In Spirit and In Truth

In reading a book recently and hearing a sermon on Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, I began to contemplate what it means to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). There are several aspects of that which must be discussed.

For starters, some of you will notice that I did not capitalize spirit, and you have probably recognize that I always capitalize God's name, even when referring to Him as He as a matter of reverence and respect. So why did I choose the little s? Well, in the Bible verse quoted, there is no definite article before spirit meaning that it is more than like not referring to the Holy Spirit, who is typically referred to as The Spirit in scripture. Therefore, I believe that this verse is talking about the spirit of man. Does this matter? Yes and no. When we come to worship God, our spirit should unite with His Spirit so that you cannot tell where the human spirit ends and the Holy Spirit begins. For the believer who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, our spirit should constantly yield to The Spirit so that The Spirit is controlling us at all times. So I guess all of that is to say that I think it should be spirit instead of Spirit, but practically speaking true worship will result in it being in Spirit as well.

To worship in spirit, I think that there should be a certain amount of preparation for a corporate worship service. I think that worship leaders should lead the congregation in a time of prayer before starting the service, and a time of silent prayer instructing the congregation to contemplate the sin in their lives and repent of it. Sin will hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's spirit. Therefore, worship leaders need to teach the people how to come before God. I also think that in services where true worship is occurring, the worship leader needs to be sensitive to the worship, and may need to have a time of personal prayer and repenting. Coming before a holy God will result in conviction of sin.

Also, notice that it says in spirit and IN TRUTH. I point this out because of my previous post regarding singing in worship services today. Truth should permeate every aspect of our worship service, not just one or two areas. What I mean is that we need to make sure that everything we are doing is scriptural. This will cut out most (if not all) videos, skits, modern worship music, or anything else that takes the focus off of God in our worship services (or at least in the middle of the worship service). Worship is supposed to be our coming together to proclaim God's worth through who He is and what He has done for us. It is not to be a focus on self and how I can be a better person (although that will come naturally when we look at who God is and what He has done for us). Too many things that we add to worship services are a distraction from God.

I think that real worship occurs when the Holy Spirit is flowing out of those in attendance because they are truly worshiping in spirit and in truth. The truth part is important because it is the Holy Spirit within us that enables us to praise God, but the Holy Spirit cannot speak things that are not true. Therefore, we should examine each and every element of our worship services to make sure that they contain nothing but truth. The only way to do this is to have a high view of Scripture and make sure that everything that is contained within our worship services aligns with Scripture. Scripture must become a priority in our worship services because it is God's Word and truth. Scripture teaches us the words of God as He has revealed them, and provide us with instructions on how to worship Him for who He is and what He has done.

Another thing that needs to be said is that in order to worship in truth, we must have an understanding of truth. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). To worship in truth, we must worship Christ for who He is and what He has done for us. When we give a personal testimony through song, it must be because of what Christ has done for us. I think that I would go so far as to say that there should not be a worship service where we do not sing or speak of Christ and His atonement for our sins.

So what do I think an ideal worship service will look like? Doctrinally sound singing, public reading of Scripture, prayer, preaching the Word, tithes/offering all focused on God (and not necessarily in that order). All the other stuff can come before or after (if it must be present at all). Of course this will only be ideal if I come to the worship service having prepared to corporately worship God and dealt with my own sins that are hindering me from worshiping God, and if I am in a place where there are others committed to the same.