Criswell Theological
Review 2.2 (1988) 335-344.
Copyright © 1988 by The
"WORSHIP" AS SERVICE:
THE NEW TESTAMENT
USAGE OF LATREUO
A. BOYD
LUTER, JR.
Talbot
Over
25 years ago the venerable A. W. Tozer concluded,
"Worship
is the missing jewel of the evangelical church."1
In their 1982 volume
on worship, R. Allen and G. Borror
reflect upon Tozer's words,
returning a very similar diagnosis for the
contemporary evangelical
arena. They write, "The situation seems not to
have changed ap-
preciably. . . ."2
Happily, though, they do observe a growing sen-
sitivity to the problem.3
This sensitivity has resulted in the
publication of an impressive
number of volumes on worship by evangelicals in the
last few years.4
The
various writers approach worship from different angles, making
somewhat different points in their discussions,
and arguing for their
own particular solutions. Yet, these varied efforts
still add up to an
overall trend: a mushrooming interest and
accelerating impetus by
evangelicals addressing the field of
worship.
1 A. W. Tozer, Worship: The
Missing Jewel of the
burg, PA: Christian Publications, n.d.) 1.
2 R. Allen and G. Borror, Worship: Recovering the Missing Jewel (
Multnomah, 1982) 7.
3 Ibid.,
7.
4 Some of the significant
evangelical works since 1980 are: Allen and Borror,
Worship; L. Flynn, Worship: Together We Celebrate (Wheaton:
Victor Books, 1983);
R.
P. Martin, The Worship of God: Some Theological, Pastoral,
and Practical Re-
flections (Grand Rapids: Baker,
1980); R. Schaper, In His Presence: Appreciating Your
Worship Tradition (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1984); R. Webber, Worship Old and
New (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1982), and Worship is a Verb (Waco: Word, 1985). It
is noteworthy that most of the major evangelical
publishing houses are represented in
just this short list.
336
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
Out of this unity in diversity in regard
to the renewal of evan-
gelical worship some
commonly-held points of interest have emerged.
Two
of the more prominent of these have to do with: 1) a necessary
change in attitude toward worship, and 2) a focused
pre-occupation
with the church worship service.5
The first of these is the almost unanimous
emphasis that wor-
shippers must be, in R. Webber's words,
"active participants and
doers"6 not mere spectators.
The strong focus on the worship service,
while very helpful, has not seen the same level of
agreement in detail,
although significant similarities are present.7
Yet, while appreciation is due these
authors for their contribu-
tions to the renovation of
evangelical worship, one crucial point of
concern should be voiced. Could it be that the
spotlight on worship is
focused too narrowly? Is it possible that our
pre-occupation with the
worship service could lead to harmful neglect of
the broader concept
of worship seen in the NT?
In an attempt to redress a balance
in the relationship between the
individual and corporate aspects of worship, this
article will probe
four key passages: 1) Phil 3:3, which provides
crucial teaching on this
subject that is often overlooked; 2) John
4:23-24; 3) Heb 13:15-16;
and 4) Rom 12:1.
This study is not a comprehensive
view of the NT idea of wor-
ship. However, the data is sufficient to demonstrate
the need to
restore a wider understanding of worship within
the present worship-
renewal movement.
I. Phil 3:3: Reconsidering a Neglected Aspect of Worship
Although there is little present consensus
on the theme (and
structure) of Philippians,8 Swift's
recent proposal of "partnership in
the gospel" (Phil 1:5, NIV) as the central and
structuring theme of the
epistle9 has much to say for
itself. Following the formal prologue (Phil
5 The choice of these two
themes is not to be taken as the excluding or over-
looking of other significant concepts and needs
that worship renewal writers are
developing.
6
Webber, Worship is a Verb, 199.
It is interesting that Webber could state this
conviction with force even though he is found at a
highly liturgical end of the evan-
gelical spectrum on worship.
7 See, for example, the
books listed in n. 4 (above) for their varied individual
prescriptions for public worship.
8 R. C. Swift, "The
Theme and Structure of Philippians," BibSac 141 (1984)
234-36.
9 Swift,
"Philippians," 237; For a more in-depth
exposition of this theme, see
A.
Boyd Luter, Jr., "Philippians," in Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (ed.
Walter
A. Elwell;
Luter: USAGE OF LATREUO 337
1:3-11)
and a vivid biographical prologue (1:12-26), in which Paul
describes his own costly side of their gospel
partnership (1:5), this
theme is broadly applied in 1:27: "Whatever
happens, conduct your-
selves in a manner worthy of the gospel of
Christ" (NIV).
Swift contends rightly that ". .
.what constitutes a worthy walk
occupies the body of the epistle."10 He goes
on to demonstrate from
the following verses that this worthy
"lifestyle" (1:27), in obedience to
their partnership in the gospel (1:5), consists of
Christian unity (1:27)
and steadfastness against enemies of the gospel
(1:27-30).11 Seen from
this perspective, it becomes clear that unity is the
overarching concern
of chap. 2 and steadfastness is the linking
subject in 3:1-4:1.12
When it is seen that the section
beginning with Phil 3:1 is picking
up and developing another facet of the previous
brief discussion on
steadfastness in 1:28-30, the
supposed rough or unexpected transition
between 3:1 and 3:2 disappears.13 Earlier,
Paul had spoken of the
need to suffer for Christ in the face of the
opposition provided by
enemies of the progress of the gospel in
point, after his strong ironic description of the Judaizing legalists
(3:2),14 the Apostle proceeds to expose the subtle
seductiveness of this
distortion of the gospel by presenting the striking
contrast of the
nature of true Christianity (3:3) and the "before
and after" example of
his own life (3:4-14).
The third of the harsh epithets in
3:2 penetrates to the "heart" of
the matter. In calling the Judaizers
"the false circumcision" (NASB;
"mutilators
of the flesh," NIV) Paul states in no uncertain terms that
these false teachers have misconstrued the covenant
sign of circum-
cision given to Abraham (Gen
17:10, 14). They fail to realize the need
to internalize and apply the covenant relationship
with the Lord
(Deut
30:6), one of the prime benefits that Jer 31:33
(compare Ezek
36:26-27)
said would be forthcoming from God in connection with
the New Covenant (31:31).15 Their grasp
of a proper relationship with
the Lord and the corresponding lifestyle (Phil
1:27; cf. 3:9ff) is thus
totally deficient.
The Apostle now asserts that it is
Christians who are "the cir-
cumcision" (Phil 3:3, NIV;
"the true circumcision," NASB). In saying
10
Swift, "Philippians," 243.
11 Ibid.,
243.
12 Ibid.,
244.
13 Ibid.,
247; See R. P. Martin, The Epistle of
Paul to the Philippians (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans,
1959), 37-39, 136.
14 H. A. Kent, Jr.,
"Philippians," The Expositor's
Bible Commentary (12 vols.; ed.
F.
E. Gaebelein;
15 See the excellent
discussion in C. L. Feinberg, Jeremiah: A Commentary (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1985) 218-20.
338
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
this he undoubtedly has in mind the same idea that
he expressed
in Rom 2:28-29 and
received the circumcision of the heart, whether
they be Jew or
Gentile."16
The rest of v 3 "
. . . enlarges upon this idea by a series of par-
ticipial phrases."17 As the
true spiritual circumcision, Christians "wor-
ship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus
and put no
confidence in the flesh" (3:3, NASB). In the
first phrase we encounter
the focal usage of "worship."
To better understand the sharp
contrast Paul draws here between
the spiritual and Spirit-led worship of the true
circumcision (3:3) and
the external focus of the legalists (3:2) and his
own unregenerate self
(3:4-6),
it is insightful to consider some of the additional passages on
worship in the NT. But, first, a comparison of
the two primary words
for worship will prove useful.
In a brief, but helpful, discussion
of this subject, L. Perry writes,
"There
are two Greek words for worship. One means 'to fall down'
and the other means 'to serve.' These imply that
Christian worship is
motivated by a sense of awe and of love."18
The first of these Greek words for
worship is proskune<w, which
can also be rendered as "do obeisance
to," "prostrate oneself before,"
and "do reverence to."19 It is
the more common in usage, appearing
60 times in the NT. However, it is used
only once by Paul, speaking
of literally falling on one's face in worship in 1
Cor 14:25.
The other Greek word is latreu<w, which is more commonly
translated "serve,"20 but is
understood as "worship" in Phil 3:3 by
NASB, NIV, KJV, and RSV. It is rendered the same
way in the
articles in the Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Greek Lexicon and the New
International Dictionary
of New Testament Theology.21
This second word for
"worship" is used three other times by the
Apostle
Paul. In Rom 1:9 and 2 Tim 1:3 it means "serve."
In Rom 1:25
the flavor of "worship" is undeniably
present, although it should
certainly be translated as "serve" (so
NASB, NIV, KJV, RSV). The
cognate latrei<a is also found in Rom
9:4 of the Jewish "temple
worship" (NIV; "service," NASB),
as well as the significant usage in
Rom 12:1, which will be discussed later.
16
Kent, "Philippians," 138.
17 G.
F. Hawthorne, Philippians (Waco:
Word, 1983), 126.
18 L.
Perry, Getting the Church on Target
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) 210.
19 BDF,
723.
20 Ibid.,
468.
21 Ibid.,
468; K. Hess, "latreu<w," New International Dictionary of New Testament
Theology (3 vols.;
ed. C. Brown; Gra:nd Rapids: Zondervan, 1978)
3.549-51.
Luter:
USAGE OF LATREUO 339
Thus, it is seen that the Greek word
which Paul more often uses
for "worship" frequently includes the
wider shade of meaning of
service (Rom 1:9, 25; 2 Tim 1:3). It would seem
that, for the Apostle,
"worship" is a broader concept within which narrower
formal wor-
ship is occasionally referred to (Rom 9:4; 1 Cor 14:25).
Of all the uses by Paul, Phil 3:3
speaks most directly to what is at
the core of Christian worship. It is something of a
crux statement on
this subject. Yet, there is good reason to hold that
this pronouncement
is basically a brief, though important, commentary
and application of
Jesus
Christ's teaching about worship in John 4.22
II. John 4:23-24: True Worshippers, Spiritual Worship
Z. C. Hodges has aptly expounded the
importance of this passage
for a proper understanding of the biblical concept
of worship.
. . . The Savior's reply was as
pregnant a statement on this theme as had
ever
escaped the lips of man. Indeed, once He had uttered it, it would
be
impossible thereafter for any man intelligently to ponder this theme
without
returning to consider those priceless words. As an utterance on
worship they
were timeless and absolutely definitive.23
Against the backdrop of the
Samaritan woman's misconceptions
and maneuvering (John 4:9-20), Jesus explains who
"true worship-
pers" are (4:22) and
why (4:23). E. F. Harrison, D. Guthrie, and E. A.
Blum
all note that 4:20-21 teach that the place of worship is not the
primary factor in the new phase of God's economy
which Jesus is
inaugurating.24 What the Father seeks
is those who worship "in spirit
and truth" (4:23). Such worshippers must
. . . Realize that Jesus is the
Truth of God (3:21; 14:6) and the one and
only way to
the Father (Acts 4:12). To worship in truth is to worship
God through Jesus.
To worship in spirit is to worship in the new realm
which God
has revealed. . . . 25
As Guthrie observes, "These are
genuine worshippers as opposed
to those who merely appear to be so by
participating only in outward
22
Martin, Philippians, 138-39;
Hawthorne, Philippians, 126.
23 Z. C. Hodges, The Hungry Inherit (rev. ed.;
24 E. F. Harrison,
"John" in Wycliffe Bible
Commentary (ed. C. F. Pfeiffer
and E. Harrison;
Commentary-Revised (ed. D. Guthrie and J.
A. Motyer;
1970)
938-39; E. A. Blum, "John" in Bible
Knowledge Commentary New Testament
(ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck;
25
Blum, “John,” 286.
340
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
ceremonies."26 Thus, the form of
worship is not primary to our under-
standing of true worship either. "The main
emphasis is on spirit,"27 as
4:24
makes clear.
It is important to realize that,
throughout this epochal passage,
John
uses proskune<w for
"worship." That is in keeping with his nor-
mal choice. Of the 60 occurrences of the verb in
the NT, 35 are in
John's writings (11 in the fourth Gospel and 24
in Revelation).
Of the
11
uses in his gospel, nine are in 4:20-24. Also, the lone use of the
noun proskunhth<j
("worshipper") is in 4:23.
Thus, there is a highly significant
concentration of the common
NT
term for worship in John's Gospel, particularly in Jesus' prescrip-
tive words of worship. On
the other hand, John uses latreu<w only in
Rev 7:15 and 22:3, and latrei<a, in a negative sense,
in John 16:2.
It would seem that there are two
possible ways of explaining why
Paul,
in his parallel pronouncement on worship in Phil 3:3,
chose to
use not proskune<w, as in John 4, but latreu<w. The
simpler possibility,
as noted earlier, is that latreu<w is the word Paul used
much more
commonly. However, it is also quite conceivable
that he is seeking to
broaden and flavor the overall concept of
"worship." Even though
Jesus'
words about the priorities of genuine worship being "spirit and
truth" (John 4:23-24) should have been clear,
perhaps the Apostle
consciously sought to apply this idea for worship to
service in the
power of the Spirit (Phil 3:3; cf. Rom 1:9).
III. Heb 13:15-16: New Covenant Sacrifices and Worship
Because of the Jewish background that
the Savior and Apostle
Paul
(Phil 3:4-6) had in common, it should be helpful to
observe how
another Jewish Christian writer employs his
terminology. The writer
of Hebrews provides a classic case in point.
The only occurrences of proskune<w are in Heb 1:6 and
11:23,
with no significant insight for the present study
being provided by
either verse. By comparison latreu<w is found six times, and
latrei<a.
twice. The bulk of these inclusions are in the
section in which Jesus'
high-priestly ministry under the New
Covenant is developed (8:5;
9:1,
6, 9, 14; 10:2). They generally employ the imagery of the Old
Covenant
tabernacle and temple service/worship in contrast to the
present ministry of Christ. The use in 9:14 is
significant because it
26 Guthrie,
"John," 939.
27 Ibid.,
939; For the option that "spirit" here (John 4:23-24) is the human
spirit
helped to worship by the Holy Spirit, see L. Morris, The Gospel According to John
(Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans,1971) 270-71.
Luter: Usage of LATREUO 341
refers to having our consciences cleansed "from
dead works to serve
the living God" (NASB, emphasis mine), similar
to Phil 3:2-6.
For the purposes of this
investigation, the most helpful use of
latreu<w in Hebrews is 13:10. It initiates a final
contrast between the
obsolete Old Covenant set-up (8:13) and the new
order of Christ.28
The
participle of latreu<w, translated "those
who minister" (NIV) or
"those who serve" (NASB), could just as easily be
speaking of "Jewish
worshippers in general," because it is so
employed elsewhere in
Hebrews
(9:9,10:2).29
In sharp distinction from such
worship/service (13:10), which is
clearly inadequate under the New Covenant, the
writer proceeds to
list several "sacrifices" (13:15-16) that
are offered "through Jesus"
(13:15).
While we normally associate praise and thanksgiving (13:15)
with corporate worship, the same is not necessarily
true of the actions
mentioned in 13:16: doing good and sharing.30
L. Morris understands
the "sharing" (koinwni<a) here as "money,
goods, and . . . those intan-
gibles that make up fellowship.31
If such "sacrifices" can
be legitimately constituted as New Cove-
nant worship, then it is
seen that the worship concept is indeed broad
enough to encompass all the believer's life, as Phil
3:3 implies and
Rom
12:1 clearly teaches. However, a beautiful balance is seen
between such a wider understanding of worship
and the memorable
exhortation to continue to gather together for worship
in Heb 10:24-
25,
as well as in connection with the spiritual sacrifices in 13:15-16.32
In
their worship together (10:25) the Hebrews were to "spur one
another on toward love and good deeds"
(10:24, NIV), wording
substantially similar in meaning to
13:16.
Unlike Paul (Phil 3:3) or Jesus (John
4:23-24), the writer of
Hebrews
does not directly utilize either latreu<w or proskune<w to
make his main point about New Covenant worship.
However, the
preparatory use of latreu<w and latrei<a throughout the book and
the
climatic teaching of Heb 13:15-16, in connection
with Heb 10:24-25,
coincides with the previous evidence considered.
It also brings the
28 L. Morris,
"Hebrews" in The
Expositors Bible Commentary, 12.149-50; Z. C.
Hodges,
"Hebrews" in Bible Knowledge
Commentary: New Testament, 812; P. E.
Hughes, A Commentary on
the Epistle to the Hebrews (
1977)
577; S. J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews (
Baker, 1984) 418.
29 Morris,
"Hebrews," 150.
30 Kistemaker,
Hebrews, 425, understands
"sharing" as descriptive of "doing
good," based on the Greek construction.
31
Morris, "Hebrews," 152.
32 Kistemaker, Hebrews,
424; Hodges, "Hebrews," 812.
342
CRISWELL THEOLOCICAL
REVIEW
worship service into clearer perspective in relation
to the wider
concept.
IV. Rom 12:1: Living Sacrifice, Spiritual Worship
The final passage to be considered
is well known. It occurs at the
hinge of Romans, the breaking point between the
primarily doctrinal
section of the epistle (chaps. 1-11) and the
notably ethical (applica-
tional) portion (chaps.
12-15).33 It also picks up the theme of offering
oneself to God, introduced in Rom 6:13ff.,34 as
well as the imagery of
the OT sacrifices (qusi<a; cf. Heb 13:15-16) in
connection with the
temple worship, spoken of previously in 9:4 (where latrei<a is also
used). Therefore, it is truly at a pivotal juncture
for both under-
standing and application that the concept of
"spiritual ("reasonable"
or "rational" is the more accurate
rendering, according to Murray35)
worship" (NIV; "service of worship,"
NASB) is brought forward.
Cranfield
understands the presenting of one's body as a living sac-
jrifice as becoming
"wholly God's property."36 This
"self-surrender,"
as with any type of worship, "has, of course,
to be continually
repeated."37 “A constant
dedication"38 is at the heart of this
holy,
God-pleasing
worship (Rom 12:1).
In focusing on the use of the term
for "worship" in Rom 12:1,
Cranfield reaches the following conclusion:
It implies that the true worship
which God desires embraces the whole
of the
Christian's life from day to day. It implies that any cultic worship
which is
not accompanied by obedience in the ordinary affairs of life
must be
regarded as false worship, unacceptable to God. . . . 39
Such a perspective dovetails
perfectly with the thought of the
Apostle
in Phil 3:3, as well as the teaching of Jesus in John 4:23-24,
and that of the writer of Hebrews, in 13:15-16.
However, Cranfield
33 For further
elaboration of the "hinge" idea, see, e.g., E. F. Harrison,
"Romans,"
in The
Expositors Bible Commentary 10.126; J. A. Witmer,
"Romans" in Bible Knowl-
edge Commentary: New Testament, 487.
34 J. Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (2 vols.;
2.110-11.
35 Ibid.,
112: However, C.E.B. Cranfield (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
on the Epistle to the Romans [2 vols.;
strongly for the rendering "spiritual"
for logiko<j.
36 Cranfield, Romans,
2.599.
37 Ibid.,
600.
38
39 Cranfield, Romans,
2.601.
Luter:
USAGE OF LATREUO 343
also observes that Rom 12:1 "worship" is
not rejecting the corporate
sense of worship, but balancing it. He writes
Provided that such worship in the
narrower sense is always practiced as
part of the
wider worship embracing the whole of the Christian's living
and is not
thought of as something acceptable to God apart from
obedience
of life, there is nothing here to deny it its place in the life of
the
faithful. . . In fact. . . it ought to be the focus
point of that whole
wider
worship. . . . 40
On the basis of Rom 12:1 and Phil
3:3, perhaps it is appropriate to
propose a needed clarification in evangelical
terminology. Would it be
helpful to refer to something like the
"congregational worship service"
and broader "individual service worship?"
While the exact terms used
are not decisive, it is important to distinguish
clearly between these
two complementary aspects, that each might
strengthen the other as
we seek to live out our "spiritual service of
worship" (Rom 12:1,
NASB).
Conclusion
If worship is indeed still the
missing jewel in the evangelical
church, as Allen and Borror
contend,41 a portion of the problem
would seem to be the neglect of several key NT
passages on worship
looked at in this article. If they were studied and
applied more
closely, it would surely help reinstate worship
to the rightful place it
deserves as the beating heart of the entire
Christian life.
Let there be no illusion that this
presentation represents an overall
NT position on worship. However, it is
successful if it has provided
sufficient food for thought to cause a reappraisal
of the popular
misconception that worship is wrapped
up in the Sunday "worship
service" at a certain special location, A
wider understanding of wor-
ship can link Sunday to the rest of the week and the
gathered con-
gregation to the scattered
believers in interrelated ongoing worship.
If, as Perry says, "Worship
functions for the glorification of God
and the sanctification of man,"42
then worship is never-ending. Webber
is certainly correct in saying, "God has
called us to worship Him, and
worship Him throughout all eternity we will
do."43
40 Ibid.,
602.
41 Allen and Borror, Worship,
7.
42
Perry, Getting the Church on Target,
210.
43
Webber, Worship is a Verb, 199.
344
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
However, the balance in worship
recommended in this article44 is
vitally possible here and now if the attitude
recommended by Allen
and Borror is embodied:
"May God grant us a hunger for Him which
will cause us to pursue Him in worship as a way of
life (Co13:17), a
hunger which will drive us to closer friendship with
His people."45
44 See C. C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Wheaton: Victor, 1986)
428-29, for a compact,
but significant, recent expression of such a
balanced outlook. "
45 Allen and Borror, Worship,
100.
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