What does it mean to Worship God in “Spirit” and in "Truth"? Read more...

• Thou Shalt Worship NO Other God - Man was originally created in the image of God and privileged to enjoy the highest blessing imaginable – that of knowing God intimately, fellowshipping with Him, and serving Him perfectly. The image of God was completely shattered, and Adam and Eve were spiritually separated from God, when man sinned and died spiritually. Even though he lost the fellowship with God after the fall of Adam, the need for worship is indelibly stamped upon his nature; thus we find people regardless of their race, culture, or social status who are deeply religious, even if this means embracing atheism or agnosticism. God illustrates this reality in Acts 17:23: “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship ...”. Hence man’s need for worship also became perverted as Rom 1:25 underscores: “worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator”. Exo 34:14 declares “For thou shalt worship no other god”. This is a fundamental truth of Scripture; and yet, as we realize who this God is, and how glorious His characteristics are, and we stop to contemplate His indescribable majesty, we are awestruck over and over again. Is it any wonder the Bible poses the rhetorical question in Exo 15:11, “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”. By nature none of us have this fear of God as we have previously learned from other verses, such as Isa 29:13. This is a similar statement to what we find in Mat 15:9 where the Lord Jesus declares, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. The doctrines of men, the love for the material things of this world have become man’s idols. Eze 33:31 sadly emphasizes the same truth.

Acts 17:23 “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.”

Rom 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

Exo 34:14 “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”

Lev 26:1 “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.”

Matt 15:7-9 [quoting Isa 29:13] “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Eze 33:31 “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.”

• Worship God in the Spirit - When we see the extent to which God is worshiped in Heaven, how careful we must be to worship Him on earth as He demands. So, how do we do that? In John 4:23-24 the Lord Jesus defines what true, or biblical, worship entails and those who practice it: “the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth”. But what does it mean to worship the Father in spirit? The Bible differentiates between the “spirit” and the “flesh”. To be “in the flesh” is not merely defining one’s physical existence, but is a statement of one’s spiritual condition – to be unsaved. On the other hand, to be “in the spirit” refers to someone who has become saved by the will and Word of God. If one has not been born “of the Spirit”, they are, by biblical definition still “of the flesh”, and hence they cannot worship God in spirit nor in truth. The fellowship with God’s Spirit have to be restored, by rebirth. That is the only type God can accept from a human being, and only those who have been born “from above” have been qualified to worship God in the manner He prescribes as Php 3:3 affirms: “For we [born-again believers] are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit ...”. We know that the “circumcision” in this verse is spiritual in nature because it is associated with true worship in which only “Spiritual Jews” or in other words, genuine Christians can engage, as Rom 2:28-29 indicates. Moreover, we are instructed in Deu 30:6, “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart”.

John 4:23-24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

John 3:6 “That which is born [natural birth] of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born [born-again] of the Spirit is spirit.”

John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth [or makes alive]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

Rom 8:5-6 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Rom 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

Deu 30:6 “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”

Php 3:3 “For we [born-again believers] are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

• Worship God in the Truth - Rom 1:25 states the nature of the fallen man, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie [or “the” lie], and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator ...”. Notice the emphasis that God is placing on “lies” and “changing the truth” in both these verses as man attempts to promote his own ideas and lusts. This passage is really an indictment against all who would attempt to “work” their way into Heaven. But notice that they do so while using a “form” of godliness – not genuine godliness, which is salvation – but merely a “form” of knowledge or a “form” of the truth of the law. In other words, what is missing is the spiritual reality, or substance. This is why 2 Tim 3:5 tells us that those who have “a form of godliness” are “denying the power thereof”. The “power” in view is the Greek word dunamis from which we derive our English word “dynamite”. It is God’s creative power of salvation by His Word, as we read in Rom 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...”. We also just looked at John 4:23-24 that says: “true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth”. The phrase “spirit and truth” is referring to the Bible itself, as we can see from a passage like John 6:63: “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”. The Bible teaches that God is Truth (as we see in John 14:6a, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”); and the Bible underscores that it alone is the Truth, according to John 17:17b, “… thy word is truth”. God the Holy Spirit is also called the “Spirit of Truth” in John 16:13-15. Worship implies Obedience and doing His Will. We could ask, “What is the will of God? And how does one “do it”? The fact is that the whole Bible declares the will of God. Moreover, a true Christian will want to obey what he learns from the Bible, as John 14:15 asserts, “If ye love me, keep my commandments”. Could it be that you and I might indeed be among that great throng in Heaven who will worship the Triune God throughout eternity, as Rev 4:13-14 so majestically asserts.

John 4:23-24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

John 16:13-15 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me [Christ]: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine [Christ’s]: therefore said I, that he [the Spirit of Truth] shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

2 The 2:13 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification [to be set apart by God] of the Spirit and belief of the truth [the Bible]:”

John 9:31 “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”

Rev 4:13-14 “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.”