What Does It Mean To Worship in Truth and In Spirit?
Many people struggle with John 4:24 and what it really means to worship in Truth and in Spirit and they end up down a road of trying to improve their worship experience through their performance. They think John 4:24 is calling them to do more churchy stuff like sing louder, read their bible more, or serve more. So what exactly does it mean to worship in Truth and in Spirit? I think it’s best to first address what it doesn’t mean as we consider what the exact opposite of worshiping in truth and in spirit would be.
If you were not worshiping in truth then you would be worshiping in error. Examples would be worshiping any false God such as Baal or Buddha.
Now, with that said let’s address something a bit more important about John 4:24, and that is that according to 1 Corinthians 1:30 you are in Christ, and it’s impossible for you to worship out of Christ. Further, when you were born again you received a new Spirit and the Holy Spirit came to live inside of you, and as such, you can worship in a way that an unbeliever cannot. An unbeliever will always try to worship God by what they ‘do’ and ‘where they do it’, but they can stand at a wall, sing hymns, beg and plead, or offer an animal sacrifice and it will not be worshiping in truth, because the truth is not inside of them. In John 4 where we read about this new kind of worshiping as we witness a discussion between Jesus and a Samaritan woman talking about how her ancestors were worshiping on a mountain and that the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem (as if the place is what really mattered). Jesus is showing her a picture of Spiritual worship NOT physical worship – so we’re learning that worshiping in Truth and in Spirit is not about the ‘where’ or ‘how’ but rather it’s about the ‘who’ you worship.
So, whether you sing loud or quietly, serve a lot or just on occasion, pray in a church building or in your front yard, if you are a believer then there’s only one way you can worship, and that’s in Truth and in Spirit!
Author: Mike Cynar
Mike Cynar grew up in church and observed that countless people would go to church and then just stop. The church always referred to them as ‘fake Christians’ or ‘backsliders’ but Mike discovered the problem was deeper. The problem was the church message. The message was 90% behavior improvement and how bad you are, with a pinch of who you are in Christ, It was like every sermon was being preached to the church of Corinth. It’s in the Baptist church, Catholic, Pentecost, and most every other church. After discovering the true gospel message and how we are made right with God because of what ‘Jesus did’ (not what ‘we do’) Mike set out to free believers from behavior improvement programs and bring them back to Jesus. The Result – Jesus Without Religion was launched.
