True Worship (John 4:23)
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Psalm 25
1 Samuel 28:3-25
John 4:16-26
True Worship (John 4:23)
[Jesus said] “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
Yesterday we mused on the idea that when Christ spoke of living water he might have been referring to the Holy Spirit. As he continues his conversation with the woman at the well, he develops the theme of the spiritual nature of true religion.
There is a difference between the type of worship that is from the head, and the type that is from the heart. To any Christian who has spent more than thirty seconds reading their Bible this much is obvious. Performing the outward signs of religion is fine, but God looks to the heart, and searches for people who love him honestly, rather than just do what they think they ought to and leave it there. But while this is easy to say, it is not so easy to do.
Neither is this a case of churchmanship. Whether you are the type who waves their arms or genuflects during Sunday worship, both actions can be either outward signs or inward expressions. It is just as confronting to cross oneself during the Sunday worship as it is to raise an arm during a worship song. And it is just as worshipful to do both of those things invisibly in the secret place of your heart. No, what our Lord is talking about when he says that our Father is seeking people who will worship in spirit and truth is people who worship out of love.
And the preceding part of our Lord’s conversation is where, I think, lies the key to it all. The well of living water of the Holy Spirit is what gives us the ability to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. He is the voice behind us leading in the right paths, the one whispering to us words of assurance and peace in the thin silence, the fire in our hearts burning with desire for a greater knowledge of the truth of God. True worshippers worship the Father in spirit and truth, which is not something we can do ourselves, but is a place we are led to by the Holy Spirit. And the promise of the Lord Jesus is that if we ask for him, our Father will give him to us.
Have you ever found yourself emotionally or spiritually “empty”, and your sense of worship falling as a result? How does the guarantee of the promise of the Holy Spirit speak to those times of emptiness?
Father, our worship for you suffers from the ups and downs of life. Teach us that no matter what, your Holy Spirit is with us, and you accept the worship we offer however we might be feeling at the time.
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