What Does It Mean To Worship In Spirit and Truth? Part 2

PART 2 - WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH?

Bible Passage: John Chapter 4

John 4:23-24 Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.

In the previous post, we looked at how to worship in spirit; in this post, we will look at how to worship in truth.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORSHIP IN TRUTH

Regarding Jesus, John speaks of Jesus as "full of grace and truth." And he also said, "For the Law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Many times when we think of truth, we automatically compare it to and think of it as that which is opposed to what is false. A very simple example of this would be that 2+2=4 is true and 2+2=6 is false.

In a Christian or Biblical context, we think of truth being what the Bible says, who Jesus is. We tend to think of truth as those ideas, facts, or thoughts that are true and right. So applying this in worship, we can think worshipping in truth is to worship the truth, Jesus, or worshipping in a true manner, for example, not worshipping idols. This is certainly involved, but it goes even further.

Truth is not just worshipping Jesus, and obviously, worshipping Jesus is necessary, but it is also us being in full possession of what God has done in us through Jesus. It is not just knowing or believing a true fact or concept. But it is Jesus becoming real in us. It is not just something we look at and say, yes, that is correct or true, but it is receiving all that comes with receiving Jesus.

JESUS IS THE TRUTH.

Jesus is the truth. He is not just a concept or idea of truth, but Jesus is the tangible personification of truth. Jesus fulfilled all the requirements necessary so that all the blessings of God could become available to us. When we are saved, He being truth, the very life and love and power of God are received into our lives. He lives in us by His Spirit, and we receive the full possession of all that God has done because we have received Him, and the truth lives in us.

Here is an example of how this works. The Bible says, 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control.

When God gives us what this verse says, we are not given a portion of power, a portion of love, a portion of self-control that we can access and use. We are given the Spirit of Christ, and the Holy Spirit living inside of us is the full expression of power, is the full expression of love, and the full expression of self-control. As we look to, surrender to, and rely upon the Holy Spirit in our lives, those things become our reality.

Another example from a passage many know. Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things because of Christ who strengthens me.

We are not given a portion of strength, and then when it is all used up, we have to go to God for more. No, the strength is not separated from Christ. Christ is all strength, and because He lives in us, we have strength. It is worked in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.

This goes for anything we need, whether it be peace, hope, healing, or anything else.

WHAT WORSHIPPING IN TRUTH MEANS.

The question of what does it mean to worship in truth comes down to the full work of Christ in our lives. To worship in truth means that because we now have received all that God has done in us through Jesus, we worship in all that it demands and promises. Jesus, the truth, lives in us; we are now to live and worship out of that reality.

Here is a negative example. Sometimes as Christians, when something is going wrong, we get caught up in our emotions and say I am all alone. Even questioning, where is God? While God is patient and gracious, when we say these things, we are not relating to God or worshipping in the truth that lives in us because God has said that He would never leave us nor forsake us, and He has said that He has given us His Spirit, which lives in us forever.

Or when we say it is useless, there is no hope in the situation. We are in error and not in the truth, in Christ, because God is the God of all hope, and we are to abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us.

Worshipping in truth is worshipping Jesus Christ Himself, but also relating and worshipping Him in the truth of what He has accomplished in our lives.