Worship in Spirit and Truth

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to
worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24)

1. Introduction
The question on worship was a good way to deflect a conversation that
was getting personal and uncomfortable as Jesus Christ poked deeper into
the life of the Samaritan woman in John 4. Who wants to discuss with a
strange man passed relationships that went bad? Not with the mix of
hurt, regret, I was the bad one and he disappointed me feelings. So, if
he is a prophet that has discerned all my life, let us discuss another
matter: Worship, thought the woman. Her question invoked a teaching
that is the subject of this reflection. In his answer, the Lord deflected her
mind from peoples (Jews or Gentiles) and places (Jerusalem or Gerizim)
to point her to what acceptable worship is:
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

2. People and Worship: The concept of people groups is a reality, but

the Lord is concerned rather with true worshippers. Worship is at the
heart of every people group and culture; when the ark of God was
captured, or when the Temple was ransacked and destroyed in war, Israel
felt terribly violated, raped, and desecrated; similarly when , or when
Dagon fell and broke into pieces, Philistia was shaken to the core.
Worship is an essential fabric that ties people together; it is a centerpiece
which when broken things fall apart.
Do not be deceived with the term atheist. They too have a religion and
celebration times and places whether at the casino or golf course or
some free mason house or some other meeting point. However, this
article must now concentrate on Christian Worship.

3. Worship (definitions): Let my people go, so that they may worship

me (Exodus 4:23). This passage appears 8 times in Exodus between
chapters 4 and 10. The Hebrew word translated as worship in this verse
is awbad which means to work, serve, till, be enslaved. This is clearly
both ritual (the retreat and ceremony to which the Hebrews were being
required to go for) and life as these words are clearly applicable to
work, serve or being enslaved by a master.
The Greek in John 4:23 is proskuneo translated as worship means to
kiss, prostrate oneself in homage, reverence, adore. There is here also
evidence a master-servant relationship, in which the worshipper has a
perpetual obligation of service and honour to the master. This still goes to
both ritual and life.

To worship in spirit and truth brings in the idea of worship going beyond
outward show; the spirit is the heart the intangible, the will. The entire
being of the worshipper must be inclined and wholly sold out to honour
the master. Truth in Johns gospel points to Jesus Christ himself: He is the
true light (1:9, 14), the true bread (6:32), the true (living) water (4:10)
the truth (14:1), and the true vine (15:1). Jesus Christ is therefore the
way to true worship.

4. Deflection the problem: The problem lies in arguments and

monuments that deflect or distract the worshipper from the master. For
the Samaritan woman, the debate on the place of worship seems to have
been blinding her from the real tenets of true worship. In similar vein,
legalistic righteousness can overshadow worship in spirit and truth. We
have had examples of such deflection schemes in the media and politics.

5. True Worship: Several Bible passages illustrate the necessity for

ritual and life to move together if worship is to be acceptable to the
Father:

1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Isa 1:15 When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from
you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands
are full of blood.

Isa 29:13-14 And the Lord said: Because this people draw near with
their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from
me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote;
therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people,
wonderful and marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid.

Isa 58:6-7 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of
wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to
cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Justice is a prerequisite for acceptable worship in spirit and in truth. In

practice it is a full circle of work and service, as well as ritual celebration
such as in church: epitomized with music, dance, offering, and the
important ministry of the Word.

6. In conclusion and in summary:

a) The hour is now. The call has been on for a long time not just
when Jesus spoke to the woman.
b) True worshippers are what the Father seeks. Regardless of your
dichotomous belonging religious or tribal it is important to focus
whether or not you relate with the Father as a true worshipper.
c) Deflections are numerous and every intending worshipper must
avoid and clearly focus on the master in order to keep their
obligation.
d) Worship has the two major components, which both are important
and must-haves: the ritual and the life.
e) In spirit and truth means faithfully in life and in ritual, and that is
the only acceptable worship.

God bless you all.

Rev. Eng. Emmanuel Mwesigwa CHAPLAIN