The New Living Translation of the Bible uses some form of the word worship (worship, worshiping, worshiped, worshipers) 496 times. Scripture commands us to love God. Scripture instructs us to worship God.
Scripture clearly teaches that the worship of God needs to be a priority in the life of every Christian.
Worshipping God is something every Christian should be highly motivated to do on a daily basis.
This series of posts will discuss different aspects of worship.
Recently I’ve been trying to find a good definition for the word worship. I asked numerous individuals to give me their definition of worship. Here are some of the definitions I received for worship.
- Glorifies God
- Praising God
- Communication with God
- Just loving God
- Anything you can do and love God while you do it, that is worship
- Obedience
- Who we are in proper perspective to God.
- Come into God’s presence. Tell Him how great He is. Total submission.
- Focus on the Lord. Praise and thanksgiving.
- Everything that we spill out. Anything done in His name.
I also went on line to Webster’s Dictionary 1828. Here is what I found.
Webster’s Dictionary 1828 – ONLINE EDITION
AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
WORSHIP, verb transitive
- To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration.
Thou shalt worship no other God. Exodus 34:14.
Still not satisfied, I decided to write my own definition of worship. Here is what I came up with.
Godly worship is a 24/7 lifestyle of both knowing and responding.
We need to know:
- There is only one living and true God. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
- God is holy, perfect and without sin.
- God is the creator and sustainer of the universe and everything in it.
- God (God the Son) is Savior and Lord.
- God is omnipresent. (He is present everywhere at all times.)
- God is omniscient.(He knows everything.)
- God is omnipotent. (He can do anything.)
- God is worthy of our worship.
We need to respond by:
- Confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead.
… because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 ESV)
- Acknowledging that God is holy.
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3 ESV)
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy. (Matthew 6:9 NLT)
- Loving God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37 ESV)
- Living a life of obedience to God.
- Living a life that brings glory to God.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 ESV)
Does this define Godly worship? Let me know what you think.
(Be sure to read future posts that will discuss the importance of worshiping God.)
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.” (Revelation 19:6 ESV)
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