Biblical Perimeters to Contemporary Worship in the Ekklesia Recently, a couple of friends asked me what, exactly, was "worship" according

to the Bible. They'd gone to a few different churches, had a few different (and unusual) experiences, and wanted a "measure" with which to compare them that wasn't merely human opinion. Not that my responses below aren't biased! But I've tried to stick as much as possible to information and applications strictly from the Scriptures. You can judge if I succeeded! To understand "worship", a reasonable starting place is to consider how people in the Bible experienced it. The Old Testament (OT) uses a number of words for praise & worship which run the gamut from quiet to clamorous, simple to extravagant The New Testament (NT) doesn't have as much info on how people worshipped, but since the people with whom Jesus began building His ekklesia were Jews, there are places in the NT where the OT concepts of worship are applicable. So what we see in the OT is still quite useful as a starting place for understanding worship but what the OT shows us is by no means a rule determining or limiting what worship can or should be. So let's start by considering the Hebrew words for praise & worship just to get a feel for what the Jews in Jesus' day might have considered normal. HEBREW WORDS FOR PRAISE & WORSHIP: [#numbers refer to Strong's Hebrew concordance so you can look up the definitions and examples.] "QUIET" WORSHIP================= YADAH - (3034) (Translated: "to give thanks; or to praise") to worship with extended, uplifted hands; to praise; to give thanks. TOWDAH - (8426) (Translated: "thanksgiving".) Extension of the hands in a thank offering, a sacrifice of thanksgiving. BARAK - (1288) to kneel in adoration; to bless. SHACHAH - (7812) (Translated: "worship") to prostrate or bow down in homage or worship. "LOUD" WORSHIP================= HALAL - (#1984) to praise, to celebrate HILARIOUSLY, to be CLAMOROUSLY foolish, to RAVE, to boast, to make a show, to shine forth. Root word in "Hallelujah" (literally means "Praise-Yah" or "Praise-Jehovah").

GUWL - (1523) to SPIN AROUND under the influence of STRONG EMOTION; to spin like a top; to rejoice and be glad. Most often translated "rejoice". ALAZ - (5937) to rejoice, to exult, to JUMP for joy. Most often translated "exult" or "rejoice". In the NT, the Greek word, "agalliao", translates the Heb., "alaz", signifying that (in Luke 10.21) when Jesus received the news of His disciples' return from their ministries throughout the villages in Israel and prophesied Satan's fall from the heavens', He "agalliao" or "alaz" exulted & rejoiced, jumping and twirling for joy. PAZAZ - (6339) to LEAP, to spring, as if separating the limbs. RAQAD - (7540) to leap, to stamp, to SPRING ABOUT WILDLY with joy. KARAR - (3769) to DANCE & WHIRL about. MACHOWL - (4234) a round dance (Chowl; whirling particles, as sand). MACHOWLAH - (4246) a dance: -group dances. HALIJKAH - (1979) a procession or march, a caravan: -group. CHAGAG - (2287) to celebrate, to observe festival, to march in sacred procession, to be giddy, to move in a circle, to dance, to reel to and fro. RUWA - (7321) to shout; to SPLIT THE EARS WITH SOUND; to blow an alarm (associated with trumpets). SHABACH - (7623) to praise, to address in a LOUD voice, as in triumph. ====================================== In contemporary worship experiences, there's no rule that any (certainly not ALL) of these behaviors in worship need to be manifested but there's no biblically justifiable argument that any congregation or groups who DO manifest such behaviors are nuts The Bible, in this respect, opens the door to a great spectrum of OUTWARD MANIFESTATIONS which can be a part of a person or a group's worship practices. BUT THESE TERMS ONLY REFER TO WHAT GOES ON OUTWARDLY. the true advance in understanding "worship" that comes in the New Testament is INWARD WORSHIP which becomes outward and the key passage is Romans 12. Starting with verse one: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship." "Worship" here is now defined not as an outward act but an inward act not as singing &

praising or clapping or dancing. It's an action of one's spirit BUT it's still an act involving the body. The author, Paul, is pointing out to the Romans that rather than leaving them in bondage to sin and death, Jesus has mercifully provided a means whereby they can be delivered from both sin and death That "means" was the Cross, that by allowing Himself to be crucified (even having no sin of His own for which to die) He became the Vehicle of Life for all who Trust Him for Salvation; that is, whoever trusts that the way of salvation Jesus offers REALLY "WORKS" (faith) will by that trust be made ONE with Jesus; the result of this ONENESS or UNION is that as Jesus DIES on the Cross, everyone made ONE with Him also DIES with Him (and thus dies to sin and passes successfully through death); and as Jesus is RESURRECTED into Everlasting Life everyone made ONE with Him also is RESURRECTED into Everlasting Life. So Paul starts verse one reminding them of the incredible mercy of Jesus in providing salvation freely to whoever has confidence in Him through the sacrifice of His own body and pleads with his Roman friends to therefore offer their OWN BODIES (as did Jesus) as LIVING "sacrifices" "holy" [set apart for God's purposes] and "pleasing unto God" And Paul calls THIS their "spiritual act of worship". "Worship", in the NT, through Jesus, has changed significantly from an emotionally charged expression of one's heart toward God one's desire to bow before Him or to blow trumpets of praise to glorify Him, etc. Worship now is a different kind of "bowing" or "prostration" before God; "Worship" today is the RESPONSE of an individual who sees that Jesus has given His body on the Cross in order that others can die (by faith) WITH Him, in order that others can secure everlasting life WITH Him leading others to offer their OWN BODIES as sacrifices (but LIVING sacrifices) so that henceforth each of them may LIVE his or her life for God's good purposes, for God's goals. WORSHIP = Jesus' bodily Sacrifice to die that I may live + my bodily sacrifice to live for Him Worship doesn't just STOP in verse 1. Verse 1 takes us into what NT worship IS, but vv. 2ff show us what worship actually accomplishes in this world. Verse 2: "Don't allow the world any longer to mold and shape you to its own, fallen patterns, but be permanently transformed ("metamorphasized"; Greek word, metamorphoo) by the renewing of your mind, so that you'll be able to test God's will out and approve it His good, pleasing and perfect will." First, worship is the foundation for a person's being able to know God's will for themselves being able to evaluate it, test it and prove it as a pleasing and perfect will. Then verse 3: Verse 3: "For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

Verse three is preparing to show to a "worshipper" what God wants done with his/her life with a warning for humility (not to "think of yourself more highly than you ought".) Many people have such a high opinion of themselves that even after seeing that they were so helplessly bound in sin and death it took the merciful Love of Jesus to free them into Everlasting Life, then they start thinking they're hot stuff they can "write their own ticket", do "their" will and ignore that true worship is to find GOD'S will (His GOOD and PLEASING will) and do that.) So verse 3 warns, don't get a big head but think humbly AND ACCURATELY about yourself. God has created & designed you (uniquely) with a certain mix of abilities and talents (gifts) and He wants you to USE them for HIS purpose and HIS purpose is to build up others in His spiritual Body. Then from verse 4 through the end of the chapter, Paul shows the OUTWORKING of WORSHIP is the building up of the Body of Christ through love for one another; He's spiritually empowered EVERY person with certain abilities that strengthen and empower others, and as we use these abilities for the sake of one another, His Body (read "HIS PRESENCE") INCREASES throughout the whole earth. Think through what I've said here, check the Scriptures I've used, reflect on these things What I've written about worship here is very simple and quite clear biblically but very few church-goers actually "worship" God according to this NT pattern. Simply "going to church" does not fulfill Paul's "definition" of being a NT "worshipper" up in verse 1. Even giving offerings or tithes or teaching Sunday School or being on a church board doesn't necessarily equal "offering your bodies as living sacrifices which is your spiritual act of worship." Being "religious" is hazardous to your spiritual health; reading your Bible and going to church meetings, watching TV evangelists and even "street witnessing" can all be ways people use to AVOID God! What God REALLY wants today (and always has) is worshippers people who have seen His mercy and because of it, have trusted Him and begun to search for Him, seriously seeking Him out. And when a person seriously goes looking for God, He seems to be "found" more in the streets, houses and business of regular life than in churches and Bible clubs and places supposedly dedicated to Him. Be careful when someone presents themselves to you as "worthy" of being "followed" spiritually! Matthew 7 says, before trusting someone to "lead you", try to examine the "fruit" that comes from his or her life if it's good fruit (peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good things, sincere, kind, patient, loving, etc.) then that person's "safe". If the fruit's bad (arrogant, argumentative, jealous, harsh, etc.) then that person's toxic. Hope this helps. If you're not afraid to ask any further questions in the future, feel free to do so Sometimes my answers are actually fewer than 2,500 words

Emil Swift