What is the definition of worship?

Answer

In the Bible, the Hebrew word translated as “worship” is shachah and literally denotes the act of bowing down. The Greek word proskuneō, rendered as “worship,” means “to encounter God and praise Him.” Both terms appear to describe worship as an activity or an action. However, an accurate portrayal of biblical worship goes beyond mere activity. A more comprehensive definition of worship can be summarized in this statement: “Worship is the reverential response of creation to the all-encompassing magnificence of God” (McCaulley, E., “Worship,” Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Press, 2014).

In his book Real Worship, Warren Wiersbe presents this definition of worship: “Worship is the believer’s response of all that he is—mind, emotions, will, and body—to all that God is and says and does. . . . It is a loving response that is balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a deepening response as the believer comes to know God better” (Wiersbe, W., Real Worship, Oliver Nelson, 1986, p. 27).

Worship is the ultimate purpose for which humans were created. God said, “I have made them for my glory” (Isaiah 43:7;NLT;see also Psalm 29:1-2;1 Corinthians 10:31;Ephesians 1:3-6;Philippians 2:9-11). Worship is the believer’s way of life (1 Corinthians 10:31;Colossians 3:17). Everything we say and do should be an act of worship before God.

Worship cannot be defined solely by physical observances.Because true biblical worship is centered on God and His unparalleled greatness. It’s not merely attending a church service, singing, playing an instrument, lifting hands in praise, and bowing down. These actions are all components of worship (Psalm 95:2-3; Acts 13:2; Hebrews 13:15; 1 Corinthians 11-14; Ephesians 5:19-20; 1 Timothy 4:13) but do not encompass its entirety. They can also serve as indications of worship, but genuine worship extends beyond outward displays or physical performances into various expressions of the human heart responding to God’s revelation of Himself, His purposes, and His will. Worship begins with an internal posture of the heart that is consistently bowed down in humble, awe-filled acknowledgment of God’s worthiness, honoring and revering Him continually as the supreme authority over one’s life (Psalm 51:17; Psalm 95:6; Revelation 4:11).

Jesus admonished the Pharisees and scribes, likening them to the people in Isaiah’s time who honored God with their lips, yet their hearts were distant from Him (Matthew 15:7-9; cf: Isaiah 29:13). According to Jesus, such worship was insincere. True worship can only emanate from a heart that has been redeemed and is in a right relationship with God. We must be born again and filled with the Holy Spirit before we can truly know God and respond to Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23; see also Isaiah 59:2; Hosea 6:6; 1 Corinthians 2:11; 2 Timothy 3:5).

Worshiping God in spirit and truth entails loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.In (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27), the apostle Paul’s definition of worship reflected this all-encompassing devotion of one’s life to God: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1).

True worship is God-focused. He is the only appropriate object of our worship. To worship anything or anyone else is idolatry (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; 1 Chronicles 16:25; Isaiah 2:8). Genuine, God-centered worship exalts the Lord only; it is offered for His pleasure alone because He alone is worthy (Exodus 34:14; 1 Chronicles 16:25-19; Psalm 86:9-10).

A simplified definition of worship can be stated as a continual heart attitude of bowing down in reverence and humility before the supreme Lord and Creator of the universe. Worship is the heartbeat of the believer’s existence, a lifelong celebration of the worthiness of God. To worship is to respond with one’s whole being in adoration, exaltation, humble submission, and obedience to God (John 4:24; Mark 12:30).

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.”

(Psalm 95:6-7; ESV)