Worship: From the Triune God back to the Triune God

Worship: From the Triune God back to the Triune God

Andres S. TANG

In this paper the author tries to display the biblical understanding of worship. Three points are going to be elaborated. Firstly, worship is initiated by the triune God from the very beginning. This is because apart from the economic activity of the triune God one does not know to whom he or she is going to worship. The worshiper is called to gather and worship by the triune God himself. Secondly, one's response is not active but passive since the worshiper is in the truth, Logos, and, through the Holy Spirit, worships the Father. This means that one's response to the triune God is also initiated by the triune God himself. These two points can be drawn out from the Gospel of John 4:23-24 in which a Trinitarian understanding of the worship practice expressed by Jesus Christ is found. Thirdly, accordingly, worship is not to be understood as something affective or magical, manipulated by the human side. In the former, worship becomes not a response to the triune God but corporate self-arousal or mutual entertainment while in the latter, worship is conducted by following prescribed rites in order to achieve supernatural control.