Topical Bible: Worshipping

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Definition and Significance
Worshipping in the biblical context refers to the act of showing reverence and adoration for God. It is a central theme throughout the Bible, encompassing various forms of expression such as prayer, singing, and obedience to God's commandments. Worship is both a personal and communal activity, reflecting the believer's relationship with God and the acknowledgment of His sovereignty, holiness, and love.

Old Testament Context
In the Old Testament, worship is often associated with sacrifices and offerings, as seen in the practices of the Israelites. The Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem served as focal points for worship. The book of Exodus details the construction of the Tabernacle, where God instructed Moses, "And let them make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8). Worship was regulated by the Law, with specific instructions on how to approach God, emphasizing His holiness and the need for atonement.

The Psalms are rich with expressions of worship, highlighting both personal and corporate praise. Psalm 95:6 invites believers, "Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker." This verse encapsulates the attitude of humility and reverence that characterizes true worship.

New Testament Context
In the New Testament, worship takes on a more spiritual dimension with the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus emphasizes worship in spirit and truth, as He explains to the Samaritan woman at the well: "But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him" (John 4:23). This teaching underscores the shift from ritualistic practices to a heart-centered devotion.

The early church gathered regularly for worship, which included teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer (Acts 2:42). The apostle Paul encourages believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, as a spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1). This highlights the comprehensive nature of worship, extending beyond formal gatherings to encompass all aspects of life.

Forms of Worship
Worship can be expressed in various forms, including:

1. Prayer: Communicating with God through adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, providing a model in the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).

2. Singing: Music and song are powerful expressions of worship. The Psalms, as well as New Testament passages like Ephesians 5:19, encourage believers to sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."

3. Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper are acts of worship that signify the believer's union with Christ and the remembrance of His sacrifice.

4. Obedience: True worship involves living a life that honors God through obedience to His Word. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

The Object of Worship
The Bible is clear that worship is to be directed solely to God. The first commandment states, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). Idolatry, or the worship of anything other than God, is condemned throughout Scripture. In Revelation, the angel instructs John, "Worship God!" (Revelation 22:9), affirming that God alone is worthy of worship.

Conclusion
Worship is a vital aspect of the Christian faith, reflecting the believer's love, devotion, and submission to God. It is both an individual and collective experience, rooted in the truth of God's Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Through worship, believers glorify God and are transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(vb. n.) of Worship.

Greek

2356. threskeia -- religion
... religion, worshipping. From a derivative of threskos; ceremonial observance -- religion,
worshipping. see GREEK threskos. (threskeia) -- 3 Occurrences. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2356.htm - 6k

Library

The Charge of Worshipping the Sun Met by a Retort.
... Book I. Chapter XIII. "The Charge of Worshipping the Sun Met by a Retort.
Others, with greater regard to good manners, it must ...
//christianbookshelf.org/tertullian/ad nationes/chapter xiii name charge of.htm

The Charge of Worshipping a Cross the Heathens Themselves Made ...
... The Charge of Worshipping a Cross The Heathens Themselves Made Much of Crosses in
Sacred Things; Nay, Their Very Idols Were Formed on a Crucial Frame. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/tertullian/ad nationes/chapter xii name charge of.htm

Praying, Returning Thanks, Worshipping in the Holy Spirit.
... CHAPTER XVII. PRAYING, RETURNING THANKS, WORSHIPPING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Two of the most deeply significant passages in the Bible ...
/.../chapter xvii praying returning thanks.htm

The Joy of Worshipping God
... PSALMS THE JOY OF WORSHIPPING GOD. Oh come, let us sing to the Lord, Let
us shout to the Rock who saves us, Let us come before him ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/the joy of worshipping god.htm

All the Arrangements Made by Men to the Making and Worshipping of ...
... Book 2 Chapter 30. All the arrangements made by men to the making and
worshipping of idols are? 30. All the arrangements made ...
/.../on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 30 all the arrangements.htm

More Passages from the Same Gospel in Proof of the Same Portion of ...
... Chapter XXIII."More Passages from the Same Gospel in Proof of the Same Portion of
the Catholic Faith Praxeas' Taunt of Worshipping Two Gods Repudiated. ...
/.../tertullian/against praxeas/chapter xxiii more passages from the.htm

Argument: the Object of all Nations, and Especially of the Romans ...
... Chapter VI."Argument: The Object of All Nations, and Especially of the Romans, in
Worshipping Their Divinities, Has Been to Attain for Their Worship the ...
/.../felix/the octavius of minucius felix/chapter vi argument the object of.htm

In Reply to those who Say "If Christ Has Two Natures, Either Ye do ...
... Chapter III."In reply to those who say "If Christ has two natures, either ye do
service to the creature in worshipping created nature, or ye say that there ...
/.../john/exposition of the orthodox faith/chapter iii in reply to those.htm

The Reasons by which the Pagans Attempt to Defend their ...
... Book IV. Chapter 24."The Reasons by Which the Pagans Attempt to Defend Their
Worshipping Among the Gods the Divine Gifts Themselves. ...
/.../augustine/city of god/chapter 24 the reasons by which.htm

Of the Fact that the God of the Hebrews is not Received by the ...
... this God, except that His will was that He alone should be worshipped; and His command
was, that those gods of the Gentiles that they were worshipping at the ...
/.../augustine/the harmony of the gospels/chapter xviii of the fact that.htm

Thesaurus

Worshipping (49 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (vb. n.) of Worship. Multi-Version Concordance
Worshipping (49 Occurrences). Matthew 20:20 Then came to ...
/w/worshipping.htm - 22k

Nisroch (2 Occurrences)
... NISROCH. nis'-rok, niz'-rok (nicrokh): The Assyrian god in whose temple Sennacherib
was worshipping when put to death by his sons (2 Kings 19:37 Isaiah 37:38). ...
/n/nisroch.htm - 8k

Attitudes (1 Occurrence)
... A beautiful rock sculpture at Ibriz, Southeast of Eregli in Lycaonia, shows us a
king or satrap in a standing position, worshipping a local Baal. ...
/a/attitudes.htm - 20k

Esar-haddon (3 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch
his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they ...
/e/esar-haddon.htm - 7k

Esar (3 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:37 It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god,
that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped ...
/e/esar.htm - 7k

Adram'melech (3 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch
his god, that Adrammelech and Sarezer his sons smote him with the sword; and ...
/a/adram'melech.htm - 7k

Astartes (5 Occurrences)
... Judges 10:6 And again the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
worshipping the Baals and Astartes, and the gods of Aram and the gods of Zidon ...
/a/astartes.htm - 8k

Adrammelech (3 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:37 It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god,
that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped ...
/a/adrammelech.htm - 8k

Ar'arat (4 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:37 It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god,
that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped ...
/a/ar'arat.htm - 7k

Sharezer (5 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:37 It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god,
that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped ...
/s/sharezer.htm - 10k

Resources

What is a biblical theology of worship? | GotQuestions.org

Are any of the various worship styles unbiblical? | GotQuestions.org

What is true worship? | GotQuestions.org

Worshipping: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Worshipping (49 Occurrences)

Matthew 20:20
Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
(KJV ASV)

Luke 2:37
and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn't depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day.
(WEB ASV BBE)

John 4:22
You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews.
(BBE)

John 4:24
God 'is' a Spirit, and those worshipping Him, in spirit and truth it doth behove to worship.'
(YLT)

Acts 13:2
While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."
(WEY)

Acts 13:43
And the congregation of the synagogue having broken up, many of the Jews and of the worshipping proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
(DBY)

Acts 16:14
and a certain woman, by name Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, worshipping God, was hearing, whose heart the Lord did open to attend to the things spoken by Paul;
(YLT)

Acts 17:4
And certain of them did believe, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude, of the principal women also not a few.
(YLT)

Acts 17:17
therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the worshipping persons, and in the market-place every day with those who met with him.
(YLT)

Acts 26:7
the promise which our twelve tribes, worshipping day and night with intense devotedness, hope to have made good to them. It is on the subject of this hope, Sir, that I am accused by the Jews.
(WEY)

Romans 1:23
and, instead of worshipping the imperishable God, they worshipped images resembling perishable man or resembling birds or beasts or reptiles.
(WEY)

Colossians 2:18
Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
(WEB KJV ASV)

Revelation 11:1
And there was given to me a reed like to a rod, and the messenger stood, saying, 'Rise, and measure the sanctuary of God, and the altar, and those worshipping in it;
(YLT)

Revelation 13:4
And they gave worship to the dragon, because he gave authority to the beast; and worshipping the beast, they said, Who is like the beast? and who is able to go to war with him?
(BBE)

Revelation 13:8
And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.
(WEY)

Revelation 22:3
And there will be no more curse: and the high seat of God and of the Lamb will be there; and his servants will be worshipping him;
(BBE)

Deuteronomy 11:13
And it will be that if you truly give ear to the orders which I put before you this day, loving the Lord your God and worshipping him with all your heart and all your soul,
(BBE)

Deuteronomy 13:4
But keep on in the ways of the Lord your God, fearing him and keeping his orders and hearing his voice, worshipping him and being true to him.
(BBE)

Deuteronomy 17:3
By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;
(BBE)

Deuteronomy 28:47
Because you did not give honour to the Lord your God, worshipping him gladly, with joy in your hearts on account of all your wealth of good things;
(BBE)

Joshua 22:27
But to be a witness between us and you, and between the future generations, that we have the right of worshipping the Lord with our burned offerings and our offerings of beasts and our peace-offerings; so that your children will not be able to say to our children in time to come, You have no part in the Lord.
(BBE)

Joshua 24:2
And Joshua said to all the people, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel: In the past your fathers, Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, were living on the other side of the River: and they were worshipping other gods.
(BBE)

Judges 2:12
And they gave up the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had taken them out of the land of Egypt, and went after other gods, the gods of the peoples round about them, worshipping them and moving the Lord to wrath.
(BBE)

Judges 10:6
And again the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, worshipping the Baals and Astartes, and the gods of Aram and the gods of Zidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the children of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines; they gave up the Lord and were servants to him no longer.
(BBE)

1 Samuel 1:19
And early in the morning they got up, and after worshipping before the Lord they went back to Ramah, to their house: and Elkanah had connection with his wife; and the Lord kept her in mind.
(BBE)

1 Samuel 8:8
As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you.
(BBE)

1 Samuel 12:10
Then crying out to the Lord, they said, We have done evil, because we have been turned away from the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes: but now, make us safe from those who are against us and we will be your servants.
(BBE)

1 Kings 8:43
Give ear in heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have put up is truly named by your name.
(BBE)

2 Kings 17:16
And turning their backs on all the orders which the Lord had given them, they made for themselves images of metal, and the image of Asherah, worshipping all the stars of heaven and becoming servants to Baal.
(BBE)

2 Kings 17:32
So they went on worshipping the Lord, and made for themselves, from among all the people, priests for the high places, to make offerings for them in the houses of the high places.
(BBE)

2 Kings 17:34
So to this day they go on in their old ways, not worshipping the Lord or keeping his orders or his ways or the law and the rule which the Lord gave to the children of Jacob, to whom he gave the name Israel;
(BBE)

2 Kings 17:41
So these nations, worshipping the Lord, still were servants to the images they had made; their children and their children's children did the same; as their fathers did, so do they, to this day.
(BBE)

2 Kings 19:37
It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esar Haddon his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY)

1 Chronicles 5:25
And they did evil against the God of their fathers, worshipping the gods of the people of the land, whom God had put to destruction before them.
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 29:20
And David said to all the people, Now give praise to the Lord your God. And all the people gave praise to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with bent heads worshipping the Lord and the king.
(BBE)

2 Chronicles 6:33
Then give ear from heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and may see that this house which I have made is truly named by your name.
(BBE)

2 Chronicles 20:18
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshipping Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Chronicles 25:14
Now when Amaziah came back from the destruction of the Edomites, he took the gods of the children of Seir and made them his gods, worshipping them and burning offerings before them.
(BBE)

2 Chronicles 25:27
Now from the time when Amaziah gave up worshipping the Lord, they made secret designs against him in Jerusalem; and he went in flight to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him and put him to death there.
(BBE)

Nehemiah 1:11
O Lord, let your ear take note of the prayer of your servant, and of the prayers of your servants, who take delight in worshipping your name: give help, O Lord, to your servant this day, and let him have mercy in the eyes of this man. (Now I was the king's wine-servant.)
(BBE)

Nehemiah 9:3
And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God.
(BBE)

Psalms 99:5
Give high honour to the Lord our God, worshipping at his feet; holy is he.
(BBE)

Psalms 99:9
Give high honour to the Lord our God, worshipping with your faces turned to his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.
(BBE)

Isaiah 37:38
It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esar Haddon his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY)

Jeremiah 1:16
And I will give my decision against them on account of all their evil-doing; because they have given me up, burning perfumes to other gods and worshipping the works of their hands.
(BBE)

Ezekiel 8:16
He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh's house; and see, at the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.
(WEB ASV BBE)

Daniel 3:6
And anyone not falling down and worshipping will that same hour be put into a burning and flaming fire.
(BBE)

Daniel 3:11
And anyone not falling down and worshipping is to be put into a burning and flaming fire.
(BBE)

Malachi 3:14
You have said, It is no use worshipping God: what profit have we had from keeping his orders, and going in clothing of sorrow before the Lord of armies?
(BBE)

Subtopics

Worshipping

Worshipping God

Worshipping Idols

Related Terms

Nisroch (2 Occurrences)

Attitudes (1 Occurrence)

Esar-haddon (3 Occurrences)

Esar (3 Occurrences)

Adram'melech (3 Occurrences)

Astartes (5 Occurrences)

Adrammelech (3 Occurrences)