Worship (in spirit and in truth)
We listened to a very profound sermon yesterday. Bro. Himes used the text in John 4 concerning the Samaritan woman.
One verse in that passage has always stood out to me: vs. 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." The bold words have always fascinated me. What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth?
I looked up the passage on my Sword Searcher program and this is what I got from it. Jesus was confronting the woman about her soul's condition. Bro. Himes pointed out vividly yesterday how she changed the subject. That is exactly what happens today when the Spirit is dealing with a person. Many times they will try to change the subject. They won't change it to something completely unrelated. They will keep it on a spiritual level but any Christian who has studied their Bible at all will be able to quickly tell that they are talking apart from the Holy Spirit! Jesus quickly brought her back to the only thing that was going to make a difference in her life--a change in her spiritual condition.
She questioned him about his views on the best place to worship; afterall, the Samaritans didn't worship in Jerusalem and the Jews were very firm that they should worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Then Jesus makes the statement in vs 23. The hour was coming and now was that TRUE worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Barnes concordance on the Sword Searcher commented that worshipping in spirit meant a worship that came from the inside and was not regulated by outside sources. So He was telling her that she had been caught up on all the rituals and outward show of religion but He was there and His purpose was to fulfill every ritual and outward show of religion by his voluntary death on the cross to save us from the penalty of our sin. HE was the fulfillment. Hebrews spoke of the fact that the rituals performed in the tabernacle were simply types of what was to come, types of Jesus and His future work. But Jesus was there before her, ready to be offered and He was searching for someone to trust Him and worship him on a personal level(in spirit) and understanding that HE was the truth.
Such a blessing to know that our eternal peace is bought and paid for and all He ask in return is that we accept Him as truth. Our worship will then be an internal worship of the spirit, giving Him the proper, preimminent place in our lives.
WHAT A SAVIOR!
One verse in that passage has always stood out to me: vs. 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." The bold words have always fascinated me. What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth?
I looked up the passage on my Sword Searcher program and this is what I got from it. Jesus was confronting the woman about her soul's condition. Bro. Himes pointed out vividly yesterday how she changed the subject. That is exactly what happens today when the Spirit is dealing with a person. Many times they will try to change the subject. They won't change it to something completely unrelated. They will keep it on a spiritual level but any Christian who has studied their Bible at all will be able to quickly tell that they are talking apart from the Holy Spirit! Jesus quickly brought her back to the only thing that was going to make a difference in her life--a change in her spiritual condition.
She questioned him about his views on the best place to worship; afterall, the Samaritans didn't worship in Jerusalem and the Jews were very firm that they should worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Then Jesus makes the statement in vs 23. The hour was coming and now was that TRUE worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Barnes concordance on the Sword Searcher commented that worshipping in spirit meant a worship that came from the inside and was not regulated by outside sources. So He was telling her that she had been caught up on all the rituals and outward show of religion but He was there and His purpose was to fulfill every ritual and outward show of religion by his voluntary death on the cross to save us from the penalty of our sin. HE was the fulfillment. Hebrews spoke of the fact that the rituals performed in the tabernacle were simply types of what was to come, types of Jesus and His future work. But Jesus was there before her, ready to be offered and He was searching for someone to trust Him and worship him on a personal level(in spirit) and understanding that HE was the truth.
Such a blessing to know that our eternal peace is bought and paid for and all He ask in return is that we accept Him as truth. Our worship will then be an internal worship of the spirit, giving Him the proper, preimminent place in our lives.
WHAT A SAVIOR!
posted by momlinda1945 | 8:43 AM
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