Why We Worship

Chris' Corner -- Sunday, November 29, 2020

“You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You” (Nehemiah 9:6).

Worship has been around since the creation of the angels of Heaven. For the human race worship began when the first couple and their children gave homage to the Creator. Since that time, every generation is expected to worship God. The question is, who determines how we are to worship? Is it left up to the one who worships? Or is the honor dependent on the One who deserves to be worshiped?

When we understand the truth of why we worship, we will have no problem worshiping the way we should. We worship God because He deserves to be worshiped. As John saw God on His throne in Heaven, and all who were about it bowing down, they said, “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created” (Rev. 4:11).

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all” (1 Chronicles 29:11).

The One who deserves our worship holds the sole right to direct His worshipers in what He desires and commands in their adoration and homage to Him.

Certainly, the created has no right to tell the Creator how he or she is going to worship Him. A common flaw in the thinking of many people is to define and practice worship according to their own thinking and not by the instructions God gave all men and women.

Of all people the Jews should have known this. Unfortunately it was not the case. Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1–3).

Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 15:6-9. “...Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

A casual observation reveals a vast difference between the worship prescribed in scripture and the worship men offer. When worship is internalized by human desires, we’ll do whatever makes us feel good—whatever gives us that emotional experience we want.

The Lord said God desires all people who worship Him, to do so in Spirit and truth. Spiritual worship is worshiping God out of a humble, reverent, and subordinate heart and attitude. We worship that which is higher than ourselves. To worship in truth is worship which is governed by the commandments found in God’s Word (John 17:17).

Once again, when we understand the truth of why we worship, we will have no problem worshiping the way we should. We worship God because He deserves to be worshiped. Our heavenly Father and the Creator of all things, deserves all the honor, reverence, praise, and adoration that is humanly possible to give.

We can learn much from this scene in Heaven. “All the an-gels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:11–12).