Worthy Is The Lamb To Be Worshiped

The Bible gives no formal definition of worship, so we must find it by studying the words God gave to us. Old English does this well, preserved to us in the King James Version. The word worship comes from two Old English words: “weorth” which means worth, and “scipe” which means quality. We can see the suffix “-ship” in words like friendship showing the quality of being a friend. The word “weorth-scipe” or worship is thus the quality of being worthy. When we worship God, we are saying He is worthy.

A simple definition of worship is the glorification of God by His children — not just about the music. It’s about the preaching, the offerings, the prayers, the fellowship, etc. Worship is not about finding feelings or warm fuzzies, which exalts our worth above God’s. Many people blame their lack of worship on their lack of feelings. However, we are to worship God regardless of our feelings. We are to do for Him because of who He is and not because of who we are, nor because of what our circumstances are.

Worship is about God’s worth — God’s and God’s alone! David gave us some elements of worship in Psalm 100. Cherry-picking one or two of these creates ungodly worship. On the other hand, applying these together (for example adoration with noise) our worship will be in godly reverence:

• 100:1 – Noise – To shout for joy, with reverence
• 100:2 – Gladness – The joy of God, whether or not everything is happy
• 100:2 – Singing – To shout for joy, with passion
• 100:3 – Acknowledgement – That He is God, whom we are worshiping
• 100:4 – Entrance – Into His house, the physical church building
• 100:4 – Thanksgiving – To confess, praise, testify
• 100:4 – Praise – A hymn of praise, that song in your heart
• 100:4 – Adoration – To keel, revere, salute
• 100:5 – Establishment – Worship was established by/for God alone

Worship means to declare worth — the quality of being worthy. We are not worthy. Our warm fuzzies are not worthy. God is the only One worthy. When we worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23), we declare to Him, “worthy is the lamb that was slain” (Revelation 5:12).