Kingdom Worship
This is not another debate about worship. I believe all our divergent opinions about worship ended at the final debate where JESUS himself, the fulfilment of all laws and prophets gave the final verdict regarding worship which also marked the beginning of restoration of Kingdom worship which was lost in the beginning.
This final debate was the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.
Samaritan woman: Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (John 4:20 NASBS)
Jesus: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24 NASBS)
Kingdom worship MUST be at 2 levels;
- In-Spirit &
- In-Truth.
Note here that Jesus used the word ‘must’ because he knows we can event a thousand more. Whatever God commands, he has provided. God commanded true worship because He already built in us the capacity to do so from the beginning.
In-Spirit worship
In Gen 1:26 God made man a spirit – in His image and likeness. So, any spirit that is activated through redemption naturally connects to God in worship. Jesus clearly said unless a man is born of the water and the spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). It follows therefore that whoever is not born of the Spirit cannot worship God. It is possible for the person to sing songs of worship or even shed tears and roll on the floor and still not worship because worship is exclusively for God’s spiritual relatives. Also note that Jesus did not say ‘in-building’ worship as we see today or ‘at-location’ worship as practiced even before Jesus came (Jerusalem and mountain worship). In-Spirit worship is also made evident by one singular Spirit given language of worship regardless of person’s background , race or colour. It is called worship in tongues (1 Cor 14:15).
In-Truth Worship
In Genesis 2:7 God formed man from the dust. Notice, this time not in His likeness. This further confirms that God is not dust or flesh, He is 100% Spirit. The good thing about the formed man is that he is a bodily being which made him not only effective on earth but also to have dominion on kingdom of heaven’s extension – earth. The formed man is also important because he gives expression to the created man in worship. The most powerful gift God gave to man is ‘will’ and it is so powerful that man can even use it against God’s own will. Therefore, in-truth worship is sincerely bowing your will and all that you are in total surrender to King Jesus who is ‘the truth’ and serving him whole heartedly. Jesus is the truth, the word that became flesh, His name is the most highly exalted and worthy to be praised.
Kingdom of this world
This is the direct opposite of kingdom of heaven’s extension on earth which we talked about earlier.
It is the attempt of the devil to replicate heavens kingdom after he fell out of grace and cast down into the world. In the account of the temptation of Jesus by the devil the bible records that the devil finally asked Jesus one thing, ‘to bow down’ and worship him (Matt 4:9). In other words he wanted both Christ (Spirit) and Jesus (body), created and the formed to worship him. The devil recognised that if he can get both then he gets the worship which was exactly the way God designed worship. Don’t forget he was there in the beginning as a principal worshipper unto God before the fall.
In view of these, kingdom worship therefore can be described as a connected spirit in a submitted body to God.
Musical Worship
Notice that I have not even made mention of music. Music is just one of the media (dance, drama, mime, poetry, paintings etc) of expressing worship. When your spirit communicate innate expressions through the voice, the outcome could be in words, poem, or what is called ‘spoken’ words nowadays. If you you decide to exaggerate and set it to a tune, it becomes singing and when singing is not enough to express what the spirit intends, that’s why we employ the use of musical instruments to make it big, loud, rhythmic, melodious and more artistic. The irony is that we have reduced worship to songs, music or set of religious rites but thanks be to Jesus our King who restores us His Kingdom worship.
Kayode Omosa
B.A, M.A Music
Kayode Omosa (Dunack Music)
www.kayodeomosa.com