We read from John 4:24 that God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. We understand this statement to mean we must know who God is? We are rebellious against God because we do not know him as we ought to. We rather try to understand God through our subjective human understanding. The bible has however told us in perfect summary who God’s nature really is.
What does God is spirit mean?
The bible identifies God as “Spirit” and not “a spirit”. The difference is that while there may be many spirits, God is not one of them. God is spirit means there is only one true spirit and that is God. God is spirit means God is not limited by space, geographical location or physical barriers. Jesus appeared to his disciples in a room with doors shut after his resurrection, John 20:19. In short, God is omniscient and omnipresent. He is everywhere at the same time. God therefore sees and hears all we do and say in public or in secret at all times so nothing can be hidden from Him. God is not visible to the naked eye.
Jesus said no one has ever seen God except the Son, John 1:18; 6:46. However in exceptional circumstances, God may manifest himself to us. God spoke audibly to the prophets including Abraham in Genesis 17. Moses also encountered God physically in the burning bush in Exodus 3. In other instances, God appeared to others in the form of cloud, fire, etc. Jesus also after his ascension also manifested in a form of light to Saul who later became Paul the Apostle on his way to Damascus, Acts 9:3-5.
God as Spirit is the Father of spirits, Hebrews 12:9. As head of all spirits, he knows what exactly a spirit is. We can only feel God’s spirit present with us if we have the right spirit. Because God is Spirit, he instructs us through our minds, conscience, the bible, meditation, dreams, trance, vision, and prophecy etc., Acts 11. We will waste away if we want to see him before we believe him.
Spirits that we sometimes worship or adore in rivalry to God are inferior to God. This is why God says he is a jealous God and thus justified as a jealous God to punish idolaters, Exodus 20:5; 34:14.God’s jealousy does not connote bitter or resentful feelings of rivalry based on inferiority. It is hatred for unrighteousness and promiscuous spiritual life that betrays God’s unfailing love for us. It is a call to discipline and perfection in God because God cares about our eternity. Are we true to God?
Worshipping God in spirit
To worship God is to show reverence to God’s awesome deity. We do so by harmonizing God’s spirit in us with God as Father of spirits. We will live only if we worship God by being in accord with God’s spirit because God and his spirit in us are one. God’s spirit that dwells in us makes us living souls. Genesis 2:7 says after God had formed man of dust, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. We can only remain alive if we keep God’s spirit in us alive through holiness.
Worshipping God in spirit means to show gratitude to God for the grace of life. It is God’s spirit that guides us into all truth, John 16:13. Our spirit must acknowledge God’s superiority and supremacy over our lives. Our spirit must appreciate God’s role in our lives by supplying all our needs, Philippians 4:19. If we do not worship him as we ought to but with lip service divorced from the heart, our worship will be in vain and God will raise the stones to worship him, Luke 19:40. True worship demands true knowledge of God.
Those who worship God must do so rightly. We cannot choose our own terms and conditions of worship but that of God which requires strict obedience and humility. There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death, Proverbs 14:12; 16:25. Also the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. We must therefore daily read and meditate on the word of God, Joshua 1:8. David says in Psalms 119:11 that he has laid up God’s word in his heart that he might not sin against God.
Worshipping God in truth
The worship of God requires truth. What is truth? Pilate posed this same question to Jesus in John 18:38. However, Pilate himself answered his own question when he said, “I find no crime in him.” Pilate thus meant that truth is the opposite of crime or wrong. It is a state of perfection or purity. Pilate’s statement suggested that Jesus was and is the truth.
We further read from the bible that Jesus is the truth, Matthew 22:16. We worship in truth if Jesus dominates our lives, John 1:14 of if God’s word leads us, John 17:17. The worship of true worshippers of God is also worship in truth, John 4:23. God’s ordained worship is worship in truth, John 4:24. Applying God’s knowledge that will make us free is worship in truth, John 8:32. Living by the words of Jesus is worship in truth, John 8:44-46. True worship is embracing the spirit which the world rejects, John 14:17.
Worshipping God in truth is submitting to the Holy Spirit as the Counselor, John 15:26. True worship includes hearing the voice of Christ, John 18:38; words taught and interpreted by the Spirit of God, 1 Corinthians 2:13; Christ’s spirit dwelling in us, 2 Corinthians 11:10; and knowledge of God’s elect which accords with godliness, Titus 1:1. We must be transparent and sincere with God. Do we worship God in spirit and in truth as is required of us?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, our lives depend on our relationship with you and the Father. We acknowledge that we must worship you in spirit and in truth. Lead us in worship to be true in our relationship with you so we may forever dwell in your presence always. In your name we pray. Amen!!
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