What the Bible says about Worship

A few months ago, I thoroughly enjoyed studying what the Bible says about worship. Here is what I learned:

What It Means to Worship the True God

The Hebrew and Greek words for “worship” teach us that worshipping God involves (1) bowing down before God, (2) serving God, and (3) fearing God.

In the Bible, true worship is always a response to revelation from God, or to an act of God.

Definition of worship: To worship God is to respond to His revelations of his great glory, goodness, and sovereignty, and to His sovereign acts of glory and goodness. It is to respond with a reverential attitude and actions that acknowledge God’s great glory, goodness, and sovereignty.

The Ability to Worship the True God

How is one able to worship the true God in an acceptable way? In what condition must a person be to worship God?

1. You must be righteous (Gen 4:2-7; Ps 24:3-4; Isa 1:10-17; Mic 6:6-8)

2. As a sinner, you can only worship God through Christ (Heb 9:13-14; 10:19-25; 13:15-16; 1 Pet 2:4-5)

The Means of Worshiping the True God

Nine means (or types) of worship required by God:

1. Grow in the knowledge of God through His Word (Hos 6:3, 6)
2. Surrender yourself to God (Rom 12:1-2)
3. Give praise and thanks to God (Psa 96:2-10; Heb 13:15; Rev 4:8-11)
4. Rejoice in God (Psa 2:11-12; Psa 47:1-4; Psa 95:1-6)
5. Sing to and of God (Jas 5:13; 2 Chron 29:27-30; Psa 96:1-2)
6. Pray to God (Lk 2:36-37)
7. Give financially to God’s work (Phil 4:15-18)
8. Love people (Heb 13:15-16)
9. Evangelize the lost (Rom 15:15-16)

The Manner of Worshiping the True God

1. By the Holy Spirit (Phil 3:2-3; cf. Rom 8:12-13)

This means that we are to worship as a result of being regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9-10), worship with our mind set on the Holy Spirit rather than the flesh (Rom 8:5-6), worship following the lead of the Holy Spirit rather than the lead of the flesh (Rom 8:14), and worship trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit rather than the power of the flesh.

2. With a broken and contrite spirit (Ps 51:14-17)

3. In your spirit (Mt 15:7-9; John 4; Rom 1:9)

4. In truth (John 4:23-24)

5. In righteousness of life (Lk 1:74-75; 1 Tim 2:8; 1 Pet 3:7)

6. In unity with the body of Christ (Mt 5:23-24; Rom 15:5-6; 1 Tim 2:8)


I thoroughly enjoyed preaching these Scriptural truths. You can download audio recordings of the sermons at www.cfcnb.org . Look for sermons between 4/26/09 and 5/24/09.