Worship is an important topic, and the lesson makes a provocative point that we were created or hardwired for worship. But because sin has distorted our hardwiring, our expressions of worship can now be misdirected, or misguided. It is possible to worship the wrong thing, or worship the right thing in the wrong way. Worshiping objects other than God is a problem, but not as subtle of a problem as directing worship to God in a manner that He rejects (Mark 7:1–13, Jer. 7:4).
The subject of worship really gets interesting when it transcends the issues of drums and video projectors and instead involves life or death. Revelation 14, along with its Old Testament echo in Daniel 3, shows how high the stakes can be over worship. This angle is relevant not only for end-time study and preparation, but it can inspire resolve for those Christians currently experiencing persecution.
Knowing we have a fundamental need to worship, that this dimension of the human spirit has been affected by sin, and that worship can be a life-or-death matter should convince us that it needs to be included in Adventist education. Though worship can (and should) be extremely personal, it is not immune to critique. Jesus asserted that God must be worshiped “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24, author’s emphasis). To this end, this lesson is devoted.
Part II: Commentary
Scripture
All Christians believe God should be worshiped; and there the consensus ends. How to worship, when to worship, where to worship, how often we worship, and so forth are some of the issues up for reflection and study. The two extremes to avoid would be to conclude that there is a single uniform way to worship God that encompasses every minute detail. Culture, circumstances, availability (e.g., does every believer have access to a church building?), and to some degree, the character and personality of the worshiper will affect what worship looks like. The other extreme, of course, is to think worship is simply a matter of personal preference and that God will exhaustively accept all forms of worship. The question we must ask is: What does the Bible tell us about acceptable forms of worship? How do we even know that God has preferences in regard to worship? Simple: He told us.
A Woman Brings Up Worship
When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, the conversation progressed to the uncomfortable topic of past failed relationships and current illicit ones (John 4:18). Like any of us would do, she sidestepped that sensitive issue and redirected the focus, in this case, to controversial national concerns. As an aside, Jesus shows gentle wisdom and tact by not proceeding along those original lines, but instead allows the woman to redirect. Jesus is interested in convicting, not shaming. Returning to their conversation, the woman takes her golden opportunity to have a prophet settle a hot topic question about proper worship sites (John 4:20). Presented with options, Jesus’ classic answer of neither (John 4:21, John 9:3) both disappoints and enlightens at the same time. He follows up with a very relevant warning, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23, 24). Three phrases from these verses tell us that God has preferences in terms of worship:
The qualifying expression “true worshippers.”
The fact that the “Father seeketh” a specific class of worshipers “to worship him.”
The emphatic phrase that those who would worship “must worship” in a particular manner.
These points should shake us out of our subjectivism and tendency to rely on sincerity as the only test of acceptable worship. Having sincere intentions is a necessary condition for “true” worship, but it should not be considered the only condition. In retrospect, we are grateful that the Samaritan woman broached the topic of worship, because it led to the recording of Jesus’ thoughts on the subject. These are thoughts important for us to absorb, because worship is a decisive issue, if not the decisive issue, in the closing events of earth’s history.
In support of the idea that God can be particular about how He is worshiped, one need only peruse the sanctuary regulations in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. These portions of Scripture are also instructive on the topic of worship. The sheer volume of instructions, the specificity of how they are to be carried out, and the severe penalty if carried out improperly support the notion that God does indeed care about how He is to be worshiped.
Another Woman Brings Up Worship
On the flip side of things, there is at least one example in which a man worshiped before God spontaneously in a moment of free expression. This, in turn, offended his spouse who believed he was making a fool of himself. It is written that David “danced before the LORD with all his might” as the ark was being brought into Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:14, ESV). This moment was filled with sacrifices and “with shouting and with the sound of the horn” (2 Sam. 6:13-15, ESV). His only defense to his offended wife, Michal, was that his actions were “ ‘before the LORD’ ” (2 Sam. 6:21). That’s it. His focus was on celebrating and worshiping before God. He even adds, “I am willing to shame and humiliate myself even more than this!” (2 Sam. 6:22, NET). This balances out a potentially skewed picture of God that some might derive from the innumerable sanctuary-related regulations and reminds us that there is a spontaneous and subjective side to worship that is also pleasing to the Lord.
The lesson brings out these balancing concerns using Jesus’ emphasis that the Father must be worshiped in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). We must have both the truth of what God requires along with fully engaged hearts and minds that are receptive to the Holy Spirit. But is there a possibility that what we label as the Christian God is not the God of the Bible but a god of our own making? Perhaps worshiping God “in truth” means being sure we have a true image of God in our minds.
Lessons From Sociology
How do societies often come up with their ideas about God? One theory, which draws heavily upon the philosophy of the father of modern sociology, Emile Durkeim, proposes that, first, societies develop a set of traits and values that they believe will ensure their survival. Second, they symbolize their traits and values with an animal. That animal is referred to as a totem, and the totem is the representation of the traits and values of a tribe. We all use totemic language to some degree. In the West we say things like “Strong as an ox” or “Wise as an owl” or “Sly as a fox.” Stage three occurs when, little by little, the tribe begins to worship the animal that is a symbolic representation of its own traits and values. Now the point becomes clear. If societies end up worshiping a deity that is simply a collective manifestation of its own traits and values, then religion is nothing more than a tribe of people worshiping itself. People may think this process only applies to some primitive tribe outside of Western culture, but they should not be so hasty in their conclusions. There may be much truth in the adage that, “God may have created us in his image, but we have decided to return the favor” (George Bernard Shaw). Lucifer in the garden painted a picture of God as a restrictive, lying (“you shall not surely die”), insecure (threatened at the prospect of man’s elevation) deity (Gen. 3:1-6). But we’d say Lucifer was painting a rather accurate picture of himself.
Educating Adventists, young and old, to avoid the tendency to impute to God characteristics that are not His should be a priority. The prohibition of making any “graven image” (Exod. 20:4, 5) should include false mental images that can be “graven” on the hearts and minds of young people and then worshiped. God has wisely reminded us that His ways are not like our ways (Isa. 55:8, 9) and that He is “God, and not man” (Hos. 11:9, ESV).
Part III: Life Application
Here are a few examples and sketches of worship that should spawn discussion for worshiping on a daily basis.
It has been said that “worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose—all this gathered up in adoration” (William Temple). How can we live each one of these points day to day?
“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide” (Gen. 24:63). You’d be meditating, too, if your never-before-met spouse was soon to approach, riding a camel. Because the word meditate is a hapax legomenon (a word occurring only once in the Bible), we are uncertain of its meaning. Nevertheless, being out in nature alone with God, and with a life-changing event on the horizon (literally), worshiping and meditating on God seems appropriate. What places, times, and methods have the students in your class found conducive to worship?
Interestingly, the first time the English word worship occurs in the Bible is when Abraham tells his servants that he and his son are going “yonder” to worship (Gen. 22:5). The salvation story is echoed in the experience that Abraham and Isaac share on top of Mount Moriah. How can the plan of salvation enrich and direct our personal worship?
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Worship is an important topic, and the lesson makes a provocative point that we were created or hardwired for worship. But because sin has distorted our hardwiring, our expressions of worship can now be misdirected, or misguided. It is possible to worship the wrong thing, or worship the right thing in the wrong way. Worshiping objects other than God is a problem, but not as subtle of a problem as directing worship to God in a manner that He rejects (Mark 7:1–13, Jer. 7:4).
The subject of worship really gets interesting when it transcends the issues of drums and video projectors and instead involves life or death. Revelation 14, along with its Old Testament echo in Daniel 3, shows how high the stakes can be over worship. This angle is relevant not only for end-time study and preparation, but it can inspire resolve for those Christians currently experiencing persecution.
Knowing we have a fundamental need to worship, that this dimension of the human spirit has been affected by sin, and that worship can be a life-or-death matter should convince us that it needs to be included in Adventist education. Though worship can (and should) be extremely personal, it is not immune to critique. Jesus asserted that God must be worshiped “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24, author’s emphasis). To this end, this lesson is devoted.
Part II: Commentary
Scripture
All Christians believe God should be worshiped; and there the consensus ends. How to worship, when to worship, where to worship, how often we worship, and so forth are some of the issues up for reflection and study. The two extremes to avoid would be to conclude that there is a single uniform way to worship God that encompasses every minute detail. Culture, circumstances, availability (e.g., does every believer have access to a church building?), and to some degree, the character and personality of the worshiper will affect what worship looks like. The other extreme, of course, is to think worship is simply a matter of personal preference and that God will exhaustively accept all forms of worship. The question we must ask is: What does the Bible tell us about acceptable forms of worship? How do we even know that God has preferences in regard to worship? Simple: He told us.
A Woman Brings Up Worship
When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, the conversation progressed to the uncomfortable topic of past failed relationships and current illicit ones (John 4:18). Like any of us would do, she sidestepped that sensitive issue and redirected the focus, in this case, to controversial national concerns. As an aside, Jesus shows gentle wisdom and tact by not proceeding along those original lines, but instead allows the woman to redirect. Jesus is interested in convicting, not shaming. Returning to their conversation, the woman takes her golden opportunity to have a prophet settle a hot topic question about proper worship sites (John 4:20). Presented with options, Jesus’ classic answer of neither (John 4:21, John 9:3) both disappoints and enlightens at the same time. He follows up with a very relevant warning, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23, 24). Three phrases from these verses tell us that God has preferences in terms of worship:
These points should shake us out of our subjectivism and tendency to rely on sincerity as the only test of acceptable worship. Having sincere intentions is a necessary condition for “true” worship, but it should not be considered the only condition. In retrospect, we are grateful that the Samaritan woman broached the topic of worship, because it led to the recording of Jesus’ thoughts on the subject. These are thoughts important for us to absorb, because worship is a decisive issue, if not the decisive issue, in the closing events of earth’s history.
In support of the idea that God can be particular about how He is worshiped, one need only peruse the sanctuary regulations in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. These portions of Scripture are also instructive on the topic of worship. The sheer volume of instructions, the specificity of how they are to be carried out, and the severe penalty if carried out improperly support the notion that God does indeed care about how He is to be worshiped.
Another Woman Brings Up Worship
On the flip side of things, there is at least one example in which a man worshiped before God spontaneously in a moment of free expression. This, in turn, offended his spouse who believed he was making a fool of himself. It is written that David “danced before the LORD with all his might” as the ark was being brought into Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:14, ESV). This moment was filled with sacrifices and “with shouting and with the sound of the horn” (2 Sam. 6:13-15, ESV). His only defense to his offended wife, Michal, was that his actions were “ ‘before the LORD’ ” (2 Sam. 6:21). That’s it. His focus was on celebrating and worshiping before God. He even adds, “I am willing to shame and humiliate myself even more than this!” (2 Sam. 6:22, NET). This balances out a potentially skewed picture of God that some might derive from the innumerable sanctuary-related regulations and reminds us that there is a spontaneous and subjective side to worship that is also pleasing to the Lord.
The lesson brings out these balancing concerns using Jesus’ emphasis that the Father must be worshiped in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). We must have both the truth of what God requires along with fully engaged hearts and minds that are receptive to the Holy Spirit. But is there a possibility that what we label as the Christian God is not the God of the Bible but a god of our own making? Perhaps worshiping God “in truth” means being sure we have a true image of God in our minds.
Lessons From Sociology
How do societies often come up with their ideas about God? One theory, which draws heavily upon the philosophy of the father of modern sociology, Emile Durkeim, proposes that, first, societies develop a set of traits and values that they believe will ensure their survival. Second, they symbolize their traits and values with an animal. That animal is referred to as a totem, and the totem is the representation of the traits and values of a tribe. We all use totemic language to some degree. In the West we say things like “Strong as an ox” or “Wise as an owl” or “Sly as a fox.” Stage three occurs when, little by little, the tribe begins to worship the animal that is a symbolic representation of its own traits and values. Now the point becomes clear. If societies end up worshiping a deity that is simply a collective manifestation of its own traits and values, then religion is nothing more than a tribe of people worshiping itself. People may think this process only applies to some primitive tribe outside of Western culture, but they should not be so hasty in their conclusions. There may be much truth in the adage that, “God may have created us in his image, but we have decided to return the favor” (George Bernard Shaw). Lucifer in the garden painted a picture of God as a restrictive, lying (“you shall not surely die”), insecure (threatened at the prospect of man’s elevation) deity (Gen. 3:1-6). But we’d say Lucifer was painting a rather accurate picture of himself.
Educating Adventists, young and old, to avoid the tendency to impute to God characteristics that are not His should be a priority. The prohibition of making any “graven image” (Exod. 20:4, 5) should include false mental images that can be “graven” on the hearts and minds of young people and then worshiped. God has wisely reminded us that His ways are not like our ways (Isa. 55:8, 9) and that He is “God, and not man” (Hos. 11:9, ESV).
Part III: Life Application
Here are a few examples and sketches of worship that should spawn discussion for worshiping on a daily basis.