In matthew 5 Jesus refers to heaven as Gods throne earth as his footstool. In what respect are they so?
Great question. Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:34–35 (“Heaven is God’s throne, and the earth is His footstool”) are dense with meaning—cosmic, biblical, and very practical.
1. “Heaven is God’s throne” — the seat of rule and presence
Jesus is echoing Isaiah 66:1, a line every Jewish listener would recognize.
To call heaven God’s throne means:
๐ช Authority
A throne is where a king governs.
Heaven is not God’s house in the human sense, but the realm from which His sovereign will is exercised.
God does not rule from earth upward;
He rules from heaven downward.
This guards us from shrinking God to something local, tribal, or manageable.
๐ Transcendence
Heaven represents the created order beyond human reach—the invisible realm where God’s glory is unveiled, angels worship, and God’s purposes originate.
God is:
not confined to temples,
not contained by geography,
not bound by human systems.
Heaven as throne says: God reigns above all powers, times, and empires.
2. “Earth is His footstool” — the place of action, not insignificance
A footstool is not trash.
It belongs to the throne.
๐ฃ Nearness without equality
In the ancient world, a king’s feet symbolized dominion. To place one’s feet on something meant: this is under my authority.
Calling earth God’s footstool means:
Earth is subject to God,
but also intimately connected to His reign.
God’s rule touches the ground.
Heaven governs;
Earth responds.
๐ฑ The arena of God’s work
Earth is where:
creation groans,
history unfolds,
justice is contested,
redemption is enacted.
The footstool is where the king’s feet rest—where authority becomes tangible.
So earth is not worthless.
It is the theater of obedience and rebellion, faithfulness and sin, incarnation and redemption.
3. Why Jesus says this in Matthew 5
Jesus uses this language while forbidding careless oaths.
Why?
Because people were swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem—as if these were neutral objects.
Jesus is saying:
You cannot swear by anything without invoking God,
because everything already belongs to Him.
Heaven → His throne
Earth → His footstool
Jerusalem → His city
Your head → His creation
So truthfulness doesn’t come from stronger oaths, but from living before God’s ever-present rule.
4. A deeper frame (especially meaningful in aging)
This saying quietly reorients life:
As bodies weaken → heaven remains the throne
As earth feels fragile → it is still under His feet
As history feels chaotic → God is not pacing; He is seated
For one who ages, tires, or suffers, this matters:
My life is not drifting;
it is lived on God’s footstool,
under a throne that has never been shaken.
Heaven is not distant indifference.
Earth is not abandoned chaos.
They belong together—throne and footstool.
5. Fulfillment in Christ
In the New Testament, this imagery sharpens:
Christ is seated at the right hand of God (throne language)
Yet He walked the dust, touched the sick, bore the cross (footstool reality)
In Jesus:
Heaven stooped,
The throne touched the footstool,
Glory entered weakness.
That is why His kingdom can be trusted.
====
Is jerusalem still functioning as the city of God/great king?
Short answer: yes—but no longer in a single, literal way.
Jerusalem still matters, but its function as “the city of the great King” has been redefined and expanded in Christ.
Let me unpack that carefully.
1. What Jerusalem was biblically
When Jesus calls Jerusalem “the city of the great King” (Matthew 5:35), He is echoing Psalm 48.
Jerusalem functioned as:
๐ The city of God’s dwelling (Temple, Shekinah glory)
๐ The seat of Davidic kingship
๐ฉธ The place of sacrifice and atonement
๐ The symbolic center of the world (Zion theology)
So yes, in the Old Covenant, Jerusalem truly was the city of God.
2. The turning point: Jesus and the Temple
Everything changes with Jesus.
He:
Weeps over Jerusalem
Is rejected there
Is crucified outside its gate
Predicts the Temple’s destruction (fulfilled in AD 70)
Then He says something radical:
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
(John 2:19 — speaking of His body)
From this point on:
๐ God’s dwelling shifts from a place to a Person.
Jerusalem’s theological monopoly ends.
3. Is Jerusalem still “the city of God”?
✔️ Yes — historically and symbolically
Jerusalem remains:
The city of God’s mighty acts
The stage of redemption (cross, resurrection, Pentecost)
A signpost in salvation history
A place that still carries prophetic weight
Paul says in Romans 9–11 that Israel’s story is not erased.
So Jerusalem is not meaningless.
❌ No — not as an exclusive dwelling of God
Jesus makes this explicit:
“The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…
true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth.”
(John 4:21–24)
God is no longer localized.
Not one city
Not one building
Not one ethnic boundary
4. The New Testament redefinition
The Bible now speaks of three Jerusalems:
1️⃣ Earthly Jerusalem
Historical
Political
Religious
Still important—but not ultimate
Paul calls it:
“The present Jerusalem… in slavery” (Gal 4:25)
2️⃣ The Church
Believers are now described as:
God’s temple
God’s dwelling
Living stones
“You have come to Mount Zion… the heavenly Jerusalem.”
(Hebrews 12:22)
The city of God is now a people, not a postcode.
3️⃣ The New Jerusalem (future)
The Bible’s final vision is not a rebuilt old city, but a transformed one:
“I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”
(Revelation 21:2)
Key detail:
“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.”
(Rev 21:22)
No temple.
No geographic exclusivity.
God Himself is the dwelling.
5. So how should we say it—precisely?
Here’s a careful, biblically balanced sentence:
Jerusalem remains the city of God in memory, promise, and prophecy—but not as the exclusive dwelling of God. That role now belongs to Christ and, in Him, to His people, until the New Jerusalem is revealed.
6. Why this matters—especially late in life
This is deeply pastoral.
It means:
God is not farther away because you are not in Jerusalem
God does not dwell more fully in a holy place than in a frail body
The final “city of God” is ahead, not behind
For aging believers:
We are not losing our city—
we are approaching it.
Short answer: yes—but no longer in a single, literal way.
Jerusalem still matters, but its function as “the city of the great King” has been redefined and expanded in Christ.
Let me unpack that carefully.
1. What Jerusalem was biblically
When Jesus calls Jerusalem “the city of the great King” (Matthew 5:35), He is echoing Psalm 48.
Jerusalem functioned as:
๐ The city of God’s dwelling (Temple, Shekinah glory)
๐ The seat of Davidic kingship
๐ฉธ The place of sacrifice and atonement
๐ The symbolic center of the world (Zion theology)
So yes, in the Old Covenant, Jerusalem truly was the city of God.
2. The turning point: Jesus and the Temple
Everything changes with Jesus.
He:
Weeps over Jerusalem
Is rejected there
Is crucified outside its gate
Predicts the Temple’s destruction (fulfilled in AD 70)
Then He says something radical:
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
(John 2:19 — speaking of His body)
From this point on:
๐ God’s dwelling shifts from a place to a Person.
Jerusalem’s theological monopoly ends.
3. Is Jerusalem still “the city of God”?
✔️ Yes — historically and symbolically
Jerusalem remains:
The city of God’s mighty acts
The stage of redemption (cross, resurrection, Pentecost)
A signpost in salvation history
A place that still carries prophetic weight
Paul says in Romans 9–11 that Israel’s story is not erased.
So Jerusalem is not meaningless.
❌ No — not as an exclusive dwelling of God
Jesus makes this explicit:
“The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…
true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth.”
(John 4:21–24)
God is no longer localized.
Not one city
Not one building
Not one ethnic boundary
4. The New Testament redefinition
The Bible now speaks of three Jerusalems:
1️⃣ Earthly Jerusalem
Historical
Political
Religious
Still important—but not ultimate
Paul calls it:
“The present Jerusalem… in slavery” (Gal 4:25)
2️⃣ The Church
Believers are now described as:
God’s temple
God’s dwelling
Living stones
“You have come to Mount Zion… the heavenly Jerusalem.”
(Hebrews 12:22)
The city of God is now a people, not a postcode.
3️⃣ The New Jerusalem (future)
The Bible’s final vision is not a rebuilt old city, but a transformed one:
“I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”
(Revelation 21:2)
Key detail:
“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.”
(Rev 21:22)
No temple.
No geographic exclusivity.
God Himself is the dwelling.
5. So how should we say it—precisely?
Here’s a careful, biblically balanced sentence:
Jerusalem remains the city of God in memory, promise, and prophecy—but not as the exclusive dwelling of God. That role now belongs to Christ and, in Him, to His people, until the New Jerusalem is revealed.
6. Why this matters—especially late in life
This is deeply pastoral.
It means:
God is not farther away because you are not in Jerusalem
God does not dwell more fully in a holy place than in a frail body
The final “city of God” is ahead, not behind
For aging believers:
We are not losing our city—
we are approaching it.
=====
Heaven (throne) earth (footstool) Jerusalem (king city) all adapt to describing mans purpose of salvation as worshiping God. Dont they?
Yes — they do, and you are seeing the deep biblical unity correctly.
Heaven, earth, and Jerusalem together form a worship-map of salvation.
Let me affirm this first, then clarify it.
Man’s salvation is not merely rescue from sin, but restoration to right worship under God’s reign.
1. Heaven (the Throne) → the source of worship
“Heaven is My throne” (Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:34)
Heaven represents:
God’s sovereign kingship
God’s holiness
God’s initiative in salvation
Worship does not begin with human seeking.
It begins with God revealing Himself.
Salvation starts from above, not from within man.
In heaven:
God is already worshiped perfectly
Angels do what humans were created to do—but have failed to do
So heaven as throne tells us:
Man’s purpose is to acknowledge God as King.
2. Earth (the Footstool) → the arena of obedient worship
“The earth is My footstool”
Earth is where:
embodied life happens
choices are made
worship becomes concrete
In Scripture, worship is never merely inward. It involves:
bodies
time
work
suffering
obedience
This is why Paul says:
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Earth as footstool means:
Salvation must be lived, not just believed.
Worship on earth is imperfect, contested, and costly—but it is real.
3. Jerusalem (the City of the Great King) → the gathering place of redeemed worship
Jerusalem functioned as:
the place of sacrifice
the meeting point of heaven and earth
the liturgical center of Israel
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem was salvation enacted as worship:
Passover → redemption
Atonement → forgiveness
Tabernacles → dwelling with God
Jerusalem answers the question:
How does sinful man come near a holy God?
Through:
sacrifice
priesthood
covenant faithfulness
4. The Exodus pattern confirms your insight
Exodus 8:1:
“Let My people go, that they may worship Me.”
This is the Bible’s clearest definition of salvation.
Not:
merely freedom from slavery
But:
freedom for worship
So yes:
Heaven → who God is
Earth → where worship is lived
Jerusalem → how worship is restored
5. Fulfillment in Christ: the worship map becomes personal
In Jesus:
Heaven’s authority enters earth
Earth becomes the place of obedient Sonship
Jerusalem becomes the place of final sacrifice
Jesus is:
the true Temple
the true Priest
the true Sacrifice
So worship is no longer tied to a city, but to a Person.
Salvation = being brought back into worshiping fellowship with God through Christ.
6. A precise theological sentence (you could preach this)
Heaven, earth, and Jerusalem together portray God’s saving purpose: to restore fallen humanity to true worship—acknowledging God’s reign from heaven, living obediently on earth, and drawing near through God’s appointed means, now fulfilled in Christ.
7. Why this matters especially in aging
As strength fades, worship does not.
You may do less on earth,
but you live more consciously under heaven’s throne
and nearer to the New Jerusalem
So salvation does not shrink with age.
It simplifies into worship.
======
what about the teachings on 8 blessedness and teachings on the message like unless your righteouseness surpasses that of the pharisees you cannot enter His kingdom amount to in terms of mans purpose of salvation being worshiping God?
Yes — they absolutely mount to the same thing, and this is one of the quiet master-keys of the Sermon on the Mount.
The 8 Beatitudes and the warning
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven”
are not moral hurdles but a worship-reorientation of the human person.
Let me show how they converge.
1. The Sermon on the Mount is not ethics first — it is worship first
Gospel of Matthew 5–7 is often misread as:
“Here is how to be good enough for God.”
But Jesus is actually saying:
“Here is what a life restored to God looks like.”
The mountain itself echoes Sinai — this is covenant-renewal, not a self-help talk.
2. The 8 Beatitudes: worship reshaping the inner person
The Beatitudes describe what happens to a human being when worship is restored.
Notice the direction:
๐ง♂️ 1–4: Emptying before God
Poor in spirit
Those who mourn
The meek
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
These are worship postures, not virtues.
They say:
“I no longer stand before God full, strong, or sufficient.”
That is worship.
๐ฅ 5–7: God’s life flowing outward
Merciful
Pure in heart
Peacemakers
These are fruits of right worship, not techniques.
They mirror God’s own character.
✝️ 8: Worship tested by the world
Persecuted for righteousness’ sake
This shows worship has shifted allegiance.
The world resists those who now belong to God’s reign.
๐ Summary
The Beatitudes describe salvation as re-formed worship:
inwardly (desire),
relationally (mercy),
publicly (allegiance).
3. “Unless your righteousness surpasses…” — what kind of righteousness?
This line terrifies people because they assume quantity.
Jesus means quality.
Pharisaic righteousness:
external compliance
visible piety
worship as performance
Kingdom righteousness:
internal alignment
hidden obedience
worship as belonging to God
Jesus immediately illustrates this:
Anger ≠ murder avoided
Lust ≠ adultery avoided
Oaths ≠ technical truthfulness
Each example moves from behavior to worship.
The issue is not “Did you break the rule?”
The issue is “Who reigns in your heart?”
4. How this fits heaven–earth–Jerusalem (your earlier insight)
Now everything clicks:
Image
Meaning
Worship dimension
Heaven (Throne)
God’s rule
Allegiance
Earth (Footstool)
Lived obedience
Embodied worship
Jerusalem (City)
Access to God
Restored fellowship
Beatitudes
Inner posture
Worship of the heart
Surpassing righteousness
New orientation
True worship
So salvation is not:
escaping earth → heaven
But:
living on earth under heaven’s rule,
with hearts reordered toward God.
5. Jesus’ definition of salvation (hidden in plain sight)
The Sermon ends with worship language:
Two foundations (what do you build your life on?)
Two masters (who do you serve?)
Seeking first the kingdom (ultimate loyalty)
Salvation = right worship
Condemnation = misdirected worship
This echoes Exodus perfectly:
“Let My people go, that they may worship Me.”
6. A single sentence that unites it all (this is preach-ready)
The Beatitudes and the call to surpassing righteousness reveal that salvation is God restoring human beings to true worship—where heaven’s rule is received, earth’s life is offered, the heart is re-oriented, and obedience flows not from fear but from belonging to God.
7. Why this matters deeply in aging
As strength fades:
moral achievement diminishes
productivity slows
But worship intensifies.
The Beatitudes mature beautifully with age:
poverty of spirit deepens
mourning becomes honest
hunger becomes purer
So the Sermon on the Mount is not for the young achiever —
it is perfectly suited for the aging pilgrim.
====
so where do his teahings (do not look at women lustfully etc.) fit in the overall purpose that is worship of God? What do they amount to?
This is a crucial question, because here many people think Jesus suddenly shifts from worship to sexual morality.
In fact, He is still talking about worship—nothing else.
“Do not look at a woman lustfully” is not mainly about sex.
It is about who (or what) receives the worship of the heart.
Let me show where it fits and what it amounts to.
1. The setting matters: this teaching sits inside worship re-formation
In Gospel of Matthew 5, Jesus is explaining what “surpassing righteousness” means.
He moves in a pattern:
You have heard external rule
But I say internal orientation
This is not moral escalation.
It is worship relocation.
2. What lust really is (biblically)
Jesus says:
“Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart.”
The key word is intentional gaze.
Lust is not:
noticing beauty
bodily response
desire itself
Lust is this:
Turning another person into an object for self-gratification.
And that is the language of false worship.
3. Lust as misplaced worship
In Scripture, worship means:
attention
desire
trust
surrender
Lust does the same things—but to the wrong object.
So lust:
bends the heart inward
enthrones the self
uses another body as a tool
seeks fulfillment apart from God
That is why the Bible consistently links sexual sin with idolatry.
Lust is not excessive desire —
it is desire detached from God.
4. Why Jesus goes after the eye
Jesus targets the eye, not the body.
Why?
Because the eye is the gateway of devotion:
what you linger on
what you rehearse inwardly
what you allow to shape imagination
This echoes worship language:
“Set your eyes on the Lord”
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus”
“They fixed their eyes on Him”
So Jesus is saying:
You cannot worship God with a divided gaze.
5. What this teaching amounts to in salvation terms
It amounts to this transformation:
From:
desire as consumption
relationships as use
bodies as means to pleasure
To:
desire as offering
relationships as reverence
bodies as temples
That is salvation taking root in desire.
Not repression.
Not denial of sexuality.
But re-consecration.
6. Why Jesus uses such severe language (“pluck it out”)
This shocks modern readers.
But Jesus is not advocating mutilation.
He is declaring ultimate allegiance.
In worship language:
Nothing—no pleasure, no habit, no fantasy—may rival God’s throne.
He is saying:
It is better to lose a false source of life
than to lose God Himself.
That is worship clarity.
7. How this fits the whole worship map you identified
Now watch how it locks in perfectly:
Theme
Worship meaning
Heaven (throne)
God alone reigns
Earth (footstool)
Body offered in obedience
Jerusalem (city)
Access to God
Beatitudes
Desire emptied and reordered
Surpassing righteousness
Inner allegiance
“Do not lust”
Desire reclaimed for God
So Jesus is not adding a rule.
He is reclaiming the heart’s altar.
8. This is why this teaching is especially relevant in aging
Here is a gentle but deep truth (you already sensed it):
Aging transforms longing without erasing it.
Sexual desire may weaken, but longing does not disappear.
Jesus’ teaching prepares us for this:
Desire is not annihilated
It is purified
It is redirected toward God Himself
So this teaching is not only sexual ethics.
It is training the soul to live by worship rather than appetite.
9. One sentence that captures it all (theological & pastoral)
Jesus’ teaching against lust reveals that salvation reaches into human desire itself, freeing the heart from self-centered consumption and restoring desire as worship—so that even our looking, longing, and imagining belong to God.
=====
what is the meaning of writings in this pic?
This is a beautiful 18th-century devotional emblem, and the words are Italian (with a little Latin flavor). They are meant to be read together, not separately—as a theology of God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and love, all tied to trustful worship.
Let me translate and then interpret.
1. The writings — literal meanings
Around the circle (top):
“Amore e fiducia nella tua amabilissima providenza”
➡️ “Love and trust in Your most gracious providence.”
This is the summary confession of the whole image.
Near the eye:
“Dio vede tutto”
➡️ “God sees everything.”
This corresponds to the eye:
God’s omniscience
Nothing hidden
Nothing overlooked
Biblical echo:
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place” (Prov 15:3)
Near the hand:
“Dio puรฒ tutto”
➡️ “God can do everything.”
This corresponds to the hand:
God’s omnipotence
Active governance
Power exercised in history
Biblical echo:
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14)
Near the heart:
“Dio ci ama”
➡️ “God loves us.”
This corresponds to the burning heart:
God’s benevolence
God’s intention toward humanity
Not cold power, but loving power
Biblical echo:
“God is love” (1 John 4:8)
Bottom inscription:
“Dal Salardi in Bologna”
➡️ “By Salardi, in Bologna”
Likely the printer or engraver, not a theological statement.
2. How the symbols and words work together
This is not random piety. It is ordered theology:
Symbol
Phrase
Meaning
Eye
God sees everything
Nothing escapes His knowledge
Hand
God can do everything
Nothing limits His power
Heart
God loves us
Nothing He does is without love
And above them all:
Love and trust in Your providence
This tells the viewer how to live in response.
3. What this amounts to spiritually (very close to your earlier insight)
This image teaches the same truth you’ve been tracing:
Salvation culminates in worshipful trust.
Because:
If God sees everything → I don’t need to hide
If God can do everything → I don’t need to control
If God loves me → I don’t need to grasp or consume
So the proper human response is:
fiducia (trust)
amore (love)
abandonment to providence
That is worship.
4. Connection to Jesus’ teaching about the eye (very important)
Earlier we spoke about:
“If your eye causes you to stumble…”
This image quietly reverses the gaze:
Not my eye consuming the world
But God’s eye watching over me
When God’s eye is trusted, human eyes are freed from lust, anxiety, and control.
5. A single sentence that captures the whole image
Because God sees all, can do all, and loves us, the purpose of human life is to respond with loving trust—this is worship, and this is salvation lived daily.
6. Why this resonates deeply in aging
As strength declines:
we see less clearly
we can do less
our hearts feel more exposed
This image says:
God still sees perfectly
God still acts fully
God still loves completely
So worship becomes simpler, purer:
trustful resting under His providence
=======
I suspect the purpose of this purpose (enble man to worship God) is for man to rise to His level and to fascillitate this puose he made man in his image. What do you think?
You’re touching a very deep truth—and it needs a careful yes, and a careful no.
Your instinct is right in direction, but Scripture is precise about limits.
Short answer (clear and careful)
Yes: God made humanity in His image so that humans could be raised into communion with God and become capable of true worship.
No: This does not mean rising to God’s level of being, authority, or independence.
The Bible aims at participation without equality, communion without confusion.
Let’s walk this slowly.
1. “Made in the image of God” — what was the purpose?
Genesis 1:26–27 is the foundation:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”
This image is not:
divine power
omniscience
self-existence
It is:
relational capacity
moral awareness
spiritual receptivity
the ability to respond to God
In short:
The image of God makes worship possible.
Animals can obey instinct.
Angels can obey command.
Only humans can worship knowingly.
2. Worship does not lift man to God’s level — it lifts man toward God
This is where language must be precise.
❌ Not this:
man becoming God
man sharing God’s essence
man becoming self-existent or sovereign
That was the serpent’s lie:
“You will be like God” (Gen 3:5)
That promise destroyed worship.
✅ But this:
man being conformed to God’s character
man being drawn upward in holiness
man sharing in God’s life, not His rank
The Fathers of the Church used this phrase carefully:
“God became man so that man might become godlike.”
—not God by nature, but alive by grace.
3. What worship actually does to the human person
Worship does not erase creatureliness.
It perfects it.
Think in terms of alignment, not elevation.
Without worship
With worship
Self-centered
God-centered
Fragmented desire
Unified desire
Fear-driven
Trust-driven
Consuming
Offering
So worship:
restores the image
heals desire
enlarges the soul
deepens likeness
But always as a creature.
4. Why God made man in His image for this purpose
Here’s a crucial insight:
God does not need worship.
Man needs worship to become fully human.
Worship:
stretches the soul upward
frees man from being trapped in appetite, fear, and death
enables man to live in truth
In that sense, yes:
Worship “raises” man —
not to God’s level,
but to man’s intended height.
5. Christ clarifies everything
Jesus is the true image of God.
But notice:
He does not abolish worship
He embodies perfect worship
His whole life is:
obedience
trust
offering
surrender
And through Him, we are invited to:
“be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29)
That is salvation.
Not deification by power,
but transformation by communion.
6. The clearest way to say it (this matters)
Here is a sentence that keeps truth without crossing the line:
God made man in His image so that man could respond to God in worship and be raised into likeness with Him—not by becoming God, but by sharing in God’s life through loving communion.
7. Why this is especially true in aging
As the body weakens:
power recedes
control fades
illusion of self-sufficiency collapses
And something profound happens:
Worship becomes easier.
Because worship was never about rising upward by strength,
but about opening upward by trust.
In old age, one does not rise higher— one becomes more transparent to God.
That is not decline.
That is fulfillment.
Final word (gentle but firm)
Your intuition is theologically rich—you are sensing that salvation is not merely forgiveness, but human fulfillment.
Just keep this guardrail:
Worship does not make man God;
it makes man truly man, alive before God.
=====
Where does peters exhortation "grow in the grace and knowledge of the son" fit in this discussion on worship?
It fits right at the center.
Peter’s exhortation is not a side note to worship—it is worship extended through time.
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
(Second Epistle of Peter 3:18)
Let me show you why this line is almost a definition of lifelong worship.
1. “Grow” — worship is dynamic, not static
Peter does not say:
secure,
prove,
achieve,
accumulate merit.
He says grow.
Growth implies:
life already given,
relationship already established,
direction already set.
So worship is not a moment (conversion only), but a trajectory.
To stop growing is not neutral — it is a form of worship-decay.
2. “Grace” — the posture of worship
Grace means:
received, not earned
given, not seized
sustained, not controlled
To grow in grace is to become:
less self-reliant
less defensive
less performative
That is pure worship.
Because worship says:
“I live by what God gives, not by what I secure.”
Notice how perfectly this matches:
poor in spirit
meek
those who hunger and thirst
Grace enlarges the capacity to receive God.
3. “Knowledge” — not information, but relational knowing
Biblical “knowledge” (yada / gnลsis) is:
relational
participatory
covenantal
Peter is not urging theology alone.
He means:
an increasing attunement to who Christ is
—His ways, His heart, His mind.
This is worship of the mind and will, not just emotion.
To know Christ truly is already to adore Him.
4. Why Peter holds grace and knowledge together
This is critical.
Knowledge without grace → pride (false worship)
Grace without knowledge → sentimentality (thin worship)
True worship requires both:
humility to receive,
clarity to recognize whom we are worshiping.
Peter is guarding worship from distortion.
5. How this fits the worship framework you’ve been building
Now everything aligns:
Theme
Worship meaning
Heaven (throne)
God’s rule acknowledged
Earth (footstool)
Life offered bodily
Jerusalem
Access to God
Beatitudes
Heart re-formed
“Do not lust”
Desire purified
Image of God
Capacity for worship
Grow in grace & knowledge
Worship maturing over time
So salvation is not only entry into worship
—it is education in worship.
6. Why Peter ends his letter this way (important)
Peter writes this as an old man, aware of:
deception,
instability,
decline,
death approaching.
His final concern is not productivity, but orientation.
“To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity.”
Growth culminates in glory given to God.
That’s worship language.
7. Especially meaningful in aging (this matters deeply)
Here is the quiet beauty:
You may know less facts
You may do fewer works
You may lose strength
But you can still:
grow in grace (dependence deepens)
grow in knowledge (recognition sharpens)
So worship does not peak in youth. It ripens in age.
The final growth is not upward ambition,
but downward rootedness in Christ.
8. One sentence that unites it all (theological + pastoral)
Peter’s call to grow in grace and knowledge reveals that salvation is lifelong worship—where the human person, made in God’s image, is gradually reshaped to live ever more fully under God’s reign, in trusting communion with Christ.
=====
is that why Jesus said to a samaritan lady "god is looking searching for those who woship him in spirit and truth"?
Yes — exactly.
That sentence to the Samaritan woman is one of the clearest windows into God’s purpose in salvation.
Jesus is not changing the subject to worship;
He is revealing why salvation exists at all.
Let me show it carefully.
1. The key text and its weight
Jesus says:
“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.”
(Gospel of John 4:23)
That phrase—“the Father is seeking”—is astonishing.
God is not:
seeking buildings,
seeking rituals,
seeking moral performers.
He is seeking people.
That already tells us what salvation is about.
2. Why this is said to this woman, in this place
Context matters.
She is Samaritan (religious outsider)
The dispute is over where to worship (Jerusalem vs Mount Gerizim)
Her life is fractured, ashamed, thirsty
Jesus shifts the whole question:
Not where you worship,
but what kind of worshiper you are becoming.
Salvation is not relocation.
It is re-creation.
3. “In spirit” — restored inner capacity for worship
“In spirit” does not mean:
emotional,
invisible only,
anti-body.
It means:
animated by God’s Spirit,
arising from the human spirit made alive,
not merely external compliance.
This echoes what we said earlier:
God made man in His image so that he could worship.
Sin did not remove the image, but it crippled the spirit.
Salvation restores it.
4. “In truth” — worship aligned with reality
“In truth” means:
not illusion,
not pretense,
not self-deception.
Truth here is revealed reality, now embodied in Christ.
“I am the truth.” (John 14:6)
So worship in truth means:
Worshiping God as He truly is,
not as we imagine or manipulate Him.
5. Why God “seeks” worshipers (this is crucial)
God is not lacking worship.
So why does He seek it?
Because:
Worship is what heals and completes the human person.
When a human being worships rightly:
desire is re-ordered
fear loosens
shame is lifted
life is re-centered
So God seeks worshipers for their salvation, not His ego.
6. How this ties everything you’ve been tracing together
Now watch the full arc close:
Image of God → capacity to worship
Fall → misdirected worship
Law → exposed false worship
Beatitudes → heart re-formed
“Do not lust” → desire purified
“Grow in grace and knowledge” → worship maturing
Samaritan woman → worship redefined
So yes:
Salvation is God seeking and restoring true worshipers.
7. Why this matters deeply in later life
This is tender and profound.
As life strips away:
titles,
achievements,
usefulness,
God’s desire does not diminish.
He is still seeking you —
not for what you can do,
but for who you can be before Him.
Worship becomes simpler, purer:
spirit open,
truth embraced.
That is not the end of the road. That is the road.
8. A single sentence you could safely stand on
Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman reveal that the ultimate purpose of salvation is God’s seeking of human beings restored to true worship—alive in spirit, grounded in truth, and gathered into loving communion with the Father.
=======
Practically worshipping has a lot to do with longing desiring to be like him doing his will, right?
Yes — very much so.
And said carefully, that sentence could almost stand as a practical definition of worship.
Practically, worship is longing to be like Him and desiring to do His will.
Let me ground that biblically and keep it realistic (not idealized).
1. Worship begins as longing, not performance
Before worship becomes:
words,
songs,
rituals,
it begins as desire turned God-ward.
The Bible repeatedly names this:
“As the deer pants for streams of water…” (Ps 42:1)
“My soul longs for You in a dry and weary land” (Ps 63:1)
Longing is not weakness.
It is the engine of worship.
When longing is misdirected → idolatry.
When longing is returned to God → worship.
2. “Desiring to be like Him” — worship reshapes identity
To worship God is to:
behold Him,
admire Him,
be drawn toward Him.
And Scripture says:
“We are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”
(2 Cor 3:18)
So worship is not:
copying behavior,
moral self-improvement.
It is becoming.
We become like what we worship.
That is why false worship deforms,
and true worship heals.
3. “Doing His will” — worship embodied
Jesus makes this unmistakable:
“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 4:34)
Worship is not opposed to obedience;
obedience is worship made visible.
But note the order:
desire first,
obedience flows.
Obedience without desire becomes:
resentment,
fear,
performance.
Desire without obedience becomes:
fantasy,
sentimentality.
True worship holds both.
4. Where this fits in salvation (your whole thread)
Now your insight snaps into focus:
God made man in His image → capable of longing for God
Sin → longing bends inward
Salvation → longing redirected upward
Worship → longing + trust + obedience
So salvation is not merely:
forgiveness of guilt,
but:
the re-education of desire toward God.
That’s why Jesus addresses:
the eye (what you look at),
the heart (what you treasure),
the will (whom you serve).
5. A very important pastoral clarification
Worship is not:
always feeling desire,
always wanting obedience.
Sometimes worship sounds like:
“I want to want Your will.”
“I long to long for You.”
That counts.
Because worship is orientation, not intensity.
6. Especially true in aging (this is gentle and real)
As capacities fade:
desire changes shape,
energy diminishes,
obedience looks simpler.
And worship often becomes:
quieter,
more interior,
more honest.
But often truer.
Longing without illusion is one of the purest forms of worship.
7. A sentence that holds practice + theology
You could say it this way (very solid):
Practically, worship is the daily turning of human longing toward God—desiring to become like Him and offering one’s will in trustful obedience, even when desire is weak and obedience is costly.
That sentence would sit comfortably in Scripture.
8. One gentle closing thought
The Father Jesus describes is still seeking worshipers.
And sometimes what He finds is not:
strength,
clarity,
fervor,
but:
a heart that still longs,
a will that still yields,
a life that still says, “Your will, not mine.”
That, too, is worship.
======
Isnt it because of this purpose (worship) that jesus taught the prayer topic saying " hallowed be your name"?
Yes — precisely because of that purpose.
“Hallowed be Your name” is Jesus giving us the first act of restored worship.
1. Why this line comes first (this is decisive)
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus does not begin with:
our needs,
our sins,
our plans.
He begins with worship.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
(Gospel of Matthew 6:9)
That ordering is theology.
It says:
Salvation reorients the human heart before it supplies human needs.
2. What “hallowed” really means
“Hallowed” does not mean:
make God holy (He already is),
say holy words only.
It means:
Let Your name be treated as holy — recognized, revered, centered.
In biblical language, “name” = who God truly is.
So this line is saying:
“Let reality be reordered so that You are honored as God.”
That is worship in its purest form.
3. Why Jesus teaches us to ask for this
This is subtle and important.
Jesus does not say:
“You must hallow God’s name.”
He teaches us to pray:
“Let Your name be hallowed.”
Why?
Because worship is God’s work in us, not our achievement.
We ask to become the kind of people who can worship rightly.
That fits perfectly with:
“grow in grace”
Beatitudes
“poor in spirit”
4. How this line gathers everything you’ve been tracing
Watch how it integrates your whole insight:
Fulfilled in “Hallowed be Your name”
Theme
Image of God
Capacity to revere God
Worship as salvation
First petition
Longing
Desire redirected upward
Doing His will
Will aligned before action
Kingdom
God-centered order
Beatitudes
Poverty of spirit expressed
Aging
Simpler, truer reverence
So yes:
Jesus teaches this prayer because worship is the purpose salvation serves.
5. The prayer reshapes desire before behavior
“Hallowed be Your name” quietly says:
Before I act → reorder my loves
Before I ask → set my center
Before I obey → claim my allegiance
This is why all the later petitions make sense only after this one.
Without worship, requests become self-centered.
With worship, even need becomes communion.
6. One sentence that nails it (theological + practical)
Jesus begins the Lord’s Prayer with “Hallowed be Your name” because the goal of salvation is the restoration of true worship—where human desire, trust, and will are reordered so that God is honored as God.
7. A quiet word for later life
As words shorten and strength fades, this petition often remains.
Sometimes worship becomes as simple as:
“Father… You are holy.”
That is not the beginning of prayer.
That is the fulfillment of prayer.
=======
it appears body is given to man for it is in the context of a body alone that the purpose of worship can meaningfully occur, right?
Yes — that is essentially right, and it’s a very important correction to overly “spiritualized” ideas of worship.
Let me say it carefully and fully:
The body is given to the human person because worship, by God’s design, is meant to occur in and through embodied life.
Not despite the body — because of it.
1. Worship requires a body to be real
Biblically, worship is never merely:
thinking about God,
feeling something about God,
agreeing with truths about God.
It is always offered life.
And life, in Scripture, is embodied.
That’s why Paul can say:
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice — this is your spiritual worship.” (Rom 12:1)
Notice the paradox:
spiritual worship
offered through the body
Remove the body, and worship becomes abstract, imagined, or incomplete.
2. Why the body is essential to worship
The body gives worship weight.
Through the body:
time is spent
effort is expended
limits are felt
obedience costs something
Worship requires:
kneeling,
fasting,
singing,
serving,
sexual restraint,
endurance,
suffering,
dying.
None of these are possible without a body.
The body makes worship costly — and therefore meaningful.
3. The body is the “footstool space” of worship
Earlier you named:
heaven → God’s throne
earth → God’s footstool
The body belongs precisely here.
The body is:
earth concentrated into a person,
the meeting place of spirit and dust,
the site where heaven’s will is enacted on earth.
So when a human body obeys God, heaven’s rule touches earth.
That is worship fulfilled.
4. Why Jesus focuses on bodily life (eye, hand, desire)
This now makes perfect sense.
Jesus does not say:
“Fix your thoughts only.”
He says:
watch your eyes,
govern your hands,
order your desires,
offer your body.
Why?
Because:
Worship is decided where desire meets flesh.
The body is where worship either becomes faithful — or collapses into idolatry.
5. The Incarnation seals the truth forever
God could have saved us by decree.
Instead:
He took a body,
lived obediently,
worshiped perfectly,
suffered bodily,
rose bodily.
This tells us unmistakably:
The body is not a temporary inconvenience to salvation;
it is the God-chosen instrument of worship.
6. What about life after death?
Even here, Scripture confirms your insight.
The Bible does not end with:
souls floating upward forever.
It ends with:
resurrection of the body.
Why?
Because worship reaches its fullness only when the whole person — body and spirit — is alive before God.
Disembodied existence is interim.
Resurrection is completion.
7. Why this matters deeply in aging and weakness
This is tender and important.
When the body weakens, we are tempted to think:
“My usefulness is over.”
But in truth:
endurance becomes worship,
limitation becomes offering,
dependence becomes praise.
A failing body can worship more truthfully than a strong one,
because it no longer pretends to be self-sufficient.
8. A sentence that holds everything together
Here is a statement that is both biblically faithful and theologically sound:
God gave humanity a body because worship is meant to be lived in the concreteness of embodied obedience, desire, suffering, and trust — where heaven’s will is enacted on earth through finite human life.
9. One final, gentle clarification
The body is not worship’s goal.
God is.
But the body is worship’s language.
And God chose that language on purpose.
=======
connect this to resurrection and final worship because a pastor who is a friend of mine asked whether or not a saved soul receives a resirrected body upon death.
This is an excellent—and very pastoral—question.
Let me answer your friend clearly, then connect it to worship and resurrection, because the Bible holds those together.
Short, clear answer first
No. A saved soul does NOT receive the resurrected body immediately at death.
Yes. A saved soul WILL receive a resurrected body at the final resurrection.
Between those two moments is what Christians have traditionally called the intermediate state.
Now let’s unfold why this matters for worship.
1. What happens at death (the intermediate state)
When a believer dies:
The body returns to dust
The person (soul/spirit) goes to be with Christ
Paul says:
“To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord.”
(Second Epistle to the Corinthians 5:8)
Jesus says to the thief:
“Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
(Gospel of Luke 23:43)
So:
Conscious
Comforted
With Christ
But not yet embodied
This state is blessed, but not final.
2. Why this state is not the end (very important)
If salvation were only about:
escaping the body,
floating as a soul,
then resurrection would be unnecessary.
But Christianity insists:
God’s final purpose is not disembodied souls,
but fully restored, embodied worshipers.
That is why Paul insists so strongly on resurrection in
First Epistle to the Corinthians 15.
Without resurrection:
worship would be incomplete
creation would be unfinished
the body would be discarded (which God never intends)
3. When the resurrected body is received
The resurrected body is given:
At Christ’s return
At the final resurrection
At the renewal of heaven and earth
Paul says:
“The dead in Christ will rise first.”
(First Epistle to the Thessalonians 4:16)
And:
“We shall all be changed… the dead will be raised imperishable.”
(1 Cor 15:52)
This is corporate, cosmic, and public—not private at death.
4. Why resurrection is essential for final worship
Now we connect directly to your insight.
You said:
“The body is given so worship can meaningfully occur.”
That is exactly why resurrection is necessary.
Why?
Because final worship includes:
bodies standing
voices singing
hands lifted
work fulfilled
creation renewed
The Bible’s final vision (Book of Revelation 21–22) is not:
souls escaping earth,
but:
heaven coming down to earth
God dwelling with embodied people
“The dwelling place of God is with man.”
No temple. No separation. Whole persons worshiping God forever.
5. How this answers your pastor friend precisely
You could say it this way (this is careful and orthodox):
At death, the believer is immediately with Christ in a conscious, blessed state; however, the resurrected body is received only at Christ’s return, when salvation is completed and worship is fully embodied.
That sentence would be accepted across most Christian traditions.
6. Why this matters deeply (especially in aging)
This is not technical theology—it is hope.
It means:
This weak body is not discarded
This suffering body is not meaningless
This aging body is not a mistake
The body that now struggles is the seed of the body that will finally worship without resistance.
Paul’s words are tender here:
“It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.”
(1 Cor 15:43)
7. Final worship: what changes, what remains
In the resurrected body:
No decay
No divided desire
No fatigue in worship
But:
You are still you
Worship is still embodied
Longing is finally satisfied, not erased
Worship reaches its fullness not by leaving the body behind,
but by the body being healed, glorified, and fully alive before God.
8. One final sentence that ties everything together
God gave humanity a body so worship could be lived in time; God raises the body so worship may be completed in eternity.
