What Is True Worship?
What is True Worship?
I am sure that you have asked yourself many, many
times as you’ve observed different religious groups, different
churches, different denominations, just what is
worship? Some churches have altars, they have candles,
incense, holy water; other denominations have no symbols
at all. You have certainly noticed so many variations
that you have thought many times, “If that’s the way they
worship, why does another group worship so differently?”
Each group may have a kernel of truth, but such diversity
of religious ritual among Christian believers cannot
all be in alignment with The Word.
What is true worship? The verses that are critically
important to understand are spoken by Jesus in John 4.
John 4:22-24:
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we
worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth.
Jesus said, “Ye worship ye know not what. . .” I believe
that is true for most people. Everybody worships.
The question is: Are we worshipping rightly? Do we
know what, how or why we worship?
Jesus said about worship that “the hour cometh. . .
when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in
spirit [The word “in” is the same Greek word translated
“by,” “by spirit.”] and in truth.” Worship the Father how?
You shall worship Him not by candles, not by altars,
not by Bible reading, not by singing, but by the spirit.
“. . .In spirit and in truth. . .” is the figure of speech
hendiadys: two nouns used but one thing meant. “Spirit”
is a noun and “truth” is a noun, the double noun being
used to doubly emphasize that it is spiritually true, or
truly spiritual. The Father seeketh a true worshipper to
worship thus—in spirit and in truth. If we can find out
what it is to worship God by the spirit, we know how to
truly worship.
The question is not what anybody thinks, but what
does The Word say? There have been so many ideas
brought to Christianity that it is often difficult for even
Biblical scholars to distinguish between that which is
genuine and that which is counterfeit. In other words, it
is hard to separate that which is truly Christianity from
that which is religion. Religion is what man has introduced.
There is much religion in so-called Christianity,
but Christianity does not literally have one ounce of
religion in it. Unless you know the difference between
religion and Christianity, you will become very confused.
Christianity, in a nut shell, is what God wrought in
Christ. Christianity is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The Bible teaches that God is Spirit and that we are
to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Jesus told this
truth when He spoke to the Samaritan woman. In John
4:20 the woman said to Jesus, “Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship.” Jesus replied in verse 21,
“. . .Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall
neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship
the Father.” How then shall He be worshipped?
Philippians 3:3:
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh.
This is true worship. The called-of-God are those who
“worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus.”
We rejoice in Christ Jesus, not in Jesus Christ. There
is a great difference. We do not rejoice in the humiliated
one, Jesus, but in the glorified Christ. Our rejoicing,
our worshipping is in the resurrected Christ. Our rejoicing
is not in that Jesus who was spit on or slapped or
persecuted or derided. We rejoice that He was more than
a conqueror, that He overcame and ascended up into
heaven, that He is seated at the right hand of God and
that on the day of Pentecost He sent “. . .forth this, which
ye now see and hear,” as stated in Acts 2:33. Rejoice
about Christ Jesus, the humiliated one who has been resurrected
and has ascended into glory.
To worship is to rejoice in Christ Jesus for what He
did, not what we do because the flesh is weak. Do not
judge men by the flesh. Have no confidence, trust, reliance
nor believing in the flesh. The flesh is so weak that
John 6:63 says, “. . .the flesh profiteth nothing. . . .” When
we have confidence in the flesh, we may assess one man
to be better than another on the basis of appearance. Yet,
if men are born again of God’s Spirit, whose children
are they? God’s! In God’s sight they are equally precious.
There are many things going on under the guise of
Christianity which are nothing more than having “confidence
in the flesh.” But we truly have our confidence
in what God wrought in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus made
us presentable to worship God.
Colossians 1:12:
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us
meet [adequate] to be partakers [to share fully] of
the inheritance of the saints in light.
Matthew 15 gives an account of worship, but again it
is not true worship.
Matthew 15:6-9:
. . .Thus have ye made the commandment of God
of none effect by your tradition.
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth,
and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is
far from me.
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.
Did their worship look genuine? Did they go through
religious ritual? Judging by the flesh, we would have
given them the stamp of approval. But what did the
Lord say? “In vain they do worship me.” Why did they
worship in vain? Because they were “. . .teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.”
Another example of vain worship is recorded in Mark.
Mark 7:5-9:
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk
not thy disciples according to the tradition of the
elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias
prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This
people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart
is far from me.
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men.
For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold
the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups:
and many other such like things ye do.
And he said unto them, Full well [with full knowlWhat
edge] ye reject the commandment of God, that ye
may keep your own tradition.
What kind of worship is this? Vain worship. Simply
performing the traditions of men, a hollow act.
Romans 1:25:
Who [people] changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature more than
the Creator. . . .
They worshipped man more than they worshipped
God. Vain worship has been going on for a long time. The
children of Israel wandered from God and worshipped
in vain. In Acts 7 and Revelation 9 the children of Israel
rejecting the preaching of their man of God, Moses, and
worshipping devil spirits is recorded.
Acts 7:40-47:
Saying unto Aaron, [the children of Israel said to
Aaron], Make us gods to go before us: for as for
this Moses, which brought us out of the land of
Egypt, we wot [know] not what is become of him.
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice
unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of
their own hands.
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the
host of heaven [devil spirits]; as it is written in the
book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye
offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space
of forty years in the wilderness?
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the
star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made
to worship them. . . .
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness,
as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses,
that he should make it according to the fashion that
he had seen.
Which also our fathers that came after brought in
with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom
God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto
the days of David;
Who found favour before God, and desired to find
a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
But Solomon built him an house.
Revelation 9:20:
And the rest of the men which were not killed by
these plagues yet repented not of the works of their
hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols
of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of
wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.
Worshipping the devil and devil spirits and everything
related to them is worshipping in vain. Satan tried cajoling
even Jesus himself into worshipping in vain.
Matthew 4:8, 9:
Again, the devil taketh him [Jesus] up into an exceeding
high mountain, and sheweth him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee,
if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
The greatest victory for the devil would have been to
have Jesus worship him. As human beings, we have two,
and only two, alternatives of worship—the true God and
the devil. If we worship the true God in. spirit we rejoice
in Christ Jesus, we have no confidence in the flesh. If
things surrounding us look black and society seems worse
and worse, do not get excited, but stand on the promises
of God and worship God in spirit and in truth. No good
end can come to those who worship anything but the
true God.
Revelation 19:20:
And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which
he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These
both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with
brimstone.
This destruction can easily be avoided; we must worship
God.
Revelation 22:9:
Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am
thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets,
and of them which keep the sayings of this book:
worship God.
How are we going to worship God by the spirit if we
are not born again of God’s Spirit? It is impossible. If
we are born again of God’s Spirit, filled with the power
of the holy spirit, we can worship the true God by the
spirit. And to worship by the spirit we must operate a
manifestation of the holy spirit. The manifestation of the
spirit which produces true worship is speaking in tongues.
When we worship God by way of speaking in tongues,
it is “speaking unto God.”
I Corinthians 14:2:
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh
not unto men, but unto God. . . .
Speaking in tongues is speaking the “wonderful works
of God.”
Acts 2:11:
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our
tongues the wonderful works of God.
Speaking in tongues is “magnifying God.”
Acts 10:46:
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify
God. . .
Speaking in tongues is praying perfectly.
Romans 8:26:
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us. . . .
Speaking in tongues is giving thanks well.
I Corinthians 14:17:
For thou verily givest thanks well. . . .
Speaking in tongues is worshipping “in [by] Spirit and
in truth.” Speaking in tongues is true worship. God who
is Spirit is communicating to his gift of holy spirit which
is His new creation in me. In other words, God’s Spirit
speaking to my spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues
is truly worship. How beautiful and yet how misunderstood
worship has become.