A: Here is the passage to which you
are referring:
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth.
Here is another similar passage:
Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which
worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
and have no confidence in the flesh.
We must first consider the context of John 4:24. John
4:19-24 makes up one unified piece. In order to take
Jesus off track in His witnessing approach, the
Samaritan woman brought up the argument between the Jews
and the Samaritans as to where God should be worshipped.
Should He be worshipped in Samaria as the Samaritans say
or in Jerusalem as the Jews claim? Although Jesus
maintained the authority of the Jewish teachings
("salvation is of the Jews"), He pointed to the time
when the Father will not be worshipped in a particular
location ("neither in this mountain, nor yet at
Jerusalem'). The reason for this development has to do
with the essential nature of God. He is a Spirit and
therefore His worship is not limited to a physical
location. True worship of Him is not physical worship in
a physical location; it is spiritual worship. The point
of the argument contrasts the physical with the
spiritual and declares that God is spiritual; not
physical.
Historically, physical worship meant that worship was
limited to going to one particular place and physically
acting in certain ways (as in taking offerings to the
Temple in Jerusalem). However, true worship is
spiritual; not physical. It is the worship of the inner
man and is not found in the outward actions of the
flesh. Even when physical actions are connected to
worship (as the singing of praise to God and the
offering of financial gifts), the true worship is not to
be found in the outward actions but in the condition of
the heart. Songs can be sung and money can be given in
an outward manner without the full participation of the
spiritual man. These actions are then not true worship.
True worship is that which comes from the inner man and
the Father seeks such to worship Him (John 4:23).
The word worship comes from worth+ship. It means to
declare the worthiness of (Revelation 5:9-12 - "Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches,
and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing"). Therefore, worship is not limited to a place
or the performance of a ceremony. Rather, it is an
inward attitude of reverence and exaltation expressed by
an outward act of praise (Psalm 29:2 - "Give unto the
LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in
the beauty of holiness"). According to the passage in
John 4:22-24, true worship has three characteristics.
First it is sane (John 4:22) - "we know what we worship"
(1Corinthians 14:14-15, 26-33; Colossians 3:16). Second,
it is spiritual (John 4:24) - "in spirit." Third, it is
sincere (John 4:24) - "in truth."
Notice that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth
(John 4:24). The phrase "in truth" is used in important
ways in scripture. It means that our heart must match
our deeds (1John 3:18 - "My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in
truth.") It means to act without hypocrisy. Philippians
1:18 contrast two opposites: "whether in pretence, or in
truth." That which is done in truth is not pretended or
faked. Therefore, to act in truth is to act without
falsehood and without fear of what others think. The
Jews said of Jesus: "for thou regardest not the person
of men, but teachest the way of God in truth" (Mark
12:14). To worship God in spirit and in truth is the
highest form of worship and the only kind of worship God
ultimately desires.
The question may arise as to what the
spirit is. According to Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God." The spirit of man is that part of him
that communicates with God's Spirit and that on a moment
by moment basis receives its life from God's Spirit. The
Holy Spirit works in our heart through our spirit. "But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned"
(1Corinthians 2:14). The natural man is the lost man,
being what he is by nature alone. The spiritual man (the
one who has his spirit quickened in salvation and is in
submission to God) receives the things of the Spirit of
God and responds to that Spirit.
As such, we can do as did Paul when he said, "For God is
my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of
his Son" (Romans 1:9). We can pray, both in the spirit
and in the Spirit (1Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 6:18;
Jude 1:20). And, we can worship God in spirit and in the
spirit; that is, in the inner spiritual man. May we all
learn to worship our Lord in such a manner.
Till He comes,
David F. Reagan