True worship is not just about acknowledging His Almightiness but it entails you serving Him with your totality. For your to serve God in spirit and in truth, it means you are actively worshiping God in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24 “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”.
As believers, we’re called to worship God “in spirit and in truth”. Worship as pointed out in one of our articles (Click here to read Are You Hungry For God’s Glory? Try This), is more than mere songs and lifting up of hands. Worship is the act of offering up our life to God which in turn affects day-to-day activities.
True worship is not just about acknowledging His Almightiness but it entails you serving Him with your totality. For your to serve God in spirit and in truth, it means you are actively worshiping God in spirit and in truth.
What does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth?
The overall lesson about worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth is that worship of God is not to be confined to a single geographical location or necessarily regulated by the temporary provisions of Old Testament law. With the coming of Christ, the separation between Jew and Gentile was no longer relevant, nor was the centrality of the temple in worship. With the coming of Christ, all of God’s children gained equal access to God through Him. Worship became a matter of the heart, not external actions, and directed by truth rather than ceremony.
True worship must be “in spirit,” that is, engaging the whole heart. Philpians3:3 says For we are the circumcision which worship God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
Romans 2:29 “But He is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in letter….”
Apostle Paul was teaching that circumcision (cutting of the outer part) is not a criterion for the gentiles to experience salvation but circumcision of the heart. Therefore, it is not just about that which is religiously done outwardly but inwardly. Our salvation is a matter of the heart. We got born again in our spirit man and not by any religious act.
Therefore, if our salvation is associated with our spirit-man (literally our heart) then our service unto God should be from our heart. Romans 7:6 “But now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter”
Worshiping God in spirit entails actively showing your love to God with all your totality.
In Deuteronomy 6:4, Moses sets down for the Israelite how they are to love their God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Our worship of God is directed by our love for Him; as we love, so we worship. Because the idea of “might” in Hebrew indicates totality, Jesus expanded this expression to “mind” and “strength”. To worship God in spirit and truth necessarily involves loving Him with heart, soul, mind and strength.
Unless there’s a real passion for God, there is no worship in spirit.
At the same time, worship must be “in truth,” that is, properly informed. The first step in understanding how to worship is recognizing whom to worship. We worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). When we worship in truth, we don’t worship empty philosophies that come from the world’s way of thinking. Instead, we focus on the message and the truth of Jesus Christ (whom is the truth).
Unless we have knowledge of the God we worship, there is no worship in truth. Both are necessary for satisfying and God-honoring worship.
When you try to worship God in spirit without truth leads to a shallow, non-informed, mislead and overly emotional experience that could be compared to the effect of drunkness (the way a drunkard behave). As soon as the emotion is over, when the fervor cools, so does the worship.
Truth without spirit can result in a dry, passionless encounter that can easily lead to a form of joyless activities.
The best combination of both aspects of worship results in a joyous appreciation of God informed by Scripture. The more we know about God, the more we appreciate Him. The more we appreciate, the deeper our worship. The deeper our worship, the more God is glorified.
How to serve in truth and in spirit?
The beauty of worship occurs in community with other like-minded believers. There is a depth and strength that comes when believers join together in worship. No matter you grace and anointing, the kingdom of God is not for lone rangers. It is a must to fellowship with others. We are admonished not to forsake the gathering of the brethren.
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©Oladimeji Olayinka Joseph
