Adoration in the Bible refers to the act of worshipping, praising, and glorifying God. It involves an attitude of awe, reverence, and exaltation towards God’s supreme majesty, greatness, and holiness. The Bible exhorts believers to adore God for who He is and what He has done.
The Nature of Adoration
Adoration is more than just praise. It is a deep sense of wonder and fascination at the attributes and works of God. Adoration recognizes God’s infinite worth and surpassing glory. It is both an internal disposition and external expression of the soul towards God (Psalm 103:1). Adoration is giving God the honor, glory, and submission which He deserves as the supreme being and only source of all goodness (Revelation 4:11). It acknowledges God as all-glorious, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, all-loving, completely holy and righteous. Adoration responds to these divine perfections with complete surrender of the will, mind, heart, and body in worship.
The adoration of God starts with an illumination of His majesty and greatness. As we gain deeper insights into God’s attributes through Scripture, creation, and spiritual experience, it evokes a profound sense of awe and fascination. This comprehension of the “height and depth and length and breadth” of His glory leads us to extol Him with our whole being (Ephesians 3:18-19). Adoration recognizes there is no one like our God in heaven or on earth (2 Samuel 7:22). He alone is worthy of all praise, honor, and devotion.
Examples of Adoration
Throughout Scripture, we find many expressions of adoration towards God:
– The seraphim surrounding God’s throne cry out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). This anthem expresses deep awe at God’s perfect holiness.
– After witnessing God’s power over Pharaoh, Moses and the Israelites sang out in adoration: “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)
– David frequently burst out in adoration of God’s might, sovereignty, and love. “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all” (1 Chronicles 29:11).
– The twenty-four elders in heaven “fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created’” (Revelation 4:10-11).
These examples showcase heartfelt praise of God’s supreme glory and work. Adoration uses exalted language to fittingly respond to God’s majesty. It recognizes the vast discrepancy between the holiness of the Creator and the sinfulness of creation.
Reasons for Adoration
Why should we adore God? The Bible gives many reasons we should worship Him:
– He is the eternal, self-existing Creator of all things (Genesis 1, Revelation 4:11).
– Everything we have and enjoy comes from His hand (James 1:17).
– His wisdom, power, justice, mercy, and truth are beyond compare (Psalm 86:8-10, 15).
– He demonstrated His love by sending Christ to save us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10).
– He filled us with His Spirit and adopted us as His dearly loved children (1 John 3:1).
– He is sovereign over every event and will cause all things to work for our eternal good (Romans 8:28).
– He has prepared an imperishable inheritance for us in heaven where we will reign with Him forever (1 Peter 1:3-5).
The more we comprehend God’s majesty and goodness, the more we should adore Him. Even angels surrounding God’s throne unceasingly worship Him crying out “Worthy is the Lamb!” (Revelation 5:12). Our eternal destiny is to join them in endless adoration of God and the Lamb upon His throne (Revelation 7:9-12).
How to Adore God
The Bible suggests many ways we can adore and exalt God:
– Praise and exalt His name in song, poetry, art, and prose (Psalm 66:1-4, Psalm 96:1-3).
– Meditate on His attributes, works, and gifts to inspire adoration (Psalm 63:6, Psalm 77:11-12).
– Speak of His great deeds among people (Psalm 105:1-2).
– Make His praise glorious by doing everything with excellence (Psalm 150, 1 Corinthians 10:31).
– Declare His supremacy over all false gods, powers, and idols (Psalm 95:1-7).
– Choose in all situations to glorify Him rather than gratify yourself (1 Corinthians 10:31).
– Yield your entire being in loving obedience to Him (Romans 12:1-2).
– Serve others to demonstrate His grace and reflect His glory (Matthew 5:16).
Adoration should come from the depth of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. It engages our intellect, emotions, and will. We adore God by making Him supreme in every faculty He has given us. This lifelong process of learning to adore God in all His fullness leads to eternal joy and satisfaction in His presence.
Results of Adoration
Adoring God produces profound effects in the lives of believers:
– It reminds us of God’s rightful place as the center of our lives. Adoration recenters everything around His majesty and glory.
– It fills us with love, reverence, gratitude, and devotion for God’s mercy and grace.
– It protects us from pride and self-glorification by acknowledging everything we have comes from God.
– It transforms our perspective from earthly and temporal to heavenly and eternal.
– It unites our hearts with fellow worshipers across all times and places.
– It overflows into worship, prayer, repentance, faith, and obedience.
– It foreshadows the eternal adoration we will offer God in heaven.
The more we adore God, the more we become like Christ. Adoration lifts our gaze to behold the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). It ushers us into God’s presence where we find fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). There is no higher privilege than to adore the triune God for who He is and what He has done.
Adoration and Spiritual Growth
Adoration fuels spiritual growth by reminding us who God is and who we are in relation to Him. By praising God for His glory, we see ourselves in proper perspective as finite creatures meant to serve and worship Him. Adoring God’s holiness motivates us to confess our sins and pursue greater obedience. Adoring God’s sovereignty and wisdom nurtures greater trust in His perfect plans. Adoring God’s mercy fills us with assurance of salvation. Adoring God’s love moves us to love others. In all these ways, adoration propels sanctification as we become more enamored with Christ and more aware of our dependence on Him.
The more we adore God, the less we adore ourselves. Adoration humbles the soul and crucifies the flesh with its pride and selfish desires. It instills the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). By adoring the all-satisfying glory of God, our hearts are weaned from idolatry and worldliness. We become Kingdom-oriented rather than self-oriented. Adoration reorients all of life around loving and serving God.
Adoration Requires Revelation
Deep and genuine adoration requires ongoing revelation from God. We can only adore Him to the extent we know Him through His self-disclosure in Scripture and spiritual experience. The Holy Spirit illuminates God’s attributes and works so we can rightly respond in adoration (Matthew 16:17). Revelation always precedes adoration. The more insight we gain into the unfathomable riches of Christ, the more excellent His majesty appears, eliciting greater adoration. As Tozer said, “Were all human lips closed by death and all human hearts by spiritual sleep, yet would the whole world soon be filled with songs of adoration, for “the morning stars would sing together and all the sons of God would shout for joy.”
Adoration in Personal Devotion
Adoring God should be part of our personal devotional life. Here are some tips for making adoration central:
– Begin each devotional time acknowledging God’s presence and glory. Worship Him for who He is.
– Meditate on His attributes and praise Him specifically for his eternity, power, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, mercy, and love.
– Reflect on His works of creation, salvation, and provision in your life. Thank Him for blessings big and small.
– Sing praise songs and hymns celebrating His greatness. Listen to music that invokes reverent worship.
– Keep a journal of insights about God that lead you into adoration. Note ways He answers prayer.
– Spend extended times gazing upon the glory of God in Scripture and creation without any agenda except worship.
– Minimalize earthly distractions and focus your mind’s eye single-pointedly on the majesty of God.
– Prostrate yourself physically as you adore Him with your entire being. Lift your hands, bow your head, and bend your knees in reverence.
As we practice adoring God in private worship, it will bear fruit in public worship, and become the unceasing song of our lives.
Adoration in Corporate Worship
The collective adoration of God in corporate worship carries special power. Psalm 22:3 says God “inhabits the praises of His people.” As believers adore God together it manifests His presence. Other benefits of corporate adoration include:
– It unites our hearts in mutual exaltation of God (Romans 15:5-6).
– It magnifies praise as many voices join together (Psalm 95:1-2).
– It kindles our personal adoration through exposure to that of others.
– It edifies and emboldens other believers as they see God glorified.
– It invites unbelievers to encounter the glory and grace of God.
– It foreshadows the eternal chorus of global worship in heaven (Revelation 7:9).
Pastors and worship leaders have a responsibility to lead God’s people into passionate, Biblically-grounded adoration that focuses on His supreme majesty. This should include robust, theologically rich songs as well as aspects like corporate prayer, reading Scripture responsively, creeds and confessions, and communion. The ultimate purpose of corporate worship is to exalt “the Lamb who was slain” together as one body joined in adoration of our Triune God (Revelation 5:12).
Adoration Every Day
Adoration should suffuse the everyday lives of believers. We should cultivate a constant spirit of wonder at God’s glory and gratitude for His grace. The Psalmist declares “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” and “From the rising of the sun to its setting, The name of the LORD is to be praised” (Psalm 34:1; 113:3). When adoration fills our waking moments it soon fills our dreams as well. The more we intentionally adore God throughout each day, the more our lives become an act of unceasing worship.
Adoration Empowered by Grace
While adoration is the believer’s highest calling, we only adore to the extent the Spirit empowers us. Our best praise is stained with sin and distraction. But by Christ’s imputed righteousness, the Father receives our imperfect adoration as perfect. The Spirit within elevates weak human praises into something that brings joy to God’s heart (Romans 8:26). This grace should free us to adore God passionately, not worrying about technique but rather the condition of our heart. As grace-empowered worshipers, we join the symphony of adoration resounding through all creation to the glory of God forever.
