(continuation of Meditation 67)
Does God’s Word use other expressions for ‘worship’ which speak of our love for God the Father and for His Son, Jesus Messiah?
Yes indeed, there are several words for ‘worshipping God’ in the Greek version of the Old Testament (i.e., the Septuagint) and in the Greek New Testament, which portray “the priestly ministry of worship by which the bringing of a sacrifice is implied.”
Our English bibles often offer a rather meagre translation for these rich and meaningful words:
• either with verbs like ‘to serve (God)’, ‘to minister (to God) ‘to worship (God)’;
• or with nouns like ‘(priestly) service’, ‘(priestly) ministry’, ‘(priestly) worship’ or ‘(religious) ceremony’.
We find an early example of this when God sends Moses back to Egypt to deliver His people from bondage: “Then God told him, "I will be with you. And this will serve as proof that I have sent you: When you have brought the Israelites out of Egypt, you will return here to worship God at this very mountain." (Exodus 3:12). This verb ‘to worship’ implies in the Septuagint not only prayers of adoration, but also the priestly ministry of bringing sacrifices.
Another classic example is in Joshua 22:27: “... we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.”
At the background of its meaning as “priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”, Moses is able to use this verb (‘to worship’) figuratively when he says: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good.”
(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
This text speaks of God’s standard for life. It says that worshipping Him wholeheartedly implies the bringing of the daily sacrifice of our lives to Him.
The apostle Paul picks up the figurative sense of this Greek verb ‘to worship’. He uses it in his letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome and applies it to their daily lives. Because of God’s great love for them, Paul beseeches the Roman Christians, saying: “... I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Paul actually says, that their priestly ministry of worship implies the sacrifice of their bodies. But how could they bring their bodies as a sacrifice to please God? Would they need to be willing to die for the Lord? That might be needed in times of persecution. However, I think that Paul first of all wants to make the link to the ‘ministry of worship’ of which Moses speaks in Deuteronomy 10:12-13.
Yet, how could I worship the Lord wholeheartedly if my heart by nature is filled with prideful sin and disobedience to God and His Word?
Using the same Greek verb, the apostle Paul answers that question in his letter to the church in Philippi: “... we who worship God in the Spirit...” (Philippians 3:3)
As we saw, Moses spoke figuratively about “the priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”, when he said: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
Paul shows in Romans 12:1 and Philippians 3:3 that such priestly ministry of worship, as Moses described, is only holy and pleasing to God when we are reborn and guided by the God’s Holy Spirit.
In Romans 12:2 the apostle adds a practical application:
“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
In Acts 13:1-2 the evangelist Luke describes a practice in the early church of Antioch in Syria: “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called ‘the black man’), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them.’” (Acts 13:1-2)
The original Greek verb, of which ‘worshipping’ in Acts 13:2 is a translation, comes from the same language group that speaks of “the priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”.
These leaders of the church in Antioch did not have a short prayer time with many requests at the beginning of their church council meeting. On the contrary, they met with God for the ministry of worship! They brought to God the sacrifice of their wholehearted love and the sacrifice of their time. They even fasted for that occasion to set themselves apart for fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit as mediator! From the text one does not get the idea that this was a one-off occasion. It seems rather that this was part of their normal church life.
Not only the leaders of the church regularly took time for the ministry of worship. Of the entire early church in Jerusalem it was said: “They devoted themselves to ... prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
In Meditation 66, we wrote about the church’s unconditional and persistent devotion to prayer as an indication of its wholehearted love for God.
We need to close this meditation with some questions for reflection:
-- Is my church devoted to the the priestly ministry of worship by which it brings the sacrifice of its time and its wholehearted love to our triune God?
-- Does my church know what the place of God’s Spirit is during its priestly ministry of worship?
-- Does my church have regular prayer meetings? How do they proceed? How much time is there for worship? How much time for prayer requests? How much time for the exchange of prayer issues and for discussion?
-- Do the leaders of my church set times aside for the priestly ministry of worship as described in God’s Word? How does God’s Spirit speak during those meetings?
-- After this and earlier meditations, do I feel that a change in my church’s prayer ministry would be necessary to grow closer to the Lord?
(to be continued)
Joshua 22:27, Romans 12:1, Acts 2:42 are quotes of the New International Version. Deuteronomy 10,8 is a quote of the New King James Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
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