Merely external expressions of worship are highly overrated. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, KJV).
That’s what Jesus told the Samaritan woman He met at the well. Since Jesus says we must worship God that way, that is important. The question is, what does Jesus mean by that? How do we worship God in spirit and in truth?
How we worship God in truth. During one of His prayers, Jesus said to God, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NASB). So, to worship God in truth, our acts of worship must be in accordance with the Word of God.
Let me give you a simple example. A popular song in the past by one of my favorite gospel groups was entitled “Walk Around Heaven.” A recurring line in the lyrics was, “I’ll walk around heaven all day.” You and I know that is so far from the truth. That’s not all we will be doing in heaven. My point is that some of our favorite Christian music by which we worship God has us parroting things that aren’t in accordance with truth.
Here is a much more serious one. When we get away from biblical preaching, our worship is certainly not in truth. Remember, His Word is truth. These days, we must be increasingly discerning about what we lend our ears to and open our heart to. During His public ministry, Jesus warned about those who worshiped Him in vain, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).
How we worship God in spirit. When God created man, He created man in His image. That means at his very core, man is a spiritual being because God is a Spirit. Hence, in order to worship God in spirit, we must worship Him from our innermost being. God is not impressed by our external expressions of worship. Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). That’s where our worship must come from if it is to please God.
Sad but true, some worshipers worship God in spirit–from their heart–but not in accordance with truth. They are sincere in their worship but sincerely wrong. Jesus said we must—not should–worship God in spirit AND in truth. Only those who do so are the true worshipers. They are the ones God seeks to worship Him.
To worship God in spirit may also be a reference to the need for a worshiper to be one who is in Christ. Paul writes, “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9, NASB).
Jesus had this conversation with the woman at the well because she brought up the subject of where to worship God. “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship,” she said (John 4:20, NASB). Jesus wanted her to know that it’s not WHERE you worship God but HOW you worship God that matters to Him.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.