| The spirit of worship |
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The words of Jesus to the woman of Samaria give us a glimpse into the heart of the Father. “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24 NIV)
He seeks worshippers because our worship is a joy to him and satisfies His loving Godly heart. He seeks true worshippers, but finds not many as He would have them. Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman that he came to open the way for this worship in spirit and in truth. That through Him we can attain true fellowship with God.
To the woman of Samaria the Lord spoke of a new spiritual worship which He Himself came to introduce: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth”
From the connection it is evident that the words 'in spirit and truth' don’t mean, as some think, earnestly, from the heart, or in sincerity. To attain to the blessing of worship in spirit and truth we must ask our Lord Jesus to teach us. Our seeking plays an important role in how to worship in spirit and truth. The first thought suggested here by the Lord is that there must be harmony between God and His worshippers. A unity such as God is, so must His worship be. The man who desires to find, know, and enjoy God, to truly worship God must be in harmony with Him and have the capacity for receiving Him. Because God is Spirit, we must worship in spirit.
The woman had asked our Lord whether Samaria or Jerusalem was the true place of worship. He answers that worship is no longer limited to a certain place: “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4.21). God is not bound by space or time, but He is always and everywhere the same, so His worship is no longer be confined by place or form. This is a wonderful example of the progressive revelation of God in the Bible. He reveals more and more, taking us deeper and deeper. This is a lesson of great importance.
How much of Christianity suffers from the mindset that worship is confined to certain times and places. Many seek to pray sincerely in the church and then spend the greater part of the week in a spirit entirely inconsistent with what they had prayed. God is Spirit: He is the Everlasting and Unchangeable One; what He is, He is in truth and always will be. Our worship therefore must be in spirit and truth. Romans 12:1 tells us, “In view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.” The true worship of God necessitates a full and complete of yielding to Him. His worship must be the spirit of our life. The Bible tells us that those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14). Our life must be characterized by worship in spirit as God is Spirit.
Worship in the spirit must come from God Himself. God is Spirit: He alone gives the Spirit. It was for this He sent His Son, to prepare us by purifying us from sin and sanctifying us by giving us the Holy Spirit. It is of His own work that Jesus speaks when He says twice, a time is coming and adds and has now come.
The true worshipper’s beauty doesn’t come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it is that of the inner self, the heart of worship, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. This he seeks!
3:3 Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing, 3:4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. |
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