Language Studies

Greek Thoughts

PROSKUNEO* - Part 6 - εχηγεομαι (Strong's #1834)
To worship, to bow down, to show reverence and submission

Please note that all Biblical quotes, in this and all other lessons posted to Greek Thoughts, are from the literal translation produced by BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America.

This week we continue our study of προσκυνὲω (Strong's #4352), our focus being on the temptations of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11.

If you have been following our studies on worship, you will remember that προσκυνὲω is compounded from the preposition πρὸς (Strong's #4314) meaning "to" or "towards" and κυνὲω meaning "to kiss." Κυνὲω is derived from the Greek word κὺων (Strong's #2965), which means "dog." It came to mean "kiss"—from a dog licking the hand. So the basic meaning of προσκυνὲω, is to "bow down to the ground in front of someone while kissing his feet, the hem of his garment or the ground in front of him."

We have seen, from the Old Testament, that submission to someone is expressed through the physical act of bowing to the ground in front of the person to whom you are showing submission and reverence. Submission and reverence are also expressed through this physical posture in the New Testament, as we studied from Matthew 2:1-11; 8:1-2; 14:22-33. And Jesus, in John 4:21-24, uses προσκυνὲω to describe the true worship that must now take place in the spirit realm. He teaches that true worshipers must express their submission and reverence to the Spirit of God and the truth of God from their hearts, not from a physical position or geographical location.

Last week, we began the part of our study that focuses on the seriousness and depth of true worship by analyzing the temptations of the Lord, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. We looked at the first two temptations (Matthew 4:1-7) and found that God led Jesus into this time and place of temptation, so that He could defeat the devil (who was doing the tempting) and give example for all who would follow after Him. We also saw, from the use of the Greek language, that Satan already acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God, so He was not tempting Jesus to reveal that fact. Instead, Satan was attempting to divert Jesus from the true worship of God: First, by tempting Him to use His authority, as the Son, to satisfy His physical hunger (a subversion of the true satisfaction Jesus finds in every Word that comes from the mouth of God); and second, by tempting Him to put God's promises to the test. The Lord, however, entrusts Himself wholly to the Father, knowing that what He promised, God will bring to fulfillment.

This week we continue our study of the temptations of Christ, considering verses 8-10 of Matthew 4.

Verses 8-10: The Third Temptation

8)

Again, the devil takes Him into an exceedingly high mountain, and shows to Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

The Greek word translated "shows" is δεὶκνυμι (Strong's #1166) and means "to show," in the sense of "to display" or "to expose." So we understand that the devil displays all of the kingdoms of the world and their glory before Jesus. Then, after this display, the devil presents the condition for obtaining these glorious things.

9)

And he says to Him, "All these things I will give to you, if after falling down, you should worship (προσκυνὲω) me."

The devil uses προσκυνὲω, our study word, to express his condition (that Jesus worship him, Satan) for giving the world and its glory to Jesus. This temptation clearly shows that those who desire the kingdoms of this world, the glory of this world, must first worship the devil. The required worship is not the singing of hymns or attendance at a Satanic ritual, but rather is an act of submission. In order for anyone to get the things of the world from the devil, that person must submit his life to the devil and serve him.

On the basis of this important principle, James writes the following words to those believers who are striving in the flesh to obtain the things of this world (James 4:4), "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship of the world is hostility against God? Whoever therefore should decide to be a friend of the world positions himself as an enemy of God." The truth about lusting after the things of the world is very serious. For a person (Christian or not) to obtain something from the world, in order to satisfy the flesh, he must first submit himself to the devil. This can be seen in what a person does, in the actions he must take, to achieve this goal; he must surrender and become a slave to the world's system, in order to get what he wants. The Bible calls this worship. Unfortunately, many believers, lacking an understanding of the meaning and components of worship, are caught up in the "American way" of sacrificing time and effort to get ahead, to gain worldly things, without realizing that they have entered into a system of worship that requires the sacrificing of themselves in order to obtain what they want.

10)

Then Jesus says to him, "Go away, Satan; for it has been written, 'You yourself shall worship (προσκυνὲω) the Lord your God, and Him only you will serve.'"

The Lord's response here reveals two things. The first is that Satan has the authority to offer the kingdoms of this world and their glory to Jesus. This is established by the fact that Jesus did not rebuke Satan for offering what he had no authority to give. The reason for this is made clear in Scripture. When the devil is expelled from heaven, he is given authority over the earth. His authority is established for us in 2 Corinthians 4:4 where he is called, "the god of this age." In addition, the devil is called "the ruler of the authority of the air." (Ephesians 2:2)

The second thing revealed by the Lord's response is His choice of worship, which He takes from Deuteronomy 6:13: "You Yourself shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you will serve." The Lord expresses that worship is comprised both of submission and service. We also see this emphasis in the great commandment of Deuteronomy 6:5, which states: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." This expresses that loving the Lord requires that all of our heart, soul, and strength must belong to Him.

One cannot love the Lord in the manner prescribed by Scripture and still chase after the things of this world, since the world system demands a competing submission and effort in order to obtain any desired object. Whom we are submitted to, and whom we serve, with our time and devotion, determines whom we are worshiping. Jesus expresses that His choice is to be in obedience to Scripture and to worship God only.

11)

Then the devil leaves off from Him, and behold, angels came near and were ministering to Him.

Most people skip over verse 11, but it is crucial in understanding the temptations of Jesus. In it, we are told that the devil "leaves off from Him" after the temptations. Many people believe that the devil left Jesus because He quoted Scripture—that the devil fled because of the Scripture. This idea does not hold up, however, since the devil is not afraid of Scripture; in fact, he quotes it himself. Instead, consider that Satan has failed, throughout all of these temptations, to obtain the worship he desires from Jesus. In response to every temptation, the Lord shows that His worship is to God. Jesus' submission to God alone, and His service to God alone, cannot be diverted, diluted, or subverted in any way, because His whole heart, soul, and strength belong solely to God. The truth is that the devil leaves because Jesus has expressed His submission to the truth of God as it is expressed in God's Word.

As we have seen from our studies, the meaning of true worship is much deeper than the vague, ill-defined meaning present in the Christian world today. In contrast to it, the expression of true worship demands that every aspect of our being is in submission to God—mind, strength, even time. The hearts, souls, and strengths of most modern believers, however, are submitted to the world system, as can be seen by the time and effort they lavish on obtaining the glory and things of this world; while they consider an hour or two at Sunday service to be their act of worship. But true worship is expressed in the spirit realm, from the depths of the believer's heart to the Spirit of God alone, in submission to His truth only.

Another shallow application of Scripture, prevalent in the church today, is the quoting of Scripture in order to chase the devil away. But the verses we have studied on worship have now exposed the depth of true worship, showing that Jesus did not quote the truth from God's Word in order to chase the devil away. Instead, it was His choice of worship, His choice to truly worship God alone, that rendered the devil ineffective, and forced Satan to leave Him. Submission to the truth of God renders the devil ineffective, not the mere quoting of Scripture.

This conclusion is supported by teachings from other parts of Scripture. In James 4:7, we are admonished, "Therefore be submitted to God. And resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Satan cannot overpower any believer; but he can, and does, tempt every believer to enter into a life of servitude in order to gain worship from him. As Christians, we must follow the example of Jesus, who rendered the devil ineffective by His true worship of the Father.

Next week we will continue our study of the meaning and seriousness of worship from the Book of Revelation.

* PROSKUNEO is the English font spelling of the Greek word προσκυνὲω.

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