Ah, yet another rambling of an odd soul…
Worship…
…what comes to your mind when you see that word? Is it music? Is it an experience? Is it the natural flow of your personal study of God, like the theologian (that I can’t remember) said, the greatest experience in worship was when he was studying the Word and an aspect of theology he was so moved by caused the expansion of his view of God that it caused him to worship God.
A question that I’ve been rolling over in my mind for a number of years is, “Who do we worship?” I mean, do we worship God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, or all three?
Stealing from my earlier blog, I know this sounds nit-picky, but I think that our theology in prayer belies a theological laziness – a situation where we say something just because – not because it is necessarily true. I believe that this may be another example of that thesis.
Once again, if we look at worship in the Old Testament it is obvious that GOD was the focus of that worship. I’m not really sure what the level of understanding of the Trinity there was then. I mean, you can see the Trinity reflected in certain passages (Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”) but did they understand that the Messiah was going to BE the Son of God? They understood something of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11 – Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.) but did they actually separate the idea into a trinitarian understanding of God?
When we get to the New Testament, things are cleared up for us nicely. We hear Christ say that He and the Father are one. We hear Christ say that unless He leaves, the promised Comforter can’t come. I guess that this line of thought helps clarify the idea that, as in prayer, the Godhead has specific roles that the three Persons fulfill. Christ declared that there were certain things that only the Father knows (Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”); Paul states that Christ existed in the form of God and then became flesh (Philippians 2:6). Two seemingly comparative statements. Both are true, but Christ has certain roles that He fulfills – not ALL of the roles of the Godhead.
The same is true of the Holy Spirit. He couldn’t come unless Christ was with the Father (John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.).
There are so many different names given to the three Persons of the Godhead – individual names which point to individual roles. When we read Scripture, we are able to discern Who certain roles are assigned to based on the responsibility of that Party. We would never say that the Holy Spirit died on the cross – that was the Son’s responsibility. We DO say, incorrectly I would add, that Jesus is present with us (meaning, His physical presence). Ask yourself, “Where is Christ right now?” Does He have a physical body (albeit glorified)? Yes, He does. Where is Christ? He is sitting at the right hand of the Father. Christ, the only-begotten of the Father will for all of eternity have a physical body! You know – the one we will see with the scars in the hands and feet and side! He has fulfilled the role of Sacrificial Lamb for our behalf. He has other roles which He will complete, but He has specific roles.
Now, this has been a long loop in the road to get back to this thesis: Should we direct our worship to Jesus Christ? It sounds sacrilegious to say NO, doesn’t it? But what I see in Scripture is that Christ always directs HIS praise to the Father – not to the Spirit or even to Himself.
Listen to Christ’s own words:
Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'” Matthew 4:10
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 “Father” is the focus of worship. Even the Son of God acknowledges that fact.
So, what does all of this talk lead to?
Well, I believe that it actually elevates all three Persons of the Trinity in the area of worship, and here’s why…
The Father – If we truly strive to understand this Father of ours we will see a God who is so balanced in His attributes, character and being that it leaves me stunned and speechless when I contemplate on Him. What an amazing, surpassing Father we have that loved us so much that He created us to know Him; that loved us so much that even though we turned to sin, He already had planned a way of escape for us; that loved us so much that He gave up His only Son for our behalf; that loved us so much that He killed His own Son (think about that…)
All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Isaiah 53:6
But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief. Isaiah 53:10
He loved us THAT much! That He would CRUSH His very own Son for you, for me.
The Son – Who willingly gave Himself up for us. The same Isaiah passage closes with the following verses:
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:11-12
Oh my. What are my thoughts of Christ now? What has He done for me? Suddenly my hopes of a big-screen plasma TV seem to vanish. What incomparable love, grace, mercy… But I didn’t deserve it. That is the most moving thing in my mind in regard to the TULIP of Calvinism: My total depravity matched against God’s unmerited mercy. Ah, worship…
What a tremendous Savior. One who knew fully His role of submission to His Father. THAT, my friends, is the attitude that Paul was trying to pound into our heads in the Philippians passage above. Have this same exact attitude… An attitude that declares, “I am in submission to you, Father.” Everything I do from this day forward will be in complete harmony to Your will. Jesus WAS God, and yet He submitted to the Father. What are we compared to Christ??? We are certainly NOT God. And yet here is the picture of God willingly submitting to God. THAT is the Savior that bought us. Not a cheap Savior, that’s for sure.
The Spirit – This “Gift” that we have been given… This Spirit that literally lives within us. We, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit that we quench and grieve. How would we view “worship” if we really thought about this Gift within us – DWELLING in us all the time – not coming and going like David of old. Worship then no longer becomes something we do on Sunday morning alone, right? Worship is something that we do all the time. It’s not something that is an event, it is like breathing. I love Steven Curtis Chapman’s song, Let Us Pray, because of a certain phrase in that song – “Like breathing out and breathing in, let us pray.” Why is it so hard for us to worship this way? Why do we make such an event out of it?
If I understand the roles of the three Persons of the Trinity, then I must focus my “worship” toward the Father. I come to Him in worship based on that atoning sacrifice of His Son and the peace WITH God and the peace OF God that His death provided. I come to Him in Worship because of this Spirit that allows that relationship to remain open – based on the GIFT that Christ ensured we would receive when He Returned to the Father.
Once again, please check me…
My Dad responded this morning and said this:
Worship and prayer are two important areas in the life of the church and of the individual members of the church. "WHO?" and "WHAT?" we worship are critical questions for those who claim to worship. It seems that all too often the focus is on "how" and "where" we worship. If I have any complaint it is that too much of contemporary worship is about "us" and "how well we do it". This is in stark contrast to Isaiah\’s testimony "I saw the LORD" (Isa. 6).
Interesting. My pastor just spoke on the Isaiah passage recently. I agree with my Dad on this; when presented with the God of the universe, Isaiah\’s response was one that denotes a pretty good understanding on the stark difference between the Holy, Holy, Holy God and himself. Whatever thoughts Isaiah might have had about being a "holy prophet" disentegrated when the superlative was revealed.