New Testament Principles of Worship

The life Jesus lived was a perfect pattern to be followed. He worshipped God in word and deed. And in every way lived a life that pleased God the Father. He was one with God, obedient to God, loved others perfectly, and became a literal sacrifice on the cross.

No one on the face of the earth was more intimate with the Creator God than His Son Jesus. He was one with God. John 17:10 quotes Jesus as praying, “You are in me and I am in You.” Not only was Jesus God, but also He yearned to continually communicate with God. He modeled what it meat to be a man of prayer. Jesus frequently left the crowds to be alone with God to pray (Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, 9:28). Jesus also knew the Words of His Father. He often quoted the Old Testament scriptures from memory (see Matthew 4). He had spent time with the scrolls and learned what it meant to “hide [God’s] word in [his] heart.” (Psalm 119:11)

Jesus was obedient. Even though He was “tempted in every way” He was nevertheless “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). 2 Corinthians 5:21 states outright that “He had no sin.” Jesus knew the laws of the Torah and put into practice the worship-words of Deuteronomy 28:14. “Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.”

Loving people unconditionally was another aspect of Jesus’ worship lifestyle. The Gospels depict countless examples of Jesus interacting with people. Every interaction was filled with love. He met people’s needs when he healed the sick and the blind and the dumb. He met the needs of the hungry thousands. The marginalized of society were always on His mind. From the women to the children, the aliens and the outcasts, He was a...

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...ake a new temple of worship called the church. “In [Jesus] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21)

Finally, the last book of the Bible inspires hope in the lives of the worshipping church. It depicts they day when God and the Church will be united forever and face-to-face. No longer will there be a temple to go and meet God, because God himself will be the temple (Revelation 21:22). The hope for ultimate intimacy with God forever drives the focus and vision of the church to worship in the meantime. Through good or bad, easy or difficult, success or failure, pleasure or pain… the reality of intimate worship with God for eternity gives strength and eager expectation of the New Earth to come.

Work Cited

The English Standard Version Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.