“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
John.4.24
Discussion
Jesus teaches that the worship of God was to change from specific physical locations to a specific state of the heart. What this means is that before now, people thought they could just worship God by carrying out some prescribed actions. Even when their hearts were far from God, they just simply went with the motions. God was not pleased with this; Isa.29.13; "The Master said: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it,"MSB. This is what Jesus corrected. It would no longer be about acts and animal sacrifices. It would now be only "in Spirit and in truth". This implies that
(1) Only the person who is in Spirit can worship God. In Spirit primarily refers to being born again. The person who is born again is the one who is in Spirit because he/she has received the Spirit of God. Rom.8.9; "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
(2) You can only worship God according to His Word. Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6) and His Word is the expression of His person, His will and His purposes. Thus, when we worship in words or in songs or acts of love, we must do it according to God's word. Many think that as long as they are sincere, anything they say in song or words would be accepted by God as prayer or worship. You're very wrong sir/ma. It can only be accepted if it originated from God. God's word in words or song or action is what God accepts as prayer or worship.
Examine those songs and prayer points to see if they're consistent with God's word. Simply correct yourself from now on. That's growth. Shalom Uvracha!
MEDITATION John.4.24; "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
MEDITATIONS OF THE GOD-KIND
(Daily MEDITATIONS For Living The God-Life)