WHAT IS WORSHIP ‘IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH’?
Iain McKillop
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Who or What is the True God We Are Called to Worship?
The Christian Life as Worship
What is True Worship?
Concepts of Worship in the Hebrew Scriptures
Synagogue Worship
Jesus’ Attitude to Worship
New Testament Concepts of Worship
Who is Worship For?
What Should Worship Lead To?
Some Qualities of Worship
The Sacrificial Element of Worship
Some Christian Approaches to Worship
True Content in Worship
Communion / Eucharistic Worship
What Might Jesus Have Meant by Worshipping ‘in Spirit’?
What Might Jesus Have Meant by Worshipping ‘in Truth’?
INTRODUCTION
Jesus told the Samaritan woman: “... believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth...” [Jn.4:21-24]
What does it mean to ‘worship in spirit and truth’ as Jesus here seems to be teaching here should be the intention of every believer? I have quoted this passage many times when encouraging congregations to worship meaningfully and heard many other ministers do the same. However, I recognise that it is a phrase that trips easily off the tongue, but needs to be thought-through carefully if the Church is going to direct to God the worship that is deserved and which, in consequence, nourishes worshippers and deepens their faith and practice of discipleship.
In context, Jesus was talking about a future situation in which worship would be in spirit and in truth: “the hour is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth...” [Jn.4:21 & 5:28]. It is not clear when Jesus meant, though the implication seems to be that the time would not be far away: He could have been talking of an apocalyptic period, when God would purify the worship of God’s people. Or he could have been discussing a nearer time when the Holy Spirit would inspire God’s people in their worship. In relation to Christian worship, not fully knowing Jesus’ precise meaning need not cause difficulty: He was obviously claiming that the most perfect true worship should be ‘in spirit and truth’, whether among his immediate followers or in the Church today, or among the host of heaven and the Kingdom of God. If the worship given by spiritual beings in heaven is ‘in spirit and truth’, we on earth should be reflecting and joining our worship with the heavenly host in a similar aim at perfect praise.
Rather like ‘The Findability of God’ about which I wrote recently, the question of what is ‘worship in spirit and truth’ could initially be answered relatively simply. Surely Jesus was calling us to make our worship come authentically from our hearts, souls and minds, to direct our worship towards the true God, to be doctrinally true in our focus, according to scripture, and to make sure that our words and thoughts are true and truly meant. Yet, as with the issue of ‘The Findability of God’ there are also difficulties: Our faith is often tentative, based on doctrines that we cannot ever fully comprehend or about which we cannot be 100% certain. Our worship is similarly partially tentative in response. Our knowledge of God is imperfect, as so much about the divine, the spiritual dimension and the ways in which God works will always be a mystery to the human mind, So our direction of our praise and thanksgiving for God’s nature and actions can only be towards what we partially understand to be truth. Unlike the worship of God which is described as happening among the host of heaven, we are always going to be imperfect in the ways in which we worship. Nevertheless our worship is probably regarded by God as ‘true’ if we are being true to what we believe.
However, as we know from the history of the Church and contemporary experience of the differences between churches, Christians vary in their interpretations of certain doctrines. So if one group praises God for Creation, gives thanksgiving for Christ’s activity in salvation, or looks forward with confidence to Christ’s return, they may be interpreting those issues in markedly different ways to some other Christians. So are they both sincerely worshiping in spirit and in truth? I personally sense that they probably are, but some believers of different persuasions may disagree with me. When we consider the number of heresies and dodgy religious and social practices that have developed in churches over two millennia, we recognise that it is certainly easy to think that one is worshipping in sprit and truth, yet be mistaken in one’s interpretation of Christianity.
For any one group of Christians to believe that their doctrinal understanding has the monopoly on the truth is very dangerous as, among other things, it separates them from the rest of the Body of Christ. Similarly those who believe that their form of worship is the best and only true way must be mistaken. We are all made differently, have varied ways of relating to God, have had different experiences and the ways in which we express and satisfy our spirituality differ. Just as accepting doctrinal differences can broaden our limited minds and faith, by recognising that God is far larger than our particular comprehension or perspective, we should not seek homogeneity of worship. Other Christians’ practices can broaden our minds and expand our forms of worship, and we may also learn from the sincere, faithful practices of other believers from different traditions.
The wording of the phrase ‘worship God in spirit and truth’ would seem to imply that authentic Christian worship needs to be a combination of four elements particularly:
1/ Directing our worship towards a true concept of God.
2/ Giving to the true God something that is truly worship.
3/ Being true to what Jesus meant by worshiping ‘in spirit’.
4/ Making sure that what we are doing is true and based in truth.
Each of these principles can carry difficult and sometimes uncomfortable challenges:
1/ There are many different ideas of God throughout the world. Even within the Christian Church believers seem to have varied concepts of who the true God is. So we need to focus our worship towards as true a concept of God as we are able to imagine. That is one reason why liturgical worship has often been devised to include a wealth of doctrinal content. Extemporary worship is not always as packed with doctrinal detail, but if what the believers are saying, doing and feeling is authentic it can still be true worship.
2/ There are many different ways of worshipping and many varied types of worshipper. What may seem meaningful and spiritually stirring to one believer might seem trite, naïve or boring to another. If they are to truly give worship, the worshipper needs to find the ways of worship that come most truly from their heart, mind and spirit.
3/ We cannot be certain what Jesus or the Gospel-writer meant by “worship in spirit” and “worship in truth”. Each have a variety of possible interpretations as I discuss later. But if we are to be true in our worship, we need to find what we personally mean by each and make sure that when we worship we are, as far as possible, “in spirit and truth”.
It is fascinating that Jesus spoke these words to someone who would have been considered by his Jewish contemporaries as a member of n impure people, the Samaritans. To a ‘pure’ Jew at that time, the Samaritans worshipped in the wrong place, worshipped a less true concept of God who would not be as faithful to them as he would be to the Jews, were corrupted by interbreeding with Gentiles, unclean, separated from the truth, and not as special to God as the Jewish tribes. Among the Samaritans were Jews who had remained in Samaria during the Jewish exiles in Babylon and Assyria, had allied themselves with non-Jews and were considered to worship incorrectly, with ideas corrupted by assimilation with other cultures.
WHO OR WHAT IS THE TRUE GOD WE ARE CALLED TO WORSHIP?
I am writing this in the Christian context and am not qualified by background or experience to write authoritatively on comparative religion. I recognise that there are multiple ways of understanding the truth about the Source of all and that there are truths in many concepts of God in other beliefs. Jesus said “in my Father’s house are many dwelling places” [Jn.14:2] and “those who seek will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” [Matt.7:7; Lk.11:9]. This seems to imply that those who seek spiritual truth in every culture can be led to perceive aspects of truth. It is important to remember that throughout history and culture many religions including Christianity have suffered from misguided ideas and practices and false teachers. So even in our Christian traditions not everything may be true. Christianity has been plagued since the early Church by those with insufficient or false ideas about God, who have imagined a God based on their own limited perspectives, biases, preoccupations and priorities. Many interpret the Christian God in their own image rather than faithfully following the full, holistic expanse of God described in the Bible.
When talking about the God who I believe that Christians are intended to worship I mean:
When I pray or worship I try to imagine myself to be in the presence of the enormous ‘truth’ of whoever or whatever this Source is, and reach out to that truth in my thoughts and words. Jesus taught his followers to address God as ‘our Father’, which enables us to confidently and personally approach God in prayer, worship and fellowship with a sense of comfort, in confidence that God wants the best for us and understands us thoroughly, as in Ps.139. However John Chrysostom and Thomas Merton remind us (below) that the Fatherhood of God is only one facet of the incomprehensible enormity of God. Even the term ‘enormity’ sounds and insufficient term. If the cosmos is ‘infinite’ as some scientists claim, perhaps the omnipresent God is also ‘infinite’, as some philosophers and theologians describe God. It is difficult to conceive of something ‘infinite’ that might personally care about tiny individuals like us or the intricate details of nature, so we have multiple other metaphors for God in scripture to help us relate to God.
Whatever is the true nature of our invisible God, we need to remember that God is beyond sufficient comprehension by our limited human minds. When we pray or worship.anything we conceive about God as the one to whom we focus our communication possibly verges towards heresy. John Chrysostom wrote: “Let us evoke him as the inexpressible God, incomprehensible and unknowable... he surpasses all power of human speech... he eludes the grasp of every mortal intelligence... angels cannot penetrate ... [or] fully understand him. For he is invisible... Only the Son and the Holy Spirit know him.” Merton expanded upon this: “We should live as if we are seeing God face to face, but we should not conceive an image of God. On the contrary, it is a matter of adoring him as invisible and infinitely beyond our comprehension and realizing him in all.” [Thomas Merton Hidden Ground of Love p.63-64].
If we are addressing God truthful in worship it would seem important to hold in our minds this idea of the true God being beyond our comprehension yet present here for us, wherever we are. The biblical imagery for God is expansive, and we believe that all the thousand-plus metaphors describing God in scripture convey aspects of truth. But even scriptural metaphors and revelations about God only ‘reach towards’ the intangible reality that we call ‘God’. We approach an important truth in saying: “God is like Jesus” but this also is insufficient. Orthodox Christian belief is that in Jesus of Nazareth, God is revealed through a human life. All Jesus’ teaching and behaviour, including love, inclusivity, attitudes to sin, justice, values, character, actions, miracles and priorities opened up ‘what God is like’ far beyond the traditional Jewish conception of God of his time. But even Jesus - divine, incarnate, miraculous as Christians believe him to be, must be more limited than the omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, invisible truth of God he represented and revealed. Christians worship Christ as part of the Trinity, but what we are worshipping is obviously larger than Jesus Christ, perhaps even larger than our doctrinal conception of the Trinity. If God is infinite or omnipresent, as some theologians have concluded, it is possible that God is a multiplicity of ‘persons’ in unity, the majority of facets of which may not have been revealed.
‘Persona’ is the Greek word from which Christian doctrine derives the idea of the Trinity as ‘one God in three persons’. ‘Persona’ was the term chosen by the early Church theologians to explain the different natures within one God. In ancient Greek culture the ‘persona’ was the theatrical mask by which an actor showed each character being portrayed at any one time. One actor could be performing many ‘personae’. While God is no-doubt far more than we can imagine, and may be more than ‘three personae in one God’, the Trinitarian idea of God seems to be sufficient revelation to fulfil the spiritual need in human beings to relate truthfully to God. We do not need to understand the whole of God in order to develop a relationship with God. What we do can be true worship in sufficient ‘spirit and truth’ when we praise, thank and appreciate God from our limited but sincere perspective.
The unity we call ‘the one God’ expresses a multitude of characteristics expressed in the Bible in images and metaphors: God as Spirit, Perfection, Love, Creator, Ruler, Redeemer, Owner, Righteousness, Father, Mother, Shepherd, Servant, awe-inspiring Lion, Judge, Justice, a Cleft for Refuge, Rock of Salvation, Forgiver, Guiding Power. To holistically approach comprehending God we need the Bible’s full multiplicity. We need in some authentic way to contain the enormity of all this (and so much more that has not been revealed) in our concept of God if we are to worship the true God. Of course with our limited human comprehension and ability at concentration we cannot hold them all in our mind at the same time. Nevertheless we need to recognise that God is all these things and much more. The biblical metaphors are not the full physical reality; they are images that suggest intangible spiritual qualities through accessible more comprehensible humanistic parallels. God’s must be far greater, more perfect, more whole than our dim reflections. Despite this incomprehensibility and mystery, Christian teaching suggests that God wants to be found by us through life, faith, scripture, our activities within the world and human society, worship prayer and through fellow Christians with whom we mix.
God’s awe-inspiring, multi-faceted creativity seems to be reflected in the cosmos’s variety, beauty and sublimity. Christians can enhance our worship and deepen our faith by contemplating this enormous variety and breadth. The more expansive our ides of God becomes, the richer our faith might become, encouraging lively activity, commitment to advancing the understanding of truth, and reflecting truth in the abundance and righteousness of our behaviour.
For comfort the Christian Church throughout time has been suspicious of change, just as were the Hebrew leaders who condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. He stressed that he did not come to alter what the Jewish Scriptures said about God and God’s rules for human life. Rather, he had come to fulfil them and show truer, fuller ways by which to interpret them. As the Church grows we should be open to God’s Spirit continuing to open up and expand our interpretation of scripture and what Jesus taught.
Christian churches often want to maintain homogeneity of belief and traditional ways of behaving and worshipping because they are easier to assess or control. Many are suspicious of varied ways of understanding and following, afraid of heresy and afraid of not being in control. Experience over centuries has demonstrated that Churches have often made mistakes and has been forced to alter its interpretations of doctrines and practices as cultures change. Past ideas of what God might regard as forgivable and unforgivable sins have altered. Ideas of how God regarded human sexuality have altered with growing understanding of human psychology. Ideas about the gender roles intended and expected by God have changed with our comprehension of equality and equity in God’s eyes. Our understandings of the stewardship of the earth with which we have been entrusted have modified. We recognise that we are not given the world’s resources and the lives of other creatures to exploit, but have been given responsibility to conserve the earth and protect all life. So our ideas of God and of God’s expectations of us need to be open to change as new truths become understood. These altering and expanding ideas of God will need to flow into our expressions about God when we worship, if our worship is to be true to contemporary understanding.
The true God and exploring the breadth of God’s truth are life-giving! So it is important to open ourselves and our minds to the expanse of truth if we want to recognise that we are in the presence of God. I feel closest to the true God when I sense that I am in the presence of ‘truth’ and am living by following the truth. Exploring truth brings my love and imagination about God alive, as well as helping me to feel more vitally ‘whole’. Truth and creativity are aspects of God. Our mental and spiritual understanding of God’s Truth will always be inadequate by comparison with God’s far higher Truth, Love and Wisdom. Yet in pursuing truth we believe that we can glimpse facets of God, especially when we sense that we are on the path to Truth and following the Truth in our lives. This lively approach to God can help to bring life and spiritual truth to our worship.
I find it hard to believe in the sort of God who some Christians worship: a God who causes suffering, deliberately doesn’t intervene to alleviate disasters, punishes some sin yet doesn’t punish the real evil people including leaders in the world who get away with horrors. Too many people who call themselves Christians promote a God of vengeance, who supports particular favourites and is biased against others, who rules by creating fear and dominates by legalistic rules. Legalistic or narrow interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures can be far from the more holistic interpretation of scripture and life that Jesus taught. A god created by superstitious, negative, legalistic minds is not the Christian God as Jesus of Nazareth represented the divine.
Sadly, despite centuries of experience and theological thought, we cannot clearly define what the Christian God is. Most attempts at describing God are inevitably limited because God is invisible: some may even be heretical. Though I am sure that God is real, most of what we believe that we know about God is in concept rather than tangible or provable empirically. The clearest that we appear to be able to reach is to say what God is ‘like’, using human or earth-based characteristics and metaphors which we believe to be similar to the qualities in God. But these are also limited: God’s love cannot be identical to human love, neither can God’s creativity, care, dislike, anger, application of power, justice and every other characteristic or activity that we attribute to God. That is one of the difficulties of attributing names or titles to God in our worship, as the 99 names of Islam do. If interpreted wrongly they can make the nature of God appear too close to those qualities in human beings. Thus the title ‘the Destroyer’ has been too often used as an excuse for humans to destroy those who believe or behave differently from themselves or are considered to be heretics. Many Christians imagine God as vindictive and judgemental more than loving and equitable. The more positive qualities of God can also be misinterpreted, such as the way we interpret who God loves and of whom God disapproves. When we are worshipping the true God we need to focus on broader and far greater, positive, more expansive truths, of which the biblical metaphors for God are shadows. Some awful Christian hymns, songs, poems and meditations encourage rather over- sentimental or over-militaristic concepts of God, admittedly derived from scriptural ideas, but distorted by human imagination into imagery that might encourage false beliefs.
A recent fashion in describing the Christian God has become a repeated use of the phrase “God is as he is in Jesus”. In the context in which it was first written it made sense. But to interpret God as just what Jesus revealed and the qualities we recognise in Jesus is also limiting. The Christian doctrine of Jesus as the incarnation of God is one of the most useful ways of imagining the character of God, but in the Son we do not see the full qualities that we conceive as belonging to God, because Jesus was to a certain extent limited by his human nature.
I wonder if a tangible ways in which we are intended to find God and discover what God is like, might be when we actively and righteously relate to others as we are intended to relate as members of the Body of Christ: By loving, caring, supporting, encouraging, learning together, growing together and worshipping together we can become closer what makes human life abundant and closer to the model of Christ. If Jesus was the model of what a human life in relation to God should be, we may become closer to God the more we follow his example. That does include being required to challenge sin when we think we perceive it, We also need to cleanse the temple of of our lives and the Church by working to remove or modify false beliefs and practices, and lead individual Christians and the Church as a body towards greater truth.
Christ’s primary way of demonstrating the presence and character of God was through loving people, gentleness, forgiveness, healing, caring, teaching what is good, regularly communicating with God through prayer, drawing from God’s power, recognising that everything he did came from God and sensing God’s constant presence. Jesus recognised that the truth of God was with him even in his struggle in Gethsemane and the agony of his passion and crucifixion. When he was reciting to himself Psalm 22 on the cross, he was probably reminding himself, in the loneliness of his pain that God was with and in him. His apparently desolate words beginning: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” may actually have been him reminding himself of God’s care of him despite his present suffering. Psalm 22 continues with a worshipful affirmation of God’s faithfulness.
I believe that we often find truths about God and God’s nature within ourselves. Unfortunately, however, it is far too easy to create and worship a God who is not-so-much ‘in our own image’ as ‘of our own conception’. If one is a superstitions person one might create God who fulfils one’s suspicions, as Mediaeval minds often seems to have done. This led to all sorts of unbiblical conceptions of judgement with God as a tyrannical and frightening power threatening all. If one is arrogant one might believe in a God who thinks like oneself and agrees with one’s own doctrines and my particular reading of scripture. A reasoning person might create a rationalistic idea of God which tries to remove superstition and be totally explicable, as happened in ‘Natural Religion’ during the humanistic Enlightenment. A legalistic person might construct a God who is limited only to what they think the Bible says or what they believe to be right. If I am judgemental I will turn my ideas of God against those with whose ideas or life-style I don’t agree. If I am liberal I will create a God who is relaxed about the things over which I am relaxed. If I am lazy I won’t take the Bible or traditions into account at all and just follow my own instincts, perhaps never growing in faith. If I am loving I might focus totally on the love of God for all, and not necessarily take into account other aspects of God mentioned in scripture.
For too many Church-members over the centuries, as well as today, our faith is in a God who is an amalgam of some of these. Too few really study their faith and know their scriptures thoroughly and holistically. Those who do are often selective, choosing the ideas of God that most appeal to them and discarding other aspects mentioned in the Bible. Probably none of us have a truly holistic understanding of God, or have our priorities rightly in balance. God is far bigger than any human mind or life can hope to conceive. Yet in focusing our worship and appreciation of God, as in our conception of God, should attempt to be as holistic in our faith as possible, taking all the imagery about God into account, even the imagery that might appear to be contradictory or ‘unsavoury’. A perfect God can be ‘perfect love’ as well as ‘perfect judge’; ‘awe-inspiringly infinite’ as well as ‘personal’ and personally involved with us as individuals and particular groups of Christians.
When I wrote earlier that “When I pray I imagine myself in the presence of ‘Truth’...” I mean that I try to be expansive and open to the whole of whatever the truth of God is. But inevitably any of us are going to be limited because the scope of our conception of truth can never be as wide as whatever God is. That should not deter us from trying to conceive of and relate to a God who is as true as we can imagine, rather than having a limited, false or narrow perspective about God.
Christian doctrine speaks of God as ‘Spirit’ [Jn.4:24]; the human mind perhaps conceived God as a figure on a metaphorical ‘heavenly throne’ or a ‘force’ in motion in the cosmos and through all other dimensions. Though Thomas Merton and Chrysostom are right in emphasising that we should not try to imagine or conceive what God is, we need some concept of God to which we can relate. The idea of God being in whatever the ‘Truth’ about God is, can help us do that.
Creedal doctrine also described God as ‘personal’: ‘three persons in one God.’ We worship one God, not three individuals in naming the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As mentioned earlier he term ‘person’ derived from Ancient Greek theatre, where characters were differentiated by the various masks / ‘persona’ that they wore. There was one actor, but represented as several ‘personae’. In adopting this term for God in formulating the Athanasian Creed and the doctrine of the Trinity, the early Church wasn’t implying that God is a figure (or three figures) on the throne of heaven with three distinct characters. Nor is the idea of the Trinity that they exist as three distinct forces. Monotheism emphasise that God is ‘One’: those forces or characteristics of God that we recognise in the persons of the Trinity work together as one. It was considered heresy to believe that God self-revealed in three different ways, adopting the masks of a persona as the situation required in history. Orthodox Christian doctrine claims that the three persons are somehow distinct in the heavenly dimension yet remain one. This is one reason why the concept of the Trinity remains so confusing. In teaching and practise, Christian thinking and liturgical words, particularly the phrasing of our prayers, hymns and conversation, we too frequently seem to over-separate the three persons. It often sounds as though Christians are praising and praying to Jesus, the Father and the Spirit as separate entities, rather than forces or personalities that work together. Yet we are given these three concepts of God to help us relate to a power that is our perfect Creator, a Saviour who opens us up to truth and love, and a living, divine Spirit-power in the Cosmos and in our minds that can guide, empower an open us to truth, bringing us into a relationship with whatever the truth of God is.
‘Force’ feels to be a too impersonal word to use of the nature of a God with whom we are assured by scripture that we can have a life-giving relationship. Other words in which some talk about God can seem to ‘chummy’. ‘Father’ can feel more formal at times. ‘Abba’, the Hebrew word for ‘Daddy’ is the personal way that Jesus is recorded as occasionally addressing his Father, but I am not sure that he intended his followers to have quite so informally intimate a relationship with the power that rules the world, as the way in which some church-people use the term ‘Abba’ today. ‘Mother’, though used for several decades now, can often sound contrived in practice, as if the user is too conscious of trying to be ‘trendy’ or ‘politically correct’. ‘Mother’ can also at times seem to confuse the God of the Bible with the Source-mother or fertility goddesses of other non-Christian religions. We should make sure that we are addressing the God who is truth when leading prayers and focusing worship. We are addressing God in worship, not praying to impress members of the congregation by our political correctness. While we need to be inclusive in our language and try not to offend or distract others from being able to ‘worship in spirit and in truth” [Jn.4:23], our method of addressing the one to whom we pray has to be genuine, not contrived or misinterpretable.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AS WORSHIP
Before we begin to examine some of the minutiae of what ‘worship in spirit and truth’ might mean in practise in church services and personal devotion, it is important to remember that in many ways the whole of the life of the Christian is intended to be ‘worship’. When St. Paul urged his reader to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” [Rom.12:1], he was not primarily writing about what we do in a church service, at a particular time of worship, or even how a Christian acts in their specific ministry or mission for God. Our greatest worship of our Creator and Saviour is actually what we do with the whole of our lives. As many of the Hebrew prophets pointed out, if our life-styles and daily activities do not do justice to, or are not in accord with, the God who made us and who we proclaim as our Lord, anything we do in a service of worship or give as a sacrifice to God is worthless, unclean or at least tainted. Worship is not true worship unless our lives, minds, spirits and actions are in harmony or accord.
We primarily demonstrate the glory and worthiness of God by living worthy, fulfilled, righteous lives as we were designed and intended to do. This involves developing using our bodies, minds personalities, abilities, gifts and roles in life and in the Church to the fullest, according to the backgrounds and situations that we are in. This does not mean that someone who society or the Church might regard as ‘gifted’ or who has attained an important position is glorifying God any more than another who might be regarded by some as less clever, less important or contributing to society or the Church less prominently. Someone with disabilities or aged or infirm can worship and glorify God as fully and faithfully as an Archbishop or Pope. They might be more able to do so, because they do not have the distractions of other responsibilities.
It is our faithfulness, not our position by which we glorify and worship God. The ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in our lives is in significant respects more important that the ‘gifts of the Spirit’ with which we might be endowed. I am sure that God recognises and enjoys seeing the ‘love, joy, peace. patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ etc. [Gal.5:22-26] radiating from the daily life of a Christian. God might value this even more than what we do with the particular gifts that we might use in witnessing to our faith, practically helping others, doing whatever job we are called and gifted for, even helping to build God’s Kingdom. A person’s personality is in many ways more important and more admirable than what we do or what we look like in the eyes of others. That can be a mistake made by some leaders or workers who might seek position or importance but damage their reputation and ministry by being over-ambitious, arrogant, uncaring, ruthless, hardened, institutionalised or even dishonest.
The truths by which we live, and the authenticity of our discipleship, are primary ways by which we worship God. What we do and say in prayer, praise and thanksgiving is significant, as is our formally focused worship. True worship glorifies God and can nourish us in our relationship with God. We glorify God with our whole being when we are living the abundant, fruitful lives that Christians are intended to be living. We can witness most effectively when others can recognise the abundance and fruit of the Spirit in us. One might tell the gospel of Christ to one’s neighbours. But if they see you living in ways that seem boring, unfulfilling, joyless or just orientated around church, can you imagine them wanting to follow the sort of Christ that they imagine keeps us so constrained? Jesus said “I have come that you might have life in all its abundance” [Jn.10:10]. The attractive, life-giving nature of Jesus of Nazareth’s personality and the authenticity of the truths in his teaching attracted the crowds to him and confirmed that faith was true. They recognised that God was with him and in him. I saw similar qualities in the lives of those who witnessed to me at university, which led me towards faith. I saw that faith was true in them. That sort of abundant life grows from recognising the presence of God at all times in our lives. Responding to God with integrity in all we do is “your spiritual worship” [the NRSV translation of the Greek: ‘logikén latreían’. In other translations it is rendered more literally as “your reasonable service” or “your reasonable worship” - [Rom.12:1].
WHAT IS TRUE ‘WORSHIP’?
Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries would have regarded true, full worship as only possible in the Temple in Jerusalem, or the lesser services in the synagogues. Israel was imagined to be the holiest land and the Temple was thought to be the holiest place in that land. Pure Jews would have regarded the worship of the Samaritans at their temple site on Mount Gerizim as insufficient or false, whereas the Samaritans, including the woman to whom Jesus was speaking about “worship in spirit and in truth”, were proud of their place of worship. They justified worship there by the injunction in Deut.27:3-8 to set up an altar and sacrifices in that place immediately after Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. The altar at Gerizim was therefore an older establishment than the Jerusalem Temple. It has been suggested that, as Jacob’s Well was nearby, the place where Jesus and the Samaritan woman were talking may have been within sight of the holy mountain, which would have made the content of their discussion even more significant, just as when Jesus talked about his future and the future of Jerusalem and its Temple beside the enormous stones of its foundations [Matt.24:2; Mk.13:1-2; Lk.21:5]. For Jesus to say that true worship would take place in neither of the two temples would have been shocking to his hearers.
We cannot be sure whether he had prophetic foresight into the coming destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70CE, though several of his teachings seem to point to such knowledge. The worship on the temple mount at Gerizim would also not last. The Samaritans’ temple building there had already been ravaged by John Hyrcanus in 128B.C.E. as part of his Jerusalem-centric campaign [Josephus ‘War’1.63-66; Antiquities13.255-256]. The Gerazim ruins were conspicuous, yet worship continued on the sacred mountain. Gerizim was also desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes, just as he desecrated the Jerusalem Temple [2Macc.6:2]. Yet Gerizim remained sacred in the faith of the Samaritans and many Samaritan synagogues pointed towards Gerizim, as Jewish synagogues were orientated towards Jerusalem.
Instead of either temple being the place for focused worship, Jesus claimed to the Samaritan woman that true worship should be an inner focus on God which can be offered in any place. We can turn in worship to God everywhere. Many today, as throughout Jewish and Christian history, make pilgrimages to holy places and sites that are significant in the history of faith. Pilgrims often find there, and on the journeys themselves, a special atmosphere or meaning that encourages their spirituality and leads to worship. We may feel that in particular church buildings. But Jesus’ words here remind us that the important factor in worship is not the place... It is the meeting with God ‘in spirit and in truth’ that matters.
Temple symbolism recurs throughout John’s Gospel [1:14; 2:13-22; 7:37; 14:23]. But the Gospel makes clear that the encounter with God is far more significant than the building. Worship is rooted in and grows through the authenticity of our relationship with God. What people do or feel in worship depends a lot on their concept of God, but also their personal character or circumstances. Sometimes worship is a humble ‘obligation’ as a creature for their Creator or a servant for our Lord, At other times, aware of sins, we may approach God in remorse, contrition, ‘fear’ of God’s power, recognising that our wellbeing and peace is dependent on God’s mercy. Worship is often grateful thanks, adoration, praise for what we are or have been given or the mercy we have received. At other times our most deep worship may happen in silence, feeling awe at the privilege of being in God’s presence. These and many more different attitudes, complementary connotations or ways of approaching God are contained within various words translated as ‘worship’ in the Bible:
Worship does not need to be all about praise and thanksgiving. Adoration and worship are concerned with showing appreciation and reverence for all that God is - that which has been revealed and all that remains mystery. Recognising the worth of God can include a certain fear within our awe. If we are trying to worship God for all that God is, there are sure to be aspects of God that make us uncomfortable, since we realise that we do not reach God’s perfection or God’s expectation of us. In their encounters with God prophets frequently recognised their inadequacy and sinfulness. Jeremiah felt overcome by his youth, inexperience and inadequacy [Jer.1:6-8]. Isaiah recognised that he was unclean: “a man of unclean lips” and lived among people with an unclean culture [Isa.6:5]; Ezekiel fell on his face in awe and fear [Ezek.1:28]; Moses realised in awe that the ground on which he was standing in the presence of God was holy [Ex.3:5].
We are assured in the Epistle to the Hebrews that because of the work of Christ we can come confidently into God’s presence in worship, but the awe should still be there: ... “Therefore my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is his flesh), and since we have a great high-priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hoe without wavering for he who has promised is faithful.” [Heb.10:19-23]. The writer encourages assurance in our worship, but just as St. Paul warned us not to share the Eucharist in an unfit condition [1Cor.11:27-30], we are here reminded to rely on Christ for cleansing and not to come before God in an unworthy or unclean state.
There are many Greek terms in scripture which are translated as ‘worship’. In speaking of ‘worship in spirit and in truth’, the word ‘worship’ attributed to the mouth of Christ is “proskūnéo” and the “worshippers” are ‘proskunétai’. ‘Proskunéō’ is the most common of the term for worship used in the New Testament. It means literally ‘to kiss towards’, and was used by ancient Greeks for ‘outwardly kissing the ground before deities’ or ‘inner adoration of the gods’ as well as the respect and reverence felt towards a servant of God, an angel or a person of higher standing than oneself. It implied ‘to make obeisance’, ‘to do reverence’, ‘to give homage’ [Matt.4:10; Jn.4:21-24; 1Cor.14:25; Rev.4:10], but also in later ancient Greek usage and in the New Testament became used to denote ‘love and respect’. Though it initially involved prostrating oneself in prayer, rabbis also used the term of their habit of ‘standing in prayer’, which was a common Hebrew position for worship.
The Greek term ‘proskunéō’ is similar to the meaning of the Hebrew term ‘hāwȃ’ (used 170 times in the Hebrew Scriptures). This carries the idea of making obeisance ‘falling or bowing down’ before someone, ‘kissing the feet’ of the master or ‘bowing in submission’ to another to show your recognition of their high position. A similar common Hebrew term ‘shachah’, ‘sāgad’ or the Aramaic ‘sĕgĭd’ also means ‘bowing down in submission’. In Genesis 24:52: Abraham ‘bowed down before the Lord’, as did Solomon at the dedication of the Temple [2 Chron.7:3]. It is also used of bowing before idols [1sa 44:46] or in its Aramaic form in Dan.3:5-7, 10-12, 14-18, of people commanded to bow before the emperor’s golden statue. The Septuagint translators of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek used ‘proskunéō’ to convey the idea of ‘bending the knee’. Micah asked rhetorically what offerings God requires us to bring to ‘bow down before the exalted God’ [Mic.6:6-8]. He concluded that God values not burnt offerings or enormous physical sacrifices, but “to do justice, love mercy/kindness and walk humbly before God our Lord”. He recognised that salvation came not through offering sacrifices brought but through God recognising our repentance by the ways we change our lives in order to obey God’s right ways of living.
Hebrew and New Testament writers emphasised that true worship must only be directed towards God [cf. Acts 10:25-6, Rev.19:10]. All forms of idolatry were forbidden, including anything that focused away from our responsibility towards God. This consideration became important when later Church Councils met to distinguish the veneration that could be given to Christ’s mother Mary and other saints from the veneration due to God.
Jesus was probably speaking to the Samaritan woman in Aramaic, so we cannot be sure which of several possible words for ‘worship’ he may have actually said. If the Gospel writer was using the Greek term ‘proskūnéo’ in a general sense, he may have been intending to encompass all that is in the idea of worship. Or if using the term in its precise, literal sense of bowing and kissing the feet, he may have been suggesting that Jesus was encouraging authentic reverence, humbly offered to God in appreciation of God’s great status and the enormity of God’s provision. The combination of ‘proskūnéo’ with ‘in spirit and in truth’ in Jn.4:21-24 implies that true worship must should include the meaning of all the other terms for worship used in scripture:
The Hebrew term ‘ābad’ or ‘āboȏdȃ’ [290 occurrences in the Hebrew Scriptures] originated as the service of a slave [‘ebed’] for their master. It contains the concept of recognising in worship that one ‘belongs’ to God and has obligations and commitments as a servant to a Lord. The concept of ‘slavery’ is lightened by the Hebrew recognition that we are in a covenant relationship with God, that God is a good Lord, and has made complementary covenant promises to us. In Jewish tradition slaves were freed in the Jubilee year. On gaining freedom some remained slaves of their own free-will out of love or respect of the master [Ex.21:5-6]. They continued to serve out of admiration or deference to the master. This may be partly the implication when New Testament writers talk if believers being “not slaves but free” [Jn.8:32-36; 1Cor.9:19; Gal.5:1, 13 etc.] True worship comes freely from the heart and mind, not because we are obliged to do so. The Levites regarded themselves as slaves ‘in the service of God in the Tabernacle’ [Num.3:7-8]. Christians freely make ourselves servants of God for a wide variety of reasons: out of love and respect to God, a sense of obligation to our source and Lord, admiration, deference and awe, thanksgiving for salvation and God’s gifts to us, and many more.
When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek of the Septuagint, three different terms were used to translate this ‘āboȏdȃ’ concept of ‘worship’: ‘douleuō’, contained the ‘servanthood’ aspect of worship and ‘ergazomai’ referred to our ‘work’ in worship. For secular Greeks ‘latreia’ or its more frequently used verb ‘latreuō’ denoted any form of ‘service’ for the good of another including that of parents, particularly mothers offering themselves in the bringing up of children. ‘Latreia’ is the word most commonly translated in the New Testament and the Septuagint. Paul used it in Romans 12:1 when encouraging worship as an offering of ourselves to God and God’s work as ‘living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God’. Worship here is described as our ‘reasonable service’ [NRSV translates this as ‘spiritual worship’]. ‘Latreia’ was derived from the term for ‘hired service/working for hire’ [Jn.16:2; Rom.9:4; Heb.9:1]. It was used in the Septuagint of the priestly service of God in the Temple. Jn.16:2 even uses ‘latreia’ of those who imagined they were obediently serving God by persecuting Christ’s followers. ‘Latreia’ implies that worship is a human ‘duty’, part of our responsibility as creatures to the Creator, emphasising our ‘servanthood’ and ‘stewardship’ towards God.
In our secularly orientated society some might react negatively to an expectation or idea of servility towards God or any person. Many today might prefer to regard worship as a matter of free choice rather than obligation. Yet the term ‘latreia’ suggests that in our worship we recognise and accept our position before God and the responsibilities entrusted to us by God. Stewardship of all that we have been given is not low or servile; it is a high calling. Worship as a ‘duty’ can be regarded as a similarly high calling, since we are described in scripture as ‘a kingdom of priests to our God’ [1Pet.2:9; Ex,19:6; Deut.7:6; Isa.43:20-21; Rev.1:6; 5:10], ‘brothers, sisters and friends of Christ’ [Mk.3:33; Heb.2:11], and ‘co-heirs’ [~Rom.8:17]. So worship in this context is a service of high calling and status, not low servility. Heb.10:19 regards our ability to come into God’s presence in worship as an enormous privilege.
Another Hebrew term for worship: ‘Šārat’ [used 97 times in the Hebrew Scriptures] contains the meaning of ‘to minister’, suggesting a higher level of service than servanthood (‘ābad’). It suggests that we are serving an important person (as Joseph served Potiphar [Gen.39:4] or Elisha served Elijah [1Ki.19:21]. Mostly it is used of the worship of the Levites in the Tabernacle or those who had a special relationship with God. The angels’ worship of God is described by ‘šārat’ [Ps.103:21] as is the singing of choirs in the Temple [1Chron.6:32; 16:4.37].
‘Šārat’ was normally translated in the Septuagint by the Greek word ‘leitourgia’ which also contains the meaning of ‘service’ as a more respected status and calling than that of slave. Secular Greek used the word for the service of a citizen to the state. In Philippians 2:30 Paul commended the congregation’s support of him through their practical ‘services’ to him. Lk.1:23; Heb.8:6; 9:21 use the term of ‘sacred ministrations’. Phil.2:17 speaks of the apostles’ self-sacrifice as a poured-out libation. Phil.2:30 and 2 Cor.9:12 regard the mutual ministration of believers to each other as ‘priestly service.’ Acts 13:2 used the term ‘leitourgeo’ of the worship-service itself. We reflect this in our English term ‘liturgy’, which means the ‘work of the people’, our ‘service to God’. So this aspect of worship regards what we do as stewards of God not as the obligation of a menial but of high, priestly worth. This again reflects the idea that we are a ‘kingdom of priests to our God’, a ‘chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people’ [1Pet.2:9]. The letter continues by explaining our service as: “that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light...”
Modern western Christians often soften the idea of servanthood/slavery, reverence or submission to God. We tend to prefer the idea of worship and discipleship as being a high, valued calling, as suggested by this Greek word ‘leitourgeo’. But such a high calling also needs to combine ‘humility’, ‘awe’ and ‘obedience’, since we are privileged to be serving in the presence of a divine power that is special, true and ‘holy’ [Isa.57:15]. Worthy worship includes recognising and valuing God’s precedence and following God’s revealed ways. Amos, Isaiah and the Psalmists criticised the unworthiness of worshippers if their lives and, attitudes and actions were unworthy [Isa.58:3-7; Amos 5:21-24; Ps.66:18].
The Hebrew term ‘Yārē‘’ [used in various forms 435 times in the Hebrew Scriptures], suggests ‘fear’ of the Lord as well as ‘awe’: ‘fear of threats’, and ‘fear of God’s power and judgement’. It also contains the meaning of ‘trust in God’s power and nature’ and ‘recognition of our position within the covenant relationship with a powerful God’. In Prov.9:10 our fear or awe is seen as evidence that we know God in experience.
A verb for worship less commonly occurring in New Testament: ‘sebazomai’, occurs once in Rom.1:25 and in the form ‘sebō’ in Mk.7:7; Acts 18:13; 19:27. This is usually used in the context of unworthy or pagan worship. Yet ‘sebō’ is used of Lydia in Acts 16:14 and Titus Justus [Acts18:7] a gentile believer, given the honoured title of ‘a true worshipper of God’. It designates one who comes to worship from a different tradition.
‘Thrēskeia’ and ‘threskos’ are used of general ‘religion’. They contrast authentic spiritual worship with ceremonial ‘religion’ or religiosity that can be false or distract from true faith. In Col.2:18 the writer uses the term to warn against worshipping angels. In Acts 26:5 it is used of Jewish ‘religiosity’ Jas.1:26-27 contrasts unreal, deceptive faith with true religion “that is pure and undefiled before God”, which proves itself through our holy behaviour.
Two other terms for worship occur once each in the New Testament: ‘theosebēs’ [Jn.9:31] and ‘eusebeō’ [Acts 17:23]. ‘Theosebēs’ literally means ‘God-fearing’ but is used most often in the Septuagint of the superstitions of other religions rather than worship of the true God. In Jn.9:31 it refers to those who worship in awe of God and its noun ‘theosébeia’ is used in 1Tim.2:10 of the practical expression of faith in those (in this case holy women) who profess reverence for God. ‘Eusebeō’ similarly carries the idea of ‘piety’ but implies pagan worship when St. Paul was speaking in Athens of the ‘unknown God’ and proclaimed that the one who the Greeks worshipped as ‘unknown’ was in truth the God about whom he was witnessing.
Essentially worship is about recognising, expressing and responding to the true worth of the one worshipped. The origin of the Anglo Saxon term ‘weorthscrp’ which transmuted into our word ‘worship’ is not just about recognising or praising God’s ‘worth’. It more particularly ‘related to God’, ‘being worthy’, ‘responding to God with dignity’, ‘respect’ and ‘honour’. We use the word with a similar meaning today when we address someone such as: ‘your worship the mayor’.
The Christian idea of true, holistic worship includes a multitude of the various characteristics and qualities, listed below in no particular order of priority. We cannot of course be totally focused on all of these at all times, just as we cannot keep all the revealed characteristics and qualities of God in mind at all times. But in practice all these activities are contained within our worship when we are worshipping ‘in spirit and in truth’:
This is not an exhaustive list, but it helps us to recognise the breadth, importance and inclusivity of true worship. Sometimes, through familiarity, church-goers may tend to forget the value of what they are encouraged to do when they come to worship. As we prepare to worship it is useful to remind ourselves of its meaning and prepare our minds accordingly. When I was first confirmed, it was stressed that we should always prepare our minds before the service, through recollecting of our recent past, admitting our sins in readiness for confession, and realising the significance of the worship we are about to offer. I must admit that I, like many church-goers, grew to neglect such mental and spiritual preparation. After I was ordained the significance of spiritual preparation retuned to properly weigh on me. I recognised this particularly before each Eucharistic service, realising the enormity of the importance and responsibility of what I undertake in consecrating the Eucharist and offering it to the people. Worship is the most significant service we do for God, though it needs to be accompanied by active discipleship and involvement in Christian ministry in the world. Worship, ministry and mission are inextricably linked: Our active life is a form of worship to God.
CONCEPTS OF WORSHIP IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
The Hebrew concept of the God they came to understand as ‘YHWH’ or ‘Elohim’ was that God is ‘Lord of Lords’, above all other gods. God’s people were considered to be God’s ‘servants’ [1Sam.3:9], creatures owing allegiance to our Creator. We were to ‘serve God only’, having no other gods beside the Lord. [Deut.6:13].
We were to ‘fear’ or feel ‘awe’ for the Lord because of God’s greatness, power, holiness and expectations of us [Deut.6:13]. God was regarded as ‘jealous’ or ‘ardent’ for our allegiance, wanting a relationship with us and deserving, expecting and wanting ( even ‘demanding’) our worship [Ex.34:14; Deut.4:24].
The annual feasts of the Jewish year were designed to remind God’s People of aspects of their covenant agreement with God. The programme of feasts declared the people’s dependence on God’s provision as the year progressed (The Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Passover and Tabernacles etc.). Other festivals were memorials, reminding the people of key events in the story of their relationship with God and the gift of salvation (Feast of Light and the Dedication of the Temple). Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, particularly was a time for deep self-examination and repentance in the light of the purity, righteousness of God and God’s faithful commitment to the people.
Praise for God’s qualities and mercy is a huge element of worship throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly reflected in the Psalms. The Psalms also reflect other aspects of worship like repentance, sorrow, anger at injustice, etc. since worship encompasses our response to all aspects of life. Praise was a particular feature of Jewish response to happy events; births, attaining maturity, release to freedom [Ex.15; Isa.35:10], victory [2 Chron.20:22]; the dedication of people or a new Temple [Ezra 3:10] etc. Psalm 84 particularly celebrates praise for the gift of Temple worship. This is echoed in the New Testament by the language in the Book of Revelation describing, sometimes in metaphor, worship in heaven [esp. Rev.4; 7:9-17; 19:1-10].
In Hebrew the Books of Psalms are called ‘tĕhillim’ / ‘songs of praises’. They are designed to lead people into worship, though not all their subjects are praises. The breadth of subjects in the Psalms exemplifies and expresses the wide variety contained within the Hebrew concept of worship: praise, thanks, trust, adoration, guilt, confession, repentance, penitence, lament, confession, despair, fear, need, hope, praise for victory and freedom, prosperity and loss, commitment, failure and recommitment, adoration, fellowship, unity and much more. Their intent was primarily to turn people to God, find cause for worship and help people to worship individually or corporately. We do not have sufficient evidence to be certain how they were used in ancient Temple and synagogue or private worship. Several Psalms refer to the Temple and the desire to worship there [Pss. 5:7; 23:6; 27:4-6; 138:2]. Some were sung to particular tunes designated in their headings [e.g. 12; 22; 46; 56; 69; 75?; 77; 80]. 55 psalms refer to the director leading the worship; several mention the instruments to accompany the song. Some were used on particular occasions or feasts [30; 45; 92; 120-134]. Some seem to have accompanied certain offerings [38; 70; Lev.2:2; 24:7]. Others may have been said or sung more personally.
Temple worship like earlier worship in and around the tent of the Tabernacle was structured and prescribed to ensure that worship was worthy of the holiness of God. Its forms and times were regulated, from the dates of festivals, the nature of sacrifices and how they were to be practised, to the design of the Tabernacle, the Temple and the accoutrements used by the priests [Ex.25:40]. Such rules were considered sacrosanct because the nature of God was held to be so high.
The presence of God in the Temple was considered to be so holy that priests needed to be purified in any way that they approached God. Entering the Tabernacle once a year to worship was so dangerous that the high priest had a rope tied around him, so that his body could be dragged out if God zapped him for his uncleanliness. When Uzzah, accompanying the cart carrying the ark of God, tried to stabilize it when it wobbled on its journey to Jerusalem he was said to have been struck dead by God [2Sam.6:6-19]. His near name-sake King Uzziah became a warning to observe the rules of worship: he began his reign holily, obeying God’s precepts and strengthened the security and prosperity of Judah, but he grew arrogant, defiled the Temple with un-prescribed worship and he was described as suffering as a result [2 Chron. 26:1-5, 15-21a & 2Ki.14:21]. The sons of Eli similarly lost their exalted priestly positions through corrupting the nature and office of priesthood [1Sam.2:12-17, 22-36). So worship of God was an awe-inspiring, dangerous responsibility. Malachi despaired of how the privileges of Temple worship had become taken for granted and abused, and prophesied a time of renewal of true worship, to which Christ referred as ‘worship not in a temple on a mountain but worship ‘in spirit and in truth’ [Jn.4:23].
SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP
In the centuries between Malachi and the Gospels the elaborate Levitical Temple services were supplemented by simpler worship, in synagogues in towns distant from Jerusalem. A non-sacrificial form of worship was important to the Jews in exile in Assyria and Babylon, where synagogue worship may have had its origins. The Synagogue became even more important after the final fall of the Temple in 70AD and among the Jewish communities of the Jewish Diaspora. Communities of Jewish worshippers away from Jerusalem and in areas without a synagogue, would often gather outside city walls, usually near running water, to perform rites of worship uninterrupted, uncorrupted and not persecuted by the paganism in communities in which they lived. An example of this is found in the Philippi community of to which Lydia, belonged. She was probably a convert to Judaism before she turned to Christianity[cf. Acts 16:13].
Daily Temple worship with the offering of sacrifices on behalf of the people was impossible without a dedicated Temple. . In the absence of the Temple, synagogues were designed to meet the spiritual needs of Jews distant from the possibilities of Temple worship with all its divinely prescribed elaborations. The word ‘Synagogue’ derives from the Greek term for ‘a place of assembly. The synagogue’s form and furnishings were simple. There was no altar, as sacrifices belonged to the Temple; the reading of scripture and the teaching of faith replaced them. A portable ark contained the scrolls of the Law and prophets, which were read from a platform.
From the C2nd B.C.E. the Mishnah (oral law) describes synagogue worship as being in five parts, which probably had similarities to the synagogue worship in Jesus’ day:
2b This was followed by a reading from the Prophets. These were usually selected from a form of lectionary.
3a These were followed by an exposition.
3b The exposition included an exhortation for the congregation to apply the scripture in their lives. This exposition and application might be given by the local Rabbi, elders or rulers of the synagogue, but visitors whose qualities or qualifications to teach were recognised, could be invited to contribute, as was recorded in the case of Jesus [Lk.4:16; Matt.4:23] and Paul [Acts 13:15].
In Jesus’ time synagogue services were held three or four times on the Sabbath. The synagogue was also a place for the teaching of faith, where children and adults came during the week, sometimes after work, to learn and discuss faith and the meaning of the scriptures with the rabbis.
This pattern of synagogue worship is thought to have directly influenced the development of worship in Christian churches. Jewish converts to Christianity probably helped to develop the style and content of new Christian liturgies. The hierarchy of elders, rulers and rabbis in synagogues is also thought to have influenced the development of the pattern of leadership in the early church of bishops, local priests, teachers and deacons to undertake practical offices.
JESUS' ATTITUDE TO WORSHIP
Jesus of Nazareth, like his family, followed the traditions of Temple-worship: After the baby’s birth Mary went for purification; Jesus was dedicated and circumcised with the traditional sacrifices [Lk.2:22-24]. As a child Jesus would have been taken on pilgrimage to the Passover festival and obligatory festivals when he was of age. As a youth we are told of his becoming absorbed in discussing faith with the teachers there [Lk.2:46]. As an adult he probably attended the prescribed feasts in Jerusalem, though only a few visits are recorded in the Gospels [Jn.7:10; 10:22; 11:55; 12:1]. He paid the Temple taxes, though this may have been in order to avoid causing offence [Matt.17:24-27]. The Gospels do not record the adult Jesus having bought sacrifices to be offered in the Temple other than the Passover lamb prior to his arrest and execution, but this would probably have been an expected part of his worship and that of his disciples. His driving out of the money-changers and those who sold sacrificial creatures does not necessarily mean that he failed to offer sacrifices himself, as he identified with the people. Christians may regard Jesus as being without sin, but he submitted to circumcision and baptism, so there is no reason for thinking that he didn’t bring sacrifices. Not all sacrifices were offered in atonement sin, several were thank-offerings, and Jesus’ ministry encouraged praises of God.
As any Jewish youth, Jesus obviously would have attended synagogue and received teaching there, since his understanding of scripture was exemplary. He seems to have been initially welcomed to take part in the synagogues of his local area, and was recognised as having the qualifications to be entrusted with reading the scripture lesson and offering an exposition [Lk.4:16]. However, after the incident in the synagogue at Nazareth where he was accused of heresy we are told that he was rejected there [Lk.4:16-30]. It was only when he came to interpret the messianic passage as referring to himself that his teaching caused offence. Probably Jesus would have attended other synagogues as he travelled about in mission. He also taught the crowds who gathered around him in the Temple precincts [Jn.18:20] and at first the authorities do not seem to have rejected this practice. John’s Gospel sets more of Jesus’ ministry in the Temple precincts than do the Synoptic Gospels, perhaps for theological emphasis, to emphasise Jesus’ divine nature and the sacrificial and priestly aspects of Christ’s mission. For Jews the Temple was the spiritual centre and focus for worship: Jesus would become this centre for his Christian followers who considered him to be the truest way to God and the one whose sacrifice assured salvation.
The Temple was described by Jesus as a ‘house of prayer’ [Matt.11:17]. He felt a godly ‘jealousy’ for all that occurred there, hence his cleansing of the Temple, described in all four gospels. Symbolically this is located in the Synoptic Gospels as taking place towards the end of his ministry [in Matt.21:1-11; Mk.11:15-19; Lk.19:45-48]. By contrast John set the Cleansing of the Temple near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, perhaps as a foreshadowing of what would come [Jn.2:13-22]. Unless there were two separate cleansings of the Temple, it seems more likely to me that the incident would have taken place towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, rather than near the beginning, as the Temple authorities would have become suspicious of him and probably stopped him from teaching in the precincts if he had previously caused trouble there.
For Jesus, as for the Hebrew prophets, service was inextricably linked to ‘loving obedience’. He stressed that we cannot say we love God yet fail to live according to God’s principles [Jn.15:14]. If we do fail to be true to our calling, our love is shown to be false or hypocritical and our worship is invalid. Worship should not be about profiteering, so Jesus cleared the tables of money-changers and sellers of sacrifices from the Temple [Matt.21:12-13; Mk.11:15]. He also recognised and contrasted the true, self-sacrificial faith of some who came to the Temple and those who short-changed God, as in his comment about the widow’s offering [Lk.21:1-4] and the story of the Pharisee and the tax-collector [Lk.18:9-14].
Though he attended the prescribed feasts, Jesus recognised both the corruption and limitations in Temple leadership and worship. He gained a rapport with Nicodemus and a few other religious leaders whose integrity he recognised and who supported him. Others religious leaders were suspicious then hostile towards him [Jn.7:45-52; 8:59]. Jesus taught in the Temple precincts, corrected people’s understandings of God and worship [Matt.26:55; Mk.12:35; 14:49; Lk.19:47; Jn.7:14f] and healed there [Matt.21:14]. Something greater than the Temple was recognised to be in him [Matt.12:6]. As in Jn4:23-24 he recognised that Temple worship would end both with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple [Matt.24:2; Lk.21:5-6; Jn.2:20] and when God established the true Kingdom, There would be no need of a Temple in the Heavenly Jerusalem for the redeemed would be directly in God’s presence [Rev.21:22]. The tearing of the veil to the Tabernacle on Jesus’ death seems symbolically to have been regarded by Christians as pointing to the end of Temple worship [Matt.27:31; Mk.15:38; Lk.23:45]. It is believed that through his death we can now enter God’s presence more directly [Heb.10:19-22].
It was Jesus’ custom to pray privately, on his own away from the group and he encouraged his disciples to follow this custom [Matt.6:6]. The intimacy in his relationship with God in prayer is seen in his addressing God as ‘Father’/ ‘Abba’. We gain insight into his practice of prayer in Matt.6:7-13; Lk.11:1-4 and Jn.17]. Jesus is also recorded as giving a blessing for bread before he shared food, as was the custom of most pious Jews. He seems to have shared the practices of most religious Jewish homes, though in the case of the Last Supper ritual he amplified its meaning. The pair of disciples who shared a meal with the risen Jesus at Emmaus eventually recognised him as he broke and blessed the bread, so it is possible that Jesus had a particularly characteristics in the way that he blessed food and prayed, which they recognised [Lk.24:30-31].
NEW TESTAMENT CONCEPTS OF WORSHIP
In the New Testament Church worship seems to have become more personal that Temple worship, though no doubt there was much sincerity in many who came to the Temple. The widow giving all that she had, the tax gatherer repenting in true humility and priests like Simeon and Nicodemus were obviously very sincere in their faith and worship. However Temple worship was largely performed by the priests and choirs on behalf of the people. The laity could only enter cwertain limited areas of the Temple. Gentile converts and women could not enter the precincts as far as Jewish men; certain areas were designated for priests only. The place of sacrifice was again limited access and the Sanctuary could only be entered by the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement, after elaborate cleansing rituals. The people relied on intercession through the priests’ sacrificial activities. Professional choirs sang the psalms and hymns, much as cathedral and university chapel worship is led today.
Synagogues involved worshippers more directly in reciting prayers and singing. People were taught to recite certain psalms from an early age as an encouragement to worship, and rabbis often taught by discussion rather than one man expounding to a silent listening congregation.
Early Church services appear to have involved the congregation even more inclusively in active worshipping: 1Cor.14:26 mention “each one (coming) with a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” Paul had to encourage some congregations to discipline their involvement to provide order, peace and appropriateness (v.33).
Acts tells us that initially the early Christians continued to meet in the Temple and synagogues [Acts 3:1] as places for prayer. After his conversion, St. Paul kept to his accustomed Temple practices, like taking his Nazarite vow at the urging of James [Acts 21:17-26]. Because Jesus and his message had been rejected by the Temple authorities and they had attempted to destroy the promotion of his influence and teaching, even though what he taught was in harmony with what their true faith taught. Peter, John and Paul did their earliest proclamation of Christ’s message outside the Temple gates and to Jews gathered in synagogues. Paul’s first priority when visiting a new city was to attend its synagogue and teach there. If there was no synagogue he would seek out the place where fellow Jews gathered, as he did beside the river at Philippi [Acts16:13]. Suspicion and hostility towards Christians must have grown fairly early in the days of the early Church as we see from the martyrdom of Stephen and attempts recorded in the Book of Acts to prevent the disciples from preaching about Jesus openly.
Christian worship practices were forced to alter with the growth of the Gentile membership of the Church. Though there was a Court of Gentiles in the Temple, many were not welcome in the Temple, as seen in the riot of Acts 21:25-30. The fall of the Temple in 70CE meant that both Jews and Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity needed to find new places to meet for worship. Increasingly Christians became unwelcome in the synagogues as synagogue leaders rejected those who spread this new teaching and stirred up hostility to the Christian community. So Christians began to worship together in people’s houses before developing small churches like that which survived in Dura Europos, Syria.
The influence of the Spirit after Pentecost led to new expressions of worship and praise. Christ’s gospel and the Spirit’s guidance encouraged Christians to develop more distinctive forms and language for worship that expanded beyond the pattern of synagogue liturgies. When the Christians gathered in worship they adopted the general form of synagogue services, but included additions and variations which developed into the forms of worship and liturgy that many Christian churches continue today. The day of corporate worship moved from the Jewish Sabbath to Sunday, which became known as ‘the Lord’s Day’: the day on which Jesus’ resurrection was commemorated. This change of timing of corporate worship seems to have begun fairly early, as Paul refers to setting aside and meeting together on ‘the first day of the week’ [1Cor.16:2] as does the Didache [14:1] written about 100CE and Justin Marty’s Apologia [c.67:8] dating from before 163 CE. Jewish society incorporated the Sabbath as a day of rest, but in Gentile society, or when many of the believers were slaves, there was no provision for time off work. It is thought that the early Christian gatherings on the first day of the week often took place late at night as at Troas in Acts20:7f. or before daybreak, as described in Pliny’s letters.
Obviously different early Christian communities developed differently. Some must have had more apostolic input than others. The level of teaching must have varied, since leaders of the early Christian communities must have varied in their levels of understandings. Paul and the apostles would have remained teaching and exhorting to worship among groups of converts for limited periods, then relatively new converts, with different amounts of knowledge of faith must have taken over leading the groups. Elders would have been trained to a certain level in Jesus’ teaching and ways to worship, but this could not have been anywhere as thorough as today’s theological training of ministers. It is little surprise that various heretical and dodgy ideas and practices developed, some of which were criticised and corrected in the New Testament Epistles and the letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation. As many could contribute to the service, sometimes there might have been enthusiastic chaos, since they were sometimes exhorted to greter order and discipline in their worship. The Epistle to the Colossians warned against ‘self-imposed piety’ (NRSV), interpreted by some commentators, including Calvin as ‘self-invented worship traditions’ [Col.2:23]. Paul, the great teacher of Christian freedom, criticised congregations where there was too much disorder or an over-expression of Christian freedom in worship [1Cor.11:27, 33-4; 14:9-12, 26-30]. Paul used his apostolic authority to command the Corinthian congregation to ensure that everything in the service of worship should be undertaken fittingly and with order [1Cor.14:40]. He wanted congregations to enjoy spiritual freedom but to moderate and discipline behaviour in the congregation for the benefit of all and to give a suitable, truthful witness to God when they met together. To us today, some of Paul’s prohibitions in worship seem to be based on more cultural than universal principles, particularly his prohibition of women from speaking in services. [1Cor.14:34] and his insistence on women covering their heads when attending worship. However his main concern remains valid that “all must be done for the strengthening of the Church” [1Cor.14:26].
Paul was aware that congregations included people at different stages of belief; he wanted to ensure that none were led away from the path towards truth by the unintentional, insensitive behaviour of others. This need for sensitivity to others is still an important consideration in worship today: Some are put off church or feel self-conscious in over-free worship; others find rigid traditions in liturgical worship boring and restrictive. Some are uncomfortable when believers wave lifted hands to God or sing in tongues; others are energised by its spontaneity. If possible it is important to try to make our worship winsome to all participants, but congregational members will all have different characters with various forms of spirituality. That is partly why different groups with particular preferences gather together, and varieties of churches and worship have formed. There should be a general sense of unity between Christians, since we all comprise the Body of Christ. But it is inevitable that variation have developed among different limbs of that Body.
All Christian ministry should aim for any worship form or style that we adopt to be recognisable as ‘in spirit and in truth’ [Jn.4:23]. Worshippers come with a wide variety of spiritual, emotional and physical needs. We should aim to enable the encounter of all with God to be as real as possible and for what we do in worship to focus people on God, with nothing that distract their focus from God or makes them feel alienated or isolated.
WHO IS WORSHIP FOR?
True worship is focused towards God and should be worthy of our high concept of God. Too often Christian churches accept mediocre worship and teaching, and don’t adequately communicate Christ’s life-enhancing revelation. Jesus set out to develop in those who followed him an understanding and relationship with God that is real and committed. Jesus freed us: traditions based on his teaching should deepen, enrich and advance faith, not make churches moribund or repress by pharisaic legalism. Boring behavioural expectations or boring worship services are unworthy of God. But church services of worship are not primarily intended to be works of liturgical art designed to entertain the worshippers. The focus of worship should be on glorifying God, not indulging, celebrating or glorifying the choir or the celebrant or preacher, as occasionally seems to be the case in some churches .
Many today live in societies where the self is at the centre of people’s priorities. True Christian worship should not focus on ourselves or what we get out of it; it focuses the mind and the spirit towards God. Nevertheless true worship nourishes, challenges, teaches, builds and enhances faith, and encourages those who engage in it. We receive through worship and are enervated by God’s truth and Spirit. Yet our aim in worshipping should not be our own entertainment or growth. As William Temple emphasised: worship is perhaps our most ‘selfless’ activity. Worship should be orientated primarily on how we value, thank and praise God. Worship should be focused on the true God, teaching or reminding us of God’s nature and qualities, acknowledging these, and encouraging us to respond with integrity by following God’s ways and expanding our appreciation of spiritual truths.
Every time we plan worship should consider who the worship is serving. We do not come to entertain the congregation. We are focusing on God, but aim to nourish believers and encourage belief in those who find belief difficult. In order to do the last two, we need to create worship activities in form and style that engage people’s spirits, are attractive, appropriate and involve them physically and mentally, which will help them focus their worship on God. It should also challenge people to consider truths about God’s nature and their own position in relation to God. Worship leaders are not primarily responsible for ‘giving congregations what they want’ or just maintaining traditions We are attempting to encourage a true encounter with God, which may ‘discomfort the comfortable and bring comfort to those who are uncomfortable’.
Worship should also build up and encourage the church as a spiritual community; it should not just encourage believers to indulge in individualism. The Church is intended to be a community of believers and followers of the ways taught and exemplified by Christ. Its members should be enriching and strengthening one another in faith and discipleship and by their behaviour and witness influencing the whole community. We learn and grow through one another and our worship should meet the needs of the congregation and the community. If people cannot engage with what we do, or if God is misrepresented, true spirituality and growth towards the Kingdom of God cannot develop. Worship is not just an abstract address to God; it should help us in living the Christian life and help believers form a framework for discipleship.
Worship is not just meant to be a dialogue between individual believers and God. It should always challenge believers to be other-centred, both towards God and to enhance the faith of others, even encourage those whose spirituality might be different from us. It is not about doing what WE want in or from a service, or even maintaining a tradition if it is not communicating sufficiently. True worship should be pastorally and liturgically centred on what will help others relate to God. Philippians 2:3-5 tells us to: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be among you that was in Christ Jesus...” The writer continues by enumerating Christ’s humble qualities as a servant king, which we should seek to emulate.
True worship will be spiritually discerning, rejecting false ideas of God, seeking to respond to God ‘in Spirit and in truth’ [Jn.4:23]. While worship will often challenge us and make us aware of our weaknesses as disciples and our distance from God’s ideals, it will be primarily positive, recognising, acknowledging and praising God’s nature and character of love, grace, covenant commitment, forgiveness, care etc. Worship should be welcoming, inclusive and accepting, not exclusive. None should feel rejected or that the Church is not a place for them. All of us are sinners in need of God’s grace; none should not feel excluded but feel able to come before God, to be freed by God in response to confession and Christ’s redemptive love and action. Everyone comes to Church in need of forgiveness and we worship in response to it, thanking God for God’s provision, forgiveness, protection, support, care, and activity for us.
Yet worship is not just based on expressing an individual’s personal feelings towards and about God in the moment. Our feelings vary and alternate - at some times we feel closer to God than at others, or we may be happy, sad, worried or carefree. In whatever state we are, our worship can be valid and meaningful. It may feel more dynamic or meaningful when we worship and feeling happy or thankful. But it is perhaps more meaningful when we come in worship despite feeling sad, doubting, or in despair. Worship does not primarily entail creating services that satisfy us personally, but developing a meaningful response to God. Worship sometimes entails stepping aside in our minds from our everyday concerns and focusing our spiritual sensitivities and ourselves on truths and ideas that help us relate to God in whom we live, breathe and exist.
Worship is in part a ‘refuge’ into a place of security amid daily life. Though we often talk of entering the ‘sanctuary’, coming into a ‘holy place, worship should not encourage us to escape or avoid problems but to face them. We recognise God’s concern and concentrating on God is worship can help us to develop spiritual priorities that are aligned with those of God. Worship is not escapist; it should encourage us to face the issues of the world and society with realism. It celebrates life and seeks justice and healing.
WHAT SHOULD WORSHIP LEAD TO?
Worship should always result in an increase in the faith of worshippers. Because worship is practical it could encourage the praxis of faith and a stronger dedication to true discipleship. It reminds us of the greatness of God, the activity of God towards us and our responsibilities towards God and the building of God’s Kingdom in consequence.
Because worship is corporate, it should also result in greater unity between believers. One of the reasons for reintroducing the ancient tradition of sharing of the ‘Peace’ in liturgies, was to openly express our unity in Christ, our forgiveness of one another, our reconciliation and a commitment to being unified in God’s kingdom community.
When people leave worship they should have been helped to feel blessed and understand how God has blessed them. As we leave worship we should also feel that we are sent out into the world to serve God and to share God’s blessing practically with those among whom we live and work. Our worship should encourage us to respond by Christian service. Although worship should not be escapist, it should enable us to feel secure in our faith and in God’s presence with us. This in turn should encourage us to go out under the inspiration and in the power of God’s Spirit to reveal God’s presence and truth to others in the world. Dedicated wership encourages us to put into practice what we preach. It should lead us to feeling for the world as we sense that God feels for it, and desiring to influence the world with God’s love and righteousness. Scripture assures us that God is passionately committed to the world and our worship should reinforce our own commitment to improving the world. Christ gave his life for the world; if our worship is exclusive or does not encourage us to become committedly involved with bringing the Kingdom, it is not truly following God’s example or God’s commands for us to continue Christ’s mission.
Because preaching and teaching are part of a service of worship and the liturgy reinforces aspects of faith and doctrine, worship reminds us of our faith. As a result understanding of the history of faith, the history of salvation, the detail of Christ’s gospel and the importance of Christian active discipleship should be being recognised, encouraged and celebrated.
Above all, worship should be glorifying God through us sincerely recognising the qualities of God and thanking and praising God for divine activity. The worshippers’ devotion, adoration and praise augments the glorification of God by joining the worship that scripture tells us is taking part in the heavens. We are not reminding an omnipresent God of God’s divine qualities and actions. I cannot believe that an omnipotent God needs our praise and recognition. Though scripture tells us that God requires the praises of people, I am not sure that the God about whom Jesus taught ‘demands’ the worship of creation. Some claim that worship of God is our ‘obligation’. In some ways the gratitude of a disciple for abundant life and salvation is partly an obligation, in the same way that we thank friends for gifts to us. But worship comes more as a free response growing from our personal gratitude for what we have been given and all that we appreciate about God and creation. The details of worship remind us of these and enhance our appreciation. A perfect God cannot be made any greater by our praise, but just as we appreciate being thanked by friends and grow closer to them as a result, perhaps our praise is similarly appreciated by God.
SOME QUALITIES OF WORSHIP
If we are to worship in ‘spirit an truth’ a number of qualities should be involved. (What is meant by ‘in spirit’ and ‘in truth’ will be discussed later in this study.) This list of qualities in worship is not exhaustive, nor is it in any particular order of priority, but true worship should include the following:
THE SACRIFICIAL ELEMENT OF WORSHIP
Worship usually entails an element of ‘sacrifice’ (Gk. ‘thusia’). This is reflected in liturgical phrases such as ‘a sacrifice of praise’. In Rom.12:1-2 Paul encouraged believers to put their whole lives into their worship and discipleship:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (or ‘reasonable service’). Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
From the story of Cain and Abel’s sacrifice, to Malachi’s prophesies about reforming Temple worship, the Hebrew Scriptures frequently emphasised the need for worship to be a sincerely sacrificial and from the heart. If is not, it is insufficient or a sham. We are not told why Cain’s offering was unacceptable; Hebrew commentators have variously speculated that it was not given by him as the expression of a true heart, or that it did not entail the shedding of blood, or that it was not a true sacrifice. Later scriptures’ particularly the latter prophets emphasise that God takes notice not of blood, elaborate liturgies or ceremonies, or the amount that is offered, but that true sacrifice and worship are based in the sincerity of our response to God.
Christian sacrifice does not mean (as is sometimes suggested) ‘appeasing God’ or ‘shedding life’. Nor should the fact that some churches call the worship table an ‘altar’ cause any to interpret the blessing of the elements of the Eucharist as a physical sacrifice. All that Christ achieved through his self-giving dealt with every redemptive requirements in our relationship “once and for all” [Rom.6:10; 1Pet.3:115; Heb.9:28]. The root of the term ‘thusia’ in Rom.12:1 is more to do with ‘offering’. Christian ‘sacrifice’ in worship is more concerned with offering ourselves and our concentration to God, recognising our relationship with God in proper perspective. We accept that God is so much greater than ourselves and accept our duty towards the truths that God stands for. Paul called worship a ‘duty’, ‘our reasonable sacrifice’. That word ‘reasonable’ (Gk. ‘logikos’) implies that worship is a rational response to our duty of ‘service’ (‘latreia’) to truth and God. We put our reasoning faculties, our mental and spiritual thought and intelligence into serving and worshipping God. Worship should never be engaged in as a superstitious ritual. We mentally and socially place God in a proper, appropriate position and offer ourselves, our thoughts and our praise to God in love.
Part of our ‘duty’ as thinking human beings is to build truth in the world. We ‘sacrifice’ in worship as we might make sacrifices for one we love, placing their good and their wishes before ours. We make time to be with God, and try to make the quality of that time meaningful. We offer those we appreciate the best that we can, in order to demonstrate our regard, showing that we value God and recognise that God is more important than ourselves. True worship comes from a true expression of love. This is very different from pleasant comments made to someone because we want a favour from them or satisfy ourselves. The idea of worship being ‘sacrificial’ suggests that true worship is not easily or lightly achieved. It entails no expenditure of energy, giving or thought on our part.
William Temple described worship as ‘submission of all our nature to God’ but by this he did not mean debasing ourselves; he implied that it raises us as well as raising the praise of God: “It (worship) is the quickening of our conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of the mind with His truth, the purifying of imagination by His beauty, the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of the will to His purpose – and all this is gathered up in adoration, the most selfless attitude of which our nature is capable, and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centredness which is original sin and the source of al actual sin.” [Readings in John’s Gospel].
Worship in this sense is selfless. Keith Ward has written: “Worshipping God is not telling some very powerful invisible person how good he is, in the hope that he will pat you on the head and give you eternal life. It is the reverent awareness of the Being of God, as God truly is.” [Images of Eternity p.3]. But none of us actually ‘understand God as God truly is’. Even the greatest theologians do not ‘understand God’ so how could we expect regular members of congregations to do so, no matter how holy and experienced in the Christian life? We do not see the object of our worship, and probably only apprehend tiny fragments of the wholeness of God. But worship, like contemplative prayer, does not try to ‘understand’ the whole of God; it responds to the amount of truth we perceive.
A CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO WORSHIP
Worship is communal as well as individual. We join together as the gathered people of God with purposes which we share and individual purposes which may differ. Communal worship includes focusing together on particular aspects of God and Salvation which we share together. When we come to church in worship we should regard each other as all equal before God and one with each other in the Body of Christ, thought we may have different functions. I have occasionally visited churches where I asked to move from a pew as “that is Mr. or Mrs.........’s seat.” Unless this is for someone who is disabled, or needs to be able to sit in that position for a particular purpose, we should remember that there are no reserved places in a church. All should feel welcomed an that there is a place for them in an inclusive church. None should regard themselves or their ministry within the church as more special or more important than others. If the Body of Christ is working correctly, as in 1Cor.12, with all using their gifts, there will be no hierarchy in a church or sense that some are superior or inferior to others. How different from the atmosphere in many churches!
As well as performing worship for ourselves, we worship on behalf of the community in which we live. In corporate worship there should also be a recognition of our unity. Love of God is maimed if it is not accompanied by mutual unity among those God loves and has brought together [Romans13:8-10; chs.14-15].
We sit, kneel, stand, pray, sing or respond in silence in awareness of God’s reality and appreciate that God is who God is: Remember that the Hebrew title for God, ‘YHWH’, does not ‘describe God’. It recognises that God is whatever the truth of God is, being translated variously as: “I am who I am”... “I shall be what I will be”... “He who is” . When Christians or Jews use the term God’s ‘Name’ they imply that contained within ‘God’s Name’ is ‘all that God stands for’. So when we worship we are acknowledging God for the whole of what God is. Worshipping - ‘in his Name’ is about acknowledging, praising, thanking and being open to all that God stands for’, though we don’t fully comprehend that wholeness.
As the enormity of God is incomprehensible, it is hard to attempt to truly appreciate the whole of God when we worship. Worship can become more specific when we focus on particular aspects of God’s revealed nature or action to give thanks for, trust in and celebrate. In worshipping God for revealed aspects of the divine nature and actions we are bringing glory to the whole. The Church Liturgical Year enables a progressive focus on various aspects of God’s self-revelation and provision for us now and in history. The Eucharist gives particular thanks for God’s redemptive act through Christ’s self-sacrifice. The Collects of Christian liturgy are prayers that focus services by selecting a few specific intentions for the themes of particular services. Different sections of liturgy recognise various aspects of God’s relationship with us. The introduction to services often expresses God’s welcome and our corporate relationship in God. Scripture readings and their exposition expand our understanding and application of God’s revelation through inspired sacred writings and teaching. Intercessions remember God’s interest in our prayers and express God;s love for those to whom we pray; thanks and praise remembers God’s nature, glory, love and provision. The conclusion of services often reminds us that we go out into the world blessed by God and intending to live in God’s presence and act as God’s ambassadors and stewards within our society.
As we recognise God’s superiority, it seems strange when scripture and liturgy imply that human worship brings ‘glory’ to God. How can creatures bring extra glory to their Source of Life who is considered already supremely glorious, perfect and self-reliant? Yet Hebrew and Christian scriptures suggest that by our worship we do in some way raise God’s glory: “God is enthroned on the praises of his people” [Ps.22:3]. There seems to be a sense that though God does not ‘need’ our praise and worship, our response to him is fulfilling an important purpose. The picture language of some Psalms and prophets implies that Life glorifies God by living and fulfilling its role in the universe [Pss.65, 89, 93, 98, Isa.44:23; 55:12; Hab. 3:10]. By living our human life rightly and flourishing we glorify the one who created life. In this sense all that we do in good living demonstrates God’s ‘worth’ in creating us, so a holy life is itself ‘worship’ of our Creator. Living in proper relationship with God as well as giving worthy worship brings glory to our Source. We draw spiritual energy and inspiration from God our Source in order to worship worthily. This may be partly what meant by ‘worshipping in God’s Spirit.
There is much in scripture about the need for worthiness in the worshipper of a holy God. Worship is not a substitute for inadequate lifestyle: “What does the Lord require but to love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with your God?” [Mic.6:8; Deut.10:12 Prov.21:3; Isa.56:1; Hos.6:6; Zech.7:9]. Worship and spirituality are meaningless if the truth of our life and lifestyle do not match our faith. The Epistle of James emphasises this. Those come before God worthily who have clean hands and a pure heart [Ps.24:4]. That does not mean outward cleanliness of body, but rather inner cleanness; holiness of thought and intention. But that presents a problem in itself: none of us can claim to be clean or without sin [Rom.3:23]. We all have tendencies to sinful behaviour or thoughts and we all give in to them. But our emphasis should be on trusting God to cleanse, forgive, renew, and particularly on our intentional attempts not to continue to sin in the same ways. Repentance entails a deliberate and active turning around from our wrong ways or failings and intentionally trying to drawing on God’s Spirit’s power and our own God-given strength to improve. None of us, if we are honest, succeed at this, so none come to worship with sufficient worthiness to be in the presence of God’s holiness. Our worthiness to worship is totally reliant on God’s grace and our being considered worthy through God’s Spirit’s work in our lives to apply Christ’s cleansing to us. When we worship we bring our bodies, minds and spirits as ‘living sacrifices’ [Rom.12:1]; they are the temples in which we worship and which are indwelt by God [1Cor.6:19-20].
Worshipping, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, involves ‘glorifying God and enjoying God for ever.’ The Catechism regards this as the ‘chief aim’ and duty of human beings. It implies that worship is a purpose for which God created us, not as an act of slavery but something to be enjoyed. I’m not sure that we should interpret scripture as saying that we were ‘created for worship’. That suggests that God is self-glorifying, by forming creatures to praise him. The Old Testament covenants and Christian teaching suggest rather that we are given independence. Nevertheless our commitment to ourselves and each other includes recognising the qualities of the Source who gave us the possibilities of a committed relationship.
Through the sin and limitations of human beings. none of us seems sufficient to glorify so great a God. The most beautiful or exciting music, eloquent words, elaborate liturgies or heart-felt prayer and praise are is surely pale reflections of the abilities in praise which by traditions and scripture are considered to be the worship of heaven. Our role is to give of our best, which is the most sufficient sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving of which we are capable. That is the message of some of the psalms of praise, which call for worthy music and words.
In recent years attitudes to church attendance among some congregations seem to have become relaxed. Many just go to services when they fell like it, or when they have nothing better to do. That is not the idea behind setting aside a day of the week, like the Hebrew Sabbath, for intentional spiritual focus. A ‘Sabbath’ is not just a ‘day of rest’; it includes giving the day to worship, purposefully recognising the place of God in our lives, bringing us spiritual renewal and renewing our spiritual intention, attending to our spiritual growth as well as giving thanks and worship and bringing our intercessions individually and corporately to God. In western societies commercial prioritisation has altered Sunday to a day for shopping, family entertainment, working on the house or garden, or playing sports. It is easy for Christians to adopt similar priorities and forget the original intention of a Sabbatical day. It was not primarily for rest from labour; if we are to grow in faith it needs also to be a day of spiritual focus and renewal.
Christian worship contains a strong emphasis on the ‘intention’ with which we come before God. We come to praise, to confess, to intercede, to learn, to give thanks for particular things etc. Some Eastern spiritual practices including yoga aim to achieve a state of inactive bliss or detachment. They renounce active goals in order to achieve a ‘cave within the heart’ where one might apprehend the inactive, blissful calm and unchanging consciousness that is at the deepest level of Brahman (god), the root of all things including oneself. Christian contemplative prayer seeks similar peace but is not so inactive or disassociated from the world. In Hinduism the world is regarded as only partial reality; only Brahman is true reality. Christianity has a stronger attachment to reality, since it considers that creation is part of the active will of God and we are living towards the establishment of God’s Kingdom within reality. We do not detach ourselves from the world. Even in ecstatic praise our worship remains rooted in the real world and grows from our enjoyment of the earth and the lives that God has given us. Our intercession and Christian activity is based in our recognition of our stewardship if the world in which God has placed us and our responsibility towards all.
St. Paul emphasises that worship is untrue if we are not engaged in the meaning of what we are worshiping and why. Our minds should be focused, not distracted. However we do not always understand aspects of faith; we do not see what we are worshipping or always fully know the purpose behind our worship. Much of Christian faith and practice is taken on trust. We may have many unresolved questions and doubts. Rather than denying them, these can be important parts of faith. If we knew all the answers, our beliefs would not be rooted in faith and trust in God but human knowledge, which is necessarily limited in spiritual matters. We have few proofs of God’s reality; we do not know how Salvation works, etc. Faith entails a developing trust in what we cannot see [Heb.11:1]. Worship should therefore contain an element of mystery, representing the provisional nature of our understanding [1Tim.6:15-16]. We do not understand the God we worship, nor have we seen God, so the language we use to express worship should possibly be more careful and tentative than is sometimes used. However we do not worship a dark hole: we worship with a certain understanding of what has been revealed of God, particularly by Christ [1Tim.3:16] and in scripture.
TRUE CONTENT IN WORSHIP
Making over-dogmatic or over-confident expressions about faith when we worship may mislead. Poetic metaphors in psalms, hymns and prayers may sound beautiful but can sometimes confuse faith. I have heard worship leaders and songs use terms like: ‘We long to see God’s face’...‘we love the beauty of Christ’s face’ etc. imply,,,‘God spoke to me and said…’, ‘God is telling us to do this’… etc. giving the impression that we have a more direct contact with God than is actually true. Scripture warns frequently against speaking false prophecy. We should attempt to use greater realism in our language. Poetic imagery is often derived from the Bible, but when we use it, we need to be careful not to give outsiders or young Christians the impression that our spiritual experience is greater or more valid than theirs.
The poetic language of the Book of Common Prayer and the King James version of the Bible are often held up as matchless and sacrosanct. But both were written centuries ago and many words have drastically altered in their meaning and implications since them and some of the translations in the Authorised Version were incorrect. If our worship gives visitors the impression that we are locked in the past and unrelated to the realities of everyday life, perhaps it is important that we should use updated language liturgies and readings for outreach services. Worship is not primarily about retaining an ancient text because it is traditional and its language is as beautiful. We do not change the words of a Shakespeare play because the language is integral to the integrity of the play. By contrast a service of worship is involved in proclaiming spiritual truths and applying them to today in ways that are meaningful to all who are present. The important characteristics of our worship that we want ensure are: to communicate truth meaningfully, to sincerely mean what we are saying and singing, to maximise the missional potential of our worship, and enhance the potential of true worship, enabling those who use or hear the words to understand and worship in spirit and in truth. If the form, style or language of any service distracts from the ability to worship it is not true worship and could possibly idolatrous.
In some church services I have heard leaders say “we will now move into a time of worship”, intending the group to turn to musical praise. This makes me wonder what they think we have just been doing in our introductions, prayer, confession, listening to scripture, exposition and teaching. The whole of a church service is intended to be ‘worship’ in varying ways. We are brought prayerfully and worshipfully before God, asking God’s Spirit to guide, fill and communicate to us. We confess our failures and express our trust in God’s forgiveness. We trust and listen for God’s continued guidance and leading, through the words of scripture, teaching and preaching. All these directly involve a recognition of God’s worth and a focus on revealed aspects of God’s nature. They are ‘worship’ as much as the singing of praise.
To whoop oneself or a church group up into a frenzy of ecstatic praise is not necessarily true worship; there needs to be an intentional engagement of the mind and spirit focusing upon God. Silence, standing, sitting, kneeling, lying prostrate, or just listening and waiting can be as truly worshipful as enthusiastic words and lively music.
COMMUNION / EUCHARISTIC WORSHIP
Unlike Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox churches, not all church traditions hold the Eucharist as a central aspect of regular communal worship,. But nearly all Christian churches regard it as a special expression of our communal relationship with God. Christ encouraged us to ‘do this in remembrance of me’ [Lk.22:14-21; Matt.26:26-29; Mk.14:22-25]. The commemoration is a particular recognition of God’s self-giving through Jesus, in order to cement our covenant relationship with God. For many believers this is their most intimate and personal form of worship. We accept Christ’s self-offering, receive these signs of God’s love and care with our own love and gratitude. The elements become part of us as we contemplate and physically digest them. Communion is a physical sign of God’s love, forgiveness and willingness to offer what is most precious and dearest to draw us into relationship. The gift of the Eucharist is one of the most intimate and precious memorials of God that we are given. Reading our Bible may be an intimate way by which God communicates with our minds and souls, but in the Eucharist we actively participate in a mental, physical and spiritual interaction with God.
I do not personally subscribe to the idea of ‘transubstantiation’ proposed by the Roman Catholic Church and also believed in by some High-Church Protestants. I consider that this became too literal an interpretation of Jesus’ words: “This is my body... this is my blood”. I sense that such interpretation may have grown through superstition about the holiness and reverence within the rite. I am devoted to the Eucharist as Christ’s most special, given way of remembering that we have been made a part of his body and are participating in the life and his activity. Communion is far more significant than just a memorial, a symbol or sign of our union with God through Christ. All that scripture says about the Eucharist convinces me that it is a ‘Sacrament’: a holy gift in which we encounter the reality of God. Although this is not Christ’s physical ‘flesh and blood’, as we take communion together we are encountering in an intimate way the power and love that redeemed us and has made us a corporate part of God’s Kingdom, Christ’s family and body. Whatever God’s Spirit is doing among and within us as we take the Eucharist is mysterious, but it affirms our union with God as achieved by Christ.
So when we worship within the Eucharistic service we are as close to meeting the mystery of God ‘in spirit and truth’ as physically possible. The Communion service is a very personal meeting for each individual Christian participating in the rite. The term ‘Eucharist’ implies that this service is a ‘thanksgiving’. It is related to the Greek words ‘charō’ / ‘to rejoice’ and ‘chárisma’ / ‘gift’. ‘Eucharistéō’ can mean both ‘to show favour’ and ‘to give thanks. ‘Eucharistía’ denotes both ‘gratitude’ and ‘thanksgiving’, and ‘eucháristos’ can mean both ‘grateful’ and ‘thankful’. So the Eucharist is a service expressing thankfulness and gratitude for all that God has done in showing favour to us, particularly giving thanks for what Christ achieved through the giving of himself.
The service is also a union with our fellow worshippers as the corporate body of Christ. As a Sacrament we are doing far more than just expressing our unity in faith and in relationship with God. We are already incorporated into Christ’s body, through faith, through baptism, and through fellowship. The Sacrament draws us together physically, spiritually and mentally to realise that we are living as Christ’s body and encourages us to truly practise that life. The tradition also makes up part of the body of believers throughout time: ‘the Church Triumphant’ in heaven, as much as ‘the Church Militant’ on earth.
WHAT MIGHT JESUS HAVE MEANT BY “WORSHIPPING IN SPIRIT”?
In John 4:23-24 John’s Gospel relates that Jesus prophesied that coming worship would not be ‘in’ Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim, but “in spirit” / “en pneumati”. Jesus then clarified or expanded this by saying in the same verses that “God is spirit” / “pneuma ho theos”. St. Paul also wrote of “Worshipping in (or ‘by’) the Spirit of God” [Phil.3:3], though in the Philippians passage the term used for worship was: ‘latreùontes’, a form of the Greek term ‘latreia’ which similarly indicated that worship is our ‘service’ to God.
The parallel use of the preposition ‘en’ / ‘in’ could be part of Jesus’ use of rhetoric, implying we are not worshiping ‘in a place’ but ‘in the spiritual realm’and ‘in the realm of truth’. This is consistent with Jesus’ teaching in other places in John’s Gospel, where ‘God’s house’ is not described in terms of a place. Rather, the believer is themselves the place in whom the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make their home [Jn.14:23; 2:16-17; 8:35; 14:2].
What Jesus meant by worshipping “in spirit” is unclear to us today. As the New Testament Greek text does not use capital letters, the word ‘spirit’ here and elsewhere has to be interpreted in context. Here, however, it is not certain whether Jesus was talking about God’s Holy Spirit as a character/‘person’/power, or the general idea of the true spirit of something. So we cannot say for certain that here, when Jesus was speaking of worship being ‘in spirit’, he was specifically indicating that worship should be undertaken under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God. Significant scholars differ in their interpretation. In their substantial commentaries Craig S. Keener [2003, p. 615f] seems certain that God’s Spirit is indicated, whereas Leon Morris [1971’ p.270] proposes the alternative interpretation that to worship ‘in Spirit’ involves passionate worship with one’s whole heart and mind, i.e. one’s whole ‘soul’. I believe that our interpretation of this part of the passage should therefore be treated flexibly, which is probably why the word is rendered with a small case ‘s’ in most translated versions of the Gospel. The idea of the spirit here could contain multiple possible meanings, so might be interpreted in one or more of the following ways:
The experience of being ‘in spirit’ as we worship could be all or a combination of these. I guess that we may not necessarily need to firmly know which is intended. In practice in the act of worship we are trying to align our minds with spiritual truth, to truly focus on God, to allow God’s Spirit to be alive in us when we worship, to guide, teach, nourish and inspire us, and also ask God’s Spirit to make our worship worthy to come into God’s presence and to glorify God.
We should not infer that every time we are worshipping should be an ecstatic experience, as some Pentecostal gatherings expect. Just because we read of examples of ecstatic worship in scripture does not mean that it was the regular practice of all in the New Testament Church. In fact Paul was adamant that “not all spoke in tongues” etc. [1Cor.12:20]. God’s Spirit works within us in a multitude of different ways: through the intellect, through our daily normal experiences, as well as in the visionary or transcendent experiences of some. Traditional Christian doctrine claims that God lives in the believer by the Spirit all the time, so we are not dependent on awaiting the Spirit to ‘come upon us’ as in the case of ancient Hebrew prophets. St Paul obviously had meaningful transcendent spiritual experiences, but he also said that he would rather speak with his mind:
“One who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also. I will sing praise with the spirit but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking, rather be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.” [1Cor.14:13-19].
God’s Spirit indwells believers, so where the worshipper is focusing their mental faculties on declaring their thanks or praising the qualities of God, their worship is as spiritually true, valid and valuable as transcendent worship where an individual or a charismatic congregation are singing or praying in tongues together. If St. Paul was right, praises coming from the human mind might actually be more meaningful and valued by God than less personally-guided praises; he certainly implies that they are more useful in congregational worship or when others are present. We cannot be sure that this is the aspect of ‘worship in spirit’ to which Christ was referring when speaking to the Samaritan woman, especially as he was speaking prior to Pentecost and she was an ‘outsider to the promises’ as far as Jews were concerned, though of course not an outsider to Jesus’ gospel.
It is clear from Jn.4:23-24 that Jesus was encouraging us to worship God in a true spirit of worship. This implies that we enter worship with our minds and spirits prepared to encounter God in a real way. Because we are in the presence of the holy God, by confession and accepting forgiveness we allow God’s Spirit to cleanse and make us worthy to bring our worship before God. We try to focus worship on the spirit of all that is true about God. We ask God’s Spirit to guide our thoughts to remember those aspects of God for which we have come to worship. We trust God’s Spirit to expand our understanding so that our worship is as sincere and full as it can be. We try to worship in as true a spirit of sincere praise and thanksgiving as possible, and we rely on God’s Spirit to purify that worship to present it as acceptable to God.
The imagery of ‘pneuma’ as breath or wind, which is also in ‘ruach’, the Hebrew word for spirit, contains the concept of spirit as a source and sign of ‘life’. God’s Spirit is life-giving and our spirits are brought alive by the Spirit. So worship that is ‘in spirit’ is alive. This does not imply that all worship needs to be ecstatic, bouncy, happy-clapping, arms waving in glorification, loud or ‘charismatic’ in the ecstatic usage of the word. True ‘charismatic worship’ is that which comes in and through God’s Spirit alive inside us. It might be quiet or even silent and contemplative. It might come through our using our minds to try to fathom something of the mystery of God and expand our understanding of God. It might be raising God in our mind, or attempting to raise God in the minds and praises of a congregation: “God is enthroned on the praises of God’s people” [Ps.22:3]. God may just be worshipped in spirit by us daily living with integrity in our everyday activities and with true active discipleship, responding to Gods Spirit living within us. Worship ‘in spirit’ is not confined to a specific time of or activity what we designate as worship: living worship can and should be all that we do with integrity in our Christian lives.
WHAT MIGHT JESUS HAVE MEANT BY “WORSHIPPING IN TRUTH”?
The extensive list of characteristics and qualities of worship earlier in this study obviously contain a large number of the elements of what “true worship” should be. If we are fulfilling those we are engaged in true worship. But worshipping “in truth” may also be more than this. It implies that something inside us is being true. When I was training for ordination I remember watching a variety of priests presiding at the Eucharist, to help me try to learn to preside with as much meaning and reverence as possible. One priest’s Communion service stood out to me particularly, causing me to ask to meet him to discover why his service seemed so much more meaningful than others. He claimed not to know, but gave me the clue to how he presided: “I just make sure that when I am leading others in worship I am also truly worshipping God myself.” All priests and church leaders will have their own practices, meaningful gestures, ways of raising the elements etc. which have developed with experience and perhaps, as in my own case, have been adapted from and influenced by meaningful practices that I have observed in others. Yet it is vitally important that the priest or worship leader is truly worshipping alongside those we are leading.
I have been in various services where presiding ministers and those responding seem to be going through the liturgy by rote. Some ministers gabble the words so fast that it is hard to follow them. Others follow the old practice of not putting much or any inflection, emphasis or emotion into the words, which can make the prayers and other parts of the liturgy sound like a monotonous durge. That tradition developed through the idea that blessing came through the truth of the words of the liturgy rather than through stirring up the congregation’s engagement with the service. In the contemporary church it is rightly regarded as important for both priest and people to be as fully engaged as possible with the service, so it can enhance worship to speak the words meaningfully and involve people’s thoughts and emotions.
As with worshipping in Spirit, “worshipping in truth” can have multiple meanings:
The Hebrew word for truth - ’‘meṭ was often used to denote ‘faithfulness’, ‘stability’, ‘firmness’ and ‘reliability’. Hence the faithful God is regarded as the ultimate truth and the source of truth. ’‘Meṭ is often used in parallel with the term ‘hesed’, denoting God’s steadfast love. So as well as simply being ‘truthful’ the biblical idea of ‘worship in truth ‘could include ‘loyalty’, ‘stability in faith’ and faithfulness to our covenant promises in response to God. ’‘Meṭ was often used by the prophets to refer to ‘faithfulness’ towards God, so worship ‘in truth’ undoubtedly indicates that our approach to God must come out of faithfulness, not being false or wavering in our reliability. In talking about God and the believer, the Septuagint also translates the Hebrew term ’‘meṭ as ‘pistis’, the Greek word for ‘faithfulness’, ‘faith’ and ‘trustworthiness’. The Hebrew term was also used for ‘truth’ in contrast with ‘deceit’ or ‘falsehood’.
The term ‘truth’ in the Greek of the New Testament is ‘alétheia’. Surprisingly it is used relatively sparingly in the Synoptic Gospels. Despite Jesus being regarded as the ‘truth’ and ‘speaking truth’, he is recorded as using the term only four times [Lk.4:25; 9:27; 12:44; 21:3]. The factions opposing Jesus used the term when trying to trap Jesus: “We know that you are true [aléthes] and teach the way of God truthfully [en alétheia]...” [Matt.22:15; Mk.12:14]. Exactly the same phrase ‘en alétheia’ is used by Jesus of worship in Jn.4:23, suggesting that we should ‘worship truthfully’. John used the term alétheia far more frequently than the other Gospels (26 times), mostly in the words of Jesus: “I tell you the truth”, “I am the truth”, “he who does what is true comes to the light”, “you will know the truth”, “the Spirit of truth”, “he will guide you into all truth”, “your word is truth”, “Father, sanctify them in the truth” etc. ‘The witness of Christ is described as ‘true’ [Jn.5:31f; 8:13-58]. When Pilate asked Jesus “What is truth?” [Jn.18:38] the reader may be expected to react at the irony of the question, since Christ claimed to himself ‘be’ the truth [Jn.14:6] and had been teaching and witnessing to the truth throughout his ministry. Jesus himself is described as being “full of grace and truth” [Jn.1:14, 17]. So in John’s Gospel, when Christ exhorts us to we worship ‘in truth’, we are possibly expected to realise that our worship should include the essential characteristic of what Jesus came to represent and teach about the true God.
‘Alétheia’ is derived etymologically from the idea of ‘non-concealment’, ‘not escaping notice’ or ‘not causing to forget’. It thus came to mean ‘genuine’, ‘what is seen’, ‘evidenced’ and ‘proved to be true’: i.e. ‘what something really is’, rather than what it seems or has concealed or falsified. Where the term is used in the Synoptic Gospels it often meant ‘veracity’, but also ‘honesty’, ‘sincerity’, ‘not concealing or deceiving’. So worship ‘in truth’ should entail our coming before God without concealing anything or being deceptive before an all-seeing, all-knowing God, and truly worshipping what has been revealed about the true God.
It is believed the writer of John knew something of Greek philosophy, since his discussion of the ‘Logos’ in the opening of the Gospel appears to include Greek philosophical ideas. Greek philosophers often spoke of truth as what is real as opposed to just appearance. This seems to relate to worship as something that is true on every level, rather than what we appear to be doing by going through the motions. It is exemplified by Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, or his comment about the widow giving her mite being more grateful that the worshipper who came with a large offering [Mk.12:42-43; Lk.21:2-3]. But alétheia is also used as ‘veracity’, in contrast to telling a lie or withholding information. So worship ‘in truth’ also carries the meaning of not being false worship.
In the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Scriptures ‘alétheia’ is the most common word used for ‘truth’. In context it was used to means a fact that is ‘firm’, ‘solid’, ‘indisputable’, ‘incontestable’ and ‘binding’. In the Hebrew Scriptures it had both legal and religious interpretations. As well as being the only ‘true God’ [2Chron.15:3], God is regarded as ‘absolute truth’ and eternally ‘truthful’ [Ps.51:6; Ps. 146:6], ‘rich in truth’ [Ex.34:6] and ‘worthy of complete trust’ [2Sam.7:28]. Those who live in God’s presence are intended to have their minds set on truth, since God issues true laws, commands and oaths [Neh.9:13; Ps 11i:7; Ps/132:11]. Believers were exhorted to ‘speak truth in their heart’ [Ps.51:2]. This has implications for our worship, implying that we should set our minds, thoughts and words in worship on declaring what is true. Truth was also related to knowledge of God [Hos.4:1] and obedience to God’s law [Ps.119:160]. Believers were to be taught truth [Ps.86:1]. So the Church, like God’s people under the Hebrew Covenant, has a responsibility to provide true worship, teach believers the truth so we are worshipping a true God for true things and correcting or if necessary opposing deceit [Mal.2:6; Prov.11:8; 12:19]. God guaranteed the truth, and was true in divine essence, so God’s people should consequently live by truth morally and legally.
In the New Testament, truth is also related to ‘uprightness’ [Jn.3:21; 2Jn.4:1; 1Cor.13:6; Eph.4:24], ‘trustworthiness’ [Rom.3:3f; 15:8], ‘sincerity’ and ‘honesty’ [2Cor.7:14; 11:10; 2Jn.1; 3Jn.1]. In the context of worship, this implies that we should approach God with upright lives and minds, in total sincerity and honesty, worshipping all that is sincere about the true God i.e. all that is contained within the Name of God – all that God is. ‘Alétheia’ was also used to represent what has been disclosed as true. So in worshipping in truth we should be worshipping what has been revealed about God and disclosing or declaring what is true.
In several passages in the New Testament, alétheia is used to represent true teaching of true faith as opposed to false teaching [2Cor.13:8; Gal.5:7; 1Pet.1:22], since Christianity itself was regarded as ‘the truth’ [2Pet.1:12]. Christians were urged to preach and live by Christ’s Gospel as ‘the word of truth’ [2Cor.6:7], since in coming to Christ they had come into ‘the knowledge of the truth’ [ITim.2:4]. St. Paul emphasised that the Church should be the ‘pillar and ground of truth’ [1Tim.3:15]. So everything we do should truthful and be representing and sustaining God’s truth.
The word ‘alétheia’ was also used in the New Testament to represent ‘authenticity’. God is the source of reality and authenticity, while God’s people need to be authentic followers of Christ. Jesus represented God authentically and the words he spoke were truth, and regarded as divine revelations [Jn.8:32, 40, 44-5; 18:37; 1Jn.1:8; 2:4; 2Jn.1]. Christ was described by John as “full of grace and truth” [Jn.1:14’ 17]. An encounter with Christ was regarded as an encounter with ‘truth’ [Jn.14:6]. Our teaching of doctrine similarly needs to be authentic, so that we are encouraging people to worship the true God for all that is true.
Worship “in spirit and in truth” is not just intended to be truthful in its doctrine and in our unity as worshippers; but a true, authentic encounter with God, through the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit, through the revelation given by Jesus and through Christ himself. Spirit-led worship is part of our witness to the truth [3Jn.12] since we are fellow-workers in the truth with Christ [3Jn.8]. When we encourage or admonish another, we should “speak the truth in love” [Eph.4:15]. Our unity as a Church as part of Christ’s body is intended to be rooted in Christ’s truth, so that when we love one another we are united both in truth and love [2Jn.1f.]. If our worship is truly coming from a united, loving group of believers, we can call it true worship. If we are disunited in worship we should sort things out in order to make our worship worthy.
‘Worshipping in spirit and in truth’ therefore has a wide variety of possibilities. We cannot be certain exactly what Jesus meant at the time when these words were said, or what John’s Gospel meant by the words when they were initially written. But in practice when Christians worship, the wide variety of potential meanings discussed in this study could all be true. We believe that God looks primarily at the authentic heart which we put into our worship, not the precision of what we are saying, singing, doing or thinking.
Iain McKillop
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Who or What is the True God We Are Called to Worship?
The Christian Life as Worship
What is True Worship?
Concepts of Worship in the Hebrew Scriptures
Synagogue Worship
Jesus’ Attitude to Worship
New Testament Concepts of Worship
Who is Worship For?
What Should Worship Lead To?
Some Qualities of Worship
The Sacrificial Element of Worship
Some Christian Approaches to Worship
True Content in Worship
Communion / Eucharistic Worship
What Might Jesus Have Meant by Worshipping ‘in Spirit’?
What Might Jesus Have Meant by Worshipping ‘in Truth’?
INTRODUCTION
Jesus told the Samaritan woman: “... believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth...” [Jn.4:21-24]
What does it mean to ‘worship in spirit and truth’ as Jesus here seems to be teaching here should be the intention of every believer? I have quoted this passage many times when encouraging congregations to worship meaningfully and heard many other ministers do the same. However, I recognise that it is a phrase that trips easily off the tongue, but needs to be thought-through carefully if the Church is going to direct to God the worship that is deserved and which, in consequence, nourishes worshippers and deepens their faith and practice of discipleship.
In context, Jesus was talking about a future situation in which worship would be in spirit and in truth: “the hour is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth...” [Jn.4:21 & 5:28]. It is not clear when Jesus meant, though the implication seems to be that the time would not be far away: He could have been talking of an apocalyptic period, when God would purify the worship of God’s people. Or he could have been discussing a nearer time when the Holy Spirit would inspire God’s people in their worship. In relation to Christian worship, not fully knowing Jesus’ precise meaning need not cause difficulty: He was obviously claiming that the most perfect true worship should be ‘in spirit and truth’, whether among his immediate followers or in the Church today, or among the host of heaven and the Kingdom of God. If the worship given by spiritual beings in heaven is ‘in spirit and truth’, we on earth should be reflecting and joining our worship with the heavenly host in a similar aim at perfect praise.
Rather like ‘The Findability of God’ about which I wrote recently, the question of what is ‘worship in spirit and truth’ could initially be answered relatively simply. Surely Jesus was calling us to make our worship come authentically from our hearts, souls and minds, to direct our worship towards the true God, to be doctrinally true in our focus, according to scripture, and to make sure that our words and thoughts are true and truly meant. Yet, as with the issue of ‘The Findability of God’ there are also difficulties: Our faith is often tentative, based on doctrines that we cannot ever fully comprehend or about which we cannot be 100% certain. Our worship is similarly partially tentative in response. Our knowledge of God is imperfect, as so much about the divine, the spiritual dimension and the ways in which God works will always be a mystery to the human mind, So our direction of our praise and thanksgiving for God’s nature and actions can only be towards what we partially understand to be truth. Unlike the worship of God which is described as happening among the host of heaven, we are always going to be imperfect in the ways in which we worship. Nevertheless our worship is probably regarded by God as ‘true’ if we are being true to what we believe.
However, as we know from the history of the Church and contemporary experience of the differences between churches, Christians vary in their interpretations of certain doctrines. So if one group praises God for Creation, gives thanksgiving for Christ’s activity in salvation, or looks forward with confidence to Christ’s return, they may be interpreting those issues in markedly different ways to some other Christians. So are they both sincerely worshiping in spirit and in truth? I personally sense that they probably are, but some believers of different persuasions may disagree with me. When we consider the number of heresies and dodgy religious and social practices that have developed in churches over two millennia, we recognise that it is certainly easy to think that one is worshipping in sprit and truth, yet be mistaken in one’s interpretation of Christianity.
For any one group of Christians to believe that their doctrinal understanding has the monopoly on the truth is very dangerous as, among other things, it separates them from the rest of the Body of Christ. Similarly those who believe that their form of worship is the best and only true way must be mistaken. We are all made differently, have varied ways of relating to God, have had different experiences and the ways in which we express and satisfy our spirituality differ. Just as accepting doctrinal differences can broaden our limited minds and faith, by recognising that God is far larger than our particular comprehension or perspective, we should not seek homogeneity of worship. Other Christians’ practices can broaden our minds and expand our forms of worship, and we may also learn from the sincere, faithful practices of other believers from different traditions.
The wording of the phrase ‘worship God in spirit and truth’ would seem to imply that authentic Christian worship needs to be a combination of four elements particularly:
1/ Directing our worship towards a true concept of God.
2/ Giving to the true God something that is truly worship.
3/ Being true to what Jesus meant by worshiping ‘in spirit’.
4/ Making sure that what we are doing is true and based in truth.
Each of these principles can carry difficult and sometimes uncomfortable challenges:
1/ There are many different ideas of God throughout the world. Even within the Christian Church believers seem to have varied concepts of who the true God is. So we need to focus our worship towards as true a concept of God as we are able to imagine. That is one reason why liturgical worship has often been devised to include a wealth of doctrinal content. Extemporary worship is not always as packed with doctrinal detail, but if what the believers are saying, doing and feeling is authentic it can still be true worship.
2/ There are many different ways of worshipping and many varied types of worshipper. What may seem meaningful and spiritually stirring to one believer might seem trite, naïve or boring to another. If they are to truly give worship, the worshipper needs to find the ways of worship that come most truly from their heart, mind and spirit.
3/ We cannot be certain what Jesus or the Gospel-writer meant by “worship in spirit” and “worship in truth”. Each have a variety of possible interpretations as I discuss later. But if we are to be true in our worship, we need to find what we personally mean by each and make sure that when we worship we are, as far as possible, “in spirit and truth”.
It is fascinating that Jesus spoke these words to someone who would have been considered by his Jewish contemporaries as a member of n impure people, the Samaritans. To a ‘pure’ Jew at that time, the Samaritans worshipped in the wrong place, worshipped a less true concept of God who would not be as faithful to them as he would be to the Jews, were corrupted by interbreeding with Gentiles, unclean, separated from the truth, and not as special to God as the Jewish tribes. Among the Samaritans were Jews who had remained in Samaria during the Jewish exiles in Babylon and Assyria, had allied themselves with non-Jews and were considered to worship incorrectly, with ideas corrupted by assimilation with other cultures.
WHO OR WHAT IS THE TRUE GOD WE ARE CALLED TO WORSHIP?
I am writing this in the Christian context and am not qualified by background or experience to write authoritatively on comparative religion. I recognise that there are multiple ways of understanding the truth about the Source of all and that there are truths in many concepts of God in other beliefs. Jesus said “in my Father’s house are many dwelling places” [Jn.14:2] and “those who seek will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” [Matt.7:7; Lk.11:9]. This seems to imply that those who seek spiritual truth in every culture can be led to perceive aspects of truth. It is important to remember that throughout history and culture many religions including Christianity have suffered from misguided ideas and practices and false teachers. So even in our Christian traditions not everything may be true. Christianity has been plagued since the early Church by those with insufficient or false ideas about God, who have imagined a God based on their own limited perspectives, biases, preoccupations and priorities. Many interpret the Christian God in their own image rather than faithfully following the full, holistic expanse of God described in the Bible.
When talking about the God who I believe that Christians are intended to worship I mean:
- the fullness and truth of what God is, as described in the Bible and interpreted and represented by Jesus of Nazareth,
- the aspects of God that are true, but not contained in scripture. Mystics call this variously ‘the mystery of God’, ‘the darkness of God’, ‘the incomprehensibility of God’, etc.
- whatever is the truth behind the source of the cosmos and all life;
- whatever is true about a spiritual dimension beyond ours;
- whatever is truth about how humans should live and which encourages true, abundant, righteous life;
- whatever is true about how we are meant to relate to the spiritual dimension;
- whatever is true about our human nature, whether we are ‘body, mind and spirit’ and how we might reflect the Source that created us.
When I pray or worship I try to imagine myself to be in the presence of the enormous ‘truth’ of whoever or whatever this Source is, and reach out to that truth in my thoughts and words. Jesus taught his followers to address God as ‘our Father’, which enables us to confidently and personally approach God in prayer, worship and fellowship with a sense of comfort, in confidence that God wants the best for us and understands us thoroughly, as in Ps.139. However John Chrysostom and Thomas Merton remind us (below) that the Fatherhood of God is only one facet of the incomprehensible enormity of God. Even the term ‘enormity’ sounds and insufficient term. If the cosmos is ‘infinite’ as some scientists claim, perhaps the omnipresent God is also ‘infinite’, as some philosophers and theologians describe God. It is difficult to conceive of something ‘infinite’ that might personally care about tiny individuals like us or the intricate details of nature, so we have multiple other metaphors for God in scripture to help us relate to God.
Whatever is the true nature of our invisible God, we need to remember that God is beyond sufficient comprehension by our limited human minds. When we pray or worship.anything we conceive about God as the one to whom we focus our communication possibly verges towards heresy. John Chrysostom wrote: “Let us evoke him as the inexpressible God, incomprehensible and unknowable... he surpasses all power of human speech... he eludes the grasp of every mortal intelligence... angels cannot penetrate ... [or] fully understand him. For he is invisible... Only the Son and the Holy Spirit know him.” Merton expanded upon this: “We should live as if we are seeing God face to face, but we should not conceive an image of God. On the contrary, it is a matter of adoring him as invisible and infinitely beyond our comprehension and realizing him in all.” [Thomas Merton Hidden Ground of Love p.63-64].
If we are addressing God truthful in worship it would seem important to hold in our minds this idea of the true God being beyond our comprehension yet present here for us, wherever we are. The biblical imagery for God is expansive, and we believe that all the thousand-plus metaphors describing God in scripture convey aspects of truth. But even scriptural metaphors and revelations about God only ‘reach towards’ the intangible reality that we call ‘God’. We approach an important truth in saying: “God is like Jesus” but this also is insufficient. Orthodox Christian belief is that in Jesus of Nazareth, God is revealed through a human life. All Jesus’ teaching and behaviour, including love, inclusivity, attitudes to sin, justice, values, character, actions, miracles and priorities opened up ‘what God is like’ far beyond the traditional Jewish conception of God of his time. But even Jesus - divine, incarnate, miraculous as Christians believe him to be, must be more limited than the omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, invisible truth of God he represented and revealed. Christians worship Christ as part of the Trinity, but what we are worshipping is obviously larger than Jesus Christ, perhaps even larger than our doctrinal conception of the Trinity. If God is infinite or omnipresent, as some theologians have concluded, it is possible that God is a multiplicity of ‘persons’ in unity, the majority of facets of which may not have been revealed.
‘Persona’ is the Greek word from which Christian doctrine derives the idea of the Trinity as ‘one God in three persons’. ‘Persona’ was the term chosen by the early Church theologians to explain the different natures within one God. In ancient Greek culture the ‘persona’ was the theatrical mask by which an actor showed each character being portrayed at any one time. One actor could be performing many ‘personae’. While God is no-doubt far more than we can imagine, and may be more than ‘three personae in one God’, the Trinitarian idea of God seems to be sufficient revelation to fulfil the spiritual need in human beings to relate truthfully to God. We do not need to understand the whole of God in order to develop a relationship with God. What we do can be true worship in sufficient ‘spirit and truth’ when we praise, thank and appreciate God from our limited but sincere perspective.
The unity we call ‘the one God’ expresses a multitude of characteristics expressed in the Bible in images and metaphors: God as Spirit, Perfection, Love, Creator, Ruler, Redeemer, Owner, Righteousness, Father, Mother, Shepherd, Servant, awe-inspiring Lion, Judge, Justice, a Cleft for Refuge, Rock of Salvation, Forgiver, Guiding Power. To holistically approach comprehending God we need the Bible’s full multiplicity. We need in some authentic way to contain the enormity of all this (and so much more that has not been revealed) in our concept of God if we are to worship the true God. Of course with our limited human comprehension and ability at concentration we cannot hold them all in our mind at the same time. Nevertheless we need to recognise that God is all these things and much more. The biblical metaphors are not the full physical reality; they are images that suggest intangible spiritual qualities through accessible more comprehensible humanistic parallels. God’s must be far greater, more perfect, more whole than our dim reflections. Despite this incomprehensibility and mystery, Christian teaching suggests that God wants to be found by us through life, faith, scripture, our activities within the world and human society, worship prayer and through fellow Christians with whom we mix.
God’s awe-inspiring, multi-faceted creativity seems to be reflected in the cosmos’s variety, beauty and sublimity. Christians can enhance our worship and deepen our faith by contemplating this enormous variety and breadth. The more expansive our ides of God becomes, the richer our faith might become, encouraging lively activity, commitment to advancing the understanding of truth, and reflecting truth in the abundance and righteousness of our behaviour.
For comfort the Christian Church throughout time has been suspicious of change, just as were the Hebrew leaders who condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. He stressed that he did not come to alter what the Jewish Scriptures said about God and God’s rules for human life. Rather, he had come to fulfil them and show truer, fuller ways by which to interpret them. As the Church grows we should be open to God’s Spirit continuing to open up and expand our interpretation of scripture and what Jesus taught.
Christian churches often want to maintain homogeneity of belief and traditional ways of behaving and worshipping because they are easier to assess or control. Many are suspicious of varied ways of understanding and following, afraid of heresy and afraid of not being in control. Experience over centuries has demonstrated that Churches have often made mistakes and has been forced to alter its interpretations of doctrines and practices as cultures change. Past ideas of what God might regard as forgivable and unforgivable sins have altered. Ideas of how God regarded human sexuality have altered with growing understanding of human psychology. Ideas about the gender roles intended and expected by God have changed with our comprehension of equality and equity in God’s eyes. Our understandings of the stewardship of the earth with which we have been entrusted have modified. We recognise that we are not given the world’s resources and the lives of other creatures to exploit, but have been given responsibility to conserve the earth and protect all life. So our ideas of God and of God’s expectations of us need to be open to change as new truths become understood. These altering and expanding ideas of God will need to flow into our expressions about God when we worship, if our worship is to be true to contemporary understanding.
The true God and exploring the breadth of God’s truth are life-giving! So it is important to open ourselves and our minds to the expanse of truth if we want to recognise that we are in the presence of God. I feel closest to the true God when I sense that I am in the presence of ‘truth’ and am living by following the truth. Exploring truth brings my love and imagination about God alive, as well as helping me to feel more vitally ‘whole’. Truth and creativity are aspects of God. Our mental and spiritual understanding of God’s Truth will always be inadequate by comparison with God’s far higher Truth, Love and Wisdom. Yet in pursuing truth we believe that we can glimpse facets of God, especially when we sense that we are on the path to Truth and following the Truth in our lives. This lively approach to God can help to bring life and spiritual truth to our worship.
I find it hard to believe in the sort of God who some Christians worship: a God who causes suffering, deliberately doesn’t intervene to alleviate disasters, punishes some sin yet doesn’t punish the real evil people including leaders in the world who get away with horrors. Too many people who call themselves Christians promote a God of vengeance, who supports particular favourites and is biased against others, who rules by creating fear and dominates by legalistic rules. Legalistic or narrow interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures can be far from the more holistic interpretation of scripture and life that Jesus taught. A god created by superstitious, negative, legalistic minds is not the Christian God as Jesus of Nazareth represented the divine.
Sadly, despite centuries of experience and theological thought, we cannot clearly define what the Christian God is. Most attempts at describing God are inevitably limited because God is invisible: some may even be heretical. Though I am sure that God is real, most of what we believe that we know about God is in concept rather than tangible or provable empirically. The clearest that we appear to be able to reach is to say what God is ‘like’, using human or earth-based characteristics and metaphors which we believe to be similar to the qualities in God. But these are also limited: God’s love cannot be identical to human love, neither can God’s creativity, care, dislike, anger, application of power, justice and every other characteristic or activity that we attribute to God. That is one of the difficulties of attributing names or titles to God in our worship, as the 99 names of Islam do. If interpreted wrongly they can make the nature of God appear too close to those qualities in human beings. Thus the title ‘the Destroyer’ has been too often used as an excuse for humans to destroy those who believe or behave differently from themselves or are considered to be heretics. Many Christians imagine God as vindictive and judgemental more than loving and equitable. The more positive qualities of God can also be misinterpreted, such as the way we interpret who God loves and of whom God disapproves. When we are worshipping the true God we need to focus on broader and far greater, positive, more expansive truths, of which the biblical metaphors for God are shadows. Some awful Christian hymns, songs, poems and meditations encourage rather over- sentimental or over-militaristic concepts of God, admittedly derived from scriptural ideas, but distorted by human imagination into imagery that might encourage false beliefs.
A recent fashion in describing the Christian God has become a repeated use of the phrase “God is as he is in Jesus”. In the context in which it was first written it made sense. But to interpret God as just what Jesus revealed and the qualities we recognise in Jesus is also limiting. The Christian doctrine of Jesus as the incarnation of God is one of the most useful ways of imagining the character of God, but in the Son we do not see the full qualities that we conceive as belonging to God, because Jesus was to a certain extent limited by his human nature.
I wonder if a tangible ways in which we are intended to find God and discover what God is like, might be when we actively and righteously relate to others as we are intended to relate as members of the Body of Christ: By loving, caring, supporting, encouraging, learning together, growing together and worshipping together we can become closer what makes human life abundant and closer to the model of Christ. If Jesus was the model of what a human life in relation to God should be, we may become closer to God the more we follow his example. That does include being required to challenge sin when we think we perceive it, We also need to cleanse the temple of of our lives and the Church by working to remove or modify false beliefs and practices, and lead individual Christians and the Church as a body towards greater truth.
Christ’s primary way of demonstrating the presence and character of God was through loving people, gentleness, forgiveness, healing, caring, teaching what is good, regularly communicating with God through prayer, drawing from God’s power, recognising that everything he did came from God and sensing God’s constant presence. Jesus recognised that the truth of God was with him even in his struggle in Gethsemane and the agony of his passion and crucifixion. When he was reciting to himself Psalm 22 on the cross, he was probably reminding himself, in the loneliness of his pain that God was with and in him. His apparently desolate words beginning: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” may actually have been him reminding himself of God’s care of him despite his present suffering. Psalm 22 continues with a worshipful affirmation of God’s faithfulness.
I believe that we often find truths about God and God’s nature within ourselves. Unfortunately, however, it is far too easy to create and worship a God who is not-so-much ‘in our own image’ as ‘of our own conception’. If one is a superstitions person one might create God who fulfils one’s suspicions, as Mediaeval minds often seems to have done. This led to all sorts of unbiblical conceptions of judgement with God as a tyrannical and frightening power threatening all. If one is arrogant one might believe in a God who thinks like oneself and agrees with one’s own doctrines and my particular reading of scripture. A reasoning person might create a rationalistic idea of God which tries to remove superstition and be totally explicable, as happened in ‘Natural Religion’ during the humanistic Enlightenment. A legalistic person might construct a God who is limited only to what they think the Bible says or what they believe to be right. If I am judgemental I will turn my ideas of God against those with whose ideas or life-style I don’t agree. If I am liberal I will create a God who is relaxed about the things over which I am relaxed. If I am lazy I won’t take the Bible or traditions into account at all and just follow my own instincts, perhaps never growing in faith. If I am loving I might focus totally on the love of God for all, and not necessarily take into account other aspects of God mentioned in scripture.
For too many Church-members over the centuries, as well as today, our faith is in a God who is an amalgam of some of these. Too few really study their faith and know their scriptures thoroughly and holistically. Those who do are often selective, choosing the ideas of God that most appeal to them and discarding other aspects mentioned in the Bible. Probably none of us have a truly holistic understanding of God, or have our priorities rightly in balance. God is far bigger than any human mind or life can hope to conceive. Yet in focusing our worship and appreciation of God, as in our conception of God, should attempt to be as holistic in our faith as possible, taking all the imagery about God into account, even the imagery that might appear to be contradictory or ‘unsavoury’. A perfect God can be ‘perfect love’ as well as ‘perfect judge’; ‘awe-inspiringly infinite’ as well as ‘personal’ and personally involved with us as individuals and particular groups of Christians.
When I wrote earlier that “When I pray I imagine myself in the presence of ‘Truth’...” I mean that I try to be expansive and open to the whole of whatever the truth of God is. But inevitably any of us are going to be limited because the scope of our conception of truth can never be as wide as whatever God is. That should not deter us from trying to conceive of and relate to a God who is as true as we can imagine, rather than having a limited, false or narrow perspective about God.
Christian doctrine speaks of God as ‘Spirit’ [Jn.4:24]; the human mind perhaps conceived God as a figure on a metaphorical ‘heavenly throne’ or a ‘force’ in motion in the cosmos and through all other dimensions. Though Thomas Merton and Chrysostom are right in emphasising that we should not try to imagine or conceive what God is, we need some concept of God to which we can relate. The idea of God being in whatever the ‘Truth’ about God is, can help us do that.
Creedal doctrine also described God as ‘personal’: ‘three persons in one God.’ We worship one God, not three individuals in naming the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As mentioned earlier he term ‘person’ derived from Ancient Greek theatre, where characters were differentiated by the various masks / ‘persona’ that they wore. There was one actor, but represented as several ‘personae’. In adopting this term for God in formulating the Athanasian Creed and the doctrine of the Trinity, the early Church wasn’t implying that God is a figure (or three figures) on the throne of heaven with three distinct characters. Nor is the idea of the Trinity that they exist as three distinct forces. Monotheism emphasise that God is ‘One’: those forces or characteristics of God that we recognise in the persons of the Trinity work together as one. It was considered heresy to believe that God self-revealed in three different ways, adopting the masks of a persona as the situation required in history. Orthodox Christian doctrine claims that the three persons are somehow distinct in the heavenly dimension yet remain one. This is one reason why the concept of the Trinity remains so confusing. In teaching and practise, Christian thinking and liturgical words, particularly the phrasing of our prayers, hymns and conversation, we too frequently seem to over-separate the three persons. It often sounds as though Christians are praising and praying to Jesus, the Father and the Spirit as separate entities, rather than forces or personalities that work together. Yet we are given these three concepts of God to help us relate to a power that is our perfect Creator, a Saviour who opens us up to truth and love, and a living, divine Spirit-power in the Cosmos and in our minds that can guide, empower an open us to truth, bringing us into a relationship with whatever the truth of God is.
‘Force’ feels to be a too impersonal word to use of the nature of a God with whom we are assured by scripture that we can have a life-giving relationship. Other words in which some talk about God can seem to ‘chummy’. ‘Father’ can feel more formal at times. ‘Abba’, the Hebrew word for ‘Daddy’ is the personal way that Jesus is recorded as occasionally addressing his Father, but I am not sure that he intended his followers to have quite so informally intimate a relationship with the power that rules the world, as the way in which some church-people use the term ‘Abba’ today. ‘Mother’, though used for several decades now, can often sound contrived in practice, as if the user is too conscious of trying to be ‘trendy’ or ‘politically correct’. ‘Mother’ can also at times seem to confuse the God of the Bible with the Source-mother or fertility goddesses of other non-Christian religions. We should make sure that we are addressing the God who is truth when leading prayers and focusing worship. We are addressing God in worship, not praying to impress members of the congregation by our political correctness. While we need to be inclusive in our language and try not to offend or distract others from being able to ‘worship in spirit and in truth” [Jn.4:23], our method of addressing the one to whom we pray has to be genuine, not contrived or misinterpretable.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AS WORSHIP
Before we begin to examine some of the minutiae of what ‘worship in spirit and truth’ might mean in practise in church services and personal devotion, it is important to remember that in many ways the whole of the life of the Christian is intended to be ‘worship’. When St. Paul urged his reader to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” [Rom.12:1], he was not primarily writing about what we do in a church service, at a particular time of worship, or even how a Christian acts in their specific ministry or mission for God. Our greatest worship of our Creator and Saviour is actually what we do with the whole of our lives. As many of the Hebrew prophets pointed out, if our life-styles and daily activities do not do justice to, or are not in accord with, the God who made us and who we proclaim as our Lord, anything we do in a service of worship or give as a sacrifice to God is worthless, unclean or at least tainted. Worship is not true worship unless our lives, minds, spirits and actions are in harmony or accord.
We primarily demonstrate the glory and worthiness of God by living worthy, fulfilled, righteous lives as we were designed and intended to do. This involves developing using our bodies, minds personalities, abilities, gifts and roles in life and in the Church to the fullest, according to the backgrounds and situations that we are in. This does not mean that someone who society or the Church might regard as ‘gifted’ or who has attained an important position is glorifying God any more than another who might be regarded by some as less clever, less important or contributing to society or the Church less prominently. Someone with disabilities or aged or infirm can worship and glorify God as fully and faithfully as an Archbishop or Pope. They might be more able to do so, because they do not have the distractions of other responsibilities.
It is our faithfulness, not our position by which we glorify and worship God. The ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in our lives is in significant respects more important that the ‘gifts of the Spirit’ with which we might be endowed. I am sure that God recognises and enjoys seeing the ‘love, joy, peace. patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ etc. [Gal.5:22-26] radiating from the daily life of a Christian. God might value this even more than what we do with the particular gifts that we might use in witnessing to our faith, practically helping others, doing whatever job we are called and gifted for, even helping to build God’s Kingdom. A person’s personality is in many ways more important and more admirable than what we do or what we look like in the eyes of others. That can be a mistake made by some leaders or workers who might seek position or importance but damage their reputation and ministry by being over-ambitious, arrogant, uncaring, ruthless, hardened, institutionalised or even dishonest.
The truths by which we live, and the authenticity of our discipleship, are primary ways by which we worship God. What we do and say in prayer, praise and thanksgiving is significant, as is our formally focused worship. True worship glorifies God and can nourish us in our relationship with God. We glorify God with our whole being when we are living the abundant, fruitful lives that Christians are intended to be living. We can witness most effectively when others can recognise the abundance and fruit of the Spirit in us. One might tell the gospel of Christ to one’s neighbours. But if they see you living in ways that seem boring, unfulfilling, joyless or just orientated around church, can you imagine them wanting to follow the sort of Christ that they imagine keeps us so constrained? Jesus said “I have come that you might have life in all its abundance” [Jn.10:10]. The attractive, life-giving nature of Jesus of Nazareth’s personality and the authenticity of the truths in his teaching attracted the crowds to him and confirmed that faith was true. They recognised that God was with him and in him. I saw similar qualities in the lives of those who witnessed to me at university, which led me towards faith. I saw that faith was true in them. That sort of abundant life grows from recognising the presence of God at all times in our lives. Responding to God with integrity in all we do is “your spiritual worship” [the NRSV translation of the Greek: ‘logikén latreían’. In other translations it is rendered more literally as “your reasonable service” or “your reasonable worship” - [Rom.12:1].
WHAT IS TRUE ‘WORSHIP’?
Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries would have regarded true, full worship as only possible in the Temple in Jerusalem, or the lesser services in the synagogues. Israel was imagined to be the holiest land and the Temple was thought to be the holiest place in that land. Pure Jews would have regarded the worship of the Samaritans at their temple site on Mount Gerizim as insufficient or false, whereas the Samaritans, including the woman to whom Jesus was speaking about “worship in spirit and in truth”, were proud of their place of worship. They justified worship there by the injunction in Deut.27:3-8 to set up an altar and sacrifices in that place immediately after Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. The altar at Gerizim was therefore an older establishment than the Jerusalem Temple. It has been suggested that, as Jacob’s Well was nearby, the place where Jesus and the Samaritan woman were talking may have been within sight of the holy mountain, which would have made the content of their discussion even more significant, just as when Jesus talked about his future and the future of Jerusalem and its Temple beside the enormous stones of its foundations [Matt.24:2; Mk.13:1-2; Lk.21:5]. For Jesus to say that true worship would take place in neither of the two temples would have been shocking to his hearers.
We cannot be sure whether he had prophetic foresight into the coming destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70CE, though several of his teachings seem to point to such knowledge. The worship on the temple mount at Gerizim would also not last. The Samaritans’ temple building there had already been ravaged by John Hyrcanus in 128B.C.E. as part of his Jerusalem-centric campaign [Josephus ‘War’1.63-66; Antiquities13.255-256]. The Gerazim ruins were conspicuous, yet worship continued on the sacred mountain. Gerizim was also desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes, just as he desecrated the Jerusalem Temple [2Macc.6:2]. Yet Gerizim remained sacred in the faith of the Samaritans and many Samaritan synagogues pointed towards Gerizim, as Jewish synagogues were orientated towards Jerusalem.
Instead of either temple being the place for focused worship, Jesus claimed to the Samaritan woman that true worship should be an inner focus on God which can be offered in any place. We can turn in worship to God everywhere. Many today, as throughout Jewish and Christian history, make pilgrimages to holy places and sites that are significant in the history of faith. Pilgrims often find there, and on the journeys themselves, a special atmosphere or meaning that encourages their spirituality and leads to worship. We may feel that in particular church buildings. But Jesus’ words here remind us that the important factor in worship is not the place... It is the meeting with God ‘in spirit and in truth’ that matters.
Temple symbolism recurs throughout John’s Gospel [1:14; 2:13-22; 7:37; 14:23]. But the Gospel makes clear that the encounter with God is far more significant than the building. Worship is rooted in and grows through the authenticity of our relationship with God. What people do or feel in worship depends a lot on their concept of God, but also their personal character or circumstances. Sometimes worship is a humble ‘obligation’ as a creature for their Creator or a servant for our Lord, At other times, aware of sins, we may approach God in remorse, contrition, ‘fear’ of God’s power, recognising that our wellbeing and peace is dependent on God’s mercy. Worship is often grateful thanks, adoration, praise for what we are or have been given or the mercy we have received. At other times our most deep worship may happen in silence, feeling awe at the privilege of being in God’s presence. These and many more different attitudes, complementary connotations or ways of approaching God are contained within various words translated as ‘worship’ in the Bible:
Worship does not need to be all about praise and thanksgiving. Adoration and worship are concerned with showing appreciation and reverence for all that God is - that which has been revealed and all that remains mystery. Recognising the worth of God can include a certain fear within our awe. If we are trying to worship God for all that God is, there are sure to be aspects of God that make us uncomfortable, since we realise that we do not reach God’s perfection or God’s expectation of us. In their encounters with God prophets frequently recognised their inadequacy and sinfulness. Jeremiah felt overcome by his youth, inexperience and inadequacy [Jer.1:6-8]. Isaiah recognised that he was unclean: “a man of unclean lips” and lived among people with an unclean culture [Isa.6:5]; Ezekiel fell on his face in awe and fear [Ezek.1:28]; Moses realised in awe that the ground on which he was standing in the presence of God was holy [Ex.3:5].
We are assured in the Epistle to the Hebrews that because of the work of Christ we can come confidently into God’s presence in worship, but the awe should still be there: ... “Therefore my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is his flesh), and since we have a great high-priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hoe without wavering for he who has promised is faithful.” [Heb.10:19-23]. The writer encourages assurance in our worship, but just as St. Paul warned us not to share the Eucharist in an unfit condition [1Cor.11:27-30], we are here reminded to rely on Christ for cleansing and not to come before God in an unworthy or unclean state.
There are many Greek terms in scripture which are translated as ‘worship’. In speaking of ‘worship in spirit and in truth’, the word ‘worship’ attributed to the mouth of Christ is “proskūnéo” and the “worshippers” are ‘proskunétai’. ‘Proskunéō’ is the most common of the term for worship used in the New Testament. It means literally ‘to kiss towards’, and was used by ancient Greeks for ‘outwardly kissing the ground before deities’ or ‘inner adoration of the gods’ as well as the respect and reverence felt towards a servant of God, an angel or a person of higher standing than oneself. It implied ‘to make obeisance’, ‘to do reverence’, ‘to give homage’ [Matt.4:10; Jn.4:21-24; 1Cor.14:25; Rev.4:10], but also in later ancient Greek usage and in the New Testament became used to denote ‘love and respect’. Though it initially involved prostrating oneself in prayer, rabbis also used the term of their habit of ‘standing in prayer’, which was a common Hebrew position for worship.
The Greek term ‘proskunéō’ is similar to the meaning of the Hebrew term ‘hāwȃ’ (used 170 times in the Hebrew Scriptures). This carries the idea of making obeisance ‘falling or bowing down’ before someone, ‘kissing the feet’ of the master or ‘bowing in submission’ to another to show your recognition of their high position. A similar common Hebrew term ‘shachah’, ‘sāgad’ or the Aramaic ‘sĕgĭd’ also means ‘bowing down in submission’. In Genesis 24:52: Abraham ‘bowed down before the Lord’, as did Solomon at the dedication of the Temple [2 Chron.7:3]. It is also used of bowing before idols [1sa 44:46] or in its Aramaic form in Dan.3:5-7, 10-12, 14-18, of people commanded to bow before the emperor’s golden statue. The Septuagint translators of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek used ‘proskunéō’ to convey the idea of ‘bending the knee’. Micah asked rhetorically what offerings God requires us to bring to ‘bow down before the exalted God’ [Mic.6:6-8]. He concluded that God values not burnt offerings or enormous physical sacrifices, but “to do justice, love mercy/kindness and walk humbly before God our Lord”. He recognised that salvation came not through offering sacrifices brought but through God recognising our repentance by the ways we change our lives in order to obey God’s right ways of living.
Hebrew and New Testament writers emphasised that true worship must only be directed towards God [cf. Acts 10:25-6, Rev.19:10]. All forms of idolatry were forbidden, including anything that focused away from our responsibility towards God. This consideration became important when later Church Councils met to distinguish the veneration that could be given to Christ’s mother Mary and other saints from the veneration due to God.
Jesus was probably speaking to the Samaritan woman in Aramaic, so we cannot be sure which of several possible words for ‘worship’ he may have actually said. If the Gospel writer was using the Greek term ‘proskūnéo’ in a general sense, he may have been intending to encompass all that is in the idea of worship. Or if using the term in its precise, literal sense of bowing and kissing the feet, he may have been suggesting that Jesus was encouraging authentic reverence, humbly offered to God in appreciation of God’s great status and the enormity of God’s provision. The combination of ‘proskūnéo’ with ‘in spirit and in truth’ in Jn.4:21-24 implies that true worship must should include the meaning of all the other terms for worship used in scripture:
The Hebrew term ‘ābad’ or ‘āboȏdȃ’ [290 occurrences in the Hebrew Scriptures] originated as the service of a slave [‘ebed’] for their master. It contains the concept of recognising in worship that one ‘belongs’ to God and has obligations and commitments as a servant to a Lord. The concept of ‘slavery’ is lightened by the Hebrew recognition that we are in a covenant relationship with God, that God is a good Lord, and has made complementary covenant promises to us. In Jewish tradition slaves were freed in the Jubilee year. On gaining freedom some remained slaves of their own free-will out of love or respect of the master [Ex.21:5-6]. They continued to serve out of admiration or deference to the master. This may be partly the implication when New Testament writers talk if believers being “not slaves but free” [Jn.8:32-36; 1Cor.9:19; Gal.5:1, 13 etc.] True worship comes freely from the heart and mind, not because we are obliged to do so. The Levites regarded themselves as slaves ‘in the service of God in the Tabernacle’ [Num.3:7-8]. Christians freely make ourselves servants of God for a wide variety of reasons: out of love and respect to God, a sense of obligation to our source and Lord, admiration, deference and awe, thanksgiving for salvation and God’s gifts to us, and many more.
When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek of the Septuagint, three different terms were used to translate this ‘āboȏdȃ’ concept of ‘worship’: ‘douleuō’, contained the ‘servanthood’ aspect of worship and ‘ergazomai’ referred to our ‘work’ in worship. For secular Greeks ‘latreia’ or its more frequently used verb ‘latreuō’ denoted any form of ‘service’ for the good of another including that of parents, particularly mothers offering themselves in the bringing up of children. ‘Latreia’ is the word most commonly translated in the New Testament and the Septuagint. Paul used it in Romans 12:1 when encouraging worship as an offering of ourselves to God and God’s work as ‘living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God’. Worship here is described as our ‘reasonable service’ [NRSV translates this as ‘spiritual worship’]. ‘Latreia’ was derived from the term for ‘hired service/working for hire’ [Jn.16:2; Rom.9:4; Heb.9:1]. It was used in the Septuagint of the priestly service of God in the Temple. Jn.16:2 even uses ‘latreia’ of those who imagined they were obediently serving God by persecuting Christ’s followers. ‘Latreia’ implies that worship is a human ‘duty’, part of our responsibility as creatures to the Creator, emphasising our ‘servanthood’ and ‘stewardship’ towards God.
In our secularly orientated society some might react negatively to an expectation or idea of servility towards God or any person. Many today might prefer to regard worship as a matter of free choice rather than obligation. Yet the term ‘latreia’ suggests that in our worship we recognise and accept our position before God and the responsibilities entrusted to us by God. Stewardship of all that we have been given is not low or servile; it is a high calling. Worship as a ‘duty’ can be regarded as a similarly high calling, since we are described in scripture as ‘a kingdom of priests to our God’ [1Pet.2:9; Ex,19:6; Deut.7:6; Isa.43:20-21; Rev.1:6; 5:10], ‘brothers, sisters and friends of Christ’ [Mk.3:33; Heb.2:11], and ‘co-heirs’ [~Rom.8:17]. So worship in this context is a service of high calling and status, not low servility. Heb.10:19 regards our ability to come into God’s presence in worship as an enormous privilege.
Another Hebrew term for worship: ‘Šārat’ [used 97 times in the Hebrew Scriptures] contains the meaning of ‘to minister’, suggesting a higher level of service than servanthood (‘ābad’). It suggests that we are serving an important person (as Joseph served Potiphar [Gen.39:4] or Elisha served Elijah [1Ki.19:21]. Mostly it is used of the worship of the Levites in the Tabernacle or those who had a special relationship with God. The angels’ worship of God is described by ‘šārat’ [Ps.103:21] as is the singing of choirs in the Temple [1Chron.6:32; 16:4.37].
‘Šārat’ was normally translated in the Septuagint by the Greek word ‘leitourgia’ which also contains the meaning of ‘service’ as a more respected status and calling than that of slave. Secular Greek used the word for the service of a citizen to the state. In Philippians 2:30 Paul commended the congregation’s support of him through their practical ‘services’ to him. Lk.1:23; Heb.8:6; 9:21 use the term of ‘sacred ministrations’. Phil.2:17 speaks of the apostles’ self-sacrifice as a poured-out libation. Phil.2:30 and 2 Cor.9:12 regard the mutual ministration of believers to each other as ‘priestly service.’ Acts 13:2 used the term ‘leitourgeo’ of the worship-service itself. We reflect this in our English term ‘liturgy’, which means the ‘work of the people’, our ‘service to God’. So this aspect of worship regards what we do as stewards of God not as the obligation of a menial but of high, priestly worth. This again reflects the idea that we are a ‘kingdom of priests to our God’, a ‘chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people’ [1Pet.2:9]. The letter continues by explaining our service as: “that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light...”
Modern western Christians often soften the idea of servanthood/slavery, reverence or submission to God. We tend to prefer the idea of worship and discipleship as being a high, valued calling, as suggested by this Greek word ‘leitourgeo’. But such a high calling also needs to combine ‘humility’, ‘awe’ and ‘obedience’, since we are privileged to be serving in the presence of a divine power that is special, true and ‘holy’ [Isa.57:15]. Worthy worship includes recognising and valuing God’s precedence and following God’s revealed ways. Amos, Isaiah and the Psalmists criticised the unworthiness of worshippers if their lives and, attitudes and actions were unworthy [Isa.58:3-7; Amos 5:21-24; Ps.66:18].
The Hebrew term ‘Yārē‘’ [used in various forms 435 times in the Hebrew Scriptures], suggests ‘fear’ of the Lord as well as ‘awe’: ‘fear of threats’, and ‘fear of God’s power and judgement’. It also contains the meaning of ‘trust in God’s power and nature’ and ‘recognition of our position within the covenant relationship with a powerful God’. In Prov.9:10 our fear or awe is seen as evidence that we know God in experience.
A verb for worship less commonly occurring in New Testament: ‘sebazomai’, occurs once in Rom.1:25 and in the form ‘sebō’ in Mk.7:7; Acts 18:13; 19:27. This is usually used in the context of unworthy or pagan worship. Yet ‘sebō’ is used of Lydia in Acts 16:14 and Titus Justus [Acts18:7] a gentile believer, given the honoured title of ‘a true worshipper of God’. It designates one who comes to worship from a different tradition.
‘Thrēskeia’ and ‘threskos’ are used of general ‘religion’. They contrast authentic spiritual worship with ceremonial ‘religion’ or religiosity that can be false or distract from true faith. In Col.2:18 the writer uses the term to warn against worshipping angels. In Acts 26:5 it is used of Jewish ‘religiosity’ Jas.1:26-27 contrasts unreal, deceptive faith with true religion “that is pure and undefiled before God”, which proves itself through our holy behaviour.
Two other terms for worship occur once each in the New Testament: ‘theosebēs’ [Jn.9:31] and ‘eusebeō’ [Acts 17:23]. ‘Theosebēs’ literally means ‘God-fearing’ but is used most often in the Septuagint of the superstitions of other religions rather than worship of the true God. In Jn.9:31 it refers to those who worship in awe of God and its noun ‘theosébeia’ is used in 1Tim.2:10 of the practical expression of faith in those (in this case holy women) who profess reverence for God. ‘Eusebeō’ similarly carries the idea of ‘piety’ but implies pagan worship when St. Paul was speaking in Athens of the ‘unknown God’ and proclaimed that the one who the Greeks worshipped as ‘unknown’ was in truth the God about whom he was witnessing.
Essentially worship is about recognising, expressing and responding to the true worth of the one worshipped. The origin of the Anglo Saxon term ‘weorthscrp’ which transmuted into our word ‘worship’ is not just about recognising or praising God’s ‘worth’. It more particularly ‘related to God’, ‘being worthy’, ‘responding to God with dignity’, ‘respect’ and ‘honour’. We use the word with a similar meaning today when we address someone such as: ‘your worship the mayor’.
The Christian idea of true, holistic worship includes a multitude of the various characteristics and qualities, listed below in no particular order of priority. We cannot of course be totally focused on all of these at all times, just as we cannot keep all the revealed characteristics and qualities of God in mind at all times. But in practice all these activities are contained within our worship when we are worshipping ‘in spirit and in truth’:
- Entering God’s presence. God is always with us and everywhere, yet the practice of turning to worship should help us become more acutely and intimately aware of God’s presence.
- Reverently metaphorically or physically falling or bowing down or kissing the metaphorical feet of God.
- Submitting to God.
- Dedicating ourselves to God.
- Showing awe towards God as well as having a reverent fear of God’s power and holiness.
- Doing something that is pure and undefiled before God.
- Truly directing our worship towards God.
- Recognising God’s worthiness.
- Recognising the Source of our salvation. Serving the God who is so much above us.
- Recognising God’s lordship over our lives.
- Sacrificially giving of ourselves in spiritual worship.
- Reflecting on earth what we believe happens in worship in the dimension of heaven.
- Humility - reflecting on our lives and seeing ourselves in the context of God’s greatness expectations of human beings.
- Serving God as servants, stewards, children of our Father, kindred of Christ and co-heirs of the Kingdom,
- Acting in responsible stewardship towards God.
- The valued priestly calling of serving God, declaring, praising and thanking God for all that God is as a kingdom of priests to our God.
- Recognising that we are chosen by God and fulfilling that calling.
- Ministering to God.
- Being holy in response, recognition and obedience to God’s holiness.
- Doing ‘the work of the people’ in liturgy.
- Recognising ourselves in God’s perspective: This should involve elements of repentance, confession, seeking God’s help, a recognition of God’s absolution, forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, dedication or re-dedication and finding means of growth to stronger, more authentic discipleship.
- Confession of our weaknesses in following God and being challenged to be obedient to God’s ways, intensions and mission.
- Seeking to maintain our contact with God and meeting with God, individually and corporately.
- Opening ourselves to a spiritual experience, which may bring a renewal of awareness of God or refresh, nourish, nurture, deepen, mature and enrich us spiritually.
- Seeking to go on a journey in worship, thought and prayer towards God through God’s Spirit.
- Separating ourselves for a while from everyday activities of life to concentrate our minds and actions on God and spiritual truths. ‘Holiness’ partially involves the idea of separating ourselves for God, while we remain committed to the world and the community.
- Focusing on God in ways that make God’s character and truths clearer and broader.
- Encountering God through the Holy Spirit.
- Being inspired and helped by God’s Spirit [Rom.8:26-27].
- Being challenged by God’s Spirit to understand more about God and be better disciples.
- Responding to God’s Spirit within us.
- Widening our perspective on God; challenging our insights and traditions.
- Expressing praise.
- Expressing thankfulness.
- Making ourselves available for God to communicate with us: listening to God through scripture, teaching, silence, liturgical words, prayers and actions.
- Considering God’s communication and truths through the words of scripture, whether through reading, listening, proclamation, teaching or liturgy.
- Being attentive to God, open to the potential of God communicating with us.
- Responding to God’s communication.
- Being prepared and committed to be obedient to God’s communication or truths that we recognise, rather than just being non-committed spectators.
- Receiving God’s blessing.
- Dedicating ourselves to the service of God’s truth and God’s expectations of us.
- Offering oneself, one’s gifts and one’s worship as a responsive sacrifice.
- Serving God as trusted stewards, citizens of God’s Kingdom, deacons, priests and shepherds of God’s people. The term ‘deacon’ denotes a ‘servant’ serving God, God’s world and God’s Church.
- Trusting and expressing trust in God’s truth.
- Reflecting the character of God, particularly by reflecting Christ and following Christ’s example and teaching.
- Reflecting the character and worship of heaven’s kingdom in our own worship.
- Worshipping alongside the worship of heaven; joining the worship of saints and the service of angels, whatever the truth of heaven turns out to be.
- Affirming our recognition of God’s nature and qualities.
- Proclaiming and teaching about God in ways that help people recognise God’s worth and presence.
- Acknowledging God’s imminent presence.
- Recognising or seeking a sense of transcendence given by God’s Spirit, not stirring up false ideas or false emotionalism.
- Emulating God in our spirit and attitudes.
- Praying in a variety of ways and forms that are true worship.
- Interceding in trust that God has promised to respond.
- Discerning God and God’s truth in Scripture.
- Recognising salvation and what Jesus has achieved.
- Personal and corporate adoration of God.
- Personal devotion.
- Communal devotion.
- Meditation on God’s truth.
- Contemplation.
- As an adoring congregation, corporately testifying to the perfection and truth of our common Lord.
- Being unified in worship, and gathering together God’s people, the Church.
- Being reconciled together and expressing our unity.
- Encountering God in God’s community of believers.
- Encountering God in the Eucharist.
- Encountering God through Christian teaching.
- Being sent out with a sense of dedication, challenge and urgency to serve God and God’s world.
- Receiving God’s blessing.
- Encouraging us and others to expand our understanding of God.
- Declaring the qualities and greatness of our Creator as loved and valued creatures.
- As forgiven sinners affirming the mercy of the one who has redeemed us.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it helps us to recognise the breadth, importance and inclusivity of true worship. Sometimes, through familiarity, church-goers may tend to forget the value of what they are encouraged to do when they come to worship. As we prepare to worship it is useful to remind ourselves of its meaning and prepare our minds accordingly. When I was first confirmed, it was stressed that we should always prepare our minds before the service, through recollecting of our recent past, admitting our sins in readiness for confession, and realising the significance of the worship we are about to offer. I must admit that I, like many church-goers, grew to neglect such mental and spiritual preparation. After I was ordained the significance of spiritual preparation retuned to properly weigh on me. I recognised this particularly before each Eucharistic service, realising the enormity of the importance and responsibility of what I undertake in consecrating the Eucharist and offering it to the people. Worship is the most significant service we do for God, though it needs to be accompanied by active discipleship and involvement in Christian ministry in the world. Worship, ministry and mission are inextricably linked: Our active life is a form of worship to God.
CONCEPTS OF WORSHIP IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
The Hebrew concept of the God they came to understand as ‘YHWH’ or ‘Elohim’ was that God is ‘Lord of Lords’, above all other gods. God’s people were considered to be God’s ‘servants’ [1Sam.3:9], creatures owing allegiance to our Creator. We were to ‘serve God only’, having no other gods beside the Lord. [Deut.6:13].
We were to ‘fear’ or feel ‘awe’ for the Lord because of God’s greatness, power, holiness and expectations of us [Deut.6:13]. God was regarded as ‘jealous’ or ‘ardent’ for our allegiance, wanting a relationship with us and deserving, expecting and wanting ( even ‘demanding’) our worship [Ex.34:14; Deut.4:24].
The annual feasts of the Jewish year were designed to remind God’s People of aspects of their covenant agreement with God. The programme of feasts declared the people’s dependence on God’s provision as the year progressed (The Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Passover and Tabernacles etc.). Other festivals were memorials, reminding the people of key events in the story of their relationship with God and the gift of salvation (Feast of Light and the Dedication of the Temple). Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, particularly was a time for deep self-examination and repentance in the light of the purity, righteousness of God and God’s faithful commitment to the people.
Praise for God’s qualities and mercy is a huge element of worship throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly reflected in the Psalms. The Psalms also reflect other aspects of worship like repentance, sorrow, anger at injustice, etc. since worship encompasses our response to all aspects of life. Praise was a particular feature of Jewish response to happy events; births, attaining maturity, release to freedom [Ex.15; Isa.35:10], victory [2 Chron.20:22]; the dedication of people or a new Temple [Ezra 3:10] etc. Psalm 84 particularly celebrates praise for the gift of Temple worship. This is echoed in the New Testament by the language in the Book of Revelation describing, sometimes in metaphor, worship in heaven [esp. Rev.4; 7:9-17; 19:1-10].
In Hebrew the Books of Psalms are called ‘tĕhillim’ / ‘songs of praises’. They are designed to lead people into worship, though not all their subjects are praises. The breadth of subjects in the Psalms exemplifies and expresses the wide variety contained within the Hebrew concept of worship: praise, thanks, trust, adoration, guilt, confession, repentance, penitence, lament, confession, despair, fear, need, hope, praise for victory and freedom, prosperity and loss, commitment, failure and recommitment, adoration, fellowship, unity and much more. Their intent was primarily to turn people to God, find cause for worship and help people to worship individually or corporately. We do not have sufficient evidence to be certain how they were used in ancient Temple and synagogue or private worship. Several Psalms refer to the Temple and the desire to worship there [Pss. 5:7; 23:6; 27:4-6; 138:2]. Some were sung to particular tunes designated in their headings [e.g. 12; 22; 46; 56; 69; 75?; 77; 80]. 55 psalms refer to the director leading the worship; several mention the instruments to accompany the song. Some were used on particular occasions or feasts [30; 45; 92; 120-134]. Some seem to have accompanied certain offerings [38; 70; Lev.2:2; 24:7]. Others may have been said or sung more personally.
Temple worship like earlier worship in and around the tent of the Tabernacle was structured and prescribed to ensure that worship was worthy of the holiness of God. Its forms and times were regulated, from the dates of festivals, the nature of sacrifices and how they were to be practised, to the design of the Tabernacle, the Temple and the accoutrements used by the priests [Ex.25:40]. Such rules were considered sacrosanct because the nature of God was held to be so high.
The presence of God in the Temple was considered to be so holy that priests needed to be purified in any way that they approached God. Entering the Tabernacle once a year to worship was so dangerous that the high priest had a rope tied around him, so that his body could be dragged out if God zapped him for his uncleanliness. When Uzzah, accompanying the cart carrying the ark of God, tried to stabilize it when it wobbled on its journey to Jerusalem he was said to have been struck dead by God [2Sam.6:6-19]. His near name-sake King Uzziah became a warning to observe the rules of worship: he began his reign holily, obeying God’s precepts and strengthened the security and prosperity of Judah, but he grew arrogant, defiled the Temple with un-prescribed worship and he was described as suffering as a result [2 Chron. 26:1-5, 15-21a & 2Ki.14:21]. The sons of Eli similarly lost their exalted priestly positions through corrupting the nature and office of priesthood [1Sam.2:12-17, 22-36). So worship of God was an awe-inspiring, dangerous responsibility. Malachi despaired of how the privileges of Temple worship had become taken for granted and abused, and prophesied a time of renewal of true worship, to which Christ referred as ‘worship not in a temple on a mountain but worship ‘in spirit and in truth’ [Jn.4:23].
SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP
In the centuries between Malachi and the Gospels the elaborate Levitical Temple services were supplemented by simpler worship, in synagogues in towns distant from Jerusalem. A non-sacrificial form of worship was important to the Jews in exile in Assyria and Babylon, where synagogue worship may have had its origins. The Synagogue became even more important after the final fall of the Temple in 70AD and among the Jewish communities of the Jewish Diaspora. Communities of Jewish worshippers away from Jerusalem and in areas without a synagogue, would often gather outside city walls, usually near running water, to perform rites of worship uninterrupted, uncorrupted and not persecuted by the paganism in communities in which they lived. An example of this is found in the Philippi community of to which Lydia, belonged. She was probably a convert to Judaism before she turned to Christianity[cf. Acts 16:13].
Daily Temple worship with the offering of sacrifices on behalf of the people was impossible without a dedicated Temple. . In the absence of the Temple, synagogues were designed to meet the spiritual needs of Jews distant from the possibilities of Temple worship with all its divinely prescribed elaborations. The word ‘Synagogue’ derives from the Greek term for ‘a place of assembly. The synagogue’s form and furnishings were simple. There was no altar, as sacrifices belonged to the Temple; the reading of scripture and the teaching of faith replaced them. A portable ark contained the scrolls of the Law and prophets, which were read from a platform.
From the C2nd B.C.E. the Mishnah (oral law) describes synagogue worship as being in five parts, which probably had similarities to the synagogue worship in Jesus’ day:
- It began with the ‘Shema’ (Heb. transl. ‘to hear’) the call of Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21 and Num.15:37-41 to remember that the Lord is one; to obey God’s word and remain faithful to the promises of the covenant with God.
2b This was followed by a reading from the Prophets. These were usually selected from a form of lectionary.
3a These were followed by an exposition.
3b The exposition included an exhortation for the congregation to apply the scripture in their lives. This exposition and application might be given by the local Rabbi, elders or rulers of the synagogue, but visitors whose qualities or qualifications to teach were recognised, could be invited to contribute, as was recorded in the case of Jesus [Lk.4:16; Matt.4:23] and Paul [Acts 13:15].
- Prayers were recited and psalms sung through various parts of the service. The Tephillah/Amidah/ or Shemoneh Esreh was a long and elaborate corporate prayer.
- The service ended with a blessing.
In Jesus’ time synagogue services were held three or four times on the Sabbath. The synagogue was also a place for the teaching of faith, where children and adults came during the week, sometimes after work, to learn and discuss faith and the meaning of the scriptures with the rabbis.
This pattern of synagogue worship is thought to have directly influenced the development of worship in Christian churches. Jewish converts to Christianity probably helped to develop the style and content of new Christian liturgies. The hierarchy of elders, rulers and rabbis in synagogues is also thought to have influenced the development of the pattern of leadership in the early church of bishops, local priests, teachers and deacons to undertake practical offices.
JESUS' ATTITUDE TO WORSHIP
Jesus of Nazareth, like his family, followed the traditions of Temple-worship: After the baby’s birth Mary went for purification; Jesus was dedicated and circumcised with the traditional sacrifices [Lk.2:22-24]. As a child Jesus would have been taken on pilgrimage to the Passover festival and obligatory festivals when he was of age. As a youth we are told of his becoming absorbed in discussing faith with the teachers there [Lk.2:46]. As an adult he probably attended the prescribed feasts in Jerusalem, though only a few visits are recorded in the Gospels [Jn.7:10; 10:22; 11:55; 12:1]. He paid the Temple taxes, though this may have been in order to avoid causing offence [Matt.17:24-27]. The Gospels do not record the adult Jesus having bought sacrifices to be offered in the Temple other than the Passover lamb prior to his arrest and execution, but this would probably have been an expected part of his worship and that of his disciples. His driving out of the money-changers and those who sold sacrificial creatures does not necessarily mean that he failed to offer sacrifices himself, as he identified with the people. Christians may regard Jesus as being without sin, but he submitted to circumcision and baptism, so there is no reason for thinking that he didn’t bring sacrifices. Not all sacrifices were offered in atonement sin, several were thank-offerings, and Jesus’ ministry encouraged praises of God.
As any Jewish youth, Jesus obviously would have attended synagogue and received teaching there, since his understanding of scripture was exemplary. He seems to have been initially welcomed to take part in the synagogues of his local area, and was recognised as having the qualifications to be entrusted with reading the scripture lesson and offering an exposition [Lk.4:16]. However, after the incident in the synagogue at Nazareth where he was accused of heresy we are told that he was rejected there [Lk.4:16-30]. It was only when he came to interpret the messianic passage as referring to himself that his teaching caused offence. Probably Jesus would have attended other synagogues as he travelled about in mission. He also taught the crowds who gathered around him in the Temple precincts [Jn.18:20] and at first the authorities do not seem to have rejected this practice. John’s Gospel sets more of Jesus’ ministry in the Temple precincts than do the Synoptic Gospels, perhaps for theological emphasis, to emphasise Jesus’ divine nature and the sacrificial and priestly aspects of Christ’s mission. For Jews the Temple was the spiritual centre and focus for worship: Jesus would become this centre for his Christian followers who considered him to be the truest way to God and the one whose sacrifice assured salvation.
The Temple was described by Jesus as a ‘house of prayer’ [Matt.11:17]. He felt a godly ‘jealousy’ for all that occurred there, hence his cleansing of the Temple, described in all four gospels. Symbolically this is located in the Synoptic Gospels as taking place towards the end of his ministry [in Matt.21:1-11; Mk.11:15-19; Lk.19:45-48]. By contrast John set the Cleansing of the Temple near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, perhaps as a foreshadowing of what would come [Jn.2:13-22]. Unless there were two separate cleansings of the Temple, it seems more likely to me that the incident would have taken place towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, rather than near the beginning, as the Temple authorities would have become suspicious of him and probably stopped him from teaching in the precincts if he had previously caused trouble there.
For Jesus, as for the Hebrew prophets, service was inextricably linked to ‘loving obedience’. He stressed that we cannot say we love God yet fail to live according to God’s principles [Jn.15:14]. If we do fail to be true to our calling, our love is shown to be false or hypocritical and our worship is invalid. Worship should not be about profiteering, so Jesus cleared the tables of money-changers and sellers of sacrifices from the Temple [Matt.21:12-13; Mk.11:15]. He also recognised and contrasted the true, self-sacrificial faith of some who came to the Temple and those who short-changed God, as in his comment about the widow’s offering [Lk.21:1-4] and the story of the Pharisee and the tax-collector [Lk.18:9-14].
Though he attended the prescribed feasts, Jesus recognised both the corruption and limitations in Temple leadership and worship. He gained a rapport with Nicodemus and a few other religious leaders whose integrity he recognised and who supported him. Others religious leaders were suspicious then hostile towards him [Jn.7:45-52; 8:59]. Jesus taught in the Temple precincts, corrected people’s understandings of God and worship [Matt.26:55; Mk.12:35; 14:49; Lk.19:47; Jn.7:14f] and healed there [Matt.21:14]. Something greater than the Temple was recognised to be in him [Matt.12:6]. As in Jn4:23-24 he recognised that Temple worship would end both with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple [Matt.24:2; Lk.21:5-6; Jn.2:20] and when God established the true Kingdom, There would be no need of a Temple in the Heavenly Jerusalem for the redeemed would be directly in God’s presence [Rev.21:22]. The tearing of the veil to the Tabernacle on Jesus’ death seems symbolically to have been regarded by Christians as pointing to the end of Temple worship [Matt.27:31; Mk.15:38; Lk.23:45]. It is believed that through his death we can now enter God’s presence more directly [Heb.10:19-22].
It was Jesus’ custom to pray privately, on his own away from the group and he encouraged his disciples to follow this custom [Matt.6:6]. The intimacy in his relationship with God in prayer is seen in his addressing God as ‘Father’/ ‘Abba’. We gain insight into his practice of prayer in Matt.6:7-13; Lk.11:1-4 and Jn.17]. Jesus is also recorded as giving a blessing for bread before he shared food, as was the custom of most pious Jews. He seems to have shared the practices of most religious Jewish homes, though in the case of the Last Supper ritual he amplified its meaning. The pair of disciples who shared a meal with the risen Jesus at Emmaus eventually recognised him as he broke and blessed the bread, so it is possible that Jesus had a particularly characteristics in the way that he blessed food and prayed, which they recognised [Lk.24:30-31].
NEW TESTAMENT CONCEPTS OF WORSHIP
In the New Testament Church worship seems to have become more personal that Temple worship, though no doubt there was much sincerity in many who came to the Temple. The widow giving all that she had, the tax gatherer repenting in true humility and priests like Simeon and Nicodemus were obviously very sincere in their faith and worship. However Temple worship was largely performed by the priests and choirs on behalf of the people. The laity could only enter cwertain limited areas of the Temple. Gentile converts and women could not enter the precincts as far as Jewish men; certain areas were designated for priests only. The place of sacrifice was again limited access and the Sanctuary could only be entered by the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement, after elaborate cleansing rituals. The people relied on intercession through the priests’ sacrificial activities. Professional choirs sang the psalms and hymns, much as cathedral and university chapel worship is led today.
Synagogues involved worshippers more directly in reciting prayers and singing. People were taught to recite certain psalms from an early age as an encouragement to worship, and rabbis often taught by discussion rather than one man expounding to a silent listening congregation.
Early Church services appear to have involved the congregation even more inclusively in active worshipping: 1Cor.14:26 mention “each one (coming) with a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” Paul had to encourage some congregations to discipline their involvement to provide order, peace and appropriateness (v.33).
Acts tells us that initially the early Christians continued to meet in the Temple and synagogues [Acts 3:1] as places for prayer. After his conversion, St. Paul kept to his accustomed Temple practices, like taking his Nazarite vow at the urging of James [Acts 21:17-26]. Because Jesus and his message had been rejected by the Temple authorities and they had attempted to destroy the promotion of his influence and teaching, even though what he taught was in harmony with what their true faith taught. Peter, John and Paul did their earliest proclamation of Christ’s message outside the Temple gates and to Jews gathered in synagogues. Paul’s first priority when visiting a new city was to attend its synagogue and teach there. If there was no synagogue he would seek out the place where fellow Jews gathered, as he did beside the river at Philippi [Acts16:13]. Suspicion and hostility towards Christians must have grown fairly early in the days of the early Church as we see from the martyrdom of Stephen and attempts recorded in the Book of Acts to prevent the disciples from preaching about Jesus openly.
Christian worship practices were forced to alter with the growth of the Gentile membership of the Church. Though there was a Court of Gentiles in the Temple, many were not welcome in the Temple, as seen in the riot of Acts 21:25-30. The fall of the Temple in 70CE meant that both Jews and Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity needed to find new places to meet for worship. Increasingly Christians became unwelcome in the synagogues as synagogue leaders rejected those who spread this new teaching and stirred up hostility to the Christian community. So Christians began to worship together in people’s houses before developing small churches like that which survived in Dura Europos, Syria.
The influence of the Spirit after Pentecost led to new expressions of worship and praise. Christ’s gospel and the Spirit’s guidance encouraged Christians to develop more distinctive forms and language for worship that expanded beyond the pattern of synagogue liturgies. When the Christians gathered in worship they adopted the general form of synagogue services, but included additions and variations which developed into the forms of worship and liturgy that many Christian churches continue today. The day of corporate worship moved from the Jewish Sabbath to Sunday, which became known as ‘the Lord’s Day’: the day on which Jesus’ resurrection was commemorated. This change of timing of corporate worship seems to have begun fairly early, as Paul refers to setting aside and meeting together on ‘the first day of the week’ [1Cor.16:2] as does the Didache [14:1] written about 100CE and Justin Marty’s Apologia [c.67:8] dating from before 163 CE. Jewish society incorporated the Sabbath as a day of rest, but in Gentile society, or when many of the believers were slaves, there was no provision for time off work. It is thought that the early Christian gatherings on the first day of the week often took place late at night as at Troas in Acts20:7f. or before daybreak, as described in Pliny’s letters.
Obviously different early Christian communities developed differently. Some must have had more apostolic input than others. The level of teaching must have varied, since leaders of the early Christian communities must have varied in their levels of understandings. Paul and the apostles would have remained teaching and exhorting to worship among groups of converts for limited periods, then relatively new converts, with different amounts of knowledge of faith must have taken over leading the groups. Elders would have been trained to a certain level in Jesus’ teaching and ways to worship, but this could not have been anywhere as thorough as today’s theological training of ministers. It is little surprise that various heretical and dodgy ideas and practices developed, some of which were criticised and corrected in the New Testament Epistles and the letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation. As many could contribute to the service, sometimes there might have been enthusiastic chaos, since they were sometimes exhorted to greter order and discipline in their worship. The Epistle to the Colossians warned against ‘self-imposed piety’ (NRSV), interpreted by some commentators, including Calvin as ‘self-invented worship traditions’ [Col.2:23]. Paul, the great teacher of Christian freedom, criticised congregations where there was too much disorder or an over-expression of Christian freedom in worship [1Cor.11:27, 33-4; 14:9-12, 26-30]. Paul used his apostolic authority to command the Corinthian congregation to ensure that everything in the service of worship should be undertaken fittingly and with order [1Cor.14:40]. He wanted congregations to enjoy spiritual freedom but to moderate and discipline behaviour in the congregation for the benefit of all and to give a suitable, truthful witness to God when they met together. To us today, some of Paul’s prohibitions in worship seem to be based on more cultural than universal principles, particularly his prohibition of women from speaking in services. [1Cor.14:34] and his insistence on women covering their heads when attending worship. However his main concern remains valid that “all must be done for the strengthening of the Church” [1Cor.14:26].
Paul was aware that congregations included people at different stages of belief; he wanted to ensure that none were led away from the path towards truth by the unintentional, insensitive behaviour of others. This need for sensitivity to others is still an important consideration in worship today: Some are put off church or feel self-conscious in over-free worship; others find rigid traditions in liturgical worship boring and restrictive. Some are uncomfortable when believers wave lifted hands to God or sing in tongues; others are energised by its spontaneity. If possible it is important to try to make our worship winsome to all participants, but congregational members will all have different characters with various forms of spirituality. That is partly why different groups with particular preferences gather together, and varieties of churches and worship have formed. There should be a general sense of unity between Christians, since we all comprise the Body of Christ. But it is inevitable that variation have developed among different limbs of that Body.
All Christian ministry should aim for any worship form or style that we adopt to be recognisable as ‘in spirit and in truth’ [Jn.4:23]. Worshippers come with a wide variety of spiritual, emotional and physical needs. We should aim to enable the encounter of all with God to be as real as possible and for what we do in worship to focus people on God, with nothing that distract their focus from God or makes them feel alienated or isolated.
WHO IS WORSHIP FOR?
True worship is focused towards God and should be worthy of our high concept of God. Too often Christian churches accept mediocre worship and teaching, and don’t adequately communicate Christ’s life-enhancing revelation. Jesus set out to develop in those who followed him an understanding and relationship with God that is real and committed. Jesus freed us: traditions based on his teaching should deepen, enrich and advance faith, not make churches moribund or repress by pharisaic legalism. Boring behavioural expectations or boring worship services are unworthy of God. But church services of worship are not primarily intended to be works of liturgical art designed to entertain the worshippers. The focus of worship should be on glorifying God, not indulging, celebrating or glorifying the choir or the celebrant or preacher, as occasionally seems to be the case in some churches .
Many today live in societies where the self is at the centre of people’s priorities. True Christian worship should not focus on ourselves or what we get out of it; it focuses the mind and the spirit towards God. Nevertheless true worship nourishes, challenges, teaches, builds and enhances faith, and encourages those who engage in it. We receive through worship and are enervated by God’s truth and Spirit. Yet our aim in worshipping should not be our own entertainment or growth. As William Temple emphasised: worship is perhaps our most ‘selfless’ activity. Worship should be orientated primarily on how we value, thank and praise God. Worship should be focused on the true God, teaching or reminding us of God’s nature and qualities, acknowledging these, and encouraging us to respond with integrity by following God’s ways and expanding our appreciation of spiritual truths.
Every time we plan worship should consider who the worship is serving. We do not come to entertain the congregation. We are focusing on God, but aim to nourish believers and encourage belief in those who find belief difficult. In order to do the last two, we need to create worship activities in form and style that engage people’s spirits, are attractive, appropriate and involve them physically and mentally, which will help them focus their worship on God. It should also challenge people to consider truths about God’s nature and their own position in relation to God. Worship leaders are not primarily responsible for ‘giving congregations what they want’ or just maintaining traditions We are attempting to encourage a true encounter with God, which may ‘discomfort the comfortable and bring comfort to those who are uncomfortable’.
Worship should also build up and encourage the church as a spiritual community; it should not just encourage believers to indulge in individualism. The Church is intended to be a community of believers and followers of the ways taught and exemplified by Christ. Its members should be enriching and strengthening one another in faith and discipleship and by their behaviour and witness influencing the whole community. We learn and grow through one another and our worship should meet the needs of the congregation and the community. If people cannot engage with what we do, or if God is misrepresented, true spirituality and growth towards the Kingdom of God cannot develop. Worship is not just an abstract address to God; it should help us in living the Christian life and help believers form a framework for discipleship.
Worship is not just meant to be a dialogue between individual believers and God. It should always challenge believers to be other-centred, both towards God and to enhance the faith of others, even encourage those whose spirituality might be different from us. It is not about doing what WE want in or from a service, or even maintaining a tradition if it is not communicating sufficiently. True worship should be pastorally and liturgically centred on what will help others relate to God. Philippians 2:3-5 tells us to: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be among you that was in Christ Jesus...” The writer continues by enumerating Christ’s humble qualities as a servant king, which we should seek to emulate.
True worship will be spiritually discerning, rejecting false ideas of God, seeking to respond to God ‘in Spirit and in truth’ [Jn.4:23]. While worship will often challenge us and make us aware of our weaknesses as disciples and our distance from God’s ideals, it will be primarily positive, recognising, acknowledging and praising God’s nature and character of love, grace, covenant commitment, forgiveness, care etc. Worship should be welcoming, inclusive and accepting, not exclusive. None should feel rejected or that the Church is not a place for them. All of us are sinners in need of God’s grace; none should not feel excluded but feel able to come before God, to be freed by God in response to confession and Christ’s redemptive love and action. Everyone comes to Church in need of forgiveness and we worship in response to it, thanking God for God’s provision, forgiveness, protection, support, care, and activity for us.
Yet worship is not just based on expressing an individual’s personal feelings towards and about God in the moment. Our feelings vary and alternate - at some times we feel closer to God than at others, or we may be happy, sad, worried or carefree. In whatever state we are, our worship can be valid and meaningful. It may feel more dynamic or meaningful when we worship and feeling happy or thankful. But it is perhaps more meaningful when we come in worship despite feeling sad, doubting, or in despair. Worship does not primarily entail creating services that satisfy us personally, but developing a meaningful response to God. Worship sometimes entails stepping aside in our minds from our everyday concerns and focusing our spiritual sensitivities and ourselves on truths and ideas that help us relate to God in whom we live, breathe and exist.
Worship is in part a ‘refuge’ into a place of security amid daily life. Though we often talk of entering the ‘sanctuary’, coming into a ‘holy place, worship should not encourage us to escape or avoid problems but to face them. We recognise God’s concern and concentrating on God is worship can help us to develop spiritual priorities that are aligned with those of God. Worship is not escapist; it should encourage us to face the issues of the world and society with realism. It celebrates life and seeks justice and healing.
WHAT SHOULD WORSHIP LEAD TO?
Worship should always result in an increase in the faith of worshippers. Because worship is practical it could encourage the praxis of faith and a stronger dedication to true discipleship. It reminds us of the greatness of God, the activity of God towards us and our responsibilities towards God and the building of God’s Kingdom in consequence.
Because worship is corporate, it should also result in greater unity between believers. One of the reasons for reintroducing the ancient tradition of sharing of the ‘Peace’ in liturgies, was to openly express our unity in Christ, our forgiveness of one another, our reconciliation and a commitment to being unified in God’s kingdom community.
When people leave worship they should have been helped to feel blessed and understand how God has blessed them. As we leave worship we should also feel that we are sent out into the world to serve God and to share God’s blessing practically with those among whom we live and work. Our worship should encourage us to respond by Christian service. Although worship should not be escapist, it should enable us to feel secure in our faith and in God’s presence with us. This in turn should encourage us to go out under the inspiration and in the power of God’s Spirit to reveal God’s presence and truth to others in the world. Dedicated wership encourages us to put into practice what we preach. It should lead us to feeling for the world as we sense that God feels for it, and desiring to influence the world with God’s love and righteousness. Scripture assures us that God is passionately committed to the world and our worship should reinforce our own commitment to improving the world. Christ gave his life for the world; if our worship is exclusive or does not encourage us to become committedly involved with bringing the Kingdom, it is not truly following God’s example or God’s commands for us to continue Christ’s mission.
Because preaching and teaching are part of a service of worship and the liturgy reinforces aspects of faith and doctrine, worship reminds us of our faith. As a result understanding of the history of faith, the history of salvation, the detail of Christ’s gospel and the importance of Christian active discipleship should be being recognised, encouraged and celebrated.
Above all, worship should be glorifying God through us sincerely recognising the qualities of God and thanking and praising God for divine activity. The worshippers’ devotion, adoration and praise augments the glorification of God by joining the worship that scripture tells us is taking part in the heavens. We are not reminding an omnipresent God of God’s divine qualities and actions. I cannot believe that an omnipotent God needs our praise and recognition. Though scripture tells us that God requires the praises of people, I am not sure that the God about whom Jesus taught ‘demands’ the worship of creation. Some claim that worship of God is our ‘obligation’. In some ways the gratitude of a disciple for abundant life and salvation is partly an obligation, in the same way that we thank friends for gifts to us. But worship comes more as a free response growing from our personal gratitude for what we have been given and all that we appreciate about God and creation. The details of worship remind us of these and enhance our appreciation. A perfect God cannot be made any greater by our praise, but just as we appreciate being thanked by friends and grow closer to them as a result, perhaps our praise is similarly appreciated by God.
SOME QUALITIES OF WORSHIP
If we are to worship in ‘spirit an truth’ a number of qualities should be involved. (What is meant by ‘in spirit’ and ‘in truth’ will be discussed later in this study.) This list of qualities in worship is not exhaustive, nor is it in any particular order of priority, but true worship should include the following:
- Those worshipping together should feel that we are the gathered people of God, brought together not just for a ‘social’ or ‘aesthetic’ event or ‘entertainment’ but with a purpose to meet God and acknowledge God’s qualities and actions.
- What we say or sing should be true and truly meant.
- Worship should be focused towards God.
- Worship assumes the presence of God among the worshippers.
- Worship should honour God.
- In worship we should not just be addressing God but listening and being attentive to God, through silence, liturgy, scripture and prayer. In listening we make ourselves open to God’s Spirit.
- Worship is not static; it involves journeying in thought and action. We move from feeling welcome, through confession, hearing and taking in God’s word, being taught and reminded of aspects of God and salvation, praying and praising, feeling God’s blessing to being sent out into the world to serve God in the world.
- In full worship we put our minds and selves wholeheartedly into what we are doing. In Mark’s Gospel Jesus’ summary of the law included loving God “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” [Mk.12:30].
- Worship helps us recognise the qualities of the Trinitarian aspects of God - Father Son and Holy Spirit and is true to what has been revealed about God.
- True worship will be respectful of and true to scripture, seeking to apply the teaching of the Bible authentically to the varying situations in which we live today.
- St. Paul encouraged all things to be done ‘decently and in order’ [1Cor.14:40], so worship should be orderly, not chaotic. We should be open to worship with spontaneity, as we respond to God’s Spirit within us, and respond intuitively. But being open to the leading and inspiration of God’s Spirit should not mean that our minds are ill-disciplined. Paul’s practical instructions about the ‘orderliness’ of worship encourage an element of self-control and restraint: Even where people are expressing charismatic freedom in worship we should remember that we are not just worshipping for ourselves; we should be thinking of what is useful for others and elevates their thought to God in Spirit and in Truth.
- Endless repetition, over emphasis, over-long services, poetic insincerity, etc. should be avoided. It is the sincerity of our worship in our hearts and minds that matters, not its length, beauty or correctness of form.
- Planning an organised liturgy or following traditions in worship does not negate spiritual truth, since traditional liturgies are often more full of biblical doctrine than spontaneous praise.
- Worship is not one-sided; it can be a dialogue between the worshipper and God’s Spirit. Worship involves both the individual or congregation responding to God and listening in relationship. There should be some expectation that in some way through worship, God will communicate with us, through scripture, teaching, preaching, silence, the words of liturgy, the music and words of hymns and songs, or just our intuitive response to the atmosphere.
- The worship we give should be appropriate to our character, context, the congregation and our particular culture. The words and music we are using should be appropriate to the subject of our worship. Worship will vary according to taste and our cultural background.
- If worship is being true and is appropriate and real for a congregation, those of a different tradition should not criticise other forms of worship or feel that their worship is superior to that of others, If worship is ‘in spirit and in truth’, it is surely valid worship.
- Both the worship leaders and congregation should come spiritually prepared to a service, in order to give God what is deserved.
- We should all come with the desire and expectation that we will meet with God.
THE SACRIFICIAL ELEMENT OF WORSHIP
Worship usually entails an element of ‘sacrifice’ (Gk. ‘thusia’). This is reflected in liturgical phrases such as ‘a sacrifice of praise’. In Rom.12:1-2 Paul encouraged believers to put their whole lives into their worship and discipleship:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (or ‘reasonable service’). Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
From the story of Cain and Abel’s sacrifice, to Malachi’s prophesies about reforming Temple worship, the Hebrew Scriptures frequently emphasised the need for worship to be a sincerely sacrificial and from the heart. If is not, it is insufficient or a sham. We are not told why Cain’s offering was unacceptable; Hebrew commentators have variously speculated that it was not given by him as the expression of a true heart, or that it did not entail the shedding of blood, or that it was not a true sacrifice. Later scriptures’ particularly the latter prophets emphasise that God takes notice not of blood, elaborate liturgies or ceremonies, or the amount that is offered, but that true sacrifice and worship are based in the sincerity of our response to God.
Christian sacrifice does not mean (as is sometimes suggested) ‘appeasing God’ or ‘shedding life’. Nor should the fact that some churches call the worship table an ‘altar’ cause any to interpret the blessing of the elements of the Eucharist as a physical sacrifice. All that Christ achieved through his self-giving dealt with every redemptive requirements in our relationship “once and for all” [Rom.6:10; 1Pet.3:115; Heb.9:28]. The root of the term ‘thusia’ in Rom.12:1 is more to do with ‘offering’. Christian ‘sacrifice’ in worship is more concerned with offering ourselves and our concentration to God, recognising our relationship with God in proper perspective. We accept that God is so much greater than ourselves and accept our duty towards the truths that God stands for. Paul called worship a ‘duty’, ‘our reasonable sacrifice’. That word ‘reasonable’ (Gk. ‘logikos’) implies that worship is a rational response to our duty of ‘service’ (‘latreia’) to truth and God. We put our reasoning faculties, our mental and spiritual thought and intelligence into serving and worshipping God. Worship should never be engaged in as a superstitious ritual. We mentally and socially place God in a proper, appropriate position and offer ourselves, our thoughts and our praise to God in love.
Part of our ‘duty’ as thinking human beings is to build truth in the world. We ‘sacrifice’ in worship as we might make sacrifices for one we love, placing their good and their wishes before ours. We make time to be with God, and try to make the quality of that time meaningful. We offer those we appreciate the best that we can, in order to demonstrate our regard, showing that we value God and recognise that God is more important than ourselves. True worship comes from a true expression of love. This is very different from pleasant comments made to someone because we want a favour from them or satisfy ourselves. The idea of worship being ‘sacrificial’ suggests that true worship is not easily or lightly achieved. It entails no expenditure of energy, giving or thought on our part.
William Temple described worship as ‘submission of all our nature to God’ but by this he did not mean debasing ourselves; he implied that it raises us as well as raising the praise of God: “It (worship) is the quickening of our conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of the mind with His truth, the purifying of imagination by His beauty, the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of the will to His purpose – and all this is gathered up in adoration, the most selfless attitude of which our nature is capable, and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centredness which is original sin and the source of al actual sin.” [Readings in John’s Gospel].
Worship in this sense is selfless. Keith Ward has written: “Worshipping God is not telling some very powerful invisible person how good he is, in the hope that he will pat you on the head and give you eternal life. It is the reverent awareness of the Being of God, as God truly is.” [Images of Eternity p.3]. But none of us actually ‘understand God as God truly is’. Even the greatest theologians do not ‘understand God’ so how could we expect regular members of congregations to do so, no matter how holy and experienced in the Christian life? We do not see the object of our worship, and probably only apprehend tiny fragments of the wholeness of God. But worship, like contemplative prayer, does not try to ‘understand’ the whole of God; it responds to the amount of truth we perceive.
A CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO WORSHIP
Worship is communal as well as individual. We join together as the gathered people of God with purposes which we share and individual purposes which may differ. Communal worship includes focusing together on particular aspects of God and Salvation which we share together. When we come to church in worship we should regard each other as all equal before God and one with each other in the Body of Christ, thought we may have different functions. I have occasionally visited churches where I asked to move from a pew as “that is Mr. or Mrs.........’s seat.” Unless this is for someone who is disabled, or needs to be able to sit in that position for a particular purpose, we should remember that there are no reserved places in a church. All should feel welcomed an that there is a place for them in an inclusive church. None should regard themselves or their ministry within the church as more special or more important than others. If the Body of Christ is working correctly, as in 1Cor.12, with all using their gifts, there will be no hierarchy in a church or sense that some are superior or inferior to others. How different from the atmosphere in many churches!
As well as performing worship for ourselves, we worship on behalf of the community in which we live. In corporate worship there should also be a recognition of our unity. Love of God is maimed if it is not accompanied by mutual unity among those God loves and has brought together [Romans13:8-10; chs.14-15].
We sit, kneel, stand, pray, sing or respond in silence in awareness of God’s reality and appreciate that God is who God is: Remember that the Hebrew title for God, ‘YHWH’, does not ‘describe God’. It recognises that God is whatever the truth of God is, being translated variously as: “I am who I am”... “I shall be what I will be”... “He who is” . When Christians or Jews use the term God’s ‘Name’ they imply that contained within ‘God’s Name’ is ‘all that God stands for’. So when we worship we are acknowledging God for the whole of what God is. Worshipping - ‘in his Name’ is about acknowledging, praising, thanking and being open to all that God stands for’, though we don’t fully comprehend that wholeness.
As the enormity of God is incomprehensible, it is hard to attempt to truly appreciate the whole of God when we worship. Worship can become more specific when we focus on particular aspects of God’s revealed nature or action to give thanks for, trust in and celebrate. In worshipping God for revealed aspects of the divine nature and actions we are bringing glory to the whole. The Church Liturgical Year enables a progressive focus on various aspects of God’s self-revelation and provision for us now and in history. The Eucharist gives particular thanks for God’s redemptive act through Christ’s self-sacrifice. The Collects of Christian liturgy are prayers that focus services by selecting a few specific intentions for the themes of particular services. Different sections of liturgy recognise various aspects of God’s relationship with us. The introduction to services often expresses God’s welcome and our corporate relationship in God. Scripture readings and their exposition expand our understanding and application of God’s revelation through inspired sacred writings and teaching. Intercessions remember God’s interest in our prayers and express God;s love for those to whom we pray; thanks and praise remembers God’s nature, glory, love and provision. The conclusion of services often reminds us that we go out into the world blessed by God and intending to live in God’s presence and act as God’s ambassadors and stewards within our society.
As we recognise God’s superiority, it seems strange when scripture and liturgy imply that human worship brings ‘glory’ to God. How can creatures bring extra glory to their Source of Life who is considered already supremely glorious, perfect and self-reliant? Yet Hebrew and Christian scriptures suggest that by our worship we do in some way raise God’s glory: “God is enthroned on the praises of his people” [Ps.22:3]. There seems to be a sense that though God does not ‘need’ our praise and worship, our response to him is fulfilling an important purpose. The picture language of some Psalms and prophets implies that Life glorifies God by living and fulfilling its role in the universe [Pss.65, 89, 93, 98, Isa.44:23; 55:12; Hab. 3:10]. By living our human life rightly and flourishing we glorify the one who created life. In this sense all that we do in good living demonstrates God’s ‘worth’ in creating us, so a holy life is itself ‘worship’ of our Creator. Living in proper relationship with God as well as giving worthy worship brings glory to our Source. We draw spiritual energy and inspiration from God our Source in order to worship worthily. This may be partly what meant by ‘worshipping in God’s Spirit.
There is much in scripture about the need for worthiness in the worshipper of a holy God. Worship is not a substitute for inadequate lifestyle: “What does the Lord require but to love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with your God?” [Mic.6:8; Deut.10:12 Prov.21:3; Isa.56:1; Hos.6:6; Zech.7:9]. Worship and spirituality are meaningless if the truth of our life and lifestyle do not match our faith. The Epistle of James emphasises this. Those come before God worthily who have clean hands and a pure heart [Ps.24:4]. That does not mean outward cleanliness of body, but rather inner cleanness; holiness of thought and intention. But that presents a problem in itself: none of us can claim to be clean or without sin [Rom.3:23]. We all have tendencies to sinful behaviour or thoughts and we all give in to them. But our emphasis should be on trusting God to cleanse, forgive, renew, and particularly on our intentional attempts not to continue to sin in the same ways. Repentance entails a deliberate and active turning around from our wrong ways or failings and intentionally trying to drawing on God’s Spirit’s power and our own God-given strength to improve. None of us, if we are honest, succeed at this, so none come to worship with sufficient worthiness to be in the presence of God’s holiness. Our worthiness to worship is totally reliant on God’s grace and our being considered worthy through God’s Spirit’s work in our lives to apply Christ’s cleansing to us. When we worship we bring our bodies, minds and spirits as ‘living sacrifices’ [Rom.12:1]; they are the temples in which we worship and which are indwelt by God [1Cor.6:19-20].
Worshipping, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, involves ‘glorifying God and enjoying God for ever.’ The Catechism regards this as the ‘chief aim’ and duty of human beings. It implies that worship is a purpose for which God created us, not as an act of slavery but something to be enjoyed. I’m not sure that we should interpret scripture as saying that we were ‘created for worship’. That suggests that God is self-glorifying, by forming creatures to praise him. The Old Testament covenants and Christian teaching suggest rather that we are given independence. Nevertheless our commitment to ourselves and each other includes recognising the qualities of the Source who gave us the possibilities of a committed relationship.
Through the sin and limitations of human beings. none of us seems sufficient to glorify so great a God. The most beautiful or exciting music, eloquent words, elaborate liturgies or heart-felt prayer and praise are is surely pale reflections of the abilities in praise which by traditions and scripture are considered to be the worship of heaven. Our role is to give of our best, which is the most sufficient sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving of which we are capable. That is the message of some of the psalms of praise, which call for worthy music and words.
In recent years attitudes to church attendance among some congregations seem to have become relaxed. Many just go to services when they fell like it, or when they have nothing better to do. That is not the idea behind setting aside a day of the week, like the Hebrew Sabbath, for intentional spiritual focus. A ‘Sabbath’ is not just a ‘day of rest’; it includes giving the day to worship, purposefully recognising the place of God in our lives, bringing us spiritual renewal and renewing our spiritual intention, attending to our spiritual growth as well as giving thanks and worship and bringing our intercessions individually and corporately to God. In western societies commercial prioritisation has altered Sunday to a day for shopping, family entertainment, working on the house or garden, or playing sports. It is easy for Christians to adopt similar priorities and forget the original intention of a Sabbatical day. It was not primarily for rest from labour; if we are to grow in faith it needs also to be a day of spiritual focus and renewal.
Christian worship contains a strong emphasis on the ‘intention’ with which we come before God. We come to praise, to confess, to intercede, to learn, to give thanks for particular things etc. Some Eastern spiritual practices including yoga aim to achieve a state of inactive bliss or detachment. They renounce active goals in order to achieve a ‘cave within the heart’ where one might apprehend the inactive, blissful calm and unchanging consciousness that is at the deepest level of Brahman (god), the root of all things including oneself. Christian contemplative prayer seeks similar peace but is not so inactive or disassociated from the world. In Hinduism the world is regarded as only partial reality; only Brahman is true reality. Christianity has a stronger attachment to reality, since it considers that creation is part of the active will of God and we are living towards the establishment of God’s Kingdom within reality. We do not detach ourselves from the world. Even in ecstatic praise our worship remains rooted in the real world and grows from our enjoyment of the earth and the lives that God has given us. Our intercession and Christian activity is based in our recognition of our stewardship if the world in which God has placed us and our responsibility towards all.
St. Paul emphasises that worship is untrue if we are not engaged in the meaning of what we are worshiping and why. Our minds should be focused, not distracted. However we do not always understand aspects of faith; we do not see what we are worshipping or always fully know the purpose behind our worship. Much of Christian faith and practice is taken on trust. We may have many unresolved questions and doubts. Rather than denying them, these can be important parts of faith. If we knew all the answers, our beliefs would not be rooted in faith and trust in God but human knowledge, which is necessarily limited in spiritual matters. We have few proofs of God’s reality; we do not know how Salvation works, etc. Faith entails a developing trust in what we cannot see [Heb.11:1]. Worship should therefore contain an element of mystery, representing the provisional nature of our understanding [1Tim.6:15-16]. We do not understand the God we worship, nor have we seen God, so the language we use to express worship should possibly be more careful and tentative than is sometimes used. However we do not worship a dark hole: we worship with a certain understanding of what has been revealed of God, particularly by Christ [1Tim.3:16] and in scripture.
TRUE CONTENT IN WORSHIP
Making over-dogmatic or over-confident expressions about faith when we worship may mislead. Poetic metaphors in psalms, hymns and prayers may sound beautiful but can sometimes confuse faith. I have heard worship leaders and songs use terms like: ‘We long to see God’s face’...‘we love the beauty of Christ’s face’ etc. imply,,,‘God spoke to me and said…’, ‘God is telling us to do this’… etc. giving the impression that we have a more direct contact with God than is actually true. Scripture warns frequently against speaking false prophecy. We should attempt to use greater realism in our language. Poetic imagery is often derived from the Bible, but when we use it, we need to be careful not to give outsiders or young Christians the impression that our spiritual experience is greater or more valid than theirs.
The poetic language of the Book of Common Prayer and the King James version of the Bible are often held up as matchless and sacrosanct. But both were written centuries ago and many words have drastically altered in their meaning and implications since them and some of the translations in the Authorised Version were incorrect. If our worship gives visitors the impression that we are locked in the past and unrelated to the realities of everyday life, perhaps it is important that we should use updated language liturgies and readings for outreach services. Worship is not primarily about retaining an ancient text because it is traditional and its language is as beautiful. We do not change the words of a Shakespeare play because the language is integral to the integrity of the play. By contrast a service of worship is involved in proclaiming spiritual truths and applying them to today in ways that are meaningful to all who are present. The important characteristics of our worship that we want ensure are: to communicate truth meaningfully, to sincerely mean what we are saying and singing, to maximise the missional potential of our worship, and enhance the potential of true worship, enabling those who use or hear the words to understand and worship in spirit and in truth. If the form, style or language of any service distracts from the ability to worship it is not true worship and could possibly idolatrous.
In some church services I have heard leaders say “we will now move into a time of worship”, intending the group to turn to musical praise. This makes me wonder what they think we have just been doing in our introductions, prayer, confession, listening to scripture, exposition and teaching. The whole of a church service is intended to be ‘worship’ in varying ways. We are brought prayerfully and worshipfully before God, asking God’s Spirit to guide, fill and communicate to us. We confess our failures and express our trust in God’s forgiveness. We trust and listen for God’s continued guidance and leading, through the words of scripture, teaching and preaching. All these directly involve a recognition of God’s worth and a focus on revealed aspects of God’s nature. They are ‘worship’ as much as the singing of praise.
To whoop oneself or a church group up into a frenzy of ecstatic praise is not necessarily true worship; there needs to be an intentional engagement of the mind and spirit focusing upon God. Silence, standing, sitting, kneeling, lying prostrate, or just listening and waiting can be as truly worshipful as enthusiastic words and lively music.
COMMUNION / EUCHARISTIC WORSHIP
Unlike Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox churches, not all church traditions hold the Eucharist as a central aspect of regular communal worship,. But nearly all Christian churches regard it as a special expression of our communal relationship with God. Christ encouraged us to ‘do this in remembrance of me’ [Lk.22:14-21; Matt.26:26-29; Mk.14:22-25]. The commemoration is a particular recognition of God’s self-giving through Jesus, in order to cement our covenant relationship with God. For many believers this is their most intimate and personal form of worship. We accept Christ’s self-offering, receive these signs of God’s love and care with our own love and gratitude. The elements become part of us as we contemplate and physically digest them. Communion is a physical sign of God’s love, forgiveness and willingness to offer what is most precious and dearest to draw us into relationship. The gift of the Eucharist is one of the most intimate and precious memorials of God that we are given. Reading our Bible may be an intimate way by which God communicates with our minds and souls, but in the Eucharist we actively participate in a mental, physical and spiritual interaction with God.
I do not personally subscribe to the idea of ‘transubstantiation’ proposed by the Roman Catholic Church and also believed in by some High-Church Protestants. I consider that this became too literal an interpretation of Jesus’ words: “This is my body... this is my blood”. I sense that such interpretation may have grown through superstition about the holiness and reverence within the rite. I am devoted to the Eucharist as Christ’s most special, given way of remembering that we have been made a part of his body and are participating in the life and his activity. Communion is far more significant than just a memorial, a symbol or sign of our union with God through Christ. All that scripture says about the Eucharist convinces me that it is a ‘Sacrament’: a holy gift in which we encounter the reality of God. Although this is not Christ’s physical ‘flesh and blood’, as we take communion together we are encountering in an intimate way the power and love that redeemed us and has made us a corporate part of God’s Kingdom, Christ’s family and body. Whatever God’s Spirit is doing among and within us as we take the Eucharist is mysterious, but it affirms our union with God as achieved by Christ.
So when we worship within the Eucharistic service we are as close to meeting the mystery of God ‘in spirit and truth’ as physically possible. The Communion service is a very personal meeting for each individual Christian participating in the rite. The term ‘Eucharist’ implies that this service is a ‘thanksgiving’. It is related to the Greek words ‘charō’ / ‘to rejoice’ and ‘chárisma’ / ‘gift’. ‘Eucharistéō’ can mean both ‘to show favour’ and ‘to give thanks. ‘Eucharistía’ denotes both ‘gratitude’ and ‘thanksgiving’, and ‘eucháristos’ can mean both ‘grateful’ and ‘thankful’. So the Eucharist is a service expressing thankfulness and gratitude for all that God has done in showing favour to us, particularly giving thanks for what Christ achieved through the giving of himself.
The service is also a union with our fellow worshippers as the corporate body of Christ. As a Sacrament we are doing far more than just expressing our unity in faith and in relationship with God. We are already incorporated into Christ’s body, through faith, through baptism, and through fellowship. The Sacrament draws us together physically, spiritually and mentally to realise that we are living as Christ’s body and encourages us to truly practise that life. The tradition also makes up part of the body of believers throughout time: ‘the Church Triumphant’ in heaven, as much as ‘the Church Militant’ on earth.
WHAT MIGHT JESUS HAVE MEANT BY “WORSHIPPING IN SPIRIT”?
In John 4:23-24 John’s Gospel relates that Jesus prophesied that coming worship would not be ‘in’ Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim, but “in spirit” / “en pneumati”. Jesus then clarified or expanded this by saying in the same verses that “God is spirit” / “pneuma ho theos”. St. Paul also wrote of “Worshipping in (or ‘by’) the Spirit of God” [Phil.3:3], though in the Philippians passage the term used for worship was: ‘latreùontes’, a form of the Greek term ‘latreia’ which similarly indicated that worship is our ‘service’ to God.
The parallel use of the preposition ‘en’ / ‘in’ could be part of Jesus’ use of rhetoric, implying we are not worshiping ‘in a place’ but ‘in the spiritual realm’and ‘in the realm of truth’. This is consistent with Jesus’ teaching in other places in John’s Gospel, where ‘God’s house’ is not described in terms of a place. Rather, the believer is themselves the place in whom the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make their home [Jn.14:23; 2:16-17; 8:35; 14:2].
What Jesus meant by worshipping “in spirit” is unclear to us today. As the New Testament Greek text does not use capital letters, the word ‘spirit’ here and elsewhere has to be interpreted in context. Here, however, it is not certain whether Jesus was talking about God’s Holy Spirit as a character/‘person’/power, or the general idea of the true spirit of something. So we cannot say for certain that here, when Jesus was speaking of worship being ‘in spirit’, he was specifically indicating that worship should be undertaken under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God. Significant scholars differ in their interpretation. In their substantial commentaries Craig S. Keener [2003, p. 615f] seems certain that God’s Spirit is indicated, whereas Leon Morris [1971’ p.270] proposes the alternative interpretation that to worship ‘in Spirit’ involves passionate worship with one’s whole heart and mind, i.e. one’s whole ‘soul’. I believe that our interpretation of this part of the passage should therefore be treated flexibly, which is probably why the word is rendered with a small case ‘s’ in most translated versions of the Gospel. The idea of the spirit here could contain multiple possible meanings, so might be interpreted in one or more of the following ways:
- Jesus’ words could refer: a/ to our human spirit, b/ to being in a true spirit of worship, c/ to the Spirit of God or d/ to all three (which seems less likely as Jesus’ intention, but is very true in practice.)
- In John’s Gospel, when the Holy Spirit is referred to by Jesus, the definite article ‘the’ is often used: “the Spirit of truth” / tò pneûma tés alétheías [Jn14:17; 16:12]; “the Spirit who is holy” / tò pneûma tò hágion [Jn.14:26 i.e. “the Spirit who is the Holy one”]. But Rev.1:10 is translated “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” when the text actually only states: “I came to be in spirit on the Lord’s / imperial day” / egenómén en pneúmati en te kuriaké hémera. So the definite article may not necessarily need to be used to infer that the passage was referring to the Holy Spirit. It could be that the visionary who wrote The Book of Revelation was describing either a transcendent experience of worship where he was in a state of special infilling by the Holy Spirit, or that he was, as normal in prayer, focused on God in a spirit of worship. In the context of the Revelation passage, the former interpretation seems more likely due to the ecstatic nature of his vision..
- John’s Gospel does not frequently use the term ‘pneuma’ of the human spirit, though the writer does use it of Jesus’ personal inner spirit [Jn.11:33; 13:21].
- In the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew scriptures, where the human spirit or soul is involved in worship the terms ‘kardia’ / ‘heart’ [Ps.9:1; 85:12;111:1; 138:1] or ‘doxa’ / ‘soul’ [Ps.30:12; 116:175] are most often used, or both combined together [Deut.4:29; 6:5;30:10]. However, the term ‘spirit’ is linked with both the ‘heart’ and the ‘soul’ several times in the Hebrew Scriptures.
- In practice, Christians believe that our human spirit is bought alive by God’s Spirit, so we are very possibly talking about our human spirit being enlivened, inspired and guided by God’s Spirit as we worship. All three persons of the Trinity are referred to as ‘spirit’ in scripture: The Father is ‘Spirt’ [Jn.4:24], and the resurrected Jesus as ‘the second Adam’ is called "a life-giving Spirit" [Rom.7:45].
- Jesus’ words could refer to our being led and directed by God’s Spirit in our worship.
- In the Early Church it seems that believers associated ‘worshipping in the spirit’ as being ‘empowered’ by God’s Spirit [Keener p.616]. The descriptions of worship in some New Testament epistles show that worship included Spirit-inspired tongues and interpretation [1Cor.14:14-16], Spirit-inspired singing [1Cor.14:26; Eph.5:19-20; Col.3:16] and Spirit-inspired and guided prayer [Eph.6:18; Jude 20]. So ‘in spirit’ in that context certainly involved the Holy Spirit.
- The words could include God’s Spirit bringing ongoing revelation to us within worship, or in the Church community, so continuing to enlighten our worship [Jn.14:17; 16:13; 1Jn.5:6].
- It could also include: Allowing God’s Spirit to lead and infill us as we worship.
- Relying on God’s Spirit to guide our thoughts in worship.
- Letting God’s Spirit take our words and thoughts and present them before the throne of heaven as we worship.
- Our spirit being linking with God’s Spirit.
- Relating to God in the spiritual dimension beyond and within us, through thoughts and activities that help us to address God with meaning and appreciation and feel spiritually fulfilled.
The experience of being ‘in spirit’ as we worship could be all or a combination of these. I guess that we may not necessarily need to firmly know which is intended. In practice in the act of worship we are trying to align our minds with spiritual truth, to truly focus on God, to allow God’s Spirit to be alive in us when we worship, to guide, teach, nourish and inspire us, and also ask God’s Spirit to make our worship worthy to come into God’s presence and to glorify God.
We should not infer that every time we are worshipping should be an ecstatic experience, as some Pentecostal gatherings expect. Just because we read of examples of ecstatic worship in scripture does not mean that it was the regular practice of all in the New Testament Church. In fact Paul was adamant that “not all spoke in tongues” etc. [1Cor.12:20]. God’s Spirit works within us in a multitude of different ways: through the intellect, through our daily normal experiences, as well as in the visionary or transcendent experiences of some. Traditional Christian doctrine claims that God lives in the believer by the Spirit all the time, so we are not dependent on awaiting the Spirit to ‘come upon us’ as in the case of ancient Hebrew prophets. St Paul obviously had meaningful transcendent spiritual experiences, but he also said that he would rather speak with his mind:
“One who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also. I will sing praise with the spirit but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking, rather be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.” [1Cor.14:13-19].
God’s Spirit indwells believers, so where the worshipper is focusing their mental faculties on declaring their thanks or praising the qualities of God, their worship is as spiritually true, valid and valuable as transcendent worship where an individual or a charismatic congregation are singing or praying in tongues together. If St. Paul was right, praises coming from the human mind might actually be more meaningful and valued by God than less personally-guided praises; he certainly implies that they are more useful in congregational worship or when others are present. We cannot be sure that this is the aspect of ‘worship in spirit’ to which Christ was referring when speaking to the Samaritan woman, especially as he was speaking prior to Pentecost and she was an ‘outsider to the promises’ as far as Jews were concerned, though of course not an outsider to Jesus’ gospel.
It is clear from Jn.4:23-24 that Jesus was encouraging us to worship God in a true spirit of worship. This implies that we enter worship with our minds and spirits prepared to encounter God in a real way. Because we are in the presence of the holy God, by confession and accepting forgiveness we allow God’s Spirit to cleanse and make us worthy to bring our worship before God. We try to focus worship on the spirit of all that is true about God. We ask God’s Spirit to guide our thoughts to remember those aspects of God for which we have come to worship. We trust God’s Spirit to expand our understanding so that our worship is as sincere and full as it can be. We try to worship in as true a spirit of sincere praise and thanksgiving as possible, and we rely on God’s Spirit to purify that worship to present it as acceptable to God.
The imagery of ‘pneuma’ as breath or wind, which is also in ‘ruach’, the Hebrew word for spirit, contains the concept of spirit as a source and sign of ‘life’. God’s Spirit is life-giving and our spirits are brought alive by the Spirit. So worship that is ‘in spirit’ is alive. This does not imply that all worship needs to be ecstatic, bouncy, happy-clapping, arms waving in glorification, loud or ‘charismatic’ in the ecstatic usage of the word. True ‘charismatic worship’ is that which comes in and through God’s Spirit alive inside us. It might be quiet or even silent and contemplative. It might come through our using our minds to try to fathom something of the mystery of God and expand our understanding of God. It might be raising God in our mind, or attempting to raise God in the minds and praises of a congregation: “God is enthroned on the praises of God’s people” [Ps.22:3]. God may just be worshipped in spirit by us daily living with integrity in our everyday activities and with true active discipleship, responding to Gods Spirit living within us. Worship ‘in spirit’ is not confined to a specific time of or activity what we designate as worship: living worship can and should be all that we do with integrity in our Christian lives.
WHAT MIGHT JESUS HAVE MEANT BY “WORSHIPPING IN TRUTH”?
The extensive list of characteristics and qualities of worship earlier in this study obviously contain a large number of the elements of what “true worship” should be. If we are fulfilling those we are engaged in true worship. But worshipping “in truth” may also be more than this. It implies that something inside us is being true. When I was training for ordination I remember watching a variety of priests presiding at the Eucharist, to help me try to learn to preside with as much meaning and reverence as possible. One priest’s Communion service stood out to me particularly, causing me to ask to meet him to discover why his service seemed so much more meaningful than others. He claimed not to know, but gave me the clue to how he presided: “I just make sure that when I am leading others in worship I am also truly worshipping God myself.” All priests and church leaders will have their own practices, meaningful gestures, ways of raising the elements etc. which have developed with experience and perhaps, as in my own case, have been adapted from and influenced by meaningful practices that I have observed in others. Yet it is vitally important that the priest or worship leader is truly worshipping alongside those we are leading.
I have been in various services where presiding ministers and those responding seem to be going through the liturgy by rote. Some ministers gabble the words so fast that it is hard to follow them. Others follow the old practice of not putting much or any inflection, emphasis or emotion into the words, which can make the prayers and other parts of the liturgy sound like a monotonous durge. That tradition developed through the idea that blessing came through the truth of the words of the liturgy rather than through stirring up the congregation’s engagement with the service. In the contemporary church it is rightly regarded as important for both priest and people to be as fully engaged as possible with the service, so it can enhance worship to speak the words meaningfully and involve people’s thoughts and emotions.
As with worshipping in Spirit, “worshipping in truth” can have multiple meanings:
- Jesus could be saying that we must worship through “the Spirit of truth” / tò pneûma tés aletheías [Jn.14:17; 15:26;16:12-13].
- He may be encouraging us to make sure that we are offering truly ‘genuine’ worship.
- He may be telling us to always mean what we are saying when we worship.
- He may be asking us to worship God as ‘the truth’ even though much of God is mysterious.
- He may be affirming God as the basis of truth.
- He may be warning people that they must not lie or make disavowals in worship, but always mean what we say.
- He may be reminding us that divine truth is difficult to discern, but encouraging all his followers to work at discerning truth and worshipping God when we discover it.
- He may be encouraging us that everything we do can be worship if it is rooted in truth.
- He may be telling us to be loyally faithful to the truth when we worship.
- He may be encouraging us to be reliable and firm in our faith when we worship, as Christians should be committed to the truth, should seek out truth, and recognise that our faith in God’s truth is real.
- John’s Gospel often links Jesus himself with the “truth” [14:6; 1:14, 17; 8:32; 18:37]. So Jesus’ words may be intend us to make sure that we are worshipping in the true spirit in which he taught and served God. We look to him. to his example and to his Spirit for inspiration, grounded in Christ for most of what we know of God and reliant on Christ and the Spirit to make us worthy to worship.
The Hebrew word for truth - ’‘meṭ was often used to denote ‘faithfulness’, ‘stability’, ‘firmness’ and ‘reliability’. Hence the faithful God is regarded as the ultimate truth and the source of truth. ’‘Meṭ is often used in parallel with the term ‘hesed’, denoting God’s steadfast love. So as well as simply being ‘truthful’ the biblical idea of ‘worship in truth ‘could include ‘loyalty’, ‘stability in faith’ and faithfulness to our covenant promises in response to God. ’‘Meṭ was often used by the prophets to refer to ‘faithfulness’ towards God, so worship ‘in truth’ undoubtedly indicates that our approach to God must come out of faithfulness, not being false or wavering in our reliability. In talking about God and the believer, the Septuagint also translates the Hebrew term ’‘meṭ as ‘pistis’, the Greek word for ‘faithfulness’, ‘faith’ and ‘trustworthiness’. The Hebrew term was also used for ‘truth’ in contrast with ‘deceit’ or ‘falsehood’.
The term ‘truth’ in the Greek of the New Testament is ‘alétheia’. Surprisingly it is used relatively sparingly in the Synoptic Gospels. Despite Jesus being regarded as the ‘truth’ and ‘speaking truth’, he is recorded as using the term only four times [Lk.4:25; 9:27; 12:44; 21:3]. The factions opposing Jesus used the term when trying to trap Jesus: “We know that you are true [aléthes] and teach the way of God truthfully [en alétheia]...” [Matt.22:15; Mk.12:14]. Exactly the same phrase ‘en alétheia’ is used by Jesus of worship in Jn.4:23, suggesting that we should ‘worship truthfully’. John used the term alétheia far more frequently than the other Gospels (26 times), mostly in the words of Jesus: “I tell you the truth”, “I am the truth”, “he who does what is true comes to the light”, “you will know the truth”, “the Spirit of truth”, “he will guide you into all truth”, “your word is truth”, “Father, sanctify them in the truth” etc. ‘The witness of Christ is described as ‘true’ [Jn.5:31f; 8:13-58]. When Pilate asked Jesus “What is truth?” [Jn.18:38] the reader may be expected to react at the irony of the question, since Christ claimed to himself ‘be’ the truth [Jn.14:6] and had been teaching and witnessing to the truth throughout his ministry. Jesus himself is described as being “full of grace and truth” [Jn.1:14, 17]. So in John’s Gospel, when Christ exhorts us to we worship ‘in truth’, we are possibly expected to realise that our worship should include the essential characteristic of what Jesus came to represent and teach about the true God.
‘Alétheia’ is derived etymologically from the idea of ‘non-concealment’, ‘not escaping notice’ or ‘not causing to forget’. It thus came to mean ‘genuine’, ‘what is seen’, ‘evidenced’ and ‘proved to be true’: i.e. ‘what something really is’, rather than what it seems or has concealed or falsified. Where the term is used in the Synoptic Gospels it often meant ‘veracity’, but also ‘honesty’, ‘sincerity’, ‘not concealing or deceiving’. So worship ‘in truth’ should entail our coming before God without concealing anything or being deceptive before an all-seeing, all-knowing God, and truly worshipping what has been revealed about the true God.
It is believed the writer of John knew something of Greek philosophy, since his discussion of the ‘Logos’ in the opening of the Gospel appears to include Greek philosophical ideas. Greek philosophers often spoke of truth as what is real as opposed to just appearance. This seems to relate to worship as something that is true on every level, rather than what we appear to be doing by going through the motions. It is exemplified by Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, or his comment about the widow giving her mite being more grateful that the worshipper who came with a large offering [Mk.12:42-43; Lk.21:2-3]. But alétheia is also used as ‘veracity’, in contrast to telling a lie or withholding information. So worship ‘in truth’ also carries the meaning of not being false worship.
In the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Scriptures ‘alétheia’ is the most common word used for ‘truth’. In context it was used to means a fact that is ‘firm’, ‘solid’, ‘indisputable’, ‘incontestable’ and ‘binding’. In the Hebrew Scriptures it had both legal and religious interpretations. As well as being the only ‘true God’ [2Chron.15:3], God is regarded as ‘absolute truth’ and eternally ‘truthful’ [Ps.51:6; Ps. 146:6], ‘rich in truth’ [Ex.34:6] and ‘worthy of complete trust’ [2Sam.7:28]. Those who live in God’s presence are intended to have their minds set on truth, since God issues true laws, commands and oaths [Neh.9:13; Ps 11i:7; Ps/132:11]. Believers were exhorted to ‘speak truth in their heart’ [Ps.51:2]. This has implications for our worship, implying that we should set our minds, thoughts and words in worship on declaring what is true. Truth was also related to knowledge of God [Hos.4:1] and obedience to God’s law [Ps.119:160]. Believers were to be taught truth [Ps.86:1]. So the Church, like God’s people under the Hebrew Covenant, has a responsibility to provide true worship, teach believers the truth so we are worshipping a true God for true things and correcting or if necessary opposing deceit [Mal.2:6; Prov.11:8; 12:19]. God guaranteed the truth, and was true in divine essence, so God’s people should consequently live by truth morally and legally.
In the New Testament, truth is also related to ‘uprightness’ [Jn.3:21; 2Jn.4:1; 1Cor.13:6; Eph.4:24], ‘trustworthiness’ [Rom.3:3f; 15:8], ‘sincerity’ and ‘honesty’ [2Cor.7:14; 11:10; 2Jn.1; 3Jn.1]. In the context of worship, this implies that we should approach God with upright lives and minds, in total sincerity and honesty, worshipping all that is sincere about the true God i.e. all that is contained within the Name of God – all that God is. ‘Alétheia’ was also used to represent what has been disclosed as true. So in worshipping in truth we should be worshipping what has been revealed about God and disclosing or declaring what is true.
In several passages in the New Testament, alétheia is used to represent true teaching of true faith as opposed to false teaching [2Cor.13:8; Gal.5:7; 1Pet.1:22], since Christianity itself was regarded as ‘the truth’ [2Pet.1:12]. Christians were urged to preach and live by Christ’s Gospel as ‘the word of truth’ [2Cor.6:7], since in coming to Christ they had come into ‘the knowledge of the truth’ [ITim.2:4]. St. Paul emphasised that the Church should be the ‘pillar and ground of truth’ [1Tim.3:15]. So everything we do should truthful and be representing and sustaining God’s truth.
The word ‘alétheia’ was also used in the New Testament to represent ‘authenticity’. God is the source of reality and authenticity, while God’s people need to be authentic followers of Christ. Jesus represented God authentically and the words he spoke were truth, and regarded as divine revelations [Jn.8:32, 40, 44-5; 18:37; 1Jn.1:8; 2:4; 2Jn.1]. Christ was described by John as “full of grace and truth” [Jn.1:14’ 17]. An encounter with Christ was regarded as an encounter with ‘truth’ [Jn.14:6]. Our teaching of doctrine similarly needs to be authentic, so that we are encouraging people to worship the true God for all that is true.
Worship “in spirit and in truth” is not just intended to be truthful in its doctrine and in our unity as worshippers; but a true, authentic encounter with God, through the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit, through the revelation given by Jesus and through Christ himself. Spirit-led worship is part of our witness to the truth [3Jn.12] since we are fellow-workers in the truth with Christ [3Jn.8]. When we encourage or admonish another, we should “speak the truth in love” [Eph.4:15]. Our unity as a Church as part of Christ’s body is intended to be rooted in Christ’s truth, so that when we love one another we are united both in truth and love [2Jn.1f.]. If our worship is truly coming from a united, loving group of believers, we can call it true worship. If we are disunited in worship we should sort things out in order to make our worship worthy.
- Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman who had the Temple on Mount Gerizim as their place of worship. Since the Samaritans were regarded by pure Jews as a part of their race that had been corrupted by interbreeding with those who were considered to be aliens to the truth. It is probable that Jesus was telling the Samaritan to find a worship that is truer than that of either the Samaritans on Mount Gerazim or the Jews in the Jerusalem Temple.
- Worship in truth asks us to ensure that we truly mean what we are saying, singing or thinking.
- We should make sure that what we are doing is truly worship.
- We should focus our words, minds and all aspects of liturgy on true aspects of God.
- Worship in truth should ensure that what we are doing is not just to satisfy ourselves or our own senses or spirits; it is focusing worship towards God.
- We should attempt to ensure that how we are worshipping is truly guided by God’s Spirit.
- The various words by which the Greek word ‘Alétheia’ / ‘Truth’ is translated, should characterise Christians as it characterised Christ. The following list should characterise our worship as well:
‘Worshipping in spirit and in truth’ therefore has a wide variety of possibilities. We cannot be certain exactly what Jesus meant at the time when these words were said, or what John’s Gospel meant by the words when they were initially written. But in practice when Christians worship, the wide variety of potential meanings discussed in this study could all be true. We believe that God looks primarily at the authentic heart which we put into our worship, not the precision of what we are saying, singing, doing or thinking.