IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
John 4:23-24
When our Lord spoke to the woman at the well, He was not merely resolving a religious dispute; He was unveiling an entirely new order. The question before Him concerned sacred geography — this mountain or Jerusalem — yet the Lord lifted the matter above terrain and tradition into the realm of divine reality. The hour, He declared, was not only approaching but had already arrived, when worship would no longer be confined to external systems, but would be rooted in something inward and living.
“God is Spirit.” This is not a poetic phrase; it is a revelation of God’s essential nature. If God is Spirit, then He cannot ultimately be approached through what is merely outward. Ritual, however precise; music, however beautiful; forms, however ancient — these may have their place, yet none of them in themselves reach God. Only that which corresponds to His nature can truly commune with Him. Therefore, worship must arise from the human spirit made alive by the Spirit of God. It must be the inward response of a life brought into union with Christ.
The Lord’s words mark the passing of an old order. The temple, the sacrifices, the prescribed ceremonies — all were shadows pointing toward a greater reality. Now the Substance had come. In the presence of the Son, the veil began to fall away. Worship was no longer a matter of approaching a distant shrine; it was participation in a living relationship. Heaven had drawn near in the Person of Christ, and worship would henceforth be grounded in that nearness.
To worship in truth is to worship in accordance with what God has revealed of Himself in His Son. Truth is not bare correctness of doctrine, though doctrine guards it. Truth is the unveiled reality of God as made known in Jesus Christ. Where Christ is not central, worship loses its substance. Where He is merely acknowledged but not enthroned, worship becomes hollow. The Father seeks those whose worship flows from living knowledge of His Son.
It is deeply significant that the initiative lies with the Father. He is seeking worshipers. This implies divine desire, but also divine purpose. God is not satisfied with outward compliance; He desires correspondence with His own heart. Only what is born of the Spirit can answer to Him who is Spirit. Therefore, worship demands more than attendance; it requires transformation. The natural man may adopt religious habits, but he cannot generate spiritual communion. Only as the Spirit deals with the self-life — pride, independence, self-interest — can there be that purity of response which rises acceptably before God.
The woman who began with controversy ended with revelation. She moved from argument about sacred sites to encounter with the living Christ. That transition is the essence of true worship: from system to Savior, from form to fellowship, from ritual to reality. Worship is not confined to a place or hour; it is the expression of an indwelling Life. Where Christ governs inwardly, worship flows outwardly. Where the Spirit has liberty, truth becomes experience rather than theory.
The hour has come, and now is. May we not cling to the shadows when the Reality stands before us. May we not substitute activity for communion. And may our worship be born of spirits made alive unto God, responding to Him in the truth of His Son, for such the Father seeks.
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Father of spirits, awaken our hearts from mere formality and bring us into living correspondence with Yourself. Deliver us from worship that is outward and hollow, and make us those who respond to You from spirits made alive by Your Spirit. Center our hearts in Your Son, who is the Truth, and lead us into that deep communion which satisfies Your seeking heart. In Christ’s Name we pray. Amen.
BDD
