While it may be obvious as to the importance of the omnipotence of God for theology, it is not quite so obvious the importance of the omnipotence of God in terms of worship. But let us reflect on this for a moment. Worship is provoked in the heart by that which is worthy of worship. Worship is provoked from what the heart sees as truly valuable and as truly beautiful. Worship is usually reserved for the things that we love the most which means self is what is worshipped the most. God is viewed as being useful in terms of what He does for self and so we worship Him in order to obtain things. But of course that is not really worship of God, but is rather worship of self.
A passage in Luke points us to how this happens. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). The Pharisee was praying and used words as if his prayer was really toward God, but his heart was really all about himself. His prayer was much like what Jesus said about the prayers of the Pharisees in Matthew. “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men” (6:5). One can be sure that these men used the name of God along with sound theology, outward piety, and perhaps some pathos in the prayer. But the real desire in the prayer was so that others would see them and honor them.
Worship can be the same. People can sing words of praise and have no heart at all for God. People can want others around them to notice their voices or their outward acts that appear as praise. Worship is the worship of God and not just those things done with religious trappings while using the name of God. There must be something greater than the self to draw the heart out in the praise and worship of the living God. There must also be a power exerted in the soul that will open the eyes of the soul and draw in out of itself in praise and worship. Worship is an activity of God and not just something that man does. It takes a divine power to lift man out of the dung heaps and rubbish of the world and the things that glitter of self.
Worship should be thought of in terms of the soul’s adoring praise and worship in terms of the life that flows from a heart that adores and trusts in God. Who will worship that which it is terrified before and does not trust? True worship requires trust in God as well as love for God. Reverence, awe, and gratitude are given in Hebrews 12 as aspects of true worship or service. “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29). The omnipotence of God is displayed by itself in raw power or as seen through the other attributes as that which evokes awe and reverence. Our God is a consuming fire and this points to the power behind the fire that draws its energy from God and not from some fuel. The fierceness of that fire and the energy of that fire both draw on the omnipotence of God. The kingdom of God is one that cannot be shaken because of the power of God. Kingdoms are built on some source of power and do not just stand because they exist. The kingdom of God will not be shaken because the King is omnipotent and cannot be shaken.
All through Scripture we see that creation in one sense worships God and it should draw human beings to worship God. Whey does creation draw humans to worship? It is because it displays the attributes and glory of God. In particular, creation displays the glory of the power of God. We know that it is with great power that God has created the universe and holds it up each moment. We know that it was with great power that God caused the mountains to rise. So we are to join all creation in worship of the glory of God displayed.
We are to adore the God of the Gospel because in it we see the power and glory of God. The Gospel is the display of God and His power to save sinners from the devil, self, and sin. The Gospel is also the power of God to save sinners from His own wrath. The Gospel is the power of God to take sinners and make them worshippers of Himself rather than self and sin. It is through the Gospel that men are taken from being lovers of self and the world to be lovers of God and His glory. So the omnipotence of God should provoke awe in the possibilities of it, but also in what it has done in opening the eyes of sinners and in delivering them from the wrath of God into the arms of a loving Savior. We are to worship the God of all power.
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