(c) Ohject. — Christian worship in NT times is usually oH'cred to God as Father through Jesus Christ as His Son (see Ko 1", Eph 1> 3"). The Aramaic 'Ablia' appears to have been adopted by Greek - speaking Christians as the peculiar title for God in the Churches (see Ro 8'°). Hut, while this was the normal type, worship was sometimes
offered to Christ and prayer addressed to Him. Some indetiniteness attaches to this subject, partly owing to the two senses in which the Gr. word vpoaKweiv is used, and partly owiug to the ambiguous usage of the title Kupios. Liddon claimed many instances of the woi^hip of Jesus during His eartlily life, mostly on the strength of the use of the word irpoaKvfeiv in the Gospels, viz. Mt 2" 8- 9's 14« 15^ 17'^-" 20=" 28''- ", Lk ""■*' H'"- '• 24"-", Jn 9'^-^ 20"-^ (Bampton Lectures, 1866, vii. 1). But it cannot be proved that in any of these cases (except the last, and there the word ' worsliip' is not used) more tliim an act of homage and liuiuble obeisance is inten<led. Josephus uses the word irpoo-Kui'oii/iei'Oi of tlie high priests [BJ IV. V. 2). In the second case cited (Mt 8-), which occurred quite early in our Lord's public ministry, it cannot be supposed thiit the leper actually offered Divine honours to Christ. The physical act of prostration in profound humility, and as rendering great honour, is all that can be meant. In another case (Mt 17'^) the word vpoaKwdv is not used, but we have yowTrtTCiv (kneeling). Still it is to be observed that this homage was reserved for Christ alone, being repudiated by St. Peter (Ac 10'^- '■*) and by the angel in the Apocalypse before whom St. John had prostrated himself (Uev 22'*-'-*). The homage offered to Christ would vary in its signilicance from the simple prostra- tion of the lejier before tlie Great Healer to the adoration of Mary Magdalene and Thomas in lirescnce of the risen Ciirist, its signiHcmce de- pending wholly on the idea of His nature that had been attained, and therefore not to be determined by the mere statements of the outward acts which we lind in the Gospels. It is inappropriate to intro- duce the case of the dying iiialelactor (Lk 23'-) as an instance of prayer to Christ (Liddon). This was a simple request without the element of worship.
But one effect of the resurrection was to develoii so exalted a conception of Christ in the Church that homage which cannot be distinmiished from worsliip came to be addressed to Him. Thus Ananias of Damascus, when addressing Jesus in a vision (since it was in a vision, we cannot cite this as an act of prayer to Christ, because, in this vision, Jesus appears to Ananias and a conversa- tion takes place), describes Christians as ' all that call upon thy name ' (Ac 9'^ ; cf. v.'-' ' them which called on this name '). The same exjncssion is used by St. Paul (1 Co P). The form of words is a Hebraism, used in the OT of the worship of
Jehovah— ni.T D»'3 (in,B (Gn 4'-« 12^ 2 K 5"
lid St.
Paul cites an OT passage where it occurs with reference to God and ajiplies this to Christ (Ko 10'^). St. Stcjilien commends his spirit to Jesus, and prays to Jesus as Lord for the pardon of his enemies, in language closely resembling that wliiili Jesus addressed to God (Ac 7™-*'^ cf. Lk 23" ■"'). St. Paul refers to Jesus Christ in associa- tion with * God himself ' as exercising a directing Providence for the help of which he prays (e.g. 1 Th 3", 2 Th 2'«- ", I'll 2'"). Various forms of benediction imply a reference to Christ (e.g. Ko 16'-'", 1 Co 1'). St. Paul writes of praying to ' the Lord,' evidently meaning Christ, but in langua'-e which suggests an allusiim to the Jewish thought of Jehovah (e.g. 2 Co 12''- «). The author of He- brews cliiims for Christ OT language referring to the worship of God (He l"- ">■'"). According to the Fourth Gospel, ' all men are to honour (TiiiQini) the Son, even as they honour the Father' (Jn 5'^). In the Apocalypse, direct woiship is ollered to Christ as 'the Lamb.' The prayers of the saints are presented to Him (Kev 5"), and hymns are sung in honour of Him (vv."- "• '-). In the sub-apostolic age prayer is usually ollered to God througli Christ, rather than directly to Christ Himself
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WOT
WRITING
{e.g. 1 Clem. 59-61 ; Didnrh(, 9, 10) ; but Ifrnatius (ad Rom. 4) and Polycarp (ad Phil. 1, 12) use the language of prayer concerning Christ ; and the ancient homily, called 2 Clement, begins, ' Brethren, we ouglit so to think of Jesus Christ as of God ' (see Haniack, llkt. of Doff. I. iii. 6).
According to Pliny, the Christians were in the habit of meeting to ' sing a hymn to Christ as God' (carmenquc Christo quasi aeo dicere, — Ep. x. 96). There is no indication of saint-worsliip or of the adoration of the Virgin Mary in the NT ; nor do we there meet ^vitli the distinction between the adoration (Xarpeia) due to God alone, and the lower form of prayer to saints (oovXeia, ijivocatio) observed from the time of Augustine. St. Paul rebukes the worsliip of angels, associated with Jewish Gnosticism (Col 2").