In John 4:23-24, Jesus declared that God is a Spirit and that He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.
How do we do that?
Does worship consist of gathering at church every Sunday and singing beautiful and deeply emotional songs along with a congregation? That may be a component of worship—as long as the worshiper is worshiping God in spirit and in truth and not simply worshiping the music. Music is a common inordinate affection (Colossians 3:5). But how can we know we are worshiping THE ONE TRUE GOD in spirit and in truth?
One young professing Christian was absolutely convinced he was worshiping the ONE TRUE GOD in spirit and in truth. He posted to his blog, for all the world to read, how he loved to “WORSHIP!!!!!” Yet a mere year or so after posting those words, his living testimony brought a reproach upon the name of Jesus Christ as he led a defeated Christian life living in fornication with a member of the opposite sex without the benefit of Holy Matrimony. What happened?
What did Jesus mean by the words “in spirit and in truth?”
The original languages the Bible was written in make it possible to translate the words of Jesus to read, “by Spirit and by Truth.” That rendering simplifies matters considerably. For there is only ONE SPIRIT by which we can approach God and be received, and that is the HOLY SPIRIT. The HOLY SPIRIT lives within those who belong to Jesus Christ. And there is only one TRUTH which leads to eternal life and that is the person of JESUS, the ONLY CHRIST, who is revealed by the HOLY SPIRIT in the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD—the BIBLE.
The only worship THE ONE TRUE GOD will accept is that which is offered by His people by way of his RISEN SON, through His HOLY SPIRIT, and based upon the TRUTH revealed within the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD—THE BIBLE. That is worth considering the next time we think we may be worshiping when in actuality we may be only singing beautiful and deeply emotional songs along with a congregation.
Read your Bible every day, always picking up today where you left off yesterday...
How do we do that?
Does worship consist of gathering at church every Sunday and singing beautiful and deeply emotional songs along with a congregation? That may be a component of worship—as long as the worshiper is worshiping God in spirit and in truth and not simply worshiping the music. Music is a common inordinate affection (Colossians 3:5). But how can we know we are worshiping THE ONE TRUE GOD in spirit and in truth?
One young professing Christian was absolutely convinced he was worshiping the ONE TRUE GOD in spirit and in truth. He posted to his blog, for all the world to read, how he loved to “WORSHIP!!!!!” Yet a mere year or so after posting those words, his living testimony brought a reproach upon the name of Jesus Christ as he led a defeated Christian life living in fornication with a member of the opposite sex without the benefit of Holy Matrimony. What happened?
What did Jesus mean by the words “in spirit and in truth?”
The original languages the Bible was written in make it possible to translate the words of Jesus to read, “by Spirit and by Truth.” That rendering simplifies matters considerably. For there is only ONE SPIRIT by which we can approach God and be received, and that is the HOLY SPIRIT. The HOLY SPIRIT lives within those who belong to Jesus Christ. And there is only one TRUTH which leads to eternal life and that is the person of JESUS, the ONLY CHRIST, who is revealed by the HOLY SPIRIT in the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD—the BIBLE.
The only worship THE ONE TRUE GOD will accept is that which is offered by His people by way of his RISEN SON, through His HOLY SPIRIT, and based upon the TRUTH revealed within the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD—THE BIBLE. That is worth considering the next time we think we may be worshiping when in actuality we may be only singing beautiful and deeply emotional songs along with a congregation.
Read your Bible every day, always picking up today where you left off yesterday...
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