THE NATURE OF WORSHIP
By
Charles N. Spence, Jr.
In
this particular narrative Jesus, once again, confirmed that He is of God. The woman had born this conception by the
revelation that Jesus gave concerning her past relationships. She, perceiving that Jesus truly was a
prophet, seized the moment to question Him about the proper and acceptable
worship. If Jesus was truly a prophet of
God, surely He would be able to settle the issue that has divided the Jews from
the Samaritans for generations. The
Samaritans believed that God was to be worshipped in the Samaritan temple
located in Mt. Gerizem. The Jews, however, insisted that God was to
be worshipped in the temple located in
Jesus'
reply indicated that there was a misunderstanding of the nature of God on the
part of the woman. If God was corporal
then he would be confined to one place.
The place where God had dwelled would then be the proper place where He
would be worshipped. If God was noncorporal He could then be worshipped anywhere. This misunderstanding added to the conflict
between both parties.
Jesus
replied in verse 24, "God is a
Spirit. Because of this fact God is not to be worshipped through external
forms of physical buildings and the like, but from the heart in conformity to
the truth of His nature. Thus as Jesus
said in verse 23 that the hour has come for the true worshippers of God to
worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Today we are to worship the Lord in spirit. This means that we are to worship him with
our human spirit. Notice the words of Paul in Romans 1:9, For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his
son . . . Thus our worship and service unto God is with or through our
human spirits. 1 Corinthians
As always we are to worship God in truth or
better stated, according to truth. Jesus
stated in His prayer to the Father in John 17:17, "Thy word is truth. The Lord must be worshipped in accordance
with His word. Referring back to the
case of the Samaritan woman, Jesus did have an answer for her. The woman must have realized that there was a
proper approach to God. If the mode of
worshipped did not matter, the question was senseless. Jesus' answer suggests that it does matter
how one worships God. This is the way it
has always been and according to God's word this is the way it will always be.
Does it matter how we worship or
where we worship as long as we worship?
Religious folk are just as divided today as were those in ancient times
over proper worship. According to
Genesis 4:1-4, what was wrong with the way Cain worshipped God? Why was God displeased with Cain? In Hebrews 11:4 and Romans 10:17, we see that
Abel's offering was in accordance with the word of God because he did it by
faith. Cain undoubtedly believed in God
because he worshipped God. God, however,
was not pleased with Cain's worship because it was not according to faith; it
was not according to God's word. People
today may believe in God, they may think they worship God, and in many cases, I
believe, the people worship God sincerely.
The end result, however, is that these people are sincerely wrong. There is one who is God; He is Jehovah. And He has given us one path to follow: His
word. (See Ephesians 4:4-6). There is
one faith. That one faith is that which
is produced by God's word. How is it
that all these people who claim to follow Christ and abide in His word are so divided? Some baptize while others do not, some take
the Lord's Supper every first day of the week while others do not. Some sing with musical accompaniment while
others do not. Some tithe while others
do not. Some promote social activities
while others promote nothing other than the spiritual. All of these religious factions cannot be
right. To suggest they are , is to make God out to be an author of chaos. "For God is not (the author) of confusion, but of peace, as in
all churches of the saints" (1 Cor.
Again, in the case of the Samaritan
woman, Jesus defined the parameters of worship.
He stated positively how people were to worship. He did not say it did not matter. He said true worship was in spirit and
according to truth. Cain's worship was
not according to truth because it was not given in faith. Neither is ours if it is not in accordance
with the word of God.
What is the purpose of worshipping in
truth? Why does it matter how one
worships God? Well, read Acts 17:22-30. Verse 27 indicates that people are
worshipping creatures. Verse 23 says
that these people worshipped God ignorantly.
Such was also the case with the Jews in Romans 10:1-3. Our worship to the Lord must be guided (Jer.