Part 1 of 6
Text: John 4:21-24
“How Do We Worship” seeks to take the “book education” of worship and make it very practical. Although this has been attempted in terms of application, this section uniquely attempts to apply these Biblical principles.
John 4:21-24
21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Jesus established that the location is irrelevant, but He clearly described what is necessary and essential: we worship in spirit and truth. Today, we will look at worshipping in spirit.
We worship in spirit.
- Jewish worship had become ceremonial (Hebrews 9:1,10)
They did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and therefore were strangers to divine worship.
- Today, we cannot concern ourselves only with the object of our worship but also the manner of it.
We worship God in spiritual ordinances, consisting less of bodily exercise, and more of empowerment by Holy power and energy.
- John 4:23: The word “spirit” is the Greek word pneu=ma [pneuma(pnyoo’-mah)].
Literal: the rational soul and mental disposition
This passage is similar to an introduction to Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37 (a repeat of the Old Testament Shema):Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Spirit: we do business with God not through animal sacrifice or external posturing but in our hearts, minds, and spirits.
- The motions of worship are not important
- The motion of our heart is important.
- It’s not as important to physically bow your knees as much as to bow your heart.
- This is why it’s so important that we recognize salvation is not a physical act, but a spiritual one.
We worship in spirit because:
- God is a spirit (John 4:24)
- We are created as spiritual beings (Genesis 1:27)
- We do “business” (or interact) with God in our spirits (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
“Get used to it: worship has nothing to do with us. It’s all about Him.”
