Worship Him in spirit and Truth. How important is it for us to worship God this way?

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GreenNnice

Guest
#1
Scripture says it's eternally important to do this, but what are your thoughts?

What does it mean to worship God in both 'spriit and Truth.'


<< John 4 >>
23Yet 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.</SPAN> 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”</SPAN>
25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am He.”

I went to the free online dictionary for my definition of 'worship,' go where you want:
wor·ship (wûr
sh
p)

n. 1. a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.

2. Ardent devotion; adoration.
3. often Worship Chiefly British Used as a form of address for magistrates, mayors, and certain other dignitaries: Your Worship.

v. wor·shiped or wor·shipped, wor·ship·ing or wor·ship·ping, wor·ships
v.tr. 1. To honor and love as a deity.
2. To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion. See Synonyms at revere1.

v.intr. 1. To participate in religious rites of worship.
2. To perform an act of worship.



Does this definition make sense to you?

Why the emphasis of worshiping in spirt and Truth TWICE, back-to-back verses, v. 23-24 ?

Do these verses 23-24 argue the Trinity, for or against?

What word(s) here, in these verses, let us know that this is 'eternally important' ?


What does the word 'his' mean to you in verse 24?

Do we want to be seeked by God after having become His? Anything startling to this statement: God is 'seeking' us?

Can it be called 'worship' if we don't worship in spirit and in Truth?

Do these verses put things in context better:

13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

God bless you, Christ peeps :)
 
Sep 10, 2012
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#2
worshipping God in Spirit and in truth means to worship Him with our spiritual natures rather than our fleshly ones...that is why Jesus said to the disciples when He went to pray and they fell asleep...the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak...we can only really worship God in our spiritual natures because our fleshly ones are full of sin and only when God gives us a new spirit can we worship Him as He truly is and that is to say that we worship Him in truth
 
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Disdame45

Guest
#3
My simple understanding of this is that if we are to be children of God, we must be born of His Spirit. His Spirit, which is truth, leads us into all truth and understanding. When His Spirit dwells in us, we are shown His Truth and the darkness of the world is exposed. We are to continue in His truth and spirit daily, striving to win that race, of which it is said, those that perservere to the end shall be saved.

The woman at the well was asking Jesus which place was the correct place to worship God in. It's noteworthy to me that Jesus said that we don't worship God in a particular 'location', i.e. a church building, temple or other thing made by human hands. We worship Him with our entire beings. Our bodies are to be offered up to Him as living sacrifices... a living temple in which His Spirit dwells. So it is a way of life, 24/7, for the believer. We must not sway from the truth that is presented to us through His word, for then we would be in great delusion and apostacy.
 
Nov 26, 2011
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#4
My simple understanding of this is that if we are to be children of God, we must be born of His Spirit. His Spirit, which is truth, leads us into all truth and understanding. When His Spirit dwells in us, we are shown His Truth and the darkness of the world is exposed. We are to continue in His truth and spirit daily, striving to win that race, of which it is said, those that perservere to the end shall be saved.

The woman at the well was asking Jesus which place was the correct place to worship God in. It's noteworthy to me that Jesus said that we don't worship God in a particular 'location', i.e. a church building, temple or other thing made by human hands. We worship Him with our entire beings. Our bodies are to be offered up to Him as living sacrifices... a living temple in which His Spirit dwells. So it is a way of life, 24/7, for the believer. We must not sway from the truth that is presented to us through His word, for then we would be in great delusion and apostacy.
Great comment.

We lose our old lives to gain the new life in Jesus Christ and thus we worship God in spirit and in truth.

Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
 
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GreenNnice

Guest
#5
Excellent, what, too, about the questions?
How many times in Scripture is a point made with this kind of emphasis , by Jesus?

I capitalized 'Truth,' but the bible says 'truth,' what, then, is the true meaning of 'truth'

Could the Word be the 'truth,' the very pages inspired men of God wrote ?

Is there any emphasis of Jesus dying on cross mentioned here ?
 

pickles

Senior Member
Apr 20, 2009
14,479
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#6
Hmmm, I like the answers so far, and some new to consider. :)
I always have believed to worship in spirit and truth means...
That we worship in Jesus's spirit, and the truth is our actions are as our word.
Not just to say it, but to live it!

Its the living it part ,that we seek always in Jesus, to overcome!

"Do not love me just in word, but in deed and truth as well."

God bless
picklkes
 
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psychomom

Guest
#7
Nice topic, Green! :)

I'm with pickles...I like what's being said.

Here are some thoughts I had, and some verses that sprang to mind.

We worship---the Greek word, proskuneó, the combined words 'pros': towards, and 'kyneo' to kiss. :)
I see this as sending love towards God.

The whole of Romans 12 has a lot to say about this.
We 'present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice', 'which is your spiritual service of worship'. (v. 1) (the spirit)
And the very next verse tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds---(the Truth)

1 Cor. 14 also speaks to these things.
v. 15 says, 'I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the mind, also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind, also. (spirit and truth)

Heb. 12:28 tells us to 'show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.' That's the spirit part, too.

in Spirit--breath...our very lives, but also--

Jesus prayed (for us) saying, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.' (John 17:17)

If we don't have the truth of the word of God, properly understood, we can't fulfill the truth part of worship.
We must understand things like
I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. (Jer. 10:23)

We have to know Who God is, (and who we are) and that knowledge can only come from His word.
Otherwise, we risk this:

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. Rom. 10:2

Both the zeal (warmth of heart) and the knowledge of the Truth (Jesus &#9829;) are needed.
Without the passion, we can't worship in spirit.
Without being informed of God's word, there is no worship in truth. :)

Without the truth, we have a shallow, emotional experience, like a drug high that dies soon afterward.
Without the spirit, we have a dry encounter with God that often leads to some sort of legalism.

It's about edifying and building up the Body of Christ. :)
Heb. 10:24 says we are 'to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.'
1 Cor. 14:26, referencing our coming together for worship says, 'Let all things be done for edification.'

But ultimately, it's about bringing God glory.
If we haven't done that, we haven't done anything.









 
Dec 19, 2009
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#8
We mustn&#8217;t offer the Lord nothing more than lip service.
 

Jon4TheCross

Senior Member
Oct 19, 2012
1,864
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#10
Excellent, what, too, about the questions?
How many times in Scripture is a point made with this kind of emphasis , by Jesus?

I capitalized 'Truth,' but the bible says 'truth,' what, then, is the true meaning of 'truth'

Could the Word be the 'truth,' the very pages inspired men of God wrote ?

Is there any emphasis of Jesus dying on cross mentioned here ?
I thought I would go ahead and offer a root definition of Truth. I love the emphasis on sacrifice in this thread, because greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends.

Truth is what is known. Jesus is Truth. Jesus is known. If something is known by someone, somewhere, and at any given time, then it is Truth. God knows it all, and Truth is what is known.

I love you all.
 
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GreenNnice

Guest
#11
We are to worship God with the essence of who we are which is our ...?

What does the truth of this ^^ understanding reflect to us regarding the window of our state of mind and being after we die? Is our spirit truly only breath?

Not does it really matter because 'to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord .'

Truth. The Word of God is Truth. Jesus is The Truth. Disdamer said Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit.
So, there is a lot of Truth that points to God, and psychomommy pulls good Scripture for the essence of who we are, our 'spirit,' oh, rats!, I just gave away my quiz question above :).

1 Cor. 14 also speaks to these things. v. 15 says, 'I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the mind, also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind, also. (spirit and truth)
This speaks of our spirit serving God, we are to praise and worship God wherever we go. Some ways to do this 'worship' include communion and prayer. Studying His Truth would become form of (mind) worship too, and, again , as el said, we are worshipping God by the simple, yet 'great,' act of renewing our mind, thanking God that He gives us 'mercies that are new every morning.'

This is true 'spirit' worship, and, singing songs to God in church is good, too, and, even, fellowshipping, which builds up YOURSELF amid the body of Christ is worship, too, no?

From the old testament time, worship was in a tabernacle, as Moses went into the Holiest of Holies temple, but, Jesus said that He must first leave before a 'Helper' could come. And, as promised, after His ascension Jesus' Holy Spirit came amongst the people (within 3-4 verses in Acts 1 after Jesus ascended to the Father :) )

The word 'truth' to refer back to one of the questions , refers not to being 'in harmony with His Word,' or, else the word would be 'Truth,' but the context of Scripture does not lend this to be true. So, one must look past this desired definition to the true definition, and, as I see this, it's His Spirit we must worship right, 'God is Spirit,' so we must worship God truly, genuinely. So we must not just worship God with our mind but with our..... ?

Heart. There have been threads of the mind and heart and I believe this John 4: 23-24 passage speaks of wholly (mind and heart) worshipping God, as the rules, so to speak, changed from.old testament time, and, even Jesus' on earth time, when Jesus Himself said He must go before He (Holy Spirit) could come. And, when the Spirit of truth came all Truth was made known to us, including our faith power to worship God in a greater way than could not be done before Jesus died.

I hope this makes sense, Christ peeps, the Lord leads, and, He leads us all, through His Spirit in us, to all truth, through His Word, through Him . :)
 
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