What Does Jesus Teach about a Life of Worship?
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“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” (John 4:23-24).
A close pastor-friend once said that when he woke his kids up on a Sunday morning, his words were carefully chosen. “C’mon guys, wake up – we get to go worship the Lord today!” What a far cry from “C’mon kids, wake up! We have to go to church.” One is an obligation. The other involves being passionate about a privilege that not everyone in the world gets today.
But that begs the question – what does it mean to worship? What does it mean when we are called on a Sunday morning, or Saturday evening, to a worship service at church? Are we attending with the idea that we are going to step into the presence of God? Or are we merely going to fulfill our weekly obligation? Three or four songs and a sermon and, whew, we’re done. “I hope the music is good today and the pastor keeps the sermon short so we can get to breakfast before the crowd does.” When we applaud after a song – are we applauding for God or for the performance?
“Worship” is a word we sometimes throw around quite easily – and almost always in reference to “going to church” or even simply referencing the music portion of the service we attend. After all, we even call them the “worship team,” don’t we?
Going back to the question, then – is worship our weekly visit to church or something bigger? What does the Bible call worship? What did Jesus have to say about worship?
It would seem that too often, when we go to a worship service, we don’t go to worship God our Father. But the Bible expresses worship as not only a specific activity, but as a way of life. As we have heard said – we are not called to go to church; we are called to be the church. Church is not a building or a specific congregation; we are the church. All of us. And in worship is how we should live our lives. It is a lifestyle of serving, glorifying God, and reflecting His glory to others around us.
“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” (Matthew 15:8-9).
How Did Jesus Worship the Father?
Jesus certainly exemplified worship of the Father in the way He lived His life; His was an all-encompassing worship. He not only set the bar for us, He far exceeded it. Jesus was tempted, as we are, yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:14-16). He chose to worship God rather than give in to temptation. When tempted, He answered Satan:
“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Luke 4:8).
Jesus continuously communicated with the Father; regardless of the demand on Him, Jesus would get away by himself to pray (Luke 5:16). He even sang hymns with the disciples (Matthew 26:30). But beyond that, Jesus gave Himself in sacrifice to others. He lived the life that we are called to live – loving God and loving others as ourselves.
Jesus calls us to worship God through our entire lives, not just on Sundays when we happen to go to a service, but all the time.
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth’” (1 Peter 2:21-22).
Jesus’ Teachings about Worship
Matthew is rather quick to point out in his gospel Jesus’ extraordinary teachings about living a life that worships God. At the very start of chapter 5, he writes “Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them” (Matt. 5:1-2). From that point on, through to the end of chapter 7, Jesus taught what it means to live out our worship. This is referred to, of course, as the Sermon on the Mount.
In our Bibles, it's broken up into a few sections:
Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-11)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; those who mourn; the meek; those who hunger for righteousness. The merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers. And blessed are you when you are persecuted for my name” (abbreviated and paraphrased).
This blessing is not for the rich or powerful or religious leaders or zealots of the day – but the downtrodden. The humble. Those who recognize their need for God. Those who hunger and thirst to do right and to do good.
Salt and Light (Matt. 5:13-14)
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”
We are the light of the world. We are his light. And we are to let our light shine so others can see. Our lives – our thoughts, words and actions – ought to be filled with the salt of Christ Jesus.
Jesus Came to Fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17-20)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
The law was not done away with through Jesus – but God knew that keeping mankind under the law would mean no one would ever make it to heaven. So, Jesus came and fulfilled all of the law and its demands and payments. It is ours to receive his free gift of grace, mercy and forgiveness, and then to live lives of worship out of gratitude.
Murder, Adultery and Divorce (Matt. 5:21-32)
“You have heard that it was said…”
No, Jesus didn’t do away with the law, but He certainly upgraded it. He raised the bar to a higher level. If it wasn’t possible to keep it before, brother, forget it now.
Love for our Enemies (Matt. 5:43-48)
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
At Jesus’ time in history, hating your enemies and getting vengeance was a way of life. We can feel it even today, can’t we? These words must have felt like swallowing a brick to those who heard it. But note the line, “that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
The time for hatred and vengeance was coming to an end. It won’t entirely disappear – not until we step out into eternity.
Giving to the Needy (Matt. 6:1-4)
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
We don’t live righteously to show off – but to truly love others who are in need. And there indeed is no shortage of those who are hurting, especially today. Helping those in need honors the Father, and thus, is worshipful.
Prayer (Matt. 6:5-15)
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
We call it the Lord’s Prayer, but it is more like the Disciple’s Prayer. Jesus showed us that prayer, too, is an act of worship. The entire prayer honors God with every word.
Treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:19-24)
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Earthly treasures will eventually die, whither away, or simply disappear. If we build and rely on such, that is where our hearts will be devoted. Instead, we should devote our hearts to our eternal glory with the Father. Let our hearts reside with Him and Him alone.
Not to Worry (Matt. 6:25-34)
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
In short – trust God. Trust Him with everything you’ve got and don’t worry about what you can’t do anything about anyway.
Do Not Judge (Matt. 7:1-6)
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
Do not judge hypocritically. That doesn’t mean don’t call a sin a sin – but remember we all sin. Every last one of us. Your sin is no better than the one you’re pointing your finger at. Whatever you do – do it in love. That is true worship.
False Prophets and Disciples (Matt. 7:15-21)
“I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Too often overlooked, these verses tell us that there will be church-goers in hell who called themselves “Christian.” There will be those who lived their lives saying they were Christ-followers – but were not.
Wise and Foolish Builders (Matt. 7:24-29)
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus laid out what a life of worship would look like. He made it clear that we are to live differently than the rest of the world – because we are different.
Worship in Spirit and in Truth
In the Gospel of John (4:1-42) we are told about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan women at the well. Of course, Jews didn’t intermingle with Samaritans – but Jesus didn’t care about that. The disciples had gone off to find food and, in the meantime, Jesus engaged in conversation with a woman who came to the well alone. This meant she was not welcomed with the other women, who traditionally all came to the well together in the morning.
The woman, surprised that Jesus even spoke to her, told Jesus that “when the Messiah comes, he’ll teach us everything we have to know.” That is when Jesus said, “Me. I am the Messiah.” Her response was to Jesus’ words about worship:
“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” (John 4:23-24).
As usual, in these few words, Jesus spoke volumes.
The original Greek word used in the Bible for “worship” is proskuneo. It means to “encounter God and praise him.” The Jews, of course, encountered God in the temple. But Jesus spoke of Himself as the temple (John 2:19-22). Thus, Jesus was foreshadowing that through His death and resurrection, He would become the spiritual “meeting place” for worship; the temple where His Spirit dwells in us.
We worship in Spirit – but we must also worship in truth. This truth is between the believer and God alone. It goes to the root of the relationship between us. Where does that relationship fit into our lives? It is just one of the many facets we juggle around – or is it the cornerstone?
In his letter to the Romans, Paul confirmed true and proper worship as all-encompassing:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).
How Did Jesus Define Worship?
Jesus makes clear throughout His teachings that our worship is reflected in honor, respect and obedience to God – in the Spirit of Christ. Once again, even when tempted by Satan, Jesus made clear:
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:10).
Worth repeating, don’t you think? We are to worship the Lord our God and serve nothing and no one else but Him. Worship Him with our whole lives, our whole beings, with everything we are.
God created us to worship him. Our worship is anchored in our relationship with Him – not in performing certain acts at a specific location. We are to worship God through our faith in Christ Jesus, through His Spirit dwelling within us.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
That means our worship is more than a casual, weekly visit to listen to three or four songs and a sermon. If our hearts aren’t in it – if the service is not drawing us closer to God and Him to us – then it fails us.
Worship means loving Him with everything we have, with everything we are. It’s living who we are in Him and whose we are. And it means loving our neighbors as ourselves.
“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
So now the critical question we must each ask ourselves: do we?
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.