Articles
Worship in Spirit and Truth
A Samaritan woman once asked about the proper place of worship: was it Mt. Gerizim, as the Samaritans contended, or was it Jerusalem, the Jewish place of worship? Jesus answered in favor of the Jews, but He noted that soon it would be neither Mt. Gerizim nor Jerusalem. He then added, “. . . the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).
Jesus’ response points out three foundational worship concepts.
First, God seeks worshipers. He wants worship, not because it satisfies some need He has (Acts 17:24-25), but because it fulfills our purpose of seeking and glorifying Him (Acts 17:26-27). While the New Testament words translated worship occasionally refer to serving God broadly (e.g., Romans 12:1), they mostly refer to worship in the formal sense of specific acts of devotion. That is the context in John 4. Worship, by definition, is to honor God, not to please us. And if worship is important to God, it had better be important to us!
Second, there is a right and wrong in worship. Jesus spoke of true worshipers, genuine worshipers. The Old Testament is full of illustrations of worship that God rejected: Cain’s (Genesis 4:1-5), Nadab and Abihu’s (Leviticus 10:1-3), Eli’s sons (1 Samuel 2:12-17), Saul’s (1 Samuel 15:20-23), etc. Many of the prophets addressed the problem of unacceptable worship. Sometimes the problem was in the act itself, sometimes it was in the motive, and sometimes it was in the everyday life of the worshiper. The point is, not just anyone is in a position to worship, and not just anything offered to God is acceptable.
Third, acceptable worship is in spirit and truth. The woman’s question was, Do I worship in Mt. Gerizim or in Jerusalem? The answer was, “Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem . . . but . . . in spirit and truth” (John 4:21-23). Spirit and truth combine to form the “place” of acceptable worship.
Worship in spirit and truth begins with a spiritual relationship with God. That is essential. It is in Christ that we are “a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). That spiritual relationship necessarily includes a right daily walk with God (1 John 1:6-7).
Worship in spirit and truth is directed by God’s Holy Spirit, following His direction (see Ephesians 5:18-19). His directions appeal to our spirits, not necessarily to the flesh. Too often we allow fleshly appeal—what sounds good or feels good to us—to dictate what is done. That is the source of endless innovation, and it is unacceptable because it exalts our will over God’s. Every aspect of worship—the who, what, when, where, why, and how—must be done as the New Testament directs. Let’s remember that emotional and spiritual are not necessarily the same thing.
Worship in spirit and truth is done in or by our hearts. “Singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19), each one giving “just as he has purposed in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7), etc. Acceptable worship is never a performance, no matter how polished.
Worship is to edify us or build us up (1 Corinthians 14:26), as well as to glorify God. It should be done to the best of our ability. But do not lose sight of the fact that worship’s aim is God’s pleasure, not ours, and the worship He seeks is in spirit and truth.
