WORSHIPPING JESUS

"I am the LORD thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:2-3). Did you ever notice the verb used describing what God did? It is plural. You have a single subject, "I," that is defined by the word "God," which is the Hebrew Elohim. Elohim is always translated "God" when referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because it has a plural ending, the verb is plural. You don't suppose that the Holy Spirit wanted to let us know about the Trinity, do you? "LORD" represents Jesus, "God" represents all three, and the Holy Spirit inspired the writer. It is as though we are being told that we are to recognize God in three Persons, and that only They are to be worshiped.

I am not aware of a Bible reference to the worship of the Holy Spirit, but there is one that states that the Spirit is God. In Acts 5:1-11, Luke tells of a married couple who conspired to deceive the Church concerning a monetary gift. They lied saying that they had sold a piece of property for a specific sum, when in fact, they had sold it for more. Peter being inspired, confronted them and declared that Satan had caused them to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). He went on to say, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:4).

Men protested being worshiped by men (Acts 10:25; 14:15). Angels refused to accept the worship of men (Rev. 19:10; 22:8-9). Jesus knew that only God was to be worshiped and He rebuked Satan saying, "Be gone, Satan; for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve'" (Matt. 4:10). And yet, Jesus did not correct Thomas when he responded to Him saying, "My Lord and my God" (Jn. 20:28). Jesus had earlier taught that He was to receive the same honor as the Father, and many sought to kill Him for it (Jn. 5:17-24).

The fact that God created the heaven and the earth, and Jesus is identified as the Creator, Jesus is God (Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). The fact that He existed with the Father before the world was made, and had even determined that He would die as a man for mankind before the Universe came into existence, is certainly worthy of worship (Jn. 17:24; Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8). There is no doubt that Jesus is God, and as such, is not only worthy of our worship, He is worthy of our obedience!

One might ask, "What does Jesus want me to do?" The answer is found in the New Testament: love God with your whole being, and your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-39). Love of others is in a very real sense, the love and worship of Christ (Matt. 5:43-48; 7:12; 22:40; Rom. 13:8-10; 1 Thes. 3:11-13; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Jn. 3:23). It shows the world that He is our God.