WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH?

INTRODUCTION 

"Worshiping God in spirit and in truth" is a phrase derived from a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well, as recorded in the Gospel of John. The question has often been asked what it means 'to worship in Spirit and in truth,' and in this encounter, the woman brings up the topic of worship, asking Jesus about the proper place to worship—whether on Mount Gerizim (a Samaritan place of worship) or in Jerusalem (the Jewish place of worship).. 

John 4:23-24 (NET) says, "But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Before we put our own mind into the words of Jesus, we must go into the story and hear the whole context in which He said it. A lot of error and scriptural abuse happens when we rush to interpret scriptures from isolated verses without hearing the context in which they were written from the whole story. 

The single verses are like little pieces of a picture puzzle. When you look at the pieces separately you will see and understand nothing, the true picture is in the whole when all the pieces of the puzzle are fit together in their rightful places. 

JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN 

The story starts with Jesus and the woman meeting at Jacob's well outside the city of Samaria.

John 4:4-7 (NET) says, "But he had to pass through Samaria. Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water...”

Jesus had sent His disciples to go get him some food as He was hungry when the Samaritan woman came, and He saw an opportunity to share the gospel of the redemption He came to give unto humanity as the Messiah to the woman. 

He started off by asking for water to drink from the woman who was fetching water, but the conversation became about worship and salvation. The Samaritan woman turned down Jesus' request for water because of the hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans, but Jesus started to speak about the fact that He had the superior water of life that quenches thirst for anyone who drinks it permanently.

John 4:7-14 (NET) says, "A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.) So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said to him, “you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water? Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

Later in the book of John we are made to understand that the water of life that Jesus spoke about to the woman at the well is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer. The Holy Spirit was not yet given to the ones that would believe in the message of Christ, for Jesus first had to be crucified and resurrected in glory.

John 7.37-39 says, "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

So, when Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He could offer her living water by which she would never thirst again, He was saying that He could give her the Holy Spirit by which she would have eternal life. When the Samaritan woman finally understood what Christ was saying, she made a request for the water of life. 

Christ then gave her a prophecy about her marital situation that she had been married to five husbands previously, and was living as a prostitute with a sixth man who was not her husband. The Samaritan woman acknowledged the prophetic word from Christ, and began to argue about the difference between the Jewish temple worship practice and Samaritan mountain worship rituals. 

Jesus clearly explained that God the Father was not interested in either temple or mountain worship ordinances, but in the true worship that was yet to be done in Spirit and in truth.

Joh 4:15-24  (NET) says, "The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” He said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.” The woman replied, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

As we have already seen, true worship in the Spirit and in truth was impossible before the Holy Spirit was given; and the Holy Spirit would be given only after the resurrection of Jesus. The word worship worship comes from Middle English 'worthschipe' a combination of 'worth' (worthy, honorable or valuable) and‎ 'ship' or 'schipe' (state, condition of being). God is Spirit (the condition of being worthy), and He must be worship in Spirit and in truth. 

What is to Worship God in Spirit and in Truth?

To worship God in spirit is to give Him His due honor from our recreated spirits, and to worship God in truth is to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and His work. It is only possible to worship the Father in truth by believing in Jesus Christ who is the truth. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” 

The true worshippers who would worship in the Spirit and in truth were supposed to have a quality of the spirit that meets the standard of righteousness in God's Holy Spirit. In other words they were supposed to be born again or regenerated in their spirits. Both the Jews and the Samaritans were not true worshippers at this time, for the new birth was only made possible after the cross by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus openly told the Jews that they needed to believe in His saving truth to be made free from sin, and told them that they were the children of the devil since they were not born again.

John 8:31-47 (NMB) says, "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed on him, If you continue in my words, then you are my very disciples and shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We are Abraham’s seed, and were never bond to any man. Why do you say then, You shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Truly truly I say to you that whoever commits sin, is the servant of sin. And the servant does not abide in the house forever. But the Son abides forever. If the Son therefore makes you free, then you are free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s seed. But you seek means to kill me, because my sayings have no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and you do that which you have seen with your father. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham. But now you are going about to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I have heard from God. This Abraham did not do. You do the deeds of your father. Then they said to him, We were not born of fornication. We have one Father, who is God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, then you would love me. For I proceeded forth and come from God. Neither did I come of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not know my speech? Even because you cannot abide the hearing of my words. You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to follow the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own nature. For he is a liar and the father of lies. And because I tell you the truth, therefore you do not believe me. Which of you can rebuke me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears God’s words. You therefore do not hear them, because you are not of God."

The English term Jew (a native of the kingdom of Judah) originates in the Hebrew 'yehudah,' meaning 'let God be praised.'The word "Yehudah" literally means "to throw your hands out" as a sign of surrender or worship. The term Jew also carries a more spiritual term of the true worshipper, in the bible. 

The true worshipper who worships God in spirit and in truth, is the real Jew. The natural Jew became one by birth and by the rite of circumcision, but the true worshipper in spirit becomes one by the new birth and spiritual circumcision of the heart. Whoever is not spiritually circumcised through the new birth will face the wrath of God by being burned forever in the lake of fire, in judgment. 

Deuteronomy 10:16 says, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn."

Deuteronomy 30:6 says, "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

Jeremiah 4:3-4 (NET) says, "Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.”

Romans 2:28-29 (NLT) says, "For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people."

Philippians 3:3 (RSV) says, "For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh."

The word 'spirit' in the phrase 'worship in spirit' refers to the 'inward man' or 'hidden man of the heart' as opposed to the body also known as 'outward man.' In their practices of worship, believers are not to focus on the external body, but on the internal spirit.

2Co 4:16 says, "For this cause we do not faint; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." 

1Peter 3:3-4 says, "Of whom let not be the adorning of garments, or outward braiding of hair and wearing of gold, or of putting on clothing, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, the meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God." 

Worshipping in truth is believing and living by the message of Jesus Christ. Saying prayers and singing songs which do not come from the heart is not enough. 

Jesus called the natural Jews 'hypocrites' (fake worshippers) for honoring God with their mouths while it did not come from their hearts, and He described their worship as vain (empty). Instead of following the truth of the gospel, they were 'teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.'

Mat 15:7-9 says, "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, "This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." 

Whatever acts of worship maybe done in the body must come from the spirit in the heart to make it real. Even in the very first step of faith by which one becomes a true worshipper, he or she must believe in the heart that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead to be made righteous, and confess that Jesus is the Lord (God) to be born again.

Rom 10:9-10 says, "Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation." 

What matters in our relationship and fellowship with the Father is not our public acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, baptism, communion etc. Worshipping from the mouth which does not come from the spirit within the heart is like trying to make a call using a handset of a mobile phone without the sim card; it is just as good as playing with a toy. The heart is the principal agent in the practice of true worship. 

CONCLUSION 

Worshiping God in spirit means engaging in worship with sincerity, authenticity, and a deep connection of the heart and spirit. It involves a genuine and personal relationship with God, where our worship is not merely external rituals or actions but flows from an inner devotion and reverence for Him. True worship involves offering our whole being—our thoughts, emotions, and desires—to God, guided by the Holy Spirit. 

Worshiping God in truth means worshiping Him according to His revealed truth, which is found in His Word, the Bible. It implies aligning our worship with the nature, character, and will of God as revealed in Scripture. Worshiping in truth involves acknowledging who God truly is, His attributes, and His redemptive work through Jesus Christ. It also means worshiping with integrity and honesty, without hypocrisy or falsehood.

In essence, worshiping God in spirit and truth is a holistic and genuine expression of our love, adoration, and devotion to Him. It goes beyond external practices and rituals, focusing on a sincere heart and a faithful adherence to God's revealed truth. It is an intimate and authentic connection with God, guided by the Holy Spirit and grounded in the knowledge of who God is and what He has done.