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#DailyDevotion Worship In Spirit & Truth?

#DailyDevotion Worship In Spirit & Truth?

John 419“Sir,” the woman said to Him, “I see you’re a prophet! 200ur ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say, “The place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’” 21“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus told her, “the time is coming when you will not be worshiping the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22You don’t know what you’re worshiping. We know what we’re worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23But the time is coming, and it is here now, when genuine worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. You see, the Father is looking for such people to worship Him. 24God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah” (Who is called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He’ll tell us everything.” 26“I am He – I Who am talking to you,” Jesus told her.

So believe or not, Jesus is not saying here he doesn’t want people gathering together for worship. Nor is he saying he only wants you praying alone by yourself. Seriously, some people think that is what Jesus is saying. What Jesus is saying quite clearly is that the Mosaic prohibition of formal worship on the high places and only allowing worship where the Ark of the Covenant was i.e. Jerusalem for the Jews or the place in Samaria, probably Bethel or Dan which Jeroboam set up the golden calves as the LORD. We see the apostles after Pentecost clearly still going to the Temple to preach about our risen LORD Jesus Christ. They still worshiped in the synagogues. So what is Jesus meaning by worshiping in Spirit and in Truth?

Indeed, genuine worshipers must worship the Father in spirit and truth. God is spirit and those who worship must worship him in spirit and truth. But what does this mean? It means as the commandment says, to love God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength through faith in Christ Jesus. It means to truly worship the Father with the heart and not ‘just’ outward actions. Certainly any worship of God in spirit and truth will also entail outward actions. However, outward actions alone are not good enough. Such outward action is only hypocritical without faith in Jesus.

Jesus then does something quite unusual, he tells the woman he is the Messiah that she and her people are looking for. Indeed, Jesus is the Messiah we all are looking for. Jesus is the promised seed, the promised one that every story, myth and faith that is looking for prophesied one who will restore all things. The promise in the Garden has come down and can be seen though in many corrupted forms. The Samaritans also had a corrupted form of the promise. But Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior of the world. The Father has also set up that we can only approach him in spirit and truth through faith in the Messiah he has sent, Jesus Christ.

To worship God in spirit and truth, whether inwardly or inwardly and outwardly is the come before the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no Spirit or Truth without Jesus or faith in him. The Spirit and Truth come to us through the Word of Christ. (Rom. 10, Eph. 5) To worship in the spirit is not some ethereal worship but worship that focuses on the Word of Christ, that is the word that tells us what Christ has done, is doing and will do for us when he returns.

Heavenly Father, you want us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Grant us faith through the word of Christ that all our worship of you is based on what Jesus has done for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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