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John 6:38 – Being Better Worshipers
One purpose of the church is to worship God. Notice how Jesus stated His purpose for coming: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). I can’t think of a better explanation of worship.
How can we better our worship? Someone wisely quipped, “We need better worshipers!” Amen! Better worship starts with better worshipers. Better worship is born in the heart. Better worship begins with imitating Jesus in His worship. Better worship necessitates that we understand what true worship is.
Notice carefully the following observation: “Worship primarily is about allegiance. When people do what they do to express worship, they are demonstrating their commitment to whomever or whatever they are worshiping.” (Chuck Kraft, “Shouldn’t We Be Teaching People How To Worship?,” Worship Leader, vol.2, no.6, Dec./Jan. 1994, p.11.) This is an enlightening description of worship. Doesn’t that describe Jesus’ worship? “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).
When we come together to reach up to God, we assemble. Ekklesia (assembly or church) comes “from ek, out of, and kleiss, a calling (kaleo, to call), was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens gathered to discuss the affairs of the State, Acts 19:39.” (Vine, pp.85-86) We are “called out” to worship. We are “called out” of the world into the heavenly realm. We are “called out” every day of our lives, but there is a special calling out as we come together. Although the phrase, “called out,” specifically refers to the world and its sinfulness, how “called out” of the world are we when we gather together? Where is our focus? Where are our thoughts? Remember, better worship takes better worshippers.
In being called “called out” we are by necessity “called together.” “In respect of the first, (ekklesia) was the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship for the transaction of public affairs. That they were summoned is expressed in the latter part of the word; that they were summoned out of the whole population….” (Trench, pp.1,2) In calling ourselves an assembly and understanding we are called out helps us understand why we are spiritually called out and physically called together. We must never forget that we are not called out into “nebulous nothingness.” We are called out so we may be called in, called together.
We are called out and called together to worship. Our English word “worship” was not originally a religious word, but is from the Old English woerthshipe and is composed or “worth” (value) and “ship” (state, condition, or quality). It was a word used to ascribe honor to dignitaries, on account of their standing, or value. We use the word to describe acts of honor or reverence given to God as the adoring regard of the creatures for the Creator: Because He is worthy.
What is worship? It is bowing down before God and giving Him our best – which is ourselves and everything we have. I created that description by looking at both the English word and the Greek word for worship We have already discussed the English word, now notice the Greek.
Proskuneo – “to make obeisance, do reverence to (from pros, towards, and kuneo, to kiss)…. (Vine, p.1258)
Obeisance is a gesture of respect or reverence, such as a bow, curtsy. In 1 Corinthians 14:25, the word is used of a man lying prostrate on his face. When we combine all of these ideas found in the Greek word in 1 Corinthians 14:25, the picture is a man laying his face, kissing the feet of Jesus. That is what we should feel like, and be willing to do, when we worship. That is being a servant; that is humility. That is worship.
Another word that describes our worship is “service.” Looking the word up in an English dictionary I came across many definitions that did not help. One of which was ceremony. I think we have missed the true and spiritual meaning of our gathering being a service if all we mean is a “ceremony of authorized acts.” Yes, everything must be authorized, but “service” is “primarily hired service.” (Vine, p.1031) Our service is something we do for God. We are a hired servant. A motto for this church and our lives could be: “worship is our service, and service is our worship.” (Romans 12:1) To worship is to serve.
“In the Christian assembly, God evidently does not care about many things that often concern us. The Scriptures tell us God cares about such issues as: Do we love one another? Are we growing in the faith? Are we maintaining our hope? Are we looking forward to Christ’s coming? Are we living pure and holy lives? Are we working for peace and unity among all believers? Are we letting the Holy Spirit (guide) us? Are we praising God and glorifying him in all things? Are we growing spiritually? Are we teaching the word to sinners and baptizing them into Christ? Are we maturing the converts? Are we seeking the lost sheep? Are we encouraging one another? Are we healing broken relationships? “Let’s focus on God. Let’s emphasize New Testament forms. Let’s remember the functions of the assembly. If we do, we know we will please God. We will probably also have a lot more joy, peace, and results from our assemblies. (Ibid., Warpula, p.30).
In fact, all that will make us better worshippers as we worship according to the will of our God.—just like Jesus.
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