Revolution Era

"God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24

The whole arena of praise and worship is somewhat out of my area of normal discussion and research. However, over the last few months my curiosity has been growing as I’ve pondered over the entire landscape of worship activities we have today in churches across North America. “Harp and Bowl”, “Prophetic”, “Davidic”, “Intercessory”, “Soaking”, “Hymns”, and “Spiritual Songs” are some of the more popular buzz words you’ll hear in most evangelical and charismatic circles.

My question is simple: What does the New Testament teach regarding worship?

And, as a follow-up to the first question: What transition did the New Covenant produce in regards to “praise” and “worship”, as we know it?

The task, when I first approached it, seemed daunting. Indeed, it is a vast subject. But, there is a way to at least steer the ship in the right direction, as it were, and begin to make some New Covenant headway on the subject.

So, here’s what we are going to do:

1. Take a quick look at the more common Hebrew and Greek words used in the Bible regarding worship. This is a necessary starting point, IMO.

2. Take a look at what Jesus teaches regarding worship. This will be the benchmark, or plumb line, that we will use to help weigh other passages with. Christ and his teachings must be at the center of all things – including our doctrines on worship.

3. Let’s see what the New Testament Scriptures say regarding Old and New Covenant worship. Here, we will begin to see a line drawn in the sand, and differentiations made between Old and New Covenants.

4. Look at New Testament examples of worship

5. Making sense of it all.

Here goes!

Part 1: Dilemma - It’s all Hebrew and Greek to Me!

The point of this this, in all honesty, is to simply show you that there isn't just one word for "worship", another for "praise", and one for "song". There are countless words, in both Hebrew and Greek, that we translate into the same English words. You need to have an appreciation for this reality. Now, if you can't be bothered, then just skip down to Part 2.

Here is a list of the most common Hebrew words used in the Old Testament in terms of worship and praise.

For an exhaustive list click here.

הלל halal – often rendered, “praise”;
יה והלל hallelu-jah – two words, “praise (3rd person plural, imperative) Yahweh!”
1) to shine
2) to praise, boast, be boastful
occurs 183 times in 140 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

שחה shachah – often rendered, “worship”
1) to bow down
occurs 220 times in 165 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." Gen 22:5

עבד `abad – often rendered, “worship”
1) to work, serve
occurs 299 times in 263 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

Then [Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship [literally, “serve”] the LORD, as you have said. Ex 12:31

זמר zamar – often rendered, “sing”
1) to sing, sing praise, make music
occurs 90 times in 41 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

תהלה tĕhillah – often rendered, “praise”
1) praise, song or hymn of praise
occurs 56 times in 55 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

גיל giyl – often rendered, “rejoice”
1) to rejoice, exult, be glad
occurs 45 times in 44 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

Here is a list of the most common Greek words used in the New Testament in terms of worship and praise.

For an exhaustive list click here.

ψαλμός psalmos – rendered, “psalms”
1) a striking, twanging
a) of a striking the chords of a musical instrument
b) of a pious song, a psalm

ὑμνέω hymneō – rendered, “hymn”
1) to sing the praise of, sing hymns to
2) to sing a hymn, to sing
a) singing of paschal hymns these were Psalms 113 - 118 and 136, which the Jews called the "great Hallel"
occurs 5 times in 4 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

ᾠδή ōdē – rendered, “song”
1) a song, lay, ode
occurs 7 times in 5 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

ψάλλω psallō¬ – rendered, “making melody”
1) to pluck off, pull out
2) to cause to vibrate by touching, to twang
d) in the NT to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song
occurs 5 times in 4 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

“…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” Eph 5:19

“After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Mt 26:30

ἐξομολογέω exomologeō – often rendered, “praise”
1) to confess
2) to profess
occurs 10 times in 10 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

“At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” Lk 10:21

εὐλογέω eulogeō – often rendered “bless”, and once, “praise”
1) to praise, celebrate with praises
2) to invoke blessings
occurs 41 times in 38 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!" Mk 11:10

σέβω sebō – rendered, “worship”
1) to revere, to worship
occurs 10 times in 10 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

“They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” Mt 15:9

προσκυνέω proskyneō – rendered, “worship”
1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence
2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
3) 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
occurs 60 times in 54 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.” Mt 2:11

λατρεύω latreuō – rendered, “serve”, or, “worship”
1) to serve for hire
2) to serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen
a) in the NT, to render religious service or homage, to worship
occurs 23 times in 21 verses in the Greek concordance of the NASB

“Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"” Mt 4:10

Part 2: What did Jesus Say About Worship?

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” Mt 4:8-11

Ok, so that was an obvious one! But what else did He say?

“So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Mk 7:5-8

Wow, now those are some heavy words! “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain”. Now, as we will discuss in the next part in greater depth, Jesus is addressing a form of worship that these religious leaders had been handed down from Moses. Yet Jesus makes the assertion that these people were merely going through the motions. They sang the Psalms, the Songs of Assent, and the Songs of David. But it was all in vain, in the eyes of God. They had so scrutinized the Law, Prophets, and Writings that they became devoid of any life and Spirit.

Jesus was able to say these words, as blunt as they were, because He was about to bring about an epic transition. One that would set a dividing line in heaven, on earth, in time, and in space. The old ways were about to be fulfilled, and a new way was about to be established. The Old Covenant method of worship was about to be replaced.

Now, let’s move on to the crux of this article.

““Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Jn 4:19-26

The woman was making an appeal to Abraham over Moses, a common debate between Samarians and Jews. Jesus dismissed the argument all together. Lineages, ancestors, and religious rituals no longer mattered. A transition was about to take place: “Yet a time is coming and has now come”. True worship to Yahweh God would no longer be validated by ancestors, nor by patterns of worship established in the Law, Prophets, and Writings.

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth”. Jesus is bringing to light three points here: 1) For Him to specify “true” worshippers, indicates that there had been false ones (eg, Mk 7:5-8). Meaning, it is possible to worship God in vain, and falsely. 2) That we now must worship in Spirit means that people worshiped outside of, and apart from, the Holy Spirit. Remember, aside from those God chose to have His Spirit come upon them, NO ONE on the entire planet had the Holy Spirit. 3) To worship in truth is to worship in Christ. He is “the Word”, He is “the Light”, and He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”.

The entire operating system (OS) of worship was going to change. We are now in the age where we no longer worship to God, we worship IN God. We worship in the Holy Spirit and in Christ Jesus, both of Whom dwell IN US. The rites, rituals, and regulations of Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets were fulfilled, and those requirements are no longer demanded of us. As great as David’s intentions were, and as much as his efforts afforded him, he will still bound to the Old OS (operating system), limited by its laws and regulations. We do not suffer the same circumstance. Our New OS has given us abilities, freedoms, and limitless possibilities when it comes to worship. David would have cashed in all his chips to have but a taste of what we have today.

continued in Part 2!