There is much contemporary discussion in churches over the issue of worship. Yet, what we are often talking about has nothing whatsoever to do with the bible's concept of worship. But worship is important. In fact, it is the biggest subject of all. 
Don Carson sums it up neatly when he says 'the heart of all biblical religion is God-centeredness: in short, it is worship.' That's a big statement, but it's right. Worship, in the bible, is the alpha and omega. The purpose of both creation, and the new creation, is worship. The Old Testament story begins with humanity created in God's presence, in perfect and conscious communion with him, that is, in a state of perfect worship. The New Testament ends with the consummation of glory: that perfect relationship, lost through sin, is recovered; all the redeemed see God's face and reign with him. True worship is restored. The whole bible, between Genesis 2 and Revelation 22, is the story of worship lost and worship regained; true worship abandoned by mankind in Adam and his descendents-and true worship restored in Christ and for those who are in Christ.
Our very word worship, derived from worthship, helps us see that at heart it is all about the right relationship of God and Man. God has his place of rightful worth in our lives, and we must have a right view of our own place in relation to him. He is our King and Lord, and we are his servant creatures. But, of course, what we call 'the fall' was a rebellion against this royal covenant relationship. Rightful worship was turned on its head as man grasped at being his own ruler, instead wanting God to serve him. That is the heart of sin: self-centredness and self preoccupation which is the very opposite of true worship.
But where the first Adam failed, the last Adam, our Lord Jesus, triumphed. Christ is supremely the one who restores real worship-the right relationship of man, as God's image bearer, to God his creator, the right worth of obedient servant to gracious Lord. The wilderness temptation demonstrates the pattern of how real, biblical worship is expressed, in an exact reversal of the rebellion of Adam. "All this I will give you," Satan said, "if you will bow down and worship me." But Jesus said "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" (Matt 4:9-10).
This is the heart of true worship. Fundamentally it is nothing to do with aesthetics (types of music or liturgy), it is a spiritual matter; not mystical, but moral. The real worship question is not 'what shall we sing?', but 'to whom do you bow down, and whom do you serve?' Worship is giving all of oneself in its totality to God and for God. As William Temple put it, 'to worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God; to feed the mind with the truth of God; to purge the imagination by the beauty of God; to open the heart to the love of God; to devote the will to the purpose of God'.
This amply demonstrates the magnitude of the revolution in our hearts that must be effected before true worship may even begin. And it is when we consider how God brings conscience, mind, imagination, heart and will into obedience to himself that we realise what the real centralities in worship are. It is by the word of the gospel alone that the work of restoring human beings to obedience begins, and continues. The living word of God is the great promoter of worship and its chief inspiration. Only through the action of the gospel upon our souls can we be brought into a right relationship with God, and meaningful worship begin. Only as our response to that word becomes greater and fuller does our worship deepen.
So, worship is not something we can ever initiate or work up. From beginning to end it is the fruit of the restoring, transforming power of God's grace to us in Christ. His word is therefore the only true 'worship leader'; only the gospel has power to draw our hearts to sing in unison with Jesus the real worship song: 'I have come to do your will, O God' (Heb 10:7).
May our hearts, and our churches, be self-consciously filled with that gospel, and so led by it into joyful obedience to God in all of life, into the true worship that is worthy of our King.
Dr Philip is minister of St George's-Tron in Glasgow and has been since August 2004 when he moved from London where he was for 5 years Director of Ministry with The Proclamation Trust, working with ministers, teaching those training for ministry in the Cornhill Training Course, and overseeing a varied programme of conferences.
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