Asian Theological Seminary

Worship, Liturgy and Renewal

Israel Villa
Readings with Notes

1. Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. David Peterson (Total pages
293)

“Worship is the supreme and only indispensable activity of the Christian Church.
It alone will endure, like the love for God which it expresses, into heaven, when
all other activities of the Church will have passed away. It must therefore, even
more strictly than any of the less essential doings of the Church, come under the
criticism and control of the revelation on which the Church is founded.” Page 15

“A traditional starting-point for discussions about Christian worship has been the
observation that the English word 'worship' means by derivation 'to attribute
worth', suggesting that to worship God is to ascribe to him supreme worth.”
Page 17

“Worship in the New Testament is a comprehensive category describing the

Christian's total existence. It is coextensive with the faith-response wherever and
whenever that response is elicited. Consequently, 'our traditional understanding
of worship as restricted to the cultic gathering of the congregation at a
designated time and place for rite and proclamation will no longer do. This is not
what the New Testament means by worship.” Page 18-19

“More fundamentally, the Bible tells us that God must draw us into relationship
with himself before we can respond to him acceptably.” Page 19

“A theology of worship must consider key themes such as revelation, redemption,

God's covenant with Israel and the call for his people to live as a distinct and
separate nation.” Page 23

“History shows that Christians have sometimes wrongly applied Old Testament
terms and concepts to the church and different aspects of Christian worship.”
Page 24

“Like other nations in the ancient world, Israel expressed its relationship with
God through sacrifice and ritual, using sacred enclosures, and depending upon
the mediation of priests. In other words, it had what is technically called a cult. . .
Modern use of the word 'cult' to describe particular (usually extreme) religious
groups should not be allowed to confuse this issue.” Page 30

“Sacrifice today is often understood in a wholly secular sense to mean

renouncing something valuable so that something even more valuable may be
obtained. So, for example, many parents make 'sacrifices' of time and money to
pay for the education of their children.” Page 36

“A significant feature of paganism was the extent to which it was concerned to

relate human life to the processes of nature. Israel too had its nature festivals,
acknowledging the hand of God in the cycle of the seasons and the fruitfulness of
the earth, celebrating his goodness with sacrifices and feasting. “ Page 37

“Cleansing was his gracious gift to those who obeyed his word, seeking his
forgiveness in repentance and faith.” Page 42

“The balance between such affirmations of God's presence and the

acknowledgment that he cannot be confined to an earthly temple is maintained
throughout the dedication prayer with the repeated insistence that, when prayers
are directed towards this place, God will answer from heaven, his dwelling-place
(8:30, 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 45, 49).” Page 44

“The whole system of worship associated with these powerful symbols - the ark,
the tabernacle and the temple - was designed to be a means of acknowledging and
living in relation to God's royal and holy presence. Obedience to God in cultic
observance was to go hand in hand with obedience in matters of everyday life.”
Page 49

“Right disposition of the heart and the demonstration of this in the whole of
religious and moral conduct. Here is indeed the true uniqueness of the religion of
Israel” Page 55

“According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'to worship' is 'to honour or revere
as a supernatural being or power, or as a holy thing; to regard or approach with
veneration; to adore with appropriate acts, or ceremonies'. In English usage,
'worship' is an attitude of veneration or devotion, or that attitude expressed in
particular actions. The English word 'worship' is thus used to translate certain
Hebrew and Greek terms in Scripture, which designate a specific bodily gesture,
expressing an attitude of grateful submission, praise or homage to God.” Page 55

“The-biblical words for worship do not represent discrete concepts but are part
of a whole mosaic of thought about the way to relate to God.” Page 56

“The simple translation 'to worship', which is so often found in the English
versions where God is the object, may obscure the fact that a specific posture is
meant here too.” Page 58

“In the Old Testament, bowing down or bending over could simply be a respectful
greeting, but more often than not it was an expression of inferior status and
subservience to another person. Sometimes this obeisance was an indication of
gratitude and sometimes it was associated with supplication or entreaty.
Whatever the situation, it was a recognition of the total dependence of one party
on another for the provision of some need.” Page 63

“Another verb in the Greek Bible often translated 'to worship' is latreuein. In
view of its use in non-biblical as well as biblical literature, it is more adequately
rendered 'to serve'. It was one of a number of terms in the Greek language for
'service', each of which will be noted and its relevance to our study considered.”
Page 64

“The language of service implies that God is a great king, who requires
faithfulness and obedience from those who belong to him. Israel's service in a
cultic way was to be understood as a particular expression of the total allegiance
due to the LORD, who had set them free from slavery in Egypt to serve him
exclusively.” Page 69

“Adoration was not a form of intimacy with God or an indication of special

affection towards him,61 but rather an expression of awe or grateful submission -
a recognition of his gracious character and rule. This is consistent with my
interpretation of the tabernacle, the ark and the temple as symbols of God's kingly
presence in the midst of his people.” Page 73

“Reverence or the fear of the LORD in the Old Testament means faithfulness and
obedience to all the covenant demands of God. While this found expression in
cultic activity, the reference was normally to the honouring of God by total
lifestyle. When Christians imply that reverence is essentially a matter of one's
demeanor in church services, they show little understanding of the Bible's
teaching on this subject!” Page 73

“The centre of the new religious community was not an institution located in
buildings or at a place - not even in Jerusalem, nor was it a hierarchy or ruling
organization, nor yet a new ideal or way of life; it was simply and entirely the
person, Jesus Christ.” Page 80

“The temple, like its predecessor the tabernacle, was regarded as a meeting-point
between heaven and earth, the place where the transcendent Lord of all was
pleased to manifest his glory in the midst of his people Israel.” Page 81

“The word 'true' (alithinoi) in the expression 'true worshippers' (hoi alithinoi
proslcynitai) means 'real and genuine', in contrast with the symbolic and
typical.48 Old Testament worship was not false, as Samaritan worship was false,
but it was, in effect, only 'a shadow of the good things to come' (Heb. 10:1, RSV),
pointing forward to the reality which has come in Jesus. True worship is defined
as being 'in spirit and truth' (en pneumati kai alitheia).” Page 98

“Jesus appears to have shared some of the thinking of the Old Testament
prophets and inter-testamental writers regarding the temple in the plan of God.
However, his view of the future did not involve the restoration of the existing
temple in a new and more glorious form.” Page 101

“Moreover, genuine discipleship can be fostered only by a continuing focus on

the character of Jesus, his promises and commands, and his achievements for
us.” Page 102

“The forgiveness of sins is the gift of the time of salvation. A greater gift than a
share in the redeeming power of his death Jesus could not give. Through the
appropriation of the forgiveness of sins the disciples become the redeemed
community of the End time.” Page 108

“By means of his faithfulness and obedience to the Father, even to the point of
death, Jesus accomplishes the messianic salvation and makes available the
blessings of the new covenant. The worship of Jesus” Page 109

“Yet Jesus' life is more than an example of sacrificial service. His obedience
proves to be the means by which the messianic salvation is achieved.” Page 110

“Jesus contrasts the conduct of pagan rulers with the submission to service and
sacrifice which is appropriate to his disciples, presenting himself as a model to be
followed. He concludes, 'whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many'
(Mt. 20:27-28).” Page 118

“If 'there is no longer any "cultus" in the ancient sense', it is equally true,
conversely, that all life has become 'cultus' in a new sense. Life has no other
purpose than to be rendered up to God in adoration and gratitude.” Page 135

“Contemporary Christianity shows a great deal of interest in what Acts has to say
about the life and growth of the earliest churches. Books on 'worship in the early
church' often devote considerable attention to passages about early Christian
gatherings, to draw lessons for church life today.” Page 135

“In the first century of the Christian era, Rome was the capital of a huge empire,
comprising many races and religions. From the time of Alexander the Great (356-
323 BC) Greek culture and its religious notions and practices had continued to
have the most pervasive influence on the Mediterranean world, reaching to Asia
Minor, to Palestine and Egypt, to Rome and distant Gaul. No official Greek
religion appeared such as was known in Babylonia, in Egypt, in Rome or among
the Jews. Many local 'cults' were transported to new sites by missionary efforts or
were copied by other communities. New cults were practised alongside older
cults, sometimes being fused with one another in the course of time. Polytheism is
essentially tolerant of all faiths.” Page 144
“The confession of Jesus Christ as Son of God, Lord and Saviour, was at the very
heart of the earliest Christian preaching (e .g. Acts 2:36; 5:42; 9:22; 10:36; I
Thes. 1:9-10; Col. 1:28; 2:6- 7) .” Page 148

“The word 'fellowship' in common parlance means 'friendship' or

'companionship'. But it would be inadequate to consider Christian fellowship
merely in such terms. The koinOn- words in Greek normally mean 'to share with
someone in something' above and beyond the relationship itself, or 'to give
someone a share in something'.” Page 153

“In my judgment, therefore, 'the breaking of bread' in Acts cannot be taken to

refer to a liturgical celebration distinct from the everyday meals that believers
shared together. Such meals were doubtless 'full of religious content because of
the recollection of the table fellowship which Jesus had with his followers during
his earthly ministry'” Page 156

“No longer is religion to be a sector of life as was the case with the elusive and
empty divinity cults. Christianity is a total consecration involving belonging,
obedience, brotherly love, in short, total service and adoration of the living and
true God.” Page 166

“Consequently, it may be best to read 'understanding worship', and to recognize

from the context that this means 'the worship which is consonant with the truth of
the gospel', or the service rendered by those who truly understand the gospel and
its implications.” Page 176

“The presentation of ourselves 'as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God',
means serving him in a whole range of relationships and responsibilities. When
Christians become preoccupied with the notion of offering God acceptable
worship in a congregational context and thus with the minutiae of church
services, they need to be reminded that Paul's focus was on the service of
everyday life.” Page 187

“The balance of Paul's teaching suggests that we view mutual ministry as the
context in which to engage with God. Edification and worship are different sides
of the same coin.” Page 215

“This revolutionary use of the terminology of worship with reference to a Christ-

centred, gospel-serving, life-orientation is obscured by the common practice of
restricting any talk of worship to what is done in church.” Page 219

“In the whole New Testament there is but one cult, one priesthood, namely that
rendered by Jesus Christ himself to his church, which flows over from it to the
world.” Page 228
 “Hebrews is truly essential reading for those who would establish a Christian
theology of worship. The writer takes up a number of Old Testament themes and
shows how they remain an essential foundation for our thinking. In a variety of
ways he demonstrates that acceptable worship is only possible on God's terms
and in the way that he makes possible.” Page 253

“What is going on around them, in the social and political life of their own cities,
is part of a conflict of cosmic proportions, the eschatological war of good and
evil, the conflict of sovereignty between God and the devil, in which they are
called to take sides, to take a firm stand, and by faithful witness to the truth to
play their part in resisting the pagan state and pagan society.” Page 261

“As you come to him, the living stone - rejected by mortals but chosen by God
and precious to himyou also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual
house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ . .. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:4-5, 9, NIV
modified).” Page 283

“Evangelism is the means by which people are initially drawn to present

themselves to God as 'a living sacrifice'.” Page 286

“Christians of every tradition need to be regularly exposed to the breadth and

depth of the Bible's teaching on worship and to understand how it relates to
evangelism, edification, faith and obedience. Above all, they must come to grips
with the New Testament perspective that acceptable worship is an engagement
with God, through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit - a Christ-centred, gospel-
serving, life-orientation.” Page 293

2. Did the first Christians worship Jesus? The New Testament Evidence. James d. G.
Dunn (Total Pages 151)

“1 We need to consider whether 'worship' was given only to God (or gods). We
must attempt to define what worship is and whether it is the fact that worship is
offered to God (or a god) that in effect defines him (or her) as 'God' /'god'.
2 We need to ask what the worship of the God of Israel involved. What did it mean
to 'worship the Lord God and serve only him'?
3 Since worship is the human response to what is perceived as God's self-
revelation, we will look at how that self-revelation was perceived within Israel
and in the religion within which Jesus and the first Christians (all Jews) grew up.
4 We will address the question of whether Jesus was a monotheist. Did he affirm
the oneness of God as his ancestral faith insisted?
5 We will examine the conviction that God had exalted Jesus to his right hand,
and how that contributed to Christian recognition of the divine status of Jesus.
What did that mean for the first Christians? Did it involve a reassessment and
restatement of the character of God as well as a reappreciation of the status of
Jesus?” Page 6

“The word most often translated as 'worship' in the New Testament is the Greek
term proskynein. In turn, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament) proskynein is the regular translation of the Hebrew
shachah.” Page 8

“In any event, the use of proskynein in the sense of offering worship to Jesus
seems to be rather limited. And there is a hint of uncertainty or hesitation as to
whether this is the appropriate way to speak of the reverence due to Jesus.” Page
12

“Other Greek words are sometimes translated as 'worship'. (a) A dose parallel to
proskynein is the phrase 'to fall down', sometimes with the added phrases 'on
one's face' or 'at the feet of'.” Page 12

“Threskeia, defined as the 'expression of devotion to transcendent beings, esp. as

it expresses itself in cultic rites, [so] "worship"', 27 likewise denotes service
offered to God - explicitly in James 1.26-27, by implication in Acts 26.5, and
probably in Colossians 2.18.” Page 15

“There are other terms that are regularly linked with the term 'worship' or carry
the same implication. “ Page 18

“The noun charis, meaning 'grace', can also be used to express 'thanks', gratitude
for a generous or beneficent act, for example in reference to a slave for his
service (Luke 17.9), but more typically to God for his overwhelming grace.” Page
21

“'Worship' as such is a term rarely used in reference to Christ. It appears most

clearly in the wonder of the realization that God had raised Jesus from the dead,
and in some of the worship offered to the Lamb in the visions of the seer of
Revelation.” Page 27

“1 Prayer was obviously at the heart of worship- as it is today, with the prayers
of adoration, of penitence and confession, of petition and intercession, all
indicating the dependence of the inferior (creature) upon the all-powerful
Creator, Saviour and Lord.
2 Hymns sung to and in praise of God have equally been an expression of worship
from time immemorial.
3 The setting aside of sacred space dedicated to the deity where the worship
should be offered, the appointment of sacred individuals to transact the worship,
and of sacred times for the cultic worship in the sanctuary have always been seen
as integral to effective worship.
4 The surrender of material goods, dedicated to God, has also been fundamental.
At the time of Jesus, the whole cult of sacrifice, including bloody sacrifice of
animals, constituted the central act of cultic worship.” Page 30

“The most explicit prayer language is used exclusively of prayer to God. Jesus
himself is remembered as regularly praying to God and giving instruction on
prayer to God.” Page 37

“Christ is clearly the subject of these hymns; they can properly be called 'Christ
hymns'. What they are not, however, is hymns to Christ. If they are hymns of the
first Christians (the claim is disputed), they are hymns to God, praising God for
Christ. The same is true of other passages that have been identified as early
Christian hymns.” Page 41

“Sacred space, sacred times, sacred meals, sacred people.” Pages 43-52

“In the ancient world the most characteristic feature of worship was sacrifice, the
offering of produce as a gift to the god or, more often, the sacrifice of an animal,
its blood being regarded as a propitiation to avert the god's anger or an expiation
to blot out the worshipper's sins.” Page 52

“So far we have focused on the term 'worship' in trying to answer our question,
'Did the first Christians worship Jesus?' Most of the evidence so far considered
discourages an unequivocal 'Yes', and points at best to a qualified 'Yes', or
perhaps more accurately a qualified No! Worship language was little used with
reference to Jesus.” Page 59

“Angels in the religion of Israel and early Judaism, therefore, are a reminder to
us that in talk of worshipping God, the term 'God' can be just as unclear as the
term 'worship:” Page 71

“The Logos is God in his self-manifestation in creation, in inspiration and in

salvation. The Logos is what is knowable of God, God insofar as he may be
apprehended and experienced.” Page 83

“If the first part of our inquiry has focused on the how and what of worship, the
second part has focused on the whom of worship. To whom is worship to be
given? And if worship defines the one worshipped as god/God, who is to be
defined as god/God alone worthy to be worshipped? In this second part of our
inquiry we have started by examining the question of who was worshipped in
Israel and in early Judaism.” Page 91

“Did the first Christians think of Jesus as god/God? If Paul is the clearest,
perhaps the only, spokesman for the first generation of Christians still available
to us, the question draws our attention to Romans 9.5. On syntactical grounds a
strong case can be made for reading the text as a doxology to Christ as God:
 ... from whom [Israel] is the Christ according to the flesh, he who is over all, God
blessed forever.” Page 132

“That is, not simply into worship of Jesus, but into a worship that falls short of
the worship due to the one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I use the
term 'Jesus-olatry' as in an important sense parallel or even close to 'idolatry'. As
Israel's prophets pointed out on several occasions, the calamity of idolatry is that
the idol is in effect taken to be the god to be worshipped. So the idol substitutes
for the god, takes the place of God.” Page 147

3. Worship by the Book. D. A. Carson (Total of 81 pages)

“At the empirical level, the sad fact of contemporary church life is that there are
few subjects calculated to kindle more heated debate than the subject of
worship.” Page 13

“In all such usages one is concerned with the “worthiness” or the “worthship”
(Old English weorthscipe) of the person or thing that is reverenced. From a
Christian perspective, of course, only God himself is truly worthy of all possible
honor, so it is not surprising that in most of our English Bibles, “worship” is
bound up either with the worship of God or with the prohibition of worship of
other beings, whether supernatural (e.g., Satan in Matt 4:9) or only ostensibly so
(e.g., the sun). “ Pages 22

“Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing
all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy,
delightfully so. This side of the Fall, human worship of God properly responds to
the redemptive provisions that God has graciously made. While all true worship
is God-centered, Christian worship is no less Christ-centered.“ Page 32

“Worship is a “proper response” to God for at least four reasons.” Page 34

“We worship our Creator-God “precisely because he is worthy, delightfully

so.” Page 38

“This side of the Fall, human worship of God properly responds to the redemptive
provisions that God has graciously made.” Page 43

“For it has always been necessary to love God wholly; it has always been
necessary to recognize the sheer holiness and transcendent power and glory and
goodness of God and to adore him for what he is. So we insist that “all true
worship is God-centered.” “ Page 51

“The [Trinitarian] view of worship is that it is the gift of participating through

the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.” Page 54
 “More specifically, Christian worship could be re-enlivened and enriched by
remembering the larger picture of God’s purposes, which extend beyond our own
immediate setting and time to take in all human history and which promise a
future victory over evil and a consummation of redeeming grace.” Page 74

4. A HUNGER FORGOD Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer. John Piper (
Total of 82 pages)

“The birthplace of Christian fasting is homesickness for God.” Page 13

“Christian fasting is a test to see what desires control us.” Page 19

“One of the most famous examples is Mahatma Gandhi, who lived from 1869 to
1948 and spent over thirty years crusading peacefully for the independence of
India. His family and his Hindu culture fed his passion for fasting as a political
weapon. His mother was a devout Hindu who went beyond the required duties of
fasting each year and added several more rigorous fasts during the rainy
season.” Page 28

“Fasting asserts the will against the appetite—the reward being self-mastery and
the danger pride: involuntary hunger subjects appetites and will together to the
Divine will, furnishing an occasion for submission and exposing us to the danger
of rebellion. But the redemptive effect of suffering lies chiefly in its tendency to
reduce the rebel will. Ascetic practices which, in themselves, strengthen the will,
are only useful insofar as they enable the will to put its own house (the passions)
in order, as a preparation for offering the whole man to God. They are necessary
as a means; and as an end, they would be abominable, for in substituting will for
appetite and there stopping, they would merely exchange the animal self for the
diabolical self. It was therefore truly said that “only God can mortify.” Pages 32-
33

“Eating and Not Eating Are Not Essential” Page 33

“What then is new about the new Christian fasting? What’s new about Christian
fasting is that it rests on all this finished work of the Bridegroom. It assumes that.
It believes that. It enjoys that.” Pages 41-42

“As an act of faith, Christian fasting is an expression of dissatisfied contentment

in the all-sufficiency of Christ. It is an expression of secure and happy longing for
the all-satisfying fullness of Christ. Christian fasting does not tremble in the hope
of earning anything from Christ. It looks away from itself to the final payment of
Calvary for every blessing it will ever receive. Christian fasting is not self-
wrought discipline that tries to deserve more from God. It is a hunger for God
awakened by the taste of God freely given in the gospel” Page 44
“Fasting is a periodic—and sometimes decisive—declaration that we would
rather feast at God’s table in the kingdom of heaven than feed on the finest
delicacies of this world.” Page 61

“The assistance we need, above all physical healing and all financial security and
all employment successes and all career guidance and all relational harmony, is
the divine assistance to see and to savor the glory of God in Christ.” Page 63

“Joy in God is the strength to walk with Jesus from the wilderness to the cross
and into eternal life. But maintaining that joy against its most subtle and innocent
rivals is a lifelong struggle.” Page 64

“If Christian fasting should become a part of our lives, as a way of seeking “all
the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19), then we need to know how not to do it.”
Page 70

Thank you and God bless sir!