Who is God?
Religious person often seeks to worship God through symbolic acts, man-made rituals, fleshly works, or emotional outbursts, s(he) has neither heard God’s voice at any time, nor seen His shape. This is applicable to those who have not His word abiding in them: for whom (Yeshua / Jesus) He hath sent, him they believe not.
This is about the spiritual blindness, while you may possess the Scriptures, but do not allow God’s word to take root in your lives. This is like those non believer Jews who study the Scriptures diligently because they think that in them, they have eternal life. However, they don’t understand that these are the very Scriptures that testify about Yeshua (Jesus), yet they refuse to come to him to have life.
When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist, who was he? And he confessed, he was not the Messiah. In John 1:18 he testified, “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”. Moreover, in John 5:37 Yeshua, the only begotten son of God says, “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape”.
Yeshua was here addressing the Jews (the spiritual and religious leaders) who were not present during his baptism in Bethabara beyond Jordan and were refusing to put faith in him or in either his words or the evidence of his works. They were thereby also refusing to take note of and listen to their own Scriptures, which were, in fact, the words of God.
In Exodus 33:20 we read, we cannot see God’s face, for no man in flesh can see God and live! God is Spirit (John 4:24), eternal, immortal, invisible (1 Timothy 1:17), omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent (Psalm 139:23-24), and He is not confined to a particular building (Acts 7:48-50, Acts 17:24, 1 Kings 8:27, 2 chronicles 2:6), nor is He impressed by any outward show of religiosity (Amos 5:21). Man is flesh, and God is not limited by our human failings and fleshly limitation. If we miss that God is spirit, we are bound to worship Him the wrong way.
So What is Spirit?
First—and this is important—we know what spirit is not, and that is physical. Anything physical (made of matter) is characterized by limitations. But God has no limits. God made man in His own image and likeness. At the innermost core of man’s innermost being we have a human spirit which was designed for ‘spirit to Spirit’ fellowship with our God (a mutual, loving communion with our Heavenly Father).
Yeshua’s revelation that God is Spirit in John 4:24 highlights the spiritual nature of our Creator, emphasizing that He transcends all physical limitations. As believers, we are called to engage with God on a spiritual level, moving beyond traditional rituals or superficial practices to experience a profound connection with the One who created us.
Though man looks on the outside and is drawn to religious acts of pomp and ceremony, God looks on the heart and delights in the one that approaches Him humbly, reverently, and in the fear of the Lord. God is close to those that are humble in heart; He saves those who are crushed in spirit; He feeds those that are hungry for Him, and streams of His living water will flow in and through the man or woman that worships the Lord in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24 further states, God is Spirit, and they that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. There must be no hidden agenda, selfish motive, religious pride, or hypocritical heart. Worship does not require a series of religious rituals nor is it necessary to have an appointed place of worship.
Worship in Spirit
To worship God in spirit, we must engage our whole being – our body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit – in our adoration of Him. True worship is not limited to external actions or rituals but involves a deep, personal connection with God that permeates every aspect of our lives. This intimate relationship is made possible through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit [i.e. Born Again of the Holy Spirit], who unites us with God and guides us in our spiritual journey.
This was foretold in Jeremiah 31:31-34, and was first manifested on the day of Pentecost (as stated in Acts 2:1-4), and since then this is taking place among the true believers, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah [Jesus Christ].
Worshipping God in spirit is about dropping all pretense, fully engaging the mind and being absolutely sincere with your desire to please Him in every way.
Therefore, worship must go beyond form and include substance. This is what it means to worship in spirit.
The apostle Paul explained that this ultimately requires being spiritually minded, which means having the Spirit of God dwelling in you (Romans 8:5-9).
Worship in Truth
Worshiping God in truth requires that we align our worship with the reality of who He is and what He has revealed through His Word. This involves embracing the truths of Scripture, acknowledging Yeshua the Messiah as the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan, and seeking an authentic relationship with our Creator based on faith and obedience to Messiah’s teachings. When we worship in truth, we are grounded in the unchanging nature of God and His Word, even as we grow and mature in our faith.
Being spirit-led in worship means that we are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to direct our hearts and minds as we engage with God. This could involve being responsive to the Spirit’s prompting to pray for others, confess our sins, or express gratitude and praise. It also means being receptive to the Spirit’s work within our community, as He unites and empowers us to love and serve one another.
Furthermore, we must remember that worship is not limited to a worship service or a specific time of the week. True worship encompasses our entire lives, reflecting the great commandment to love God and our neighbor. This means that our acts of service, kindness, and compassion are also forms of worship when they are done out of love for God and others.
To live out John 4:24, let us intentionally seek opportunities to love and serve those around us, embracing the diversity of God’s people and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our worship in spirit and truth. As we do so, our lives will become a testament to the power of God’s love, transcending barriers and uniting us in genuine relationship with Him and with one another.
When Messiah said we should worship God in “truth,” He meant one truth, not multiple truths. And the source of all truth is the Word of God (John 17:17).
Yeshua advocated worship that is informed by what the Bible says. So if we worship God based on customs or traditions that contradict Scripture, our worship is not based on truth, but on lies.
Notice His evaluation of their practices: “In vainthey worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).
One of their glaring issues was elevating human-devised teachings to the level of Scripture, implying that they were one and the same. They tried to adorn God’s laws with opinions and theories. As a result, they added dozens of commandments to the ones God originally gave.
This became tradition-based worship, not truth-based worship. In fact, many of these man-made commandments actually obstructed God’s original intent for the laws He gave.
They should have known better. The Scriptures warned against worshipping God in any way other than how He explicitly commanded them:
(i) Deuteronomy 4:2: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
(ii) Deuteronomy 12:32: “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
(iii) Revelation 22:18-19: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
He also wants us to worship in truth. That is, our worship must pass the doctrinal test. It must conform to Scripture.
Practicing these things is how we find God and give Him the worship He seeks. If we are mindful about following Him in spirit and truth, we can be confident not only that He accepts our worship, but also that we are growing in our personal relationship with Him. If we are not doing so, then we are violating the God’s First, Second and Third Commandments, as stated in Exodus 20:4-6, and Deuteronomy 5:8-10.
It says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Conclusion
So we want to make sure our worship of God, whether our everyday worship as we offer our bodies as living sacrifices before God, as stated in Romans 12:1, or our gathering with God’s people for worship is marked by both of these things by truth, by the truth about who God is anchored to the truth of God’s word, and that we are led by the Spirit in our everyday lives and when we gather together for worship.
Be First to Comment