I read the phrase, "rules of worship," the other day. I liked the sound of it because the Bible does say much about the worship of God in both the Old and New Testaments. There are rules involved or order in what we do. Paul wrote to a church whose worship was being confused and clouded:

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. . . Let all things be done decently and in order." (1 Cor. 14:33, 40.)

The worship of God is serious business. We must not think that God will accept just anything that we offer. We can offend the God of heaven with carelessness and indifference. A good analogy is how one would enter into the presence of an ancient king. The king had sole authority over his subjects in the land. In America, the concept of a king is difficult for us to comprehend. We have rejected all such notions politically for our free land, but God is like a king.

Worship is what our assemblies are primarily all about. We edify one another in the process, but we come together to worship God. Christians must understand worship. We must correct false ideas and practices which hinder true worship. Jesus said,

"But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him." (John 4:23.)

Jesus said that the Father is looking for "true worshipers." What I want to present today are simple rules found in the Bible for worshipping the Father the way He desires. Young worshipers will follow what they see older worshipers doing. Attitudes and practices will form traditions. We must always ask, What does the Father want us to do in worshipping Him?

First of all, this idea or concept of worship is unique in that it is not something commonly done or that applies to other things in life. Worship is directed only to God. Man must not worship anyone or anything else other than God.

John the apostle and Seer on Patmos had angels showing him many wonderful things. He was so moved by the experience that he fell down at the feet of one of the angels to worship. The angel responded, "See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." (Rev. 22:9.) This is one of the rules of worship which John almost broke. No one should worship angels, other men, departed saints, the mother of Jesus and especially not the Devil; though there are some who do.

Cornelius fell down at the feet of Peter and worshipped. Peter said firmly, "Stand up; I myself also am a man." (Acts 10:26.) Like John on Patmos with all those visions, Cornelius was taken up with deep emotions because of the significance of the occasion. But we must never allow our emotions to cause us to do something that God does not want or allow. Just because we are deeply moved by an event does not mean that such worship is acceptable if it is improperly directed. All worship must be directed to God and to no one else. Only God is worthy of worship.

Revelation chapter four is known by Bible students as the throne room scene with God on the throne and everyone around Him worshipping Him. This scene is central, not only to Revelation, but to the whole Bible.

"The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Rev. 4:10-11.)

We should include in our worship of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is not wrong to worship the Son; indeed we should desire to worship and honor Him. It is not wrong to worship the Holy Spirit of God. I like the song with three simple stanzas each referring to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

"Father, Jesus, Spirit---we love you; we worship and adore you. Glorify your name in all the earth." ("Glorify Your Name," 929.)

I want to impress upon us the importance of a knowledge of God as a foundation for our worship. (John 4:24.) Those who worship many gods do not understand the nature of God. If we do not feel awe toward God, then we do not understand the nature of God. If we do not exalt the name of God, the reason is that we do not understand God. If we do not feel unworthy in the presence of God, then we do not understand ourselves or God. (Isaiah 6:1-8.) True worship is based upon the proper understanding of God. All worship is directed toward Him and Him alone.

The word, worship, is from an old English word (weordhschip) which means worthship or worthiness, dignity or merit. God is worthy of praise and adoration because of who He is. One word in the Greek, gonu, refers to the bending of the knee or falling in full prostration, as in prayer. Another word, prokunei, means to prostrate oneself in token of reverence. Homologia means confessing or praising God in His mighty acts. There are about 16 original words rendered worship in English.

Worship is the expression of God’s goodness, grace, power, justice, love. It is extolling God’s virtues, lifting up his name, speaking of His mighty acts. Note these statements:

"For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him, strength and beauty are in his sancturay. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before him all the earth." (Psalm 96:1-9.)

"Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name." (Psalm 66:3-4.)

"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God in the mountain of his holiness." (Psalm 48:1.)

"O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over the earth. . . Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. God reigneth over the heathen; God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness." (Psalm 47:1-2, 6-8.)

"O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens." (Psalm 8:1.)

"In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and his train filled the temple. . . Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." (Isa. 6:1, 3.)

Paul would often add in his letters to preachers and churches these short bursts of praise to God. Here is one: "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever." (1 Tim. 1:17.)

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever." (Rev. 5:12-13.)

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Heb. 13:15.)

Worship is expressed in how we present ourselves to God, bowing humbly in His presence, or falling prostrate upon the ground. An older brother that I knew from Mississippi when asked to lead prayer for the congregation at Nettleton would arise from his seat and knell beside his seat. The Bible does not have rules about the physical posture of the body. What is most important is the condition of the heart. But there is nothing wrong with expressing yourself to God in physical ways. The most common posture of one entering into the presence of a king was bowing. How should we act in the presence of God?

Remember the parable Jesus told about two men going up into the temple to pray? (Luke 18:9-14.) Herein is revealed one of the important rules of worship---the how of worship. One approached God with pride and arrogance; the other with humility and submission. The one did not trust in himself that he was righteous went down to his house justified rather than the other.

How is worship expressed? Humbly, sincerely, genuinely, fervently from the heart. One of the most comprehensive statements that we have about worship is found in Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman.

"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour is cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:19-24.)

Jesus mentioned at least three "rules of worship." 1) Worship the Father (v. 21), 2) Where men worship (vs. 21-23), and 3) How we should worship (v. 24).

The phrase, in spirit and in truth, is often repeated in our assemblies. Those leading prayer and preachers often say those words. But what do they mean? Familiar things should be considered more carefully, says Charles Hodge. That is especially true with the words, in spirit and in truth.

The most common explanation is that "in spirit" means right attitude and "in truth" means according to Scripture. No one would question whether these two things are an essential part of true worship. But this interpretation is so general that it could be applied to everything that we do in Christianity. It also could be applied to worship under the old covenant. Should not the Jews worship God with a right disposition of heart and according to the Law of Moses? The distinction that Jesus made was not between how the Samaritan and Jews worshipped, because Jesus said that the hour is coming when men worship neither in the mountain of Samaria or Judea. The new temple will be the temple of the human body.

"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you and which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." (1 Cor. 6:19-20.)

Jesus said that God is a Spirit. The foundation for all true worship is a good understanding of who God is. Paul said that God does not dwell in temples made with hands, neither is he worshipped with men’s hands. (Acts 17:24-25.) Since God is a Spirit, true worship should be done in our spirit, honoring the Holy Spirit of God. Worship is not so much where one is when he worships, or what man does physically. The Jews could have killed all the right animals, at the right time, the priest could have offered them the right way, and the worshipper still not have worshipped God. Why? Because true worship involves the spirit of man bowing before the Spirit of God.

More specifically, the distinction that Jesus is drawing here with the phrase, in spirit and in truth, is the basic difference between New Testament worship and the "carnal ordinances" of the Old Testament. (Heb. 9:10.) "For the Law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." (Heb. 10:1.) The Law involved a physical temple in Jerusalem, slaying birds, sheep, goats, rams and bulls. All of these were a shadow of better things to come under the new covenant. Now, the temple is the body of the believer. We offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Heb. 13:15.)

In spirit means spiritual inward worship, not physical outward things of Jewish worship. The word, spirit, stands opposed to rites and ceremonies, and to the pomp of external worship. In truth means the real in contrast to the shadows of the Law. "In spirit and in truth" contrasts the worship today to the worship of the old covenant.

In the above passage (John 4:19-24), Jesus answered the woman’s question about where to worship. The dispute in that day was between Samaritans and Jews concerning two different physical temples in two different mountains. Jesus short-circuited that debate by saying, in effect, in just a little while it won’t matter any more. When his church would be established in Jerusalem, the physical temple in Jerusalem will no longer be the center of worship.

We have already indicated that the physical temple gave way to the spiritual temple of the believer’s body. His worship would arise from his spirit to the Spirit of the living God. We must be careful not to replace the old temple in Jerusalem with modern religious places of worship. Where we meet is not important. Early Christians met in houses, synagogues, rented places, and even outside. We should not call this assembly hall a sanctuary. Sanctuary means "the most sacred part of a religious building." (Webster’s.) The word is used in Hebrews to refer to the holy places in the temple in Jerusalem.

But the answer to where is that we worship God publicly and privately. There is a fitting time for both. God calls us together to worship. Again, we can worship anywhere, but we should worship together. There are some things that belong to the public gathering. Partaking the one bread by the one body is done when we come together. There is no example of individuals partaking of the Lord’s Supper in Scripture. All of the other "acts" of worship can be and should be done at home. We should worship God every day and in every place. There should be daily praises offered to God.

Simply put, we worship God because of who God is and who we are. "God is in heaven, and thou (man) is upon the earth." (Eccl. 5:2.) God is worthy of worship; man is dependent and needy. God should be praised and thanked because He created man and sustains man in life.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17.)

We love God because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19.) "I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." (Psalm 116:1-2.)

"Man is by nature a worshipping creature. Wherever man is found, whether among the most elevated civilizing influences or in the depths of superstition and heathenism, he will be found worshipping some being he considers superior to himself. Anthropologists are not agreed touching the reasons for this characteristic. Some think that it is innate. Explain it as one will, the fact remains that this characteristic is pronounced in the human species and must be duly dealt with in any study of man." (Gospel Advocate, "Divine Devotions," Guy N. Woods, May 20, 1982.)

The five "rules of worship" discussed above are these: 1) Worship God, 2) Worship is praising, submitting, honoring, bowing before God, 3) Worship God sincerely, genuinely, fervently, in spirit and in truth, 4) God should be worshipped in the assembly of the saints and privately, 5) Man should worship God because He is the Creator and man is the created. Man by nature worships.

There are two other important areas that I wish to cover. One is the value and place of worship; another is what offends God when we come to worship Him.

The value of worship. "The world perverts us so grotesquely with its lies that we have to spend a lot of time in worship to get our heads straight. We spend so much time out of touch with reality that we must worship to clear out the ‘crazies’ from our brainwashed and befuddled minds. We have gazed at life through the world’s warped lenses so long that its crooked images look straight, and its disfiguring twists seem somehow normal.

"The world of Scripture is the real ‘real world.’ It is the truest truth we have ever known. Its wisdom makes the world’s lies not just untrue but silly and stupid. Its images are sober and humane. Its understanding are profound; they even work in the arena of ordinary life. Its foolishness is wise.

"So we come to worship to become re-immersed in the real world of God’s truth, to be civilized again by hearing and confessing the sane explanations of who we are, and what we are for, and how we are to live. Looking at life through the eyes of Scripture, we can see ourselves as we were created to be. We can catch a glimpse of what God has called us to be and to do. In short, we can get our heads straight. But it takes time.

"Sunday is a day of reality, an appointment with reality. It is the one place and the one time in a world of craziness where we are encountered by the truth, the way things really are.

"We worship the Creator instead of the creation. We keep in touch with the reality that brings life. And the result is sanity. We pray, ‘Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways. Reclothe us in our rightful minds. . . ‘ And we leave sane again." (Gospel Advocate, "Worship---The Real World," Charles Siburt, February 1991, 23.)

Things offensive to God. Some of the strongest language in the Bible is found in connection with worship that comes from people who offended God in different ways. We could call these times when people broke the "rules of worship." It angers God to call upon him at one moment and live contrary to God’s will. James said it this way:

"But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things out not so to be." (James 3:8-10.)

Jesus said, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift." (Matt. 5:23-24.)

Both James and Jesus have worship in mind, but a problem exists with the worshipper. His life is out of harmony with what worship states and implies. There is a contradiction between worshipping God and cursing man who is made after the image of God. True worship of God harmonizes the worshipper to his fellow man.

Perhaps no prophet delivered a more blistering denunciation against the people of God who worshipped God. The Jews of Malachi’s day had so strayed from God that their worship sickened God. Here is a list of some of the things that were doing.

1) Offered polluted bread on the table; offered blind and sick animals as sacrifices. (Malachi 1:7-8.) "I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." (1:10.)

2) They were breaking the Law of Moses concerning marriage. They married non-Jews. (2:11.) They dealt treacherously with the wife of their youth. (2:14.) The women were weeping so much that the altar was covered with their tears. (2:13.) God said that he would not accept their offering anymore or receive it with goodwill from their hands. God hates "putting away," or divorce. (2:16.)

3) Some among the Jews were sorcerers, adulterers, swearing falsely, oppressing the laborer by not paying due wages, not caring for the widows and fatherless. (3:5.)

4) Robbed God by not giving the tithes that he commanded. "You are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even the whole nation." (3:8-9.)

Then Malachi turns toward those who cared about doing right. He wrote,

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard it; and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name. They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels. I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall they return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth not." (3:16-18.)