What is worship?

Darwin said:

What is worship? or... What do you think the Lord expects when we worship him?

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Worship means the rendering of reverent honor or homage. True worship of the Creator embraces every aspect of a person's life. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory.”(1Cor 10:31)

When our Maker, Jehovah God created Adam, He did not prescribe a particular ceremony or a means by which perfect man might approach Him in worship. Nevertheless, Adam was able to serve or worship his Creator by faithfully doing the will of his heavenly Father. Later, to the nation of Israel, Jehovah did outline a certain way of approach in worship, including sacrifice, a priesthood, and a material sanctuary. This, however, had only “a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things.” (Heb 10:1) The primary emphasis has always been on exercising faith—doing the will of Jehovah God—and not on ceremony or ritual.(Matt 7:21; James 2:17-26)

As the prophet Micah put it: “With what shall I confront Jehovah ? With what shall I bow myself to God on high ? Shall I confront him with whole burnt offerings, with calves a year old ? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of torrents of oil ? Shall I give my firstborn son for my revolt, the fruitage of my belly for the sin of my soul ? He has told you, O earthling man, what is good. And what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be modest in walking with your God ?”(Micah 6:6-8)

Most Hebrew and Greek words that can denote worship can also be applied to acts other than worship. However, the context determines in what way the respective words are to be understood. The word "worship" is at times rendered from the Hebrew words ‛a·vadh´, basically meaning "serve", as found at Genesis 14:4, 15:13 and 29:15, hish·ta·chawah´, which primarily means "bow down", as found at Proverbs 12:25 or do obeisance and the Hebrew root sa·ghadh´, as found at Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19; 46:6, which basically signifies “prostrate oneself.”

In Greek, the verb la·treu´o, as found at Luke 1:74; 2:37; 4:8 and Acts 7:7 and the noun la·trei´a, as found at John 16:2 and Romans 9:4, convey the idea of rendering not merely an ordinary, mundane service but sacred service. The Greek word pro·sky·ne´o corresponds closely to the Hebrew term hish·ta·chawah´ in expressing the thought of obeisance and, at times, worship. The term pro·sky·ne´o is used in connection with a slave’s doing obeisance to a king, as at Matthew 18:26, as well as the act Satan stipulated when he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (Matt 4:8, 9)

Had he done obeisance to the Devil, Jesus would thereby have signified submission to Satan and made himself the Devil’s servant. But Jesus refused, saying: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship [form of Greek pro·sky·ne´o or, in the Deuteronomy account that Jesus was quoting, Hebrew hish·ta·chawah´], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service [form of Greek la·treu´o or Hebrew ‛a·vadh´].’” (Matt 4:10; Deut 5:9; 6:13)

Similarly, worship, obeisance, or bowing down to “the wild beast” (all political governments of the earth under Satan's control) and its “image” (initially the League of Nations formed in 1920, now the United Nations formed in 1945) is linked with service, for the worshipers are identified as supporters of “the wild beast” and its “image” by having a mark either on the hand (with which one serves) or on the forehead (for all to see). Since the Devil gives the wild beast its authority, worshiping the wild beast means, in reality, worshiping or serving the Devil.(Rev 13:4, 15-17; 14:9-11)

Other Greek words associated with worship are drawn from eu·se·be´o, thre·skeu´o, and se´bo·mai. The word eu·se·be´o means “give godly devotion to” or “venerate, revere.” At Acts 17:23 this term is used with reference to the godly devotion or veneration that the men of Athens were giving to an “Unknown God.” From thre·skeu´o comes the noun thre·skei´a, understood to designate a “form of worship,” whether true or false. (Acts 26:5; Col 2:18) The true worship practiced by Christians was marked by genuine concern for the poor and complete separateness from the ungodly world. (James 1:26, 27)

The word se´bo·mai (Matt 15:9; Mark 7:7; Acts 18:7; 19:27) and the related term se·ba´zo·mai (Rom 1:25) mean “revere; venerate; worship.” Objects of worship or of devotion are designated by the noun se´ba·sma. (Acts 17:23; 2 Thess 2:4) Two other terms are from the same verb stem, with the prefix The·os´, God. These are the·o·se·bes´, meaning “God-revering” (John 9:31), and the·o·se´bei·a, denoting “reverence of God.” (1Tim 2:10) These two terms correspond somewhat to the German word for “public worship,” namely, Gottesdienst (a combination of “God” and “service”).

Jehovah God accepts only the worship of those who comport themselves in harmony with his will. (Matt 15:9; Mark 7:7) To a Samaritan woman Christ Jesus said: “The hour is coming when neither in this mountain [Gerizim] nor in Jerusalem will you people worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship (Jesus included himself in worship of the Father) what we know . . . Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.”(John 4:21-24)

The words of Jesus clearly showed that true worship would not depend upon the presence or use of visible things and geographic locations. Instead of relying on sight or touch ( as those who use an idol in worship), the true worshiper exercises faith and, regardless of the place or things about him, maintains a worshipful attitude. Thus he worships, not with the aid of something that he can see or touch, but with spirit. Since he has the truth as revealed by God, his worship is in agreement with the truth. Having become acquainted with God through the Bible and evidence of the operation of God’s spirit in his life, the person who worships with spirit and truth definitely ‘knows what he is worshiping.’

(source of information, Insight on the Scriptures, Vol 2 pgs 1210-11)