We need to make a distinction between the inner essence of worship and the external expression of it. This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 15:8-9 (ESV):
“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, ….’”
For Jesus, this worship amounts to zero. That is what “vain” means. This is not worship, because there is no heart dimension to it. We can attend church services and never be worshipping if it is all
Right Thinking
The question then comes to us: “What is this inner, authentic, Godward experience of the heart that we call the essence of worship?” Jesus pointed us towards an answer in John 4:23-24 (ESV):
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We are to be Spirit worshippers, worshipping from the spirit and truth, driven by truth. Right worship, pleasing worship, always comes from our right understanding of how great and amazing our God really is - a true understanding of His very nature.
We could use words like treasuring God, delighting in God, or reverencing God. All these inner responses allow us to reflect on His infinite worth. This is what worship was designed to do - to put the supreme worth of God on display.
Two Acts of Worship
We worship God authentically when we know Him truly and treasure Him. Then the word “worship” refers to that inner valuing becoming visible in the world in two basic ways in the New Testament.
One is acts of the mouth - acts of praise and repentance in worship services or small groups. The other is acts of love with the body and the hands and the feet - acts of love that show the supreme value of God by what we are willing to sacrifice for the good of others. Hebrews 13:15-16 (ESV):
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Those two verses begin and end with the term “sacrifice”. Of course, the sacrifice is an echo from the Old Testament sacrifices, which were at the centre of worship and displayed the value of God through giving up a bull or a goat.
We value God’s redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s ministry to us, we are able to offer up the fruit of our lips that acknowledge His name, through worship services, singing and praying, repenting and confessing, and secondly, the fruit of good deeds.
Do not neglect to do good. Share what you have. Such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Both of these acts are acts of worship.
Roger Matthews