence of God with Moses, and the glorious sight of the resurrected Lord garner the same response: falling face down to the ground in fear and reverence. When God reveals Himself to His people, it instills reverential awe, which results in people lowering their faces to the ground in deference to His glory. The biblical language of worship tells us it involves humble deference coupled with reverential fear.

Appropriate Versus Inappropriate

The Bible also teaches there is right worship and wrong worship. To put it another way, there are appropriate ways to approach God and inappropriate ways to approach God.

One instructive example comes from Cain and Abel. God accepted the offering of one but not the other. Why? Some commentators observe God accepted Abel’s offering because Abel offered an animal sacrifice. This is a valid point, and one that becomes much clearer after Moses receives the law from God. In this context, however, the emphasis is on Abel’s disposition. Even though the term hishtah?wah is not used here, we sense Abel had a disposition of reverential humility—internal prostration. He came to God in fear and reverence, offering the best of what he had. Cain, on the other hand, brought leftovers to God. The evidence of his improper attitude manifests itself even further when the Lord lovingly corrects him. In rage, Cain killed his brother.

We learn more about worship in the law. Certain offerings are appropriate in certain circumstances; others are not. Priestly officials had to give close attention to the manner of their worship. The people of Israel were expected to give close attention to the kinds of offerings they brought to the temple, as well as their manner of presentation. Even the tabernacle itself followed a plan in its construction. The Old Testament underscores that God cares about how we worship. And the how of our worship likewise corresponds to the who, the character of the God we worship, as revealed in Scripture.

One further example is worth mentioning here. Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant when David tried to transport it to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:6-7). God was angry with Uzzah. Why? He disregarded the holiness of God. Did he mean to disrespect God? Probably not. Nonetheless, the Levites were responsible for handling the Ark, but this instruction had been ignored, even by David. Uzzah was not a Levite, and the consequences were severe.

Lest we think this situation is exclusive to the Old Testament, we need only look to Ananias and Sapphira. Amidst the church’s rapid growth, this couple seized an opportunity to promote themselves. They blasphemed God’s worship by using it for personal gain. God struck them down, and fear spread throughout the churches (Acts 5:1-11). This incident parallels the actions of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, who offered unauthorized or unholy fire before the Lord. They were struck dead as well (Leviticus 10:1-2). It would seem the manner of our worship matters greatly to the Lord.

Whole-Person Worship

The language and manner of worship in the Bible is comprehensive. It is external (manner) and internal (disposition). Worship involves the whole person—mind, heart, and will. When God created Adam and Eve, both were made in His image or likeness. The biblical record states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created him; male and female he created them.” [2] But what does the image of God actually mean? According to Forlines the imago Dei is summed up in the term personal. He contends, “The basic thrust of the idea of being created in the image of God is that man is a personal being. A person who thinks, feels, and acts.” [3]

Furthermore, the image of God in man is divided into two aspects. Forlines states, “What has been said about man as personal, rational, moral creature is frequently referred to as the formal likeness of God in man. I prefer to speak of it as the constitutional likeness of God in man. The image of God in man at creation also…included functional likeness. The functional likeness means that man, as created, thought, felt, and acted in a way that was pleasing to God.” [4] Therefore, humanity possesses a constitutional likeness to God, and this finds expression in the functions of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Through the redemption of Jesus Christ and the indwelling presence of the Spirit, Christians are enabled to worship in Spirit and in truth (John 4). This theological perspective correlates with the language of worship throughout the Bible. As God works within the individual believer and in the church, He aims to bring about transformation in our thoughts, affections, and actions—even in our worship. True biblical worship engages the total personality. We worship God with our minds, desires, and actions.

Admittedly, we have barely scratched the surface of this important topic. Nonetheless, worship in the Bible is humble deference and reverential awe before Christ our King. This governs the way we approach our King. Scripture instructs us on appropriate ways of worship. Christian worship “in Spirit and in truth” likewise informs our total personality. This kind of worship demonstrates the renewal of God’s image in man, as the Creator restores our total personality in right relationship to Himself.

About the Columnists: Dr. Matthew McAffee serves as provost and professor at Welch College. He has ministered in Free Will Baptist churches in Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, and Canada.
Dr. Barry Raper serves as program coordinator for Ministry Studies at Welch College. He pastors Bethel FWB in Ashland City, Tennessee.

[1] Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, Wilbur Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3d ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 882.

[2] Genesis 1:27.

[3] F. Leroy Forlines, The Quest for Truth: Answering Life’s Inescapable Questions (Nashville: Randall House Publications, 2001), 138.

[4] Ibid, 139.