What Is Worship?

This topic was developed over the 2024 Christmas break.

On Christmas morning, our family reads the traditional story from Luke chapter 2 telling the birth of Christ. This Christmas, we decided to do something different and read multiple passages, including the wise men worshiping Christ in Matthew chapter 2.

Reading the story of the wise men got me asking the question, “What is worship?” I was also interested in using Romans 12:1-2 in my morning prayer to start 2025. Though I have memorized these two verses, I had never previously thought about the word “worship” in Romans 12:1-2. This led to me pulling verses together and, ultimately, creating this post.

For me, the key to worship in all of Scripture is Isaiah 6:1-7. Our worship of God, in whatever setting, should lead us to the majesty of God, an acknowledgment that we are undone before Him, a confession of sin, and reconciliation to Him through the forgiveness of Christ. Isaiah 6 shows us that a Mediator between us and God is necessary to redeem us from having broken God’s law. Otherwise, we are separated from God by sin. Because of the majesty of God, we cannot stand before Him without first having been cleansed of our sin.

We often speak of “worship services” in church. Unfortunately, many churches are far from Isaiah’s understanding of worship. Going to church has become more about making ourselves feel good or being entertained than about humbling ourselves before God.

Worship in Romans 12:1-2 involves the body. “Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice… which is your spiritual service of worship.” This exhortation is loaded with meaning. In its simplest form, we must understand that our bodies can be used to honor God as well as to dishonor God.

False worship is represented in the fabrication of idols to worship false gods. Acts 19:23-29 See also Exodus 32:1-7, Hosea 4:14, 1 Kings 12:26-33, Exodus 20:4-6, Deuteronomy 23:17 When Moses was delayed on the mountain while receiving God’s law, the people of Israel used their bodies to contribute gold and fabricate an idol in the form of a calf. Kings and prostitutes used their bodies in Scripture to dishonor God. The Acts 19 reference above depicts craftsmen using their bodies and abilities to fabricate idols.

We should also note that worship involves sacrifice. In false worship, sacrifices are often given, including human sacrifice (using our bodies to dishonor God). Leviticus 18:21, 2 Kings 23:10 Some today view abortion as a form of human sacrifice similar to offering children as sacrifices to Molech in the Old Testament. Knowing that life originates from God, that our children are a gift from God, and that God forms each child in the mother’s womb, the extent to which abortion dishonors God is a question worthy of deliberation.

How do we worship God with our bodies?

• In tithing and bringing the fruit of our labor to God. Deuteronomy 26:10
• Bring an offering and come before God. 1 Chronicles 16:29
• Celebrating the passover. 2 Chronicles 30:1
• Bow and kneel before God. Psalm 95:6 (prostrating the body)
• Worship the Lord in holy attire. Psalm 96:9 (actions with the body)
• That God would teach us and that we would walk in His paths. Isaiah 2:3
• The wise men traveled to worship Christ, presented gifts to Christ, and show homage. Matthew 2:1-11 (homage generally means to show deep respect, praise, and honor)
• God has proclaimed a law that we are to only worship Him. Matthew 4:8-10
• Worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24 (conforming the mind and following truth)

We worship God by acknowledging Him through the conduct of our bodies. As an example, the obedient servants in the parable of the talents worshiped God through their obedience. We show respect and honor to God chiefly through our obedience, repentance from sin, and the conduct of our bodies. We also show respect and honor through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We cannot worship only with the outward actions of our bodies. Our minds and hearts must also be conformed to God. So in Mark 7:20 and James 3:6, we understand that what comes out of the body springs from the heart. If the heart is corrupt, the actions of the body will be corrupt.

True worship of God, then, involves presenting our bodies in spiritual service to God and renewing our minds to be conformed to the Holy Spirit. This is summarized in Romans 12:1-2. When we come to worship God, true worship results in our acknowledgment of God’s majesty, cognizance of our own sin, confessing sin, and being cleansed by God. Isaiah 6:1-7 True worship results in bearing fruit consistent with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25

False worship is using the body to commit sin, give homage to idols, engage in idolatry, sacrifice for evil purposes, and corrupt the mind with the things of the world. Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21

We engage in true worship of God with the body and the mind, and we engage in false worship of idols and the things of the world with the body and the mind.