Worship is a multifaceted concept so we will study only three of its meanings here: acknowledgement, adoration and action. The birth of Jesus Christ presents us with a great model as described in Matthew 2 and Luke 2. Even before doing that we need to delve into some precursors. To be able to worship properly one needs to humble oneself as did the tax collector in Jesus’ parable (Lk 18: 9-14). One also needs to be a seeker of truth (Jo 8:45-47).
Each of the three groups mentioned by Matthew and Luke (the angels, the shepherds and the wise men) acknowledged the Deity of Jesus. The angels praised God for sending a Savior and for the good news of great joy that would be for all the people (Lk 2:10-11). The shepherds believed the angels and hurried to see the baby Jesus (v 16). The wise men from the east came to find the king of the Jews and worship Him (Mt 2:1-2). Today Christians worship Christ by humbly trusting that He is Deity and was sent from heaven by the Father to save them (Jo 6:38-40),
Adoration is praising, glorifying, obeying and loving Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit. The angels honored the Godhead when they said, “Glory to God in the highest…” (Lk 2:13-14) and that Jesus was Christ the Lord (v 11). The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all things they had heard and seen (Lk 2:20). Christian’s adoration is a, “…continual offer to God of a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name” (Heb 13:15). It is also, “…offering your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship” (Rm 12:1). “…the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (Jo 4:23). Much of this is in prayer (Lk 18:1) (1Th 5:17) (Eph 6:18).
The three groups all put their acknowledgement and adoration into action. The angels came down from heaven to praise God (Lk 2:13). The shepherds went to see the baby Jesus and then spread the word (Lk 2:17) and the wise men brought gifts to Jesus (Mt 2:11). Christians can show their love, sacrifice and obedience to Jesus through actions “…serve one another in love” (Gal a5:13) (1 Pe 4:10). “…contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously…” (Rm 12:8). They worship by doing the good works that God prepared in advanced for them to do (Eph 2:10).
-Jim Bailey
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