May you all have peace and may I respond? Thank you!
Doing obeisance is not necessarily the same thing as worshipping. When one does obeisance, one bows before another. As did Joseph's brothers to him in his dreams of the sheaves. As Bathsheba did before David. As many did before the kings of Israel. None of these worshipped those they bowed before, however. Obeisance is, really, just a demonstration of respect.
DId 1st century christians worship Christ? Yes... and no. They did obeisance to him... yes. And in doing such obeisance... they worshipped him. Just as we are to do today: KISS... the SON! However, they did not RENDER SACRED SERVICE before him. They did not worship him as their God. That service is reserved for the Most Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies. I am permitted to give you two examples to help you "see" - worship in the tabernacle and temple... and Joseph and Pharoah.
In BOTH instances... the people had to bow down and make their offerings to the High Priest (in the first instance) and Joseph (in the second instance). So, in BOTH instance, the people "worshipped" at the feet of these. BUT... it was not these who the people were worshipping. These merely served as the REFLECTIONS... the ones APPOINTED/ESTABLISHED... for the people to bow down to... IN PLACE... of the Most Holy One of Israel. And it was these, the High Priest... and Joseph... who would enter in before JAH (the Most Holy)... or Pharoah... and BRING such "worship."
So that, in coming to make an offering to God, one would approach the High Priest FIRST... and do obeisance to that one... in OBEDIENCE AND RESPECT... to the One who established him in that position. But one was ultimately APPROACHING... God. In the same way, in coming to make a petition before Pharoah, one would approach JOSEPH... FIRST... and do obeisance to him... as the one established BY Pharoah in that position. But one was ultimately APPROACHING... Pharoah.
Neither the High Priest... nor Joseph... were to be the OBJECT of worship.
And it is the same today. We CANNOT enter into the Most Holy without going THROUGH the Holy. So, it is before the HOLY that we must do obeisance... FIRST. However, it is NOT the Holy that we worship. Rather, we must go THROUGH him... to get TO the Most Holy... and worship.
In like manner, we CANNOT enter in before Pharoah without being granted to do so by Joseph. So, it is before JOSEPH that we must do obeisance... FIRST. However, it is NOT Joseph that we must worship. Rather, we must go THROUGH him... to get TO Pharoah... and make our petition.
Thus, we cannot enter in before the Most Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies, without being granted to do so by Christ. So, it is before CHRIST that we must do obeisance... FIRST. However, it is NOT Christ that we must worship. Rather, we must go THROUGH him... to get to the Father... and render our sacred service, offering our petition... and complete our worship.
And in ALL of these instances we can ask that the High Priest, Joseph... the Holy... Christ... go in and offer such worship/petition... FOR us.
And the first century christians knew this. Because unlike many today... who have to rely on what a book of writings seems to say... or seems to NOT say... THEY... relied directly on that High Priest/Joseph/Holy... Christ... who either taught them directly... or by means of the anointing with holy spirit which he gave them.
Again, I bid you all peace... and ears to hear and get the sense of these things, if you so wish them.
A slave of Christ,
SA
