John 4:23

John 4:23

The Spirituality of Worship

I. What is it to worship God in spirit and in truth? And why did the Father seek such to worship Him? In order to answer this question satisfactorily we must consider the nature of God, for in a subsequent verse our Lord describes this nature, and grounds on His description the necessity for such worship as is mentioned in the text, saying, God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That Deity differs immeasurably from ourselves is a truth which lies at the foundation of all true religion; for it is impossible that we should entertain a due reverence for God, and yet invest Him in any degree with our own feebleness and imperfection. The scriptural representations of God as infinite as well as omnipresent seem to require us to believe that God cannot have a body, but that God must be pure spirit. All acceptable worship of the Divine Being must take its character from the nature of that Being; otherwise it cannot be supposed that the worship will be agreeable to the Being, and obtain favour in His sight. If then the Father have revealed himself as a Spirit, it will necessarily follow that a carnal and ceremonial worship cannot be that in which He will delight; and you must be quite prepared, if you are seeking an account of what service will be acceptable to the Father, for such an admonition as that of the text.

II. We observe, next, of worship, that in rendering it we only render unto God that honour which He has a right to require at our hand. It is not optional whether or no we will worship God at all; for the creature stands in such relation to the Creator that, if worship is withheld, the Divine Being is defrauded, and wrath and punishment must inevitably follow. But if it be thus imperative upon us that we worship God, it must be equally imperative that we worship Him according to His nature. The worship which God requires is the homage of the soul, an act in which all the powers of the inner man earnestly combine; so that the understanding, and the will, and the affections are alike engaged in the service of the Lord. To worship God in spirit and in truth engages the understanding, with all its powers of embracing truth; and the will, with all its energies of choice and decision; and the affections, with their fervour and tenacity in the one work of acknowledging and embracing in the Lord God Almighty, the alone object whose wrath is really terrible, and whose favour is really valuable.

H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit,No. 2614.

References: John 4:23. Homiletic Magazine,vol. xii., p. 54; J. Thain Davidson, Christian World Pulpit,vol. iii., p. 248; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons,p. 21 3 John 1:4 :23, John 4:24. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xii., No. 695; A. Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer,p. 9; Homilist,new series, vol. iv., p. 325.