Worship, Part One: Defining Terms and Understanding Usage I. Introduction A. Let us spend some time today examining the issue of worship 1. we talk constantly about worship, the "worship service," "worshipping God," etc. 2. It is good for us, then, to look into the Scriptures to see what we can learn about worship from its pages B. We will begin by defining the term "worship," to see how it is used in the Bible, and draw applications to our assemblies and our lives today II. Worship: The Term A. Let us begin, then, by defining worship according to the English language 1. Worship is derived from "worth ship," as in, "your worth ship," i.e., one worthy to receive worship 2. Webster's: 1. To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration; 2. To respect; to honor; to treat with civil reverence. 3. From the English word, then, we get the idea of adoring, respecting, and venerating as being worship B. In Greek, we see two terms used in reference to worship: proskuneo and latreia 1. proskuneo, Thayer's: to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the Orientals, especially the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication; used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank 2. latreia, Thayer's: service rendered for hire; any service or ministration; the service and worship of God according to the requirements of the Levitical law; to perform sacred services 3. These terms differ radically in their perspective: proskuneo refers more directly to worship, being the humiliation of oneself before a superior, while latreia refers more indirectly, being spiritual service done as worship C. Let us now examine the usage of these terms in the New Testament III. Worship: Term Usage A. The use of proskuneo 1. proskuneo is used about 60 times in the New Testament, with many of its examples referring to people worshipping Christ, as reference to Old Testament texts and events, and also constantly in Revelation 2. The usage of this term in the New Testament fits the concept of prostration and the rendering of obeisance well a. prostration: falling on one's face before b. obeisance: movement of the body made in token of respect or submission 3. Examples: 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (fall on face and worship), Acts 10:25 B. Proskuneo well-defines many examples of Old Testament worship 1. The constant rituals of the Temple would be described in this way 2. Other examples: Numbers 22:31, Ezekiel 1:28 3. When man is confronted with the glory of God or even by an angel of God, man falls on his face (also cf. Matthew 17:6) C. An earthly example: Esther 4:11 1. In the Persian Empire, if one entered the presence of the king without having been summoned, the sentence was death; the king had to motion to save you! 2. If such is the sentence for merely entering the king's presence, what of not following appropriate protocol of obeisance-- worship? 3. And if such respect was given to a mere mortal, how much more respect should be given to the King of Kings? D. The nature of proskuneo is manifest 1. It is worship wherein you fall on your face before God and venerate and render obeisance to Him 2. We should keep in mind what Ezekiel and Peter and others did in the presence of God, and keep that aura of reverence when we engage in proskuneo, direct, worship E. The use of latreia 1. latreia is not used as often in the New Testament, and the majority of its usage refers to the services required under the old Law (cf. Romans 9:4, Hebrews 9:1, 9:6) 2. one use of the term, however, sticks out: Romans 12:1 a. Paul here describes how the spirit within us worships God: by being a living an holy sacrifice b. therefore, in truth, whenever we engage in spiritual matters and be that living and holy sacrifice, we are worshipping God through our service c. this is more indirect worship, since our direct focus is on whomever we are trying to serve, and since service to our fellow man is service to God (cf. Matthew 25:31-46), we are indirectly serving Him F. We have seen, then, the usage of the terms proskuneo and latreia 1. proskuneo is just like what is constantly seen in the Old Testament: people prostrating themselves before God, rendering obeisance to Him, making their requests of Him 2. latreia, similar to its describing of the ministrations of service to God in the Temple, is used to describe our "spiritual" worship to God, being the living and holy sacrifice, obeying the Lord and serving Him in all ways G. Let us now compare the Biblical use of these terms with our own IV. Worship: Modern Parlance A. In today's world-- and unfortunately even in the church-- there is often confusion between worship and the assembly 1. "worship" tends to be defined in terms of the assembly 2. the assembly becomes the "worship service" 3. we talk of the "five acts of worship" 4. ...and the distinction between what is worship and what is not tends to be made in terms of being in the assembly or not being in the assembly B. What, then, shall we say to such things? C. What is the assembly, and what is its purpose? 1. To encourage and edify: Hebrews 10:24-25 2. All purpose to partake of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 11:23-30) 3. Only indirectly-- that is, with no explicit use of the term-- do we see the concept of assembling to worship God (memorializing Christ, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; speaking to one another in song, singing in the heart to the Lord, Colossians 3:16; prayers of thanksgiving, 1 Corinthians 14:16) D. We can see, then, that the assembly has multiple purposes, one of them being to offer worship (proskuneo) to God E. When we look in the New Testament, what is the nature of the distinction between forms of worship? 1. proskuneo: direct worship, humbling oneself before God, respecting and venerating Him 2. latreia: indirect worship, demonstrating respect for God through service to Him for His sake and for others F. The distinction, then, is not along the boundary of being assembled or not being assembled, but along the line of direct or indirect-- direct humbling and petition or indirect service-- to God G. Let us now examine in more detail the acts done in the assembly V. Worship: the Assembly A. The "five acts of worship" 1. Let us examine these "acts of worship" and look at how the Scriptures define them 2. We ought to remember that any acts done in service to God can be properly called worship (Romans 12:1), but we are today striving to understand what kind of worship is involved in each act B. Prayer 1. 1 Corinthians 14:15-17 2. While this speaks to a people who had the gift of speaking in tongues, we can still derive understanding about the nature of collective prayer as would be given in an assembly 3. the prayer is considered "giving of thanks," and of course one is giving thanks to God, and this would be a form of proskuneo, direct worship 4. the prayer also, however, is to be a source of encouragement and edification for your fellow brethren, and in that sense is a form of latreia, indirect worship 5. Prayer, then, is simultaneously both forms of worship C. Lord's Supper 1. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: the proclamation of the Lord's death and the remembrance of His death for us is a form of proskuneo, direct worship 2. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17: the partaking of the Lord's Supper is a demonstration of our communion-- our unity-- in Christ, and a source of encouragement; a latreia, indirect form of worship 3. The Lord's Supper also shares in both forms of worship D. Singing 1. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 2. The nature of the worship is dependent on the nature of the song 3. Songs of praise or veneration to God are of course proskuneo, direct forms of worship 4. Songs directed less at God and more to one another, to encourage, rebuke, or teach us in the faith, are more latreia, indirect forms of worship 5. Singing, therefore, will engage in either form of worship depending on the nature of the song E. Preaching 1. Preaching is a lot like singing in this regard 2. Lessons directly praising or venerating God would be proskuneo, direct forms of worship 3. Lessons to inform, encourage, or rebuke brethren in the faith would be latreia, indirect forms of worship (perhaps Acts 20:1-2) F. Giving 1. The example of 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 and the lessons derived from 2 Corinthians 8-9 demonstrate that giving is mostly a latreia, indirect form of worship, since the giving is for the building up of the local congregation/evangelist or some other need 2. 2 Corinthians 9:1-2: the ministering to the saints G. What shall we say to these things? 1. the "five acts of worship" are of course worship, since they all involve spiritual matters... 2. ...yet while many of the acts always or occasionally partake of the proskuneo, direct form of worship, all of the acts are to lead to encouragement, and therefore latreia, the indirect form of worship, being of service to one another and therefore of God H. While it is true that the acts done in the assembly are all acts of worship, do we likewise call all spiritual acts of service outside of the assembly worship? 1. Consistency ought to be demanded of us: if we are going to keep calling acts of latreia in the assembly "worship," we should consider and call all spiritual acts of service "worship" 2. Or, while recognizing that all acts of spiritual service done are "worship," we can bring our terminology more in line with that of the New Testament and call the assembly "the assembly," and speak of acts done in the assembly as "acts done in the assembly" 3. Does this terminology make them any less "worship"? By no means; it is just clearer terminology, and we can talk about direct acts of worship in the assembly, and indirect acts of worship in the assembly, all toward the end of encouraging the brethren in Christ Jesus VI. Conclusion A. Is it wrong to call the assembly the "worship service"? Certainly not. 1. We all should, however, recognize that we don't mean "worship service" as done in denominations, but as referring to the assembly and its acts of encouragement and worship B. The main focus of the assembly, in the New Testament, is encouragement of the brethren 1. While the term "worship" is never directly used in the context of the assembly... 2. ...encouragement and edification are spoken of in that very context in 1 Corinthians 14:15-17, 26 and Hebrews 10:24-25 3. all of the acts done in the assembly have at least some share in latreia, indirect worship C. In this light, we should never question why we should assemble with the saints! 1. After all, there is no assembly if no one assembles! 2. The assembly is not to be a burden, but a joy, a source of encouragement and edification, not a 3-hour mandatory sentence 3. If we present the need to assemble to brethren in terms of it being an obligation-- we might as well call it a burden-- why should we be surprised if brethren begin considering the assembly a burden? 4. These things should not be! D. Let us give consideration, then, to the distinction between proskuneo, direct forms of worship, and latreia, indirect forms of worship, and consider our own frames of reference and vocabulary and possibly change according to the Scriptures E. Invitation/songbook F. We praise God, offering worship to Him, and serve one another, offering worship to Him, because we have received redemption through the blood of His Son G. If you are here today and have not received that redemption, we encourage you to take this opportunity to join the worshipping throng H. Perhaps you once obeyed, but have not stood firm…we would love to encourage you today I. Or perhaps you simply require encouragement-- that's why we're here! Come to the front as we stand and sing