It might seem like too simple of a question. As Christians, we talk about worship frequently. We say that we were created to worship. But what does that mean? If we're talking about something that is, ultimately, the purpose of our life, we'd better have a firm grasp on what we're talking about. Too many Christians seemingly think that glorifying God consists in the bare realization of the facts of God's power, majesty, etc. The sky is blue, 2+2=4, and God is almighty. Perhaps the concept of worship is even taken to mean acknowledgment of these facts with a measure of fear.
However, this cannot be what is meant biblically by the idea of “worshiping God”. All we need to do to make that clear is answer this question: does satan realize the facts of God’s omnipotence and majesty? Better than we do! He has SEEN God’s unveiled power and glory directly! Is he terrified in the presence of God? Does he have an abundant “measure” of fear? Yes! James says, the “demons believe and tremble”. Yet, pay attention: neither satan nor demons worship God. Therefore, recognition of facts, even with a measure of fear, is NOT worship! A Christian who thinks, by acknowledging the facts of God’s power and majesty, even with a little fear, that he is worshiping God is doing no such thing! If that’s you, you’re lying to yourself. What then is the biblical meaning of worship to God? This is an important question, right?
The opposite of worship is not denial of fact, but rather blasphemy. Satan realizes God’s power and majesty, but he has absolutely no pleasure in it. He is disgusted by it and filled with anger because of God’s majesty. This should give us a hint as to the essence of biblical worship. If the opposite of worship is to be disgusted by God, then worship itself is, above all, to find pleasure in God.
The word “worship” in Scripture is used, and we use it in Christian context, interchangeably with the word “praise.” But what is praise? Think outside of the religious context for a moment. When we watch a great movie, we praise it to our friends, “oh, you have to watch that!” When we eat a delicious meal, we praise it, “this is amazing!” Praise then is the expression and culmination of our delight in something. Not only is it the expression of delight, but the expressing completes the delight. This is what it means, biblically, to praise God: to express our delight in Jesus and therein, our delight finds it’s culmination.
Therefore, biblically speaking, it is impossible to worship Jesus if we do not enjoy Him. If you think you worship Jesus, but do not have any enjoyment in Him, you are not really worshiping. Jesus convicted the Pharisees of this very thing, saying “you worship me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me.”
To worship Jesus, to love Him, in the biblical sense, is to delight in Him as a bride in her groom. This is the heart of true worship. True worship is not self-improvement motivated by fear and duty. Sadly, that is what many Christians call “worship”. Rather it is rapture, delight in the arms of our Beloved Jesus. We may find this difficult to understand, because we have got this stoic, pharisaic idea into our heads that worship of God can’t mean enjoyment of Him. We've been told that one must suppress and deny desire for the Lord's sake. CS Lewis writes that our problem is not that we seek pleasure too much but that we seek it not enough. "We are content to fool about with drink, sex and ambition, not even suspecting that we are offered infinite joy in Christ." Lest it be misunderstood, this is not making a god of pleasure. John Piper states pointedly in his book Desiring God, “[this understanding] is not making a god of pleasure. Rather, it is saying that you have already made a god out of whatever you find most pleasure in.” The words of Scripture confirm enjoyment as the essence of worship. Ps. 16:11, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Are you truly worshiping?
