A Devotional for such a time as this(3): - from: Read.Pray.Worship.Live.: Teaching the Fundamentals ____________________ The Elements of Worship What is Worship? In doing a study on the topic of worship, there are many angles from which we could approach the subject and a great number of passages from which we can choose. For this particular study, there is one Bible passage in particular that we want to focus the majority of our attention on: Romans 12:1-2. It is here that we find the Apostle Paul giving us a very clear and life altering description of what true worship is, along with instructions for how we are to worship. Let us begin by reading the passage: Romans 12:1-2 (NASB) - 1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. To begin, we want to key in on the phrase your spiritual service of worship. From these words alone we can come away with a significant understanding of what it means to worship the Lord Most High. The first thing that we notice in this phrase is the word spiritual. This tells us that worship is not merely some physical activity, but it is something that involves the spirit of man. With God being spirit, its only logical that the mode in which we worship Him would be by spirit also. Speaking of logic, the word used here for spiritual is the Greek word λογικός (logikos, Strongs G3050), which can also be translated as reasonable or rational. This gives us further insight into the mode of worship. Worship is something that comes from the spirit, and it is also something that originates in the reason or intellect of a person. But we have to ask ourselves, what does this mean? Well, it implies that the mind is actively involved in the act of worship and that worship is not just some mindless activity where we let our emotions take full control. This also means that worship is something that is internal, as opposed to external; we will develop this concept later on in our study. Now, there are numerous words in the Greek New Testament that are translated as worship, with προσκυνέω (Strongs G4352) being the most common. The word used in this passage is not one of the more common ones, but the meaning that this particular word carries is vital for helping us to understand what kind of worship God wants from His people. The word that Paul uses here for worship is λατρεία (latreia, Strongs G2999), which constitutes a religious worship and is a word used for priestly or temple activities. λατρεία is only used a total of 5 times in the Greek New Testament, with each time implying some kind of ritual service unto God. The other passages in which this word appears include: John 16:2; Romans 9:4; and Hebrews 9:1, 6. A look at these passages is out of the scope of this study, but the picture is made clear when reading these verses, that this kind of worship is intended to be an act of praise rendered unto God. - via WORDsearch10 #readingsforsuchatimeasthis #christjesus #vineofchristministries #theword #studyscripture #god #biblestudy #bible #jesus #faith
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 22:48:52 +0000