In Spirit and Truth

The Bible recounts some interesting conversations between Jesus and other people.  Sometimes these stories leave us scratching our heads in confusion, and other times they leave us in awe of his wisdom.  The story of his discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well is probably a little of both.  

John 4:19-23 says this, "'Sir', the woman said, 'I can see that you are a prophet.  Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.'  'Woman,' Jesus replied, 'believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks."   

With this statement, Jesus effectively releases the Samaritan woman from the notion that people can only pray to God in certain areas, and at certain times.  This isn't really controversial today, but it was back then.  Preaching and teaching was to be done in the Synagogue, and in conjunction with the Pharisees.  Jesus was considered a rebel because he walked around preaching in the street and from hilltops, and people often marveled at his wisdom (especially because he did not throw in with the religious elect).  

This changes the mindset of the devout Christian.  Because Jesus made atonement for our sin, we can now pray to the Father at any time, and in any place.  You may pray in the car on the way to work, at home before dinner, in a hospital room, or before sporting events.  This revelation no doubt expanded the mind of that woman two-thousand years ago.  The effects of this spiritual freedom are still being enjoyed today, at least in our country.

So what does worshipping in spirit and truth really mean?  Ideally, when someone praises and worships God there is a combination of passion (spirit) along with an accurate view of who the Lord really is (truth).  If both of these stipulations don't exist, then we are falling short when it comes to returning praise to the Father.  We are in a similar position as the Samaritan woman at the well.  Once Jesus realized that she didn't have a true picture of who the Biblical God was, he corrected her.

Let us now take a moment to unpack what this kind of 'lukewarm' worship might look like.  If you have spirit but no truth - in other words there is an emotional high only - then at the end of the day you will walk away empty.  This kind of church experience often leads to hollow worship and a congregation that can fall away from the faith at the first sign of trouble.  By contrast, if you have truth but no spirit, it can lead to legalism and Pharisee-style encounters with people.  There is head knowledge, but no real passionate connection with Jesus himself.  This type of faith would definitely lend itself to a miserable experience over time.  You would never feel quite good enough to earn God's approval.

I once heard a preacher's story about a large congregation.  On any given Sunday they would pack in a few thousand worshippers.  They would sing songs, pray from time to time, and then deliver a sermon.  But when it came time for the singing, God couldn't hear them.  Peoples' mouths were moving, but it was as if nothing was coming out.  Something was missing at these church services.  There was no connection to the real, living God.  Some of the people had spirit but no truth, yet others had a sprinkle of truth but without any emotion attached.  Joyless voices in a tired congregation.  

This is not the experience that God desires for you and I.  God wants us to actually connect with Him.  And the best way to do that, is to both study His Word so we can understand who He is … and to bring our whole being and emotion to the forefront when we praise Him.  

There are churches in China that have to meet "underground."  They literally meet in basements, back alleys, and private homes - far away from the government's curious eyes.  These Christains are often persecuted for their faith, so they hide church away in a safe place.  No air conditioning, no comfortable pews, and no large church building.  You are lucky if there are any folding chairs; much of the time it is standing room only.  The services can go on for hours and hours.  No one checks their watches if the sermon runs long.  There are no disputes about wearing a mask, and no talk about politics.  Just a room full of believers worshipping in spirit and truth, often only a few moments away from being caught at any given time.  Imagine the faith being generated in a climate like this.  

I would like to point you now to a famous piece of Scripture from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."  You see, God is looking for fully engaged believers like this.  We know because He told us so.  My fear is that this type of worship is becoming more and more uncommon in America as time goes by.  Granted, we are not the only country suffering from lukewarm living, but I have a feeling that in many churches in a variety of places, people are singing ... but there is no sound coming out.

May you work to fight against this type of soul-less worship in your own life.  Instead, bring your whole being to the cross every Sunday.  Even better if you live like this Monday through Saturday as well.

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