

Worship in spirit and truth is done in or by our hearts. Let’s remember that emotional and spiritual are not necessarily the same thing. Every aspect of worship-the who, what, when, where, why, and how-must be done as the New Testament directs. That is the source of endless innovation, and it is unacceptable because it exalts our will over God’s.

Too often we allow fleshly appeal-what sounds good or feels good to us-to dictate what is done. His directions appeal to our spirits, not necessarily to the flesh. Worship in spirit and truth is directed by God’s Holy Spirit, following His direction (see Ephesians 5:18-19). That spiritual relationship necessarily includes a right daily walk with God (1 John 1:6-7). 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). Worship in spirit and truth begins with a spiritual relationship with God. Spirit and truth combine to form the “place” of acceptable worship. Gerizim or in Jerusalem? The answer was, “Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem. The woman’s question was, Do I worship in Mt. Third, acceptable worship is in spirit and truth. The point is, not just anyone is in a position to worship, and not just anything offered to God is acceptable. 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. Many of the prophets addressed the problem of unacceptable worship.
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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. Jesus spoke of true worshipers, genuine worshipers. Second, there is a right and wrong in worship. And if worship is important to God, it had better be important to us! Worship, by definition, is to honor God, not to please us. 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. 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). Jesus’ response points out three foundational worship concepts.įirst, God seeks worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 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. A Samaritan woman once asked about the proper place of worship: was it Mt.
