Jesus said: "Yet the time is coming and now has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
Jesus was speaking to a Samaritan woman at a well when he spoke the above statement. He was letting her know that it wouldn't just be jews worshiping Yahweh in the coming days, but anyone who worshiped God in spirit and truth. These worshipers are what God, the Father is looking for. He is actively searching the earth, looking for these valuable and precious treasures.
What does it mean, spirit and truth?
This phrase, though perhaps puzzling, is packed with meaning.
"Spirit" in this verse in the greek is the word "Pneumati" which literally means "breath" or "wind". So we know that our worship is more than just a soulish unction, but it is supplied first by the Holy Spirit. Its a response of our heart to the revelation of who God is. In other words, it takes God to love God.
"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19
Now it also could mean that it is above human emotion. We are made up of body, mind, soul and spirit. When Christ enters our spirit, He takes control of our spirit man. When we choose to follow the spirit, even against our own soulish emotions, the Holy Spirit is leading us. We are no longer slaves to every whim of our emotions. They no longer lead us, but can now be subject to His Spirit. That is why we have power, if we so choose, to "rejoice in every situation." Phil. 4:4-7 Its only by the Spirit that we can enter into such a place. Only God could help us abide in this continual worship, no matter the circumstance.
David lived here. He continued to worship God in his youth, on the hills, tending to his father's sheep as well as through the hardest seasons of his life. His worship was not based soley on emotion, but rather on a revelation of who God was, maybe even cultivated during his youth. Even if circumstances tried to dim this revelation of God's goodness, by the spirit, he continued to worship.
"Truth" in this phrase, when translated from the Greek is "alēthinoi" .
Its the same word found in Revelations 19:9 and Revelations 21:5 which discusses the very words of God saying they are "faithful and true" or "alethinoi". As we know, God's words are true through and through, with no flaw in them. They are full of integrity and therefore powerful. In the same way, his worshippers will also posess this integrity. There will be no deceit found in them. They will shine in every dark night because of their integrity of heart.
I think this can also mean God's worshipers are "real with God". They don't hide the truth of their hurts or disappointments. Like David, they pour out their heart and not withhold even their darkest thoughts from the search light of the Holy Spirit. If we take David as an ancient example of a worshiper with integrity, we see him saying some pretty vulnerable things to God. God doesn't want us to "fake it til we make it". But, He does still want us to praise Him in every situation. So how does this work?
In Psalm 42, David says three times "Why are you so downcast, o my soul? Why are you so disturbed within me?"
We have all had those moments: "What in the world is wrong with me today? Why do I feel so low?"
He didn't just "suppress it". But, he exposed it and was talking to God about it.
He even goes so far as to say, "Why have you forgotten about me [God]? Why must I go about being oppressed by the enemy?" v.9
He was in deep. Way deep. And he wasn't mincing words. No, he wasn't acting as everything was okay. And God is pleased with this? I mean it sounds almost like heresy? Yes, God was pleased because although God had NOT forgotten David, it sure FELT like it to him. David was pouring out the truth OF HIS FEELINGS. And God could work with that.
A friend of mine just told me that her dad used to tell them as kids to tell God exactly how they felt and not to hide anything from Him, because if they could do that, then God could "work with that". I love that. What a true discipleship moment. A father giving their children the permission to express the truth of their emotions to God. A father teaching his children that God was more than just a distant Omnipotent being. He is also a friend who cares immensely for the emotional well-being of His kids. Through this process of sharing our "stuff" with God we draw near. And if we draw near to God, then He promises to draw near to us. (James 4:8)
Its important to realize that David didn't just stop at pouring out his deepest hurt and emotional pain. If he did, he might have been erased from Bible history. No, he went further. He knew, from past encounters that God was good. God was really good. And God was still near and God really hadn't forgotten him (or why else would he be talking to him?). He went further and at the end of the Psalm, David declares his intent to praise Him once again:
"Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him
my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:11
David, by the spirit, had the unction to return to praising God, after pouring out the truth of his feelings.
He was an ancient example of a worshiper who worshiped God in spirit and truth. He worshiped God in every circumstance and in spite of negative emotions. He also developed an intimate relationship with God in which he poured out the truth of his emotions and walked with God in integrity. He was indeed an example of the kind of worshiper that God is now searching for on the earth.
love this! how beautiful. thanks molly! <3
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