Biblical Concepts of Worship - Essay Example

AN INTEGRATED PAPER ON WORSHIP In an attempt to understand the world and its reality, many churches today have started to venture into diverse ways of demonstrating or expressing and making real the mystery and the marvel of worship. Many of these churches which have tried to adapt the new changes receive positive comments while some encounter criticisms. Based on these reactions, many have dealt on this matter pointing out their stand for adapting such renewal in their worship. Many books which deal with new methods or ways of worship have come out where the authors courageously clarify the issues. R.P. Martin's definition of worship as a dramatic celebration of God must have kindled this quest for finding ways on how one should worship. A look at the Scriptures about the doctrine of worship will help make this new trend be subject to the evaluation of the churches in general, in this modern age. The Old Testament Worship In the Old Testament there is one main word which is identified which is rendered "worship." It occurs a total of 172 times in the Authorized Version and being rendered 99 times by "worship" and 68 times as a verb or as an action which denotes the bending over or making oneself appear to be smaller than one really is. The word worship means bow, bow down, obeisance, reverence, fall down, stoop, or crouch. Worship is a technical term for an action where a man's attitude before God is concerned. Worship is our reaction based on our knowledge of who God is or of what He has done for us. The Hebrew word "worship" carries with it the action of bowing down. The emphasis on the action illustrates the relationship of the creature, man, towards the Creator, God. Worship, therefore, in this case is acknowledging God's sovereignty. In several Scripture passages, the word translated "worship" means to do obeisance. It is to show respect and reverence to a superior. When the authority of the superior is recognized, the inferior "bowed down" or "prostrated themselves" at the other's feet as a recognition of their being superior. More often, worship is tied up with the revelation of who God is. When a person "worshipped" God or fell down before God in the Old Testament, they were doing so because they knew who God is in their lives. How a man will worship God will be based on how he knows God. If he doesn't know God, he cannot react in worship. If his knowledge of God is limited, so will his worship be also. Bowing down or falling down is an acknowledgment of God's supremacy, His sovereignty, and His authority. From this confession that God is superior arises an action of obedience in the life of the one who worships. When God said, "Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you" He was expressing the idea that if one acknowledges God as sovereign it must result to his obedience to the commands that are received from Him. The New Testament Worship There are many words in the New Testament which are translated as "worship". There is one which occurs in 60 occasions and is always rendered "worship" in the Authorized Version. The word connotes that the worshipper had to be involved in some form of bending, kneeling or prostration. This was parallel to obeisance in the Old Testament. There are two other words which mean "to revere" or "to adore" and this emphasizes the feeling of awe or devotion in the act of worship. The Contemporary or Modern Worship As mentioned earlier, many of the churches today of the Protestants and the Catholics have ventured into the realm of findings new ways of expressing their worship, more specifically, public worship. This venture results from the desire to have a kind of worship that will work and continue to be practiced in the church. "A worship that will have staying power is a worship that is firmly grounded in the old, yet aware of and concerned for new ways to respond to the old, old story." (Webber) Everyday, many churches coming from different lights of traditions are making a new touch with their worship. From liturgical churches to the Pentecostal or charismatic churches which are free style, there are many practices of worship which are being renewed and shared among different ecclesiastical traditions. This trend according to Webber has become well-liked in recent years because of the following reasons: churches of almost every practice are now discovering the biblical and historic traditions worship, churches of almost every denomination are discovering one another and are recognizing that the fundamentals of worship that are preserved in other traditions are pertinent to the worship of today, and there is a union of worship traditions which is a combination of the old and new. Many pastors, ministers, and worship leaders felt anxious about this worship renewal. They want to remain faithful to the Scriptures and yet they also want to be relevant to the worship needs of their congregations. Webber cites three basic positions which may be adopted when it comes to this trend of worship renewal in the church. First, there is the traditional position which seeks to continue the existing practice while rejecting anything that is new and presents change. Second, there is the modern position which seeks to do away of old and the traditional ways of worship and giving favor to all that is new and fresh. Third, there is the old and new position which combines both the old and new, one kind of worship that respects the tradition but endeavors to integrate styles of worship formed by the modern church. It is in this last position that Webber emphatically discusses in his book Worship Old and New. Worship old and new has four general characteristics. First, the "questions about" and the "reasons for" worship are taken seriously. Second, it takes learning from the community of those who worship. Third, is shows respect to the kind of worship which was practiced in the past specifically the Jewish and the early Christians. Fourth, it gears toward the relevance of worship to the modern times. The foundation of worship studies must be the Scriptures. It should hold prime importance when it comes to making a truthful teaching of worship in the church. Worship in the church may be taken as a record of work of the Holy Spirit with different peoples in different times. This gives us therefore a chance to look at the past with respect so that we may gain knowledge and even use this knowledge to be of use for today's worship. Worship therefore makes up the gospel in motion and it is celebrating the great acts of God while God's people act in response with faith, praise, prayer, thanksgiving, and manifests a life of service to the world. In the book written by Webber, he examines worship for its biblical themes, how it was conducted in the early Christian community and includes both the Old and New Testaments. He also examines how the story of the gospel which is the center of worship is enacted through forms and signs. It further probes into how worship was carried into the ancient/medieval church, the Reformation and Free Church period, and the church in the twentieth century. Finally, he goes into the examination of worship's setting, its content, its structure, and its style. Worship must be faithful to the Scriptures and must be relevant to God's people. Faithfulness and relevance can and must live together for efficient, sincere, and God-honoring worship. A book entitled "Worship That Changes Lives" by Alexis Abernathy tackles worship at another angle but in a similar concept. It presents a wide range of cultural, theological, and psychological perspectives to the subject of worship giving emphasis on the relationship between worship and spiritual transformation. Oftentimes this aspect is overlooked and not given much attention and consideration. Historical and theological perspectives on worship and spiritual growth are given considerations. The role of the arts in facilitating such development or growth is also looked into and dealt with. Spiritual experience in worship was found to cross both the cultural and denominational boundaries. There is a great significance in developing a kind of worship that motivates and leads to spiritual transformation in the community of faith. The role of arts in worship and transformation is discussed in Abernathy's book Worship That Changes Lives. Whenever people gather to worship, they have a desire and they expect God to touch them personally. It is for this reason that those who plan for worship services in the church create ritual moments to meet this desire and expectation of the worshippers. 'Since pastors, preachers, and worship planners cannot uncork a bottle from which to sprinkle "mere spiritual experience," they must rely on some trustworthy methods for creating an atmosphere in which God's Spirit can move.' (Abernathy) The rituals of the church that worships do not guarantee spiritual experience, but they are tested and trusted avenues by which the gatherings are molded for the purpose of drawing the people closer to God. Ritual action and prayers, and the proclamation of God's Word are the things that give shape to worship and also the elements that are used to create a kind of atmosphere for the encounter of human with the divine. These elements have a component that is artistic in nature. Why then is worship designed with these elements of art The reason is that, it was proven true that these elements communicate deeply. Art is the communication of one's emotion and that it creates a link between one individual and another. Art is an avenue where it says the things which cannot be put into words. Art is a symbolic form of human feeling. The theory of art may not be read in the Bible, however, we see how it has been used throughout the history of the relationship of God towards His people. Songs, narratives, parables, descriptions, innumerable examples of poetic language are the forms of art described in the Bible. The art of Scriptures manifests its ability to speak of faith, which delves into the soul of human experience. Art is so richly used in worship because it is to reach those depths at which faith dwells. Since worship is about things which cannot be handled by ordinary discourse so singing, painting, praying, sculpting, making banners, making pottery, and arranging flowers are all examples of a form of art to speak deeply to God's people. No artistic element can be created or made in order to manipulate the presence of God. But we rely on art as a means of communication between God and God's people. William Dyrness is the author of the book A Primer on Christian Worship Where We've Been, Where we are, Where We Can Go. "For all the declarations of advance and creativity made for contemporary worship, the controversies that swirl around it are anything but new. And they call us to reflect on the sources of our inclinations in our current circumstances." (Dyrness) He explores the theology and history of the church-where she has been, and moves on to the present condition and finally to where the church will go. He portrays how both the medieval and the Reformation spirituality have persisted to the development of Christian worship in the Catholic and Protestant forms. In the study of worship both theologically and historically, one can learn how the different styles of worship shape one's faith. As a summary, the three authors deal with the issue of having a kind of worship that is sincere, authentic, and relevant to the people. In their presentations, they put emphasis on the relationship between worship and spiritual transformation or growth, the significant role of the arts in expressing the kind of worship - delving into the past traditions of the church and tracing its development to the contemporary kind of worship. The main goal, I believe, is to come up with a kind of worship that is dynamic, able to transform lives so as to create significance in the community. As what one of the authors cited in this study has pointed out, after much consideration it is hoped that worshippers today can gain an insight on what worship should be like and how it should be expressed. REFLECTION Today, many of the pastors, church worship leaders, and ministers find themselves faced with the challenge of making worship in their churches dynamic and relevant to their people. Some have tried new ideas and found them ineffective, sometimes. Some say, they work. Thus a number of individuals have come out writing books dealing with the new trends and presenting new ways -all about worship. In all of these quests for relevant and dynamic worship, let's not lose sight on the meaning of worship as revealed in the Scriptures. It is a positive reaction to God's revelation of Himself which culminates in obedience. One must know who God is and what He requires of His people to be able to authentically worship Him. The Scripture declares that God is holy. Such holiness demands reverence and adoration from God's people. Worship means to bow down before Him, to fall at His feet because God is holy. The woman of Samaria in the Scriptures as recorded in John 4:20 put a great deal of emphasis on where worship should take place. Her statement also included the external rites which were being performed through sacrifices and offerings. Jesus corrected her stating that geographical location wasn't important and neither were any of the external rites or practices being is performed if, in the heart of the man there no worship. The inner matters of the heart is what matters most in worship. Hence, believers should no longer depend on the religious observances for their worship. God says that we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Prostration in homage or the kind of lip service is not what God requires of us when we worship Him. It is rather a prostration in homage within- our submission to God in accordance to what He says in the Scriptures. The Bible speaks of angels worshipping God. When they worship they stand before Him in reverence and in awe. Instances in the Scriptures also indicate a person trembling before Him in reverence and fear- and that is how they worship God. The object of our worship should be God not ourselves or any other people. Hence, we should not trouble ourselves in finding ways to worship because God's way for worship is just very simple. You simply go to Him just as you are, acknowledging that you are a sinful creature not worthy to face Him or even worship Him and so with great humility you offer your self to Him in worship. When we worship Him we should go to Him in His own terms not in ours no matter how artistic or creative we may be. Our efforts of approaching in our worship using the many varied ways may very well be sincere and really come from the bottom of our hearts yet it doesn't go alongside God's standard of worship then our efforts may be futile. It is commendable that one of the reasons for making our worship appear artistic, well-planned and creative for the purpose of spiritual transformation or so that lives may be changed but we forget that changing lives is not ours to do, it is God's. When one's life is offered to God in submission, it is expected that that individual will have a changed or transformed life. The Scriptures in II Corinthians 5:17 points this out very vividly. It says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." (KJV). Transformation is an act of God not of man. Authentic worship therefore must be in accordance with the Word of God. When we worship, we should not be concerned about what we feel- whether we feel good or not. It simply follows that when we know that we worship the One who is holy we forget about ourselves and focus absolutely on the One we worship. Transformation of lives will eventually result from a life that truly worships God. This is where the problem lies in today's new trend of worship and that we should be discerning in this matter. The new trend focuses on man's ways of worshipping God, trying to please Him in what they do yet deviating from what God requires in our worship. God sees the heart and knows our very motives especially when we serve Him. There is no need to use anything in order to express our worship because He sees what is within. We cannot rely on our feelings for feelings are deceitful. The Bible declares it. "The heart is deceitful above all things: and desperately wicked: who can know it" (KJV). Only God can see the heart and even the intents or motives of it. As I look at what is happening today in the Christian churches, I am saddened by the fact that many of our man-made efforts of worship do not please God. Based on our own judgment we may have the feeling of accomplishment when we worship but do we ever pause for a moment in our lives to ask ourselves if God is really pleased with what we do We only please Him if what we do is in accordance with what He says in His Words. There is a need for us to go back to the basics of our practice of faith. We need to do what the early Christians did when they worshipped God. Those are worth emulating because they have proven to be effective practices of the faith that they have in God. They turned Jerusalem upside down! Check whether they used the artistic elements of art. Were these the avenues by which they were able to bring so many to Christ REFERENCES Abernethy, A.. Worship That Changes Lives: Multidisciplinary and Congregational Perspectives on Spiritual Transformation. Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group. p. 37. 2008. Dyrness, W. A Primer on Christian Worship: where we've been, where we are, where we can go. Available: http://books.google.com/books. 2009. Webber, R. Worship Old and New (Backcover). 1982. Read More