Paul, the Baptized Christian Who Murderized Animals Fatally—Completely Fatally

This is adapted from a lesson I presented that asked, “Can Christians sacrifice animals and have it not be a sin?” That’s Old Testament googily-moogily nonsense, so it seemed fun!

But can you be in fellowship with people who offer animal sacrifices to God? Offering an animal sacrifice is a sin, right? Often our own traditions can become "Law" to us, and anything foreign to our traditions, especially "in the church/worship service," is anathema.

We are examining the apostolic examples in the New Testament to identify “our traditions” versus “the Faith.” The objective is not to overturn our traditions (note Paul’s example), but rather to see what the purpose of faith is—that is, God’s work for us. To expand our horizons, please consider something Paul did which might surprise you. Instead of telling you what to think (at first) or explaining what I think, I’d instead like to simply ask you to answer these questions to yourself:

Some Questions

1. Did Paul, on his missionary journeys, take a vow? (Acts 18:18) Yes / No

2. Did Paul meet with James and the elders in Jerusalem, who mentioned that there were thousands of Jews who believed in Christ who were still zealous for the Law? (Acts 21:17-20) Yes / No

3. Had those Jews heard that Paul was speaking against the Law? (Acts 21:21) Yes / No

4. Is it true that James and the elders wanted to reassure these Jews that the rumor they heard was not true, and not only that, but that Paul himself walked according to the Law? (Acts 21:24) Yes / No

5. Is it true that, according to the Law, the expenses at the conclusion of a vow included the burnt offering of a 1-yr old male lamb, the sacrifice of a year-old ewe lamb, a ram, a basket of bread, flour cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers mixed with oil, a meal offering, drink offerings, and a portion of his shaved hair as a burned offering (Num 6:13-end of chapter [ff]). Yes / No

6. Did Paul wait 7 days until the offering could be made for each one of them? (Acts 21:26-27) Yes / No

7. Was Paul was inspired apostle? Yes / No

8. Was it sinful for Paul to keep something from the Old Covenant writings in the New Covenant times? Yes / No

9. I am often too depressed to put an injured animal or coworker out of its misery. Yes / No

Now, take a look at some other notes: Luke recorded Luke and Acts, and in Acts he mentions Paul’s observance of Jewish custom, which some Jews were claiming that Paul failed to do, and thus causing a ruckus.

• Luke tells us of Paul’s adventure in Philippi, which for a man who supposedly paid no attention to the law, is really strange. There was no synagogue in Philippi, so Paul went to the river “where we supposed there was a place of prayer,” this was a “Sabbath day” (16:13). The very next chapter Luke records that Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath “as was his custom.” (17:2)

• While others in Paul’s party went ahead, Paul stays behind in Macedonia (probably at Lydia’s who is a Jewess; we know she is a resident from chapter 16) with “us”…that is his Jewish companions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Acts 20:5-6). “They [the named Gentiles in v4] went ahead and were waiting for US in Troas, but WE sailed from Philippi AFTER THE DAYS of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them.”

• After the “days of Unleavened Bread,” Paul declares his wish to be back in Jerusalem “on the day of Pentecost” (20:16). Given Luke’s stress so far, this desire is because Paul wants to bow down in reverence (worship)! In fact, when he defends himself in 24:11-17, he states point blank that he wanted to come to Jerusalem “to worship” and to “offer sacrifices.”

Some Answers

1.) Paul had taken a vow (Acts 18:18), and according to the law, upon completion of that vow, he was required to offer animal sacrifices (Num 6:13ff). WAIT WHAT!? Can't do that, right? One of the reasons he came to Jerusalem was to "present offerings" (Acts 24:17).

2.) Paul met with James and the elders in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17-18.), who mentioned that thousands of newly-believing Jews (now Christians) were still zealous for the Law (v20). These Jews had heard rumors that Paul was telling Jews outside of Judah to stop keeping the Law (v21). James and the elders wanted to reassure these people that, not only was it not true,but that Paul himself still walked according to the Law. (v24)

3.) In order to accomplish this, Paul had to purify himself, along with four others who had taken a vow, and pay their expenses to shave their heads at the conclusion of their vows (Acts 21:24).

4.) According to the law, the expenses at the conclusion of a vow included the burnt offering of a 1-yr old male lamb, the sacrifice of a year-old ewe lamb, a ram, a basket of bread, flour cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers mixed with oil, a meal offering, drink offerings, and a portion of his shaved hair as a burned offering (Num 6:13ff).

5.) Paul waited seven days until the offering could be made for each one of them (Acts 21:26-27).

In my opinion... (Laugh all you want—I look forward to your hate mail!)

Paul knew that the Law was not evil nor sin. The error in offering sacrifices and doing those rituals comes if one seeks to be JUSTIFIED by them, which he was not. What does this tell us about God and Christianity? Does it allow you to more easily be united with other believers who maybe do some things different?

The point of what Paul was doing was to prove (Acts 21:21-24):

1) He was not telling the non-Judean Jews to stop keeping the law of Moses,

2) that he himself walked according to the law.

With the above considered, ask yourself these questions.

So how secure are you in the faith—as opposed to our traditions? The following questions are to help you take what is perhaps an accurate look at yourself.

Personal Question 1: What makes you uncomfortable fellowshipping in another congregation?

PQ 2: What makes you unwilling to fellowship in another congregation? (What do you require to have unity with a believer? Can you name specifics?)

PQ 3: How can you help those who fellowship in congregations that make you uncomfortable?

PQ 4: Do you agree with calling Bible things by Bible names?

PQ 5: Personal question: God says to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Why does He use three different words? Why doesn’t He just say to sing songs?

PQ 6: The Restoration Movement started out with the slogan, “Christians only, but not the only Christians.” What does that mean to you? Is it true?

PQ 7: Does the New Testament ever mention a “worship service?” Why do many people who show up for the “worship service,” yet few show up for “Bible class?”

PQ 8: Scenario: You start studying the Bible with someone. They google “Church of Christ.” There is a lot of nasty stuff they find, which gives them a bad impression. They ask you some hard questions, but they’re prepared—if they point out that some of what you consider “law” is actually just “tradition,” how does it affect your study and relationship?

PQ 9: Is anything not specifically authorized condemned? Yes / No

PQ 10: Is anything not specifically prohibited, or prohibited by a broader Biblical principle, allowed? Yes / No

PQ 11: Does God play “hide the commandment?” Does He want to nail people on a “Simon didn’t say” technicality?

A lot of acrimony in Restoration Movement heritage stems from musical instruments. Consider these questions.

Lesson Question 1: What elements comprise the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? (Eph 4:1-6)

LQ 2: The first time the word “sing” is used in the Bible, does it include musical instruments? (Exo 15:20-21) Yes / No “Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. Miriam answered them,

“Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;

The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”

LQ 3: Does making melody with all of your being prohibit instruments? (Psa 108:1-3) Yes / No

“My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations.”

LQ 4: Which do you think is more accurate: The Regulative Principle, or the Normative Principle? (. The "Regulative Principle" where anything not specifically authorized is condemned, and the "Normative Principle," where anything not specifically prohibited, or prohibited by a broader Biblical principle, is allowed.)

LQ 5: Does Ephesians 5 mention a “worship service?” Does anywhere in the NT mention a “worship service?” Yes / No

LQ 6: Does the instruction to sing forbid musical instruments? (Psa 71:22) Yes / No

“I will also praise You with a harp, Even Your truth, O my God;

To You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.”

LQ 7: What is a psalm?

                       What is a hymn?

                                      What is a spiritual song/ode?

LQ 8: Is Psalm 150 sinful today? Yes / No (Hint: Consider what Paul did in Jerusalem.)

LQ 9: Did early “Christian” writers understand psalms to include instruments? Yes / No

LQ 10: Did early Christians determine some of their practices in order to not seem like those around them? Yes / No

"Yeah, I guess I should go to church." (The Law of Christ?)

 "Yeah, I should go to church I guess." Ever heard that? Although it's subtle, there is the concept that God is appeased by our showing up to listen to a priest or pastor lead a "worship service."

We should all consider this,though. The "law of Christ" is not fulfilled by keeping rules—"don't handle; don't taste; don't touch" (Col 2, esp. v 21). Rather, it is fulfilled when we "bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal 6:2)

Sunday should be for our own edification, so that we can perform the work of ministry all the other days.

Who are we singing for in the "worship service?"

I often hear people say, "We sing for God, not ourselves. In the worship service, He is the audience, not us!" This is usually coupled with a quote from Ephesians 5:19, and it's at least partially accurate. It errs in a couple of ways, but I'll address the deep, subtle, yet important misunderstanding of God at the end.

1st, there is no such thing as a "worship service," and the verses immediately prior to and after verse 19 speak of a "daily walk," and instruction that is for us "always," and 2nd, we are told, "speaking to one another in psalms...making melody with your heart to the Lord." Here, God identifies two audiences: us to one another, and us to Him.

The more subtle misunderstanding of this is that it sees God as requiring a "worship service" to appease Him, when God has mentioned our assembly as being for our own edification. In 1 Cor 14:26, He says, "What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."

Jesus had to correct a Jewish misconception that was very similar and He chided them saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:23-3:6) Likewise, the assembly is for the saints, not the saints for assembly. Edification and equipping of the saints for the work of service is the goal—making ourselves strong, spiritual warriors for Christ, not just rulekeepers of technicalities.

It's illegal to use a banjo in a worship service 'cause ya ain't singin'.

"The Bible only says to sing! Using a banjo is unauthorized." Is a person playing a guitar while making vocalizations somehow not singing? Check this out from God's word:

"Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre!" (Psalms 33:2)

God never defined singing as "without an instrument." In fact, He instructed us to sing Psalms, and the above is one.

Musical instruments in worship services.

If you make a special hour called a "worship service," which God never did, you can end up with some worship service weirdness, because you have to make more rules to flesh it out. It's a lot like a web of lies: tell one, then have to tell another to support it, and one to support that...and it goes on.

I've copied this Q&A from a great website which suffers from some misunderstanding, leading to the following confusion by both the asker and evangelist answering. Check out how man's rules complicate God's simple principles in the Law of Liberty.

--Question:

Someone asked me this question and I would like your opinion. I looked on your great web site but didn't see it addressed.

A young lady asked me if it is okay to listen to "Christian rock" or instrumental ("Christian") songs outside of worship. I would appreciate you opinion. Thanks for the good work you do.

--Answer:

"I've known brethren to argue both sides of this issue. Those for it argue that it is better than the trash available on many other stations. While they won't join it and sing with the instrumental music, they prefer to hear decent words and lyrics that are focused on praising God. The other side points out that many of these songs are worship songs but set with instrumental music. Since worship is involved, then the one being worshiped is the one who sets the rules. Since God did not authorize instrumental music for His worship in the New Testament, then we should not seek to add it to ours, whether it is congregational worship or personal worship.

Thus the core issue is whether listening to someone else sing songs that can be used in the worship of God constitutes worship or not. It is an issue that I am not certain I can settle. I usually ask the person whether they consider it to be worship or not and work from there. Personally, I don't go out of my way to listen to such music. I won't change channels on a station necessarily if a religious song comes on. I have even heard and admired some of the thoughts expressed in some songs set to instruments and wonder if we could get a hold of an a-capella arrangement for the congregation. But I definitely don't allow myself to sing along with such songs because it focuses my mind on God and I would rather worship God as He wants to be worshiped.

We also ought to be careful of the music branded as Christian music. I've heard numerous songs that might mention God, but what the song teaches is contrary to the teachings in God's word. Filling our minds with erroneous teachings is bad whether it is from secular or religious sources. In some ways a religious source is more dangerous because we are at least on our guard for false teachings from a secular source."

The eunuch and the worship service.

If you pay attention to Acts 8, you'll notice something that's missing. In this chapter, Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch who is returning home from Jerusalem and Philip preaches Jesus to him (29-35). Pay close attention to this part:

"Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.  And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (35-37)

The obvious part is that preaching to a person who is not Christian includes Jesus, and the response is belief and a desire for immediate baptism. But the less-obvious part is the missing bit. IMMEDIATELY after this takes place, Philip vanishes and the Ethiopian goes back to Ethiopia rejoicing (39).  Do you know what is missing? Philip never told him how to have a worship service! 

And oddly enough, the concept of the "worship service" is missing from the entirety of the New Testament writings. It exists 0 times. Whatcha think? 

Musical instruments "in worship."

I have come to realize that there are basically two ways to interpret God's silence. The "Regulative Principle" where anything not specifically authorized is condemned, and the "Normative Principle," where anything not specifically prohibited, or prohibited by a broader Biblical principle, is allowed.

A big one in congregations that use the label "Church of Christ," at least in some areas, is over "singing." "Since God says sing, that prohibits musical instruments; only vocals are allowed since God doesn't mention a piano." There are some flaws with that. For example, Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 are talking about daily living, not a "worship service," which God never mentions. Also, it says to sing three types of songs (psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs), and a psalm is accompanied by instruments.

But regarding the principle, does the instruction to sing forbid musical instruments? It would seem not. "I will also praise You with a harp, Even Your truth, O my God; To You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel." (Psalm 71:22) If we listen to KY Tunstall's "Black Horse &  the Cherry Tree," we understand that she's singing a song, though her guitar is also in use. We don't say, "Man I wish she'd sing! Instead she's saying words while playing a guitar." 

How many times does God mention a worship service?

: How many times does God talk about a worship service and how it is to be conducted? Do you know the things that have to be done in a worship service? 

Interestingly, God talked about worship services only 0 times.  Although people have devised ways to make a "worship" service through things which can be counted on five fingers—preaching, singing, praying, communion, giving money (don't worry about Bible class, that happens before the worship)—the New Testament never calls these acts of worship nor are they ever enumerated as such. 

The New Testament does mention assembling, such as when Paul chastised the Corinthians, saying "But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse...when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper!"  (1 Cor 11) 

What do you serve?

Atheism ultimately submits to biology and amoral laws of nature, thought it dresses the idea up in fancy clothes. Without objective morality or truly free will, the impulse of the moment and the desires of the flesh are the ruling guide. God explained,   "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." (Rom 1:25)

As Christians, we need to check ourselves, too. Sometimes we can be indulging in some fleshly behavior, and we can get defensive when exposed—but when confronted with the truth, we've got to take it, even if we don't like how it's delivered. Otherwise, we ourselves exchange truth for a lie. Let's take the truth even if it knocks us down a peg or two. 

Full-time Christians or part-timers?

"He was a faithful member who attended church every Sunday?" Would you like that to be you? What if we fleshed it out (pun 100% intended) a little more, since it doesn't tell us that much and had it say, "He was a faithful member who attended church every Sunday, watched porn every night, got wasted at least twice per week, and never made a new Christian?"

Hmmm. That sounds just so much more wretchedly worse! Honestly, we're probably all glad at times that God doesn't play the lowlight reel of our last week at assembly on Sunday, but does He want part-time workers? 1-2 hours per week out of 168 isn't many, after all.

In Romans 12:1, we are urged "by the mercies of God, to present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] rational service."  As it turns out, God's looking for full-timers. Are you interested? He offers the best retirement package. 

Worship—An Inductive Word Study

This is a long study. To download the Word document, just click here. The formatting is much better than our website supports.—Lucas

 We are searching for the truth of the word and meaning of what Jesus said in:

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  (John 4:21-24)

The word that is translated as “worship” in this passage is the Greek word “proskuneo.” With what Jesus said in mind, let’s review every instance of the word “proskuneo/worship” being used in the New Testament. Ready? Let’s go.

A Look at Worship in Matthew
Matthew 2:2,8,11
Magi and the birth of Jesus.

Mat 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,  "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 

They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 
'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THELEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MYPEOPLE ISRAEL.'" 

Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."  After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 

Mat 2:11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

****Until we come to verse 11 do we see worship in an action. The magi fell to the ground and worshipped Him.

Matthew 4:9,10
Satan tempts Jesus in the desert.

Mat 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said,

"It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ONBREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" 

Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST ASTONE.'" 

Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" 

Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; Mat 4:9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." 

Mat 4:10 Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" 

Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”

****Satan wants Jesus to make a trade and it includes worship by Jesus of Satan. The action given is the falling down and worship of Satan.

Matthew 8:2

Jesus and the leper, plus a definition translation.
And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean

**** Here, the translators made a definition translation. They did not use the word “worship” but rather its literal meaning, “bowed down.” They could have easily translated it, "And the leper came to Him and worshipped before Him."



Matthew 9:18
While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live."

**** The translators did the same thing in this passage. They used the definition of the word proskuneo instead of the English word, worship.

Matthew 14:33
And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"

**** Here, the translators used the word worship. There is no action given in this passage as to how they worshipped.

Matthew 15:25
But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

**** The translators used the definition.



Matthew 18:26
"So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

**** This passage expands the definition by using, "prostrated himself before him" for the word proskuneo.

Matthew 20:20
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.

**** Again, the definition of the word is used.

Matthew 28:9
And behold, Jesus met them and greeted * them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

**** We have a bit more of a view as to what worship entails. The worship is so low that one can grasp the feet of the Lord.



Matthew 28:17
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.

**** Here, there is no action given.


Summary of Worship in Matthew:

Of the 13 verses in Matthew, the word proskuneo shows the following:

-5 times, no description of action
-8 times, falling down, bowing, prostration, grasping of feet

****As we continue our study into the other 25 verses from Mark to Jude, we will see the very same information. There is no deviation from what we see in Matthew's use of the word proskuneo.  It should be noted that nowhere are any of the 5 acts commonly called worship in the texts associated with proskuneo.  However, some form of prostrated submission is very commonly associated with proskuneo. This reminds me of James 4:4-10, which brings up an important spiritual point about submission and humility, saying,

James 4:4-10
Jas 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSEDTO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." 

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. 

Until we are humble before him, we are not a worshipper. Worship is not a group activity until we get to Revelation—but we’ll get there in due time.

 

A Look at Worship in Mark
Mark 5:6
Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;

Mark 15:19
They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him.

 
****Mark's two usages uses the definition form of proskuneo.

  

Summary of Worship in Mark:
-2 times, bowing down




A Look at Worship in Luke
Luke 4:7

"Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours."

Luke 4:8

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'"

Luke 24:52

And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

Summary of Worship in Luke:
-3 times, no definitive action, but “before me” is mentioned.


A Look at Worship in John

John 4:20

"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

John 4:21

Jesus *said to her, "Woman, believe Me,an hour is coming when neither inthis mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

John 4:22

"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

John 4:23

"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

John 4:24

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

John 9:38

And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him.

John 12:20

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;

Summary of Worship in John:
-7 times, translators used the word worship with no action given to it.

A Look at Worship in Acts
Acts 7:43

'YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OFTHE GOD ROMPHA , THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP.I ALSO WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON.'

Acts 8:27

So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

Acts 10:25

When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him.

Acts 24:11

since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

 
Summary of Worship in Acts:
-3 times, no action given
-1 time, the action is described along with, “fell at his feet and worshiped,” some sort of bowing

 A Look at Worship in 1 Corinthians

**** Paul used the word one time in 1 Corinthians, and it is one of my favorites when discussing this topic. It is the only one that shows worship at an assembly. What is interesting is that the group of Christians are not worshipping. It is the unbeliever who comes to a point of worship in his life. This worshipper is shown to be doing proskuneo by its definition.

1 Corinthians 14:25
the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

 
Summary of Worship in 1 Corinthians:
-1 time, the action is described along with, “falling on one’s face.”

A Look at Worship in Hebrews
****To round out the final two passages before we get to Revelation, the book of Hebrews uses the word twice. Once there is no description of action given,  and the other gives us the only divergence from the definition.

 I believe that this divergence is due to Jacob’s age, which made it impossible to bend his physical body into a fully bowed down/prostrated position. He was about to die, and this was the best he could do.

Hebrews 1:6
And when He again brings the first born into the world, He says, "AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP”

Hebrews 11:21
By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

Summary of Worship in Hebrews: 
-1 time, no action given.

-1 time, “leaning on top of staff” in the infirmity of old age

 



Summary of Worship from Matthew to Jude: 

-19 times, No description of action
-13 times, falling down, bowing, prostration, grasping the feet, leaning on a staff

A Look at Worship in Revelation

**** Revelation contains much of the same information, but it is less definitive in meaning, as the book is one of symbols and visions, and even starts out saying that it “signifies” things. Much of the imagery—such as physical harps being handed out, a massive dragon, and 144,000 saved—is indeed symbolic. For that reason, it is more difficult to use when discerning the meaning of “worship.” Still, we’ll take a look, because it’s packed with proskuneo. Ready? Here we go.

Revelation 3:9

'Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie --I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.’

Revelation 4:10

the twenty-four * elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Revelation 5:14

And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen. "And the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Revelation 7:11

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

Revelation 9:20

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Revelation 11:1

Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.

Revelation 11:16

And the twenty-four * elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

Revelation 13:4

they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"

Revelation 13:8

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

Revelation 13:12

He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

Revelation 13:15

And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Revelation 14:7

And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."

Revelation 14:9

Then another angel, a third one followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

Revelation 14:11

"And the smoke of their torment goes up forever andever they have no restday and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever *receives the mark of his name."

Revelation 15:4

"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."

Revelation 16:2

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore onthe people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

Revelation 19:4

And the twenty-four * elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

Revelation 19:10

Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Revelation 19:20

And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark ofthe beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

Revelation 20:4

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ fora thousand years.

Revelation 22:8

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things

Revelation 22:9

But he *said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.

 
Summary of Worship from Matthew through Revelation:
Combining all 60 references from Matthew to Revelation we have this:

9 times- worship of the dragon and the image of the dragon.

1 time- worship of demons with no action given to describe that worship

1 time- liars bowing down to the saints

24 times- no description of action

19 times- falling down, bowing, prostration, grasping the feet, leaning on a staff, falling down AND proclaiming “Amen, Hallelujah!”

My Thoughts:

As Christians, it is important that we let God define words the way that He wishes them to be defined. “Proskuneo” seems to always be some form of bowing down, prostration, or submission. Bowing is a sign of submission across many cultures and continents, from Japan to Saudi Arabia. Jesus said that this submission/prostration would occur in a location—spirit.

As Christians who are baptized into Christ and receive the gift and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, when are we not in Spirit? When should we not be in submission?

Notably, there is no such thing as a “worship service” ever listed in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 11, the Corinthians were rebuked, and it says in verse 20, “Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper.” They were rebuked for not doing what they were supposed to, and what they were supposed to be doing was assembling to take the Lord’s Supper—yet nothing is said about worshiping.  In the Bible, there is no denotation of “five acts of worship,” or even anything like that. People were never even said to be “going to worship,” “assembling to worship,” or having a “worship service.”

So what does calling our assembly “worship” do? Look at most congregations. They have a “Bible class” at 10AM and “worship” at 11. Because we use the word “worship” in a way that God does not, we put an emphasis on one hour of the week. It becomes a rote ritual to please God. Suddenly only 20% of the people show up for Bible class—because it’s just not that important. Shouldn’t we call it assembling? Isn’t the time where we study the Bible, as the Bereans did, noble and edifying? With one simple twisted word, Satan has changed the entire purpose of our assembly.

It would seem to me that we assemble to instruct one another through various means, including Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph, Col), and that we take the Lord’s Supper in remembrance and proclamation of all that He is, including His death.  It is safe to say that our assembling is “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” (Eph 5:12)

Hebrews 10:24-25 really sums it up, saying, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to assemble together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

For more of my thoughts on this subject, please see the following resources:

A podcast/sermon on “Looking for Worship in All the Wrong Places” http://bit.ly/1R6D6Ad
The visual aid to go along with the podcast—you’ll need it: http://bit.ly/1MODCUP

More notes on worship, plus a look at service: https://www.facebook.com/notes/lucas-necessary/what-is-worship-what-is-service/602241239871046

What's worship?

I've seen lots of debates which fundamentally occur because of a misunderstanding of "worship." One debate pointed out that singing is an act of worship, so we can't have pitch pipes used during it. In that regard, I looked at 2 Chron 29:28-29 and how it explains worship:

"WHILE the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped."

I noticed that the singing wasn't worship. The trumpeting wasn't worship. The offering wasn't worship. Worship is a physical act of prostration and bowing down—and that is the only physical act of "worship," and God doesn't need it from me. That's why Jesus said in John 4:21-24, "“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship (bow down/prostrate to) the Father. [...] But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship [prostrate before Him] in spirit and truth.”

Does God want my spiritual reverence and prostration before Him just for an hour? Nope. He wants it 24/7. Does He ever mention having a time or place for me to worship? Nope, that was for the Jews. Bowing down is worshiping, and it's the only worship. Some do it physically, but God wants it spiritually.

Worship and Service—What Are They?

Worship Overview

I've seen lots of debates which fundamentally occur because of a misunderstanding of "worship." One debate pointed out that singing is an act of worship, so we can't have pitch pipes used during it. In that regard, I looked at 2 Chron 29:28-29 and how it explains worship:

"WHILE the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped."

I noticed that the singing wasn't worship. The trumpeting wasn't worship. The offering wasn't worship. 

Worship is a physical act of prostration and bowing down—and that is the only physical act of "worship," and God doesn't need it from me. That's why Jesus said in John 4:21-24, "“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship (bow down/prostrate to) the Father. [...] But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship [prostrate before Him] in spirit and truth.”

Does God want my spiritual reverence and prostration before Him just for an hour? Nope. He wants it 24/7. Does He ever mention having a time or place for me to worship? Nope, that was for the Jews. Bowing down is worshiping, and it's the only worship. Some do it physically, but God wants it spiritually.

The above, however, is not totally convincing. Let's look at a history of how God has defined worship, and we'll see that our modern vision of worship is wholly inadequate for God's holy people. On top of that, it will help us understand our service to God, and will unlock our true potential through God's power working in us!

Shachah
BQ: I recently saw some people talking about whether or not it’s a sin to talk with someone visiting the assembly during “the worship.”   For many, “coming to worship on Sunday” is important, but is it at all what is described in the New Testament? What, exactly, is “worship?”

This will have to be a multi-part (though abbreviated) series, and we’ll just start off with the word “worship,” as found in the Old Testament.  This word is predominantly from ancient Hebrew “shachah,” which means literally, “to bow down, to prostrate oneself.” So if you hear someone say that they’re “going to worship on Sunday,” do you imagine them going and planting their faces on the floor? Why do we use this word? What does it really mean?  Tomorrow we’ll look at its first ever usage in the Bible.

Bow Down
BQ: Some people are concerned about doing anything that might interrupt “the worship” on Sundays, such as saying “hi” to someone new who walks in. But what IS worship? Do we really understand it? Yesterday we saw that, in the Old Testament Hebrew, it is almost always translated from “shachah,” which means to physically bow down, to prostrate oneself. Think of Muslims on prayer rugs. They are “shachah,” bowing down, worshiping.

What does the word “worship” look like in the Bible? We’ll have to start out with the Old Testament. The first time is Genesis 18:2. “When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.” Can you spot the word “worship” in there? What is “worship,” as God defined it there? If you said, “bow down,” you’re right. Worship in the Old Testament, we will see, was a physical act of bowing down, of submission.

As God Defines It

BQ: What exactly is “worship?” Is it five or so acts that we do only on Sundays? In the old Testament, we see that it’s mostly from the word, “shachah,” which means to physically bow down, yet we certainly don’t do much of that on Sundays!  The first time it was used was in Genesis 18, and it was where someone bowed down.

 Let’s look at the next usage from Gen 22:5. “Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” Ok, so what acts was Abraham doing when he was worshiping? Well, if we let GOD define it, we can read Genesis 18 and every other place where it was mentioned and see that Abraham was bowing himself down, prostrate and in submission.

Although translators sometimes get inconsistent and sloppy, we have great minds which God has given us, and we can look at the original words and use them. In this case, Gen 22:5 actually says, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will bow down and return to you.”

Inconsistently Translated

BQ: We’ve seen that worship in the OT was a physical act of bowing down, and that translators inconsistently translate it as the definition, “to bow down,” or otherwise “to worship,” though they meant the same. Let’s look at some more, surprising verses on what worship was in the OT.

Genesis 23:7 So Abraham rose and worshiped (bowed down to) the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 

Genesis 23:12 And Abraham worshiped (bowed down) before the people of the land. 

Genesis 42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 

When someone says, “I’m going to go worship on Sunday,” do you imagine them going and bowing down physically as is the example all throughout the Old Testament? Probably not! We’ll discuss what it means in the New Testament coming up. As a hint, remember that the Old Testament was a physical foreshadowing of the spiritual to come. We often want to be physically minded instead of spiritually, but we need to overcome that urge.

Priest vs People

BQ: So we’ve now seen that “worship” in the Old Testament was always a bowing down to something. People bowed down because the object was worthy of being bowed to. The concept being conveyed is one of submission to a greater power.  Consider that God gives us the option to submit now, but at the end, “every knee shall bow.” are SUBMITTING to them. Consider also when Joseph’s brothers visited him in Egypt…they had to bow down. They had to SUBMIT.

Throughout the Old Testament, the people would worship (submit, bow down), and the priests would provide service. We can see this in Ezekiel 46 (and plenty of other places) in verse 2, “The prince shall enter by way of the porch of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. Then the priests shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out.”

Notice that the prince presented an offering and worshiped, but the priests were the ones who did the service and offered it up. Why? Because a priest can do nothing with his face to the ground, bowed down.  In the New Testament, all Christians are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” That changes things big time, and we’ll talk about it down the line.

You Serve What You Worship

BQ: We have seen in the Old Testament that priests served, that the people worshiped (bowed down, prostrate) or submitted themselves to a higher power, and that it was all very physical. Today we’re going to look at what happens when we bow down (worship) false gods.

Deut 11:16 “Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.”

Josh 23:7  “so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.”

There are a plethora of other verses which have the same terminology. As we can see, those things we worship end up being the things that we also serve. There are some who worship, say, politics, being in submission to a political mission, forgetting to submit to God’s mission and His plan. Others submit to alcohol. We need to carefully watch that which we are worshiping.

All the Time

BQ: Before we move on to mentions of “worship” in the New Testament, we need to look at some prophecies about it, and how it was going to change from the OT. Although much of Isaiah is concerned with this, I’m going to take some snippets from Is 66:19-23. Read it all if you get time. 

“So your offspring and your name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from Sabbath to Sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down [worship] before Me,” says the Lord.”

Prophesied here is a huge change in worship. Notice that God said that He planned to change worship (bowing down) to something that occurred from new moon until new moon.  In Genesis, we saw that Abraham was able to “go yonder and worship [bow down],” and then come back no longer worshiping. In this prophecy, God asserted that He was removing that type of worship for a perpetual state of bowing down. How can that be?

Perpetual

BQ: Isaiah says that we shall worship God all the time, which is highly at odds with what come places do, declaring worship to be certain physical acts that happen on Sunday.  Those who believe that worship stops and ends at certain times often rely on Genesis 22:5, where Abraham went, bowed down (worshiped), and then got up again. “See,” they’ll say, “worship has a beginning and an end!”

The problem is that the Old Testament is very different than the New, and that God declared even in the Old Covenant that He would make a people who perpetually bowed down to/worshiped Him.  

Here’s a question: how many times does the Bible say that we assemble on Sundays “to worship?” The answer is 0. So what’s happened? We’ll see coming up!

Jesus Said

 BQ: In the New Testament, we are said to assemble on Sundays to worship (OT Hebrew=shachah, NT Greek=proskuneo) exactly zero times, which fits in with the Old Testament prophecy that we would instead be worshiping God from “new moon until new moon,” which is 100% of our lives.  What does the New Testament say about worship? First, let’s see when and where Jesus had to say, using John 4:20-24 where a woman wants to know where and when worship would take place:

“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Pay close attention. Jesus specifically said that there is no longer a “place” to worship, nor a limited timeframe, but rather that it is simply done in spirit and in truth.  More on this tomorrow.

Being in Spirit

BQ: We now know that God removed a time and place that we needed to worship physically (bowing down) with a continual, persistent state of submission in “spirit and in truth.” Some say that there are five acts of worship that we can do on Sunday, but this is found nowhere in the entire Bible. Instead, we are to spiritually bow down from new moon until new moon, all the time.

As a Christian, when are you NOT in Spirit? Let’s look at the following verses:   Rom 8:9, "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." 1 Cor 6:19, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?"

Just as we are in the Spirit at all times, we SHOULD be submitting to God at all times. Be careful, though, because worshiping is submitting. We cannot claim to be “getting drunk for Christ”  as worship, because we are then not submitting to God’s will, and worship is in the New Testament about complete, utter, spiritual submission to our Lord. 

Your Service

BQ: We have now seen that worship, in the New Testament, is a 24/7 spiritual submission to God. We’ve seen before that God says that humans end up serving that which they worship (submit to), so what is the overall service that He appreciates from us?

We can see the answer in Romans 12:1  “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your service.”

God is ultimately seeking a people who give everything to Him, who submit to Him utterly out of love and awe. He has no place for “five authorized acts of “worship,” or “Sunday-only worship,” which is an attempt to replace the spiritual aspect of the New Testament with an earthy form of Old Testament, physical thinking. Let's submit to our Lord in Spirit and in truth!  

 

Service Overview

Abad

BQ: Now that we’ve looked at what “worship,” is, we’ve seen that it is not limited to “5 authorized acts” or a certain day of the week, or a specific place. It’s a spiritual submission to our Lord from new moon until new moon, so saying that one “worships” from 11-noon on Sunday should be inaccurate…hopefully! 

We know that the Old Testament had a system where the people prostrated themselves (worshiped) while the priests (Levites) provided service, such as offering up the sacrifices of the people. Since it was impossible to slaughter a ram with one’s face planted on the ground, this made a lot of sense.

Our next question to consider is, “what is service?” So many times people say, “that concludes the worship service,” though the term worship service is never found in the Bible. What is service? Who does it? When? To get us started off, the word primarily used for service in Hebrew is “abad,” and in Greek it’s, “latreuo.” We’ll discuss more on what it means coming up!

Made to Serve

BQ: Looking at service, in the OT Hebrew it’s “abad,” and in NT Greek it’s “latreuo.” They are translated as “service,” and would more literally mean something like, “to work, to slave, to enslave.” Let’s take a look at various places where the word usually translated as “serve/served/service” is used.  The first place is in Genesis 2:5, “Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LordGod had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.”  If you guessed that “serve” here was “cultivate, you’re right. It carries the meaning of “to work.”

We’ll look at some more verses just to prove what it means. Gen 15:13 says,  “God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.”” Here the meaning expressed is “made to serve,” but it’s listed as “enslaved.”

We could look at a lot more, but for the sake of brevity, we’re going to move on into places where translators in some versions get “worship” confused with “service,” either through being sloppy or just having a bias because of tradition. That’s tomorrow!

Poor Translations

BQ: We’ve seen how the word for “service” is used, and it’s not at all like the word for “worship,” but many people get these confused. Using the NASB translation, today I’m going to look at some places where the word was mis-translated.

Exodus 12:31, “Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said.”  The word “serve” is mistranslated as “worship,” which is strange, as right before we found out that God wanted His people to be let go so that they could serve Him. “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” (Ex 9:1)

Why do people get these terms confused when they’re nothing alike? I think that it is greatly due to tradition (a clergy-laity split) and some spiritual laziness. It’s much nicer when your preacher serves you, and you worship for only 1/168th of the week.

Sacrifices of Priests

BQ: We’re looking at the word “service/serve” and letting God define what it means.  In Isaiah 19, there is a prophecy of many nations becoming a spiritual Israel, and in verse 21 it says, “They will even SERVE  with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it.”

If you were a Jew reading that prophecy, and being told to serve with sacrifice and offering, you’d be thinking, “Man, this is NUTS! How can I offer a sacrifice if I’m not a priest? How can I sacrifice something if I have my head bowed to the ground, worshiping?”

Tomorrow: do we worship, as the people did, or do we serve, as the priests did?

We Are Priests

BQ: Often these days, a “pastor” or preacher “serves his flock,” which “worships on Sunday.” In the Old Testament, the people who weren’t priests worshiped, and the priests did the serving. Are modern congregations which have the same style system correct?

First off, we know that God requires that we always be in spiritual submission to Him (worship), but we also know that now every Christian is a priest in God’s eyes. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.” (1 Pet 2:9)

As priests, we know that we also must serve as well.  “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom 7:6)

Using a system where one “attends a worship service” on Sunday and is served by the reverend/pastor/priest isn’t an example of New Testament Christianity, but rather is an easy tradition made up by men. We need to all keep in mind that we’re priests and, as such, we should have some form of contribution to building up and serving. We’ll discuss that tomorrow.

For the Work of Service

BQ: When you’re assembled on Sunday, we know that the Bible never says it’s for the purpose of “worshiping then,” so what is it for?

When we assemble together, the specific purpose is to help us as priests in serving God! Eph 4:11-12, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,  for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” We also know that EACH of us should have a contribution to that edification, not just the preacher, and that we should be stimulating one another to love and good works. (1 Cor 14:26; Heb 10:24)

All of the above is summed up in an often-mistranslated verse which says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service.”  (Note: translator bias shows up in the NASB translation of this verse, which ends it with “spiritual service of worship,” though it never says spiritual or worship.)

So the Bible never says that we assemble “to worship,” but it does say that we worship (submit) spiritually, and in doing that, we naturally come to serve God, and in the assembly of the saints, that’s expressed as all things which further build us up to go out and work for our Lord.   

Levite to Christian

BQ: Today is one final point about service of priests (us) that is often unnoticed. Let’s read Acts 4:32-37,

“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.  And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.  For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales  and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. 

 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),  and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

This is important because it illustrates the shift away from the Old Testament system, where the Levites (Levitical priests) received the offerings from the worshipers and then provided service by sacrificing the offerings. One of the priests (a Levite) suddenly got it! The people used to be laying their offerings at the feet of the Levites, and now that’s changed.   Suddenly a Levite is laying out his offering at the feet of the “uneducated and untrained.”  We really need to avoid going back to that Old Testament system where we “worship” and our “priest” serves!

There’s a lot more depth to be had from studying these words, and I don’t have time to cover it all, so I encourage you to check them out for yourself!