January 24
Bible Reading: John 4:16-26
John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Where and how is a person to worship God? Is worship constrained to a particular place? Are we free to worship in any way that we choose? Having perceived Jesus to be a prophet (though He revealed to her He was, in fact, the Messiah, John 4:26), the woman at the well determined to settle an important theological question. A question which was at the heart of the ages old dispute between the Jews and Samaritans. What mountain is God to be worshipped on?
That question opened the door for an explanation that has universal relevance, as Jesus set forth the terms for acceptable worship — “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:25).
The English term “worship” has its origins in the Old English term “worthship.” “Worthship” speaks of an object’s worth and a response to that. Worship is not ascribing worth to God, for He is worthy whether or not we do that. Worship recognizes the “worth” that God already possesses. Simply put, worship is acknowledging God for who He is and what He does in what we say and what we do. Acceptable worship must be “in spirit and truth.”
Those who worship him must worship “in spirit.” Acceptable worship is only possible for those who have been born of the Spirit. An unsaved person has no heart for worship (Colossians 1:21). To worship God, who is spirit, a person must be forgiven and born of the Spirit. In addition, acceptable worship is that which is “in truth.” We are not free to worship God any way we choose. We can neither know God as He is nor know what he expects, apart from the truth. It is as the Spirit of God applies the truth of God’s Word to the heart that we are led to worship God in an acceptable way.
Ephesians 5:18-19 and Colossians 3:16-17 are great texts on this theme. Both speak similarly to what worship looks like in the life of the believer, but each traces the source of worship back to a different dynamic. In Ephesians 5:18, we learn that worship overflows the heart of those who are being kept filled with the Spirit. But according to Colossians 3:16, it is as the Word of Christ richly indwells us that the worship of God is the result. Worship must be “in spirit and truth!”
We don’t need to seek a sanctuary or monastery or any other sacred place to worship God. We can worship wherever we are and should worship Him at all times in whatever we are doing (1 Corinthians 10:31). How’s your worship? Are you walking by the Spirit? Is the Word of Christ richly indwelling you? These are the keys to acceptable worship!
“True worship does not consist of mere outward conformity to religious standards and duties, but emanates from the inner spirit. It must also be consistent with the truth God has revealed about Himself in His Word.” – John MacArthur
O FOR A HEART TO PRAISE MY GOD
O for a heart to praise my God,
a heart from sin set free;
a heart that’s sprinkled with the blood
so freely shed for me:
A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
my great Redeemer’s throne;
where only Christ is heard to speak,
where Jesus reigns alone:
A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
believing, true, and clean,
which neither life nor death can part
from him that dwells within:
A heart in every thought renewed,
and full of love divine;
perfect and right and pure and good —
a copy, Lord, of thine.
Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart,
come quickly from above;
write thy new name upon my heart,
thy new best name of Love.
LookingtoJesus 