Should Christians Worship Jesus?

Dan Corner

Should We Worship Jesus -- YES!

Recently, while obeying the command to spread the soul saving message of repentance from sins and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21), I encountered two people, on different occasions, who were aggressively opposed to Jesus worship. At first, I thought they were Jehovah's Witnesses, which would be typical for them, but neither was.

They brought up various issues as evidence against Jesus worship, which some may have heard and stumbled over. May this study prove to bless many and bring more worship to Jesus, who certainly deserves it, since he is God in the flesh.

Fact 1: The early Christians (and even non-Christians) did worship Jesus, he received that worship and never rebuked them on any of the various occasions. Here is the proof for all of this:

Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Mat 14:33)
Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. (Mat 28:9)
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Mat 28:17)
Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (Luke 24:52)
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (John 9:38)

Fact 2: God, who is jealous for our love and devotion, commands all of his angels to worship Jesus:

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship Jesus.” (Heb 1:6)

This Greek word translated worship in Hebrews 1:6 is also found in the following passage:

“So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'” (Luke 4:7,8)

Hence, the Lord Jesus rebuked the devil with the truth that only God is to be worshiped, but God commands all of his angels to worship Jesus (Heb. 1:6). (The same Greek word is found in each of the two Scriptures.) Also, remember that God doesn't give his glory to another, yet has his angels worship Jesus:

I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. (Isa 42:8)

Fact 3: The Father wants Jesus to be honored the same way the Father is honored:

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. (John 5:22,23)

Hence, if you are not honoring the Son the same way as you honor the Father, you aren't honoring the Father at all. The Greek definition of the word translated honor in John 5:23 is:

1) to estimate, fix the value 2) to honour, to have in honour, to revere, venerate .

Please know that venerate and worship are synonyms. Only God is to be venerated (worshiped). (This is a powerful refutation to the Catholic doctrine of veneration of their Mary, which is not the real Mary, the mother of Jesus.) Hence, Jesus should be worshiped the same way the Father is worshiped.

Fact 4: Jesus and the Father are both equally worshiped at the same time in Heaven by all of his creation:

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Rev 5:11-14)

Hence, Jesus is worshiped in the presence of the Father and in the same way that the Father is worshiped. Not only that, but it also says every creature is praising the Father and Jesus, thereby excluding Jesus from the created class, since he can't be praising himself! That means Jesus is not Michael the archangel, as some were wrongly taught.

What is worship of God in heaven? Note what is spoken and considered worship:

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and WORSHIPED God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Rev. 7:11,12)
They spoke these words to God as worship:

Again, notice the words "Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength" are called WORSHIP and are mostly repeated to Jesus (as worship) in this next passage:
In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" (Rev. 5:12).
Then immediately after that, Jesus is worshiped a subsequent time alongside the Father in the same EQUAL way. They are both distinctly WORSHIPED in v.14 by the elders.
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and WORSHIPED (Rev. 5:13,14).

Moreover, God does not share his GLORY with another (Isa. 42:8), but Jesus is worshiped with equal "glory" as the Father (Rev. 5:13), and he was given all power in heaven and earth (Mt. 28:18). Obviously, it can't be wrong to worship Jesus who has all power in heaven and earth. BTW, the reason Jesus was given [really given back] all power in heaven and earth was because he left all of that to humble himself to become a man (Phil. 2:5-11). Before Jesus became a man he had glory with the Father and prayed for it to restored:

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began (John 17:5).
The restoration of Jesus' glory is shown in Mt. 28:18.

Fact 5: Jesus is clearly worshiped by all people in the future:

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Dan 7:13,14)

Fact 6: Jesus has all authority in heaven. Certainly, he who has all authority in heaven should be worshiped:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Mat 28:18)

Fact 7: Jesus is deity. This means he is God by nature, the same as the Father, but not the person of the Father. Hence, again we have proof he should be worshiped. Here are text teachings proving these truths:

Jesus is God by Nature

Jesus Is Not The Father But Is Deity

The Trinity

Fallacious Objections to The Worship of Jesus

Below are two misused Scriptures/arguments cited by misled people sadly opposed to the worship of the Lord Jesus:

1. Jesus taught people to worship the Father, not himself from John 4:23,24, which reads:

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23,24)

ANSWER: It is certainly true that Jesus taught the Father is to be worshiped and there is no mention here that Jesus is to be worshiped. However, other Scriptures supplement this passage about Christian worship, as previously proven.

2. Jesus never claimed to be God.

ANSWER: It is true that he never said such in those words, but he did clearly identify himself as God both directly and indirectly.

In John 8:58, Jesus identified himself as the “I am” of Exodus 3:14. (Direct proof.)

Indirect proof of the deity of Christ is: he was prayed to in Acts 7:59. In fact, Jesus taught we are to pray to him in John 14:14. (Only God is to be prayed to.)

Worship Jesus Summary

The early Christians did worship Jesus. Are you in the same truth that the early Christians were in or have you been deceived by a false teacher? You can now get involved with, or continue in, Jesus worship without reservations. Such is clearly Biblical.

OTHER TOPICS:

Answering The Most Common Objections to the Deity of Christ

Bible Answers To Bible Questions

The Spiritual Good

He Who Overcomes

Devotion To The Lord Jesus Christ

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