Worship and the Assembly I. Introduction A. In popular thinking, the assembly and the idea of "worship" are intertwined 1. Assemblies are often called "worship services" 2. People speak of the "acts of worship" 3. Many people, if asked, would define "worship" as "going to church" B. Yet consider the following New Testament facts 1. In the New Testament, the assembly is never called a "worship service" 2. There is no passage in the New Testament that explicitly identifies any of the acts of the assemblies as "acts of worship" 3. The New Testament never describes the presence or actions of believers in the assemblies as "worship" C. How can this be? 1. If the New Testament never describes the assembly as worship, why is it so often called "worship" by so many people? 2. What kind of misunderstanding exists that has led to this situation? D. The battleground: the "worship wars" 1. This issue has become rather contentious 2. A difficult and confusing issue requiring word studies in Hebrew and Greek to make sense of situation 3. Unfortunate, but necessary because too many times people are arguing past each other, distorting Biblical truth by mixing Hebrew/Greek and English understandings of the various words used E. So that we may be workmen without need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth, let us venture into a study on "worship" (2 Timothy 2:15) 1. Let us consider the words being used in Hebrew, Greek, and English 2. Let us then investigate the relationship between the old covenant Temple and the new covenant Christian life 3. Then we will consider the relationship between "worship" and the assembly II. Word Studies: Worship, Proskunein, Latreuein A. In order to understand what has taken place, we must first understand what all the words in our discussion mean B. Worship in English (from 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. To honor with extravagant love and extreme submission; as a lover. 4. To perform acts of adoration. 5. To perform religious service. 6. Comes from idea of "your worth ship," i.e. someone who is worthy of honor 7. For our discussion, we will focus on definitions #1 and #5 C. The difficulty: no Hebrew or Greek word that is precisely consistent with whole range of meaning of English "worship" 1. Or, to put it otherwise: the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated by "worship" in English do not really mean everything included by the English word 2. As we will see, similar to situation with "church" and ekklesia and "baptize" and baptizein-- English words include meanings that are not present in the Greek! D. Worship normally translates Hebrew shahach, Greek proskunein 1. shahach, from Brown-Driver-Briggs: to bow down, prostrate oneself 2. proskunein, from Thayer's: a. To kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence b. Among the Orientals, especially the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence c. 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 3. To prostrate (Webster's): a. To throw down; to overthrow; to demolish; to ruin; as, to prostrate a village; to prostrate a government; to prostrate law or justice; to prostrate the honor of a nation. b. To prostrate one's self, to throw one's self down or to fall in humility or adoration. c. To bow in humble reverence. d. To sink totally; to reduce; as, to prostrate strength. 4. To render obeisance (Webster's): A bow or courtesy; an act of reverence made by an inclination of the body or the knee. 5. Examples of shahach: Genesis 18:2, Genesis 37:7,9, Exodus 20:5, 2 Kings 5:18 6. Examples of proskunein: Matthew 8:2, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 28:9, Revelation 5:14, Revelation 11:16 7. Both shahach and proskunein primarily and fundamentally refer to the physical action of bowing or prostration-- hence, for our discussion, we will translate both terms as prostration, to prostrate 8. Prostration involving the physical action in every instance of term with notable exception of John 4:24 (to be addressed later) 9. Prostration always done before physical presence of superior, or, in some instances, when it is believed that God is present (cf. Acts 8:27, 1 Corinthians 14:25)-- only exception is Genesis 24:26-27 (48), but servant there is acknowledging the actions of YHWH, likely believes He is present 10. Prostration never used to describe any other action-- is an action in and of itself 11. Acts 8:27 and 24:11 parallel to Acts 20:7: purpose of going up to Temple was to prostrate themselves, other activities done, other activities as much prostration as Paul's preaching was "breaking bread" 12. In the NT, proskunein used mostly at the "bookends"-- Gospels and Revelation 13. Uses in between focus either on old covenant activities (Acts 8:27, 24:11) or the actions of unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:25) 14. Prostration, therefore, is "worship" in the sense that as a physical action, it is done to show reverence toward a superior 15. Nevertheless, we do not prostrate ourselves as an act of the assembly, do not see such an act done in the assembly by believers in the New Testament E. Hebrew 'abad / Greek latreuein 1. 'abad in Brown-Driver-Briggs: to labour, work, do work; to work for another, serve another by labour; to serve as subjects; to serve (God); to serve (with Levitical service) 2. latreuein in Thayer's: a. To serve for hire b. To serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen; in the NT, to render religious service or homage, to worship; to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his worship; of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office 3. Examples of 'abad: Genesis 25:23, Exodus 3:12, Exodus 20:5, Numbers 4:24, Numbers 18:21 4. Examples of latreuein: Matthew 4:10, Luke 1:74, Acts 27:23, Romans 9:4 (noun form), Romans 12:1 (noun form), Hebrews 9:1, 6 (noun form), Hebrews 9:14, 12:28, Revelation 22:3 5. 'abad and latreuein fundamentally refer to serving, whether in secular or religious forms, thus, we will define them in our discussion as "to serve" or "service" 6. Serving is seen in religious rituals, especially the ones surrounding the Temple 7. Yet the service offered is more than just religious ritual, but also includes serving God beyond the rituals 8. In Romans 12:1, idea that believers are to offer themselves as living sacrifices, and this is acceptable service to God 9. Thus, to serve and service certainly "worship" in the sense of performing acts of adoration and religious service 10. In fact, such would include all actions within the assembly! 11. But notice that it is not limited to the actions within the assembly and the act of assembling-- one serves God as much by obeying Him in everyday life as much as when engaging in the assembly! F. Other words defined by "worship" 1. sebomai: to revere, worship: Matthew 15:9 (Isaiah 29:13, y'irah, "fear"), Acts 13:43, 17:17, 18:7, 13, 19:27 2. leitourgein: to perform a work, including one of religious service: Acts 13:2, Romans 15:27, Hebrews 9:21 (noun form), Hebrews 10:11 3. threskeia: religious discipline, religion: Acts 26:5, Colossians 2:18, James 1:26-27 4. therapeuo: to serve, to heal: Matthew 4:24, Acts 17:25 5. All of these (and forms of them) refer to fearing God, doing religious work, or to serve-- thus are seen as "worship" G. So what does all of this mean? III. Prostration, Service, and Worship A. In our word study, we have seen what all of these words mean 1. shahach and proskunein refer to gestures of humiliation-- bowing or prostrating 2. 'abad and latreuein refer to service, secular, religious, ritual, and otherwise B. We can see how these words would be identified with the English "worship" 1. Prostration an act of worship indeed-- showing honor and reverence to a superior 2. Service also worship-- acts of adoration, "religious service" C. But where is the strong connection to the assembly or the acts of the assembly? 1. As we have seen, early Christians did not prostrate themselves in the assembly-- no command or example in the NT 2. Sure, one could define the acts of the assembly as service, for thus they are, but yet the New Testament does not explicitly say as much D. So how did "worship" come to exclusively refer to the assembly and the acts thereof? E. It did not come from the New Testament-- it came from the denominations! F. Easily demonstrable that concepts from the Old Testament Temple brought into New Testament assemblies 1. Quote from a Lutheran: The Christian church is to imitate the pattern in ancient Israel before Christ, where priests and levites were ministers in worship, taught the people, offered prayers and made sacrifices...In this way a Christian clergy came into being, alongside which the universal priesthood of believers was no more than a theoretical entity. Accordingly, the eucharist now understood as a sacrifice. And since the Old Testament law requires daily sacrifice, the Christian priest now offered the sacrifice of the mass every day. Sacrifice in turn needs an altar; church buildings were arranged liturgically and built accordingly. And just as at one time the tent of meeting was the place where Yahweh made himself present, so now Christ dwelt in the tabernacle which housed the transformed hosts. Since Israel had kept the sabbath, and the strict observance of feast days had been a confessional act, it was now important to hallow Christian festivals. The privileged and exclusive status of priests and levites in the Old Testament was transferred to priests and deacons, and the bishop now took the place of the high priest. Just as the eucharist was interpreted in terms of the Old Testament sacrifices, so baptism was interpreted as a rite of initiation after the model of circumcision. Nor were the financial aspects of these analogies ignored: tithes were given to Christian priests as they had once been given to the house of Aaron" (A.H.J. Gunneweg, Understanding the Old Testament:, 107f, as quoted in Gerstenberger, The Old Testament Library: Leviticus, 15-16). 2. Roman Catholic priest concept comes from separate group of priests in OT-- we reject that in new covenant (1 Peter 2:5, 9) 3. Concept of church building, cathedral, etc. as a "holy place" comes from Temple as place of God's presence in OT-- we reject this in new covenant (1 Peter 2:5-8) 4. Concept of Lord's Supper as equivalent to OT sacrifices also flawed (cf. Acts 20:7) 5. Sunday as Sabbath also rejected (Colossians 2:14-17, Hebrews 4:1-11) 6. We reject all of these, and rightly so! 7. But what about the idea of "prostrating oneself before God's presence"? 8. Where do we get the idea that God is somehow present in the assembly of Christians and not with Christians the rest of the time (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)? 9. Where do we get the idea that God is present in a church building but not with us the rest of the time? 10. All of these ideas flow from imposing the OT Temple onto the new covenant, something condemned in Galatians 2:15-20, Colossians 2:14-17, and Hebrews 7-9 G. Thus, the concept that "worship" requires Christians coming together in the assembly and participating in the acts of the assembly derives from denominations imposing OT Temple concepts on the NT assemblies, and not from the NT itself! H. How has this been missed for so long by so many? 1. People all around us speak about the assembly as "worship" and "the worship service," for one, and we certainly do not want to get the reputation of being people who do not "worship" God! 2. It has been seductive to understand proskunein in more "spiritual" terms, more akin to latreuein, and then see how shahach is so tied to the Temple and the Temple observances, and thus attach all of this to the assembly I. Arguments Made Today 1. Many will define "worship" in terms of proskunein (specific action, reverencing God), and connect it to the assembly, even though the NT focuses on prostration as physical action and does not attach it to the assembly 2. Others will define "worship" in terms of latreuein (service, serving God), connect it to the assembly, but also to the rest of life, on the basis of Romans 12:1 3. Each group focuses on one of the definitions of worship in English (those focusing on proskunein, "worship" definition #1; those focusing on latreuein, "worship" definition #5), and then argue with one another 4. Both are wrong, both are right-- English "worship" includes both 5. And this is why there is so much confusion today-- "worship" means so many things that it becomes unproductive to use the term J. Hence, prostration should be prostration, service should be service, and the assembly should be the assembly! K. But what are the implications of all of this? Does this change the assembly at all? IV. Worship, The Temple, and Believers in Christ A. The big question: does all of this mean that we do not "worship" God today? 1. Again, we must define our terms 2. "Worship" as prostration/proskunein: no example in NT of any believer prostrating themselves to Jesus after He ascends and before He returns 3. In Revelation it is clear that we will prostrate ourselves before God and Christ when we are before them (Revelation 11:1, 14:7) 4. "Worship" as service/latreuein: we most certainly serve God, but such is never limited to the assembly-- it should involve our whole beings all the time (Romans 12:1) B. But how can this be? Why this major change if God is the same throughout the covenants? C. A fundamental distinction between old and new covenants at play: God's presence and the idea of the Temple D. Concept of Temple and God's presence in the Old Testament 1. Aptly explained in Hebrews 9:1-10 2. In the old covenant, a physical Tabernacle or Temple located in a specific physical location 3. God's presence, the Shekinah, present in the cloud of the Most Holy Place 4. God's ministers, priests and Levites, performed sacrifices, offered incense and prayers, sang songs and played instruments 5. All of those physical activities, as is prostration (cf. Colossians 2:14-17) 6. Prostration as directed toward presence of God in Temple (Psalm 5:7, 138:2), since that's where God's Presence was located E. In 70 CE, Temple destroyed; God's Presence no longer there F. Thus, to where would we bow down before God's Presence? G. Concept of God's Presence and Temple in the New Testament 1. Where is God's Presence in the new covenant? According to Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:22, 3:17, 2 Timothy 1:14, among other passages, in believers, collectively and individually! 2. And what is the image in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, Ephesians 2:19-22, and 1 Peter 2:5-8? Believers, collectively and individually, as the Temple of God 3. All of the activities also internalized 4. Believers as the priests and sacrifices: Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5 5. Believers' prayers as incense: Revelation 8:4 6. Songs sung, instrument of heart played: Ephesians 5:19 H. Therefore, all that was external and physical in the old covenant now internal and spiritual in the new covenant I. John 4:20-24 1. We now return to the one exception to the rule that proskunein refers to physical prostration-- John 4:24 2. Context: Samaritan woman wants to know which mountain she should go to prostrate herself before God-- Jesus says that day is coming when one will not go to mountain to prostrate before God, but as God is spirit, believers to prostrate themselves in spirit and truth 3. How do we prostrate ourselves (proskunein) in spirit and in truth? 4. Is it to do everything in the assembly with the right attitude and in the right way? That's not new or different; Israel was supposed to do that (1 Kings 12:27-33, Isaiah 1:10-17) 5. But consider what else we see in the New Testament: God's presence now internal, spiritual; the ministrations of covenant now also spiritual 6. Thus, Jesus is speaking about spiritual prostration according to God's revealed truth-- the prostration of the spirit before its God according to the standard He set forth 7. Functionally, it is true that this spiritual prostration becomes somewhat equivalent to the idea of spiritual service-- bowing down of spirit means to subject the mind, body, and soul to the will of God in all things, evidenced in service to God in life 8. Thus, those who truly prostrate themselves to God in spirit and truth are the ones who do not have to go somewhere to do so, but do so everywhere they are! 9. And when we again stand before our Lord, we will bow down to Him! J. Therefore, we see that the words of Jesus confirm what we have seen in the Apostles and their teachings: all of the physical trappings of the Old Testament religious system are now spiritual 1. Prostration, then, something that will come when we see the Lord 2. For now, we must subject our will to God our Father who dwells "in" us, however understood 3. There is no Temple that we "go" to-- we are the Temple! 4. The ministrations of the new covenant are accomplished all the time in every sort of context as the Christian lives his or her life (Romans 8:29, 12:1, 1 John 2:3-6) V. Worship and the Assembly A. So where does all of this leave worship in terms of the assembly? B. Isn't God present in the assembly? 1. Matthew 18:20 2. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:5-8 3. All of these speak to the idea that God dwells in the believers as a collective 4. Thus, God would be present in a special way in the assembly, and we are to "bow down" to Him and thus worship Him! 5. Yet the New Testament does not make this argument-- there is no passage that uses the idea of prostration or bowing down to God among believers in the assembly, and there certainly could have been 6. God is present in the assembly, certainly, but He is just as present with believers outside of the assembly (Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 7. We do not get the impression from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:19-22, or 1 Peter 2:5-8 that the collective assembly is only to be considered as a Temple of God when its members are assembled in local congregations-- God is present in His Temple the assembly at all times! C. Why the assembly if it is not explicitly and uniquely connected to worship? 1. God has specified the reasons for the assembly in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:24-25: encouragement and edification of the saints 2. This does not turn the assembly into a free-for-all; in fact, it should not change anything about the way the assembly is conducted 3. We are still serving God in the assembly, just as we have always been doing! 4. God has indicated that we are to come together to devote ourselves to the Apostles' doctrine, the Lord's Supper, preaching, singing, praying, and giving on the first day of the week (Acts 2:42, 20:7, 1 Corinthians 14:14-17, 16:1-3, 2 Corinthians 8-9, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16) 5. These are to be done to strengthen and build up the members! 6. In the rest of our lives we also go out and serve God according to His commandments (1 John 2:3-6) D. What do we call the assembly? 1. We can just call it what the NT authors called it-- the assembly (1 Corinthians 11:18, ekklesia) 2. We can ask people with whom they assemble, etc. E. What about the word "worship"? 1. "Worship," as we have seen, is a word like "baptism" and "church"-- it can express Biblical truths if used properly, but is often improperly used in the world 2. If we use "worship" to refer exclusively to the assembly and its activities, we are not using the word according to the way the New Testament uses it 3. If we use "worship" to refer to any form of service to God, including the assembly, we use it in the sense of "religious service" (latreuein) and it is Biblically legitimate 4. If we use "worship" to refer to prostration or bowing down physically, we use it in the sense of "reverence" (proskunein), and it is Biblically legitimate 5. We could also just refer to "prostration" and "service" and avoid the word "worship" to avoid confusion F. Therefore, we have seen that there is no need to change the assembly and its acts; instead, we should recognize that it represents a part-- an important part, but a part-- of our overall service to God! VI. Conclusion A. Thus we have examined "worship" and the assembly B. We have engaged in some word studies 1. Prostration - shahach and proskunein - referring to physical bowing 2. Service - 'abad and latreuein - referring to ministration 3. "Worship" can translate each legitimately when properly understood C. We have seen that the exclusive connection between worship and the assembly derives not from the New Testament but from the doctrines of denominations D. We have seen the major distinction in covenant-- the old had a physical location to go to prostrate before God, and the new has internalized and spiritualized those matters E. And we have seen that our actions in the assembly do not change-- instead, we can focus on the real purpose of the assembly and integrate the assembly into our overall lives of service to God F. Let us serve God properly in spirit and in truth at all times! G. Invitation/songbook