What does it mean to worship the Lord in spirit and truth?

Two things, based upon the revelation which was being made, characterised this worship; the nature of God, and the Father's grace. The worship of the true God must be a worship "in spirit and in truth." God's nature required this; God is a Spirit; and the worship would not be according to what God is, if it were not "in truth," for what is false is not according to what He is, and the revelation of that which He is has come in Christ, who is Himself the truth, for "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The law given by Moses told what man ought not to do, and the Lord knew well how to find in this law that which man ought to feel; to love God and his neighbour. But the law does not reveal what God is, it reveals what man ought to be. Now here was God fully revealed in the world, who, rejected as Messiah, object of promise, leaves His special connection with the Jewish people, although it had been (outside that which was earthly and legal) established by Himself, and comes to reveal Himself in the Person of the Son, substituting God amongst men, in grace, for all the forms in the midst of which, hidden behind the veil, He forbade all men to come near Him - to reveal Himself I say, to all this ignorance, which worshipped she knew not what, and where there was no answer whatever to the needs of the heart. It was the Father seeking true worshippers in spirit and in truth, according to His own nature fully revealed; for "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." But grace precedes; the initiative is with God; He comes Himself to seek such worshippers. We have seen that it was the gift of God; but God is Light, and He reveals Himself. It is, we have also seen, God revealed in goodness, but the conscience reached by the light, and God giving that which springs up unto everlasting life.

They that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth, and the Father seeketh such to worship Him. John 4:24. They delight in what He is: they "joy in God," and they love Him. To worship 'in spirit' is to worship according to the true nature of God, and in the power of that communion which the Holy Spirit gives. It thus stands in contrast to worship consisting in forms and ceremonies, and to the religiousness of which the flesh is capable. To worship 'in truth' is to worship God according to the revelation which He has been pleased to give of Himself. It would not therefore now be worshipping God 'in truth' to worship Him simply as 'a great God,' 'our Maker,' and 'a great King above all gods,' as in Psalm 95; for He has been pleased to reveal Himself in another light, even as 'Father' to those who are His. They enter into His presence in the spirit of sonship, and in the sense of the love which has given them a place before Him in Christ, as sons according to His good pleasure: the sense of this love, and of the good pleasure of God in having us before Him in Christ, is the spring of worship. The Father and the Son are known, the Father's will is that the Son should be honoured as revealing the fountain of love, and the Son leading the hearts of the many sons into the Father's love. Worship is thus distinguished from ascriptions of praise and thanksgiving: it is the homage of love. Rom. 8:15.

This new revelation was ushering in a new "hour," which had indeed already begun. The worship which is to characterize that hour must be in keeping with the revelation that has formed it. God who is Spirit is seeking that worship as Father, so now worship to be acceptable must be "in spirit and in truth." Notice this further "MUST." Worship is not something optional, or to be varied as suits our tastes. God must be worshipped in the way He Himself prescribes. All else that may claim to be "worship" is no worship at all.

True worship is "in spirit"; that is, not in flesh, not in bodily posture. This word of our Lord negatives the ritualistic and ceremonial line of things which has been a snare to so many. Our capacity to offer worship in spirit lies in the possession of the Spirit of God — the Fountain of living water springing up into everlasting life — as is also indicated in Philippians 3:3. The Spirit of God may engage our spirits in true worship at any time and in any place; not merely in some sacred shrine as in Judaism.

Then again worship must be "in truth"; that is, in the light of all that God has revealed Himself to be in Christ. This negatives the rationalistic line of things, which is also so common. Men speak, for instance, of worshipping "the great First Cause" in the light of the beauties of nature, while ignoring or refusing the truth concerning Him, as made known in Christ. Only in Him do we know the Father who is to be worshipped. If we do know the Father thus, our hearts are bound to be filled with worship of that spiritual nature which is acceptable to Him.

Worship must be “in spirit,” the very opposite to being “in flesh,” as ritualism supposes. It must be “in truth” (i.e. in godly recognition of all that God is as perfectly revealed in Christ, for “truth” connects itself with the knowledge of God), in contrast to being “in nature” or “in reason,” as rationalism supposes.

"In spirit and in truth" does not mean merely that all worship must be in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in accordance with revealed truth (although that is deeply important); it means also a spiritual and truthful condition. Hence the Lord's words in verse 24: "God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Not now the "Father," but "God." Being what He is, He insists that those who approach Him should do so in this way and condition. "Must." Neither Peter nor Barnabas were in a spiritual and truthful condition when they dissimulated at Antioch; Paul, who was, faithfully exposed and rebuked their dishonesty (Gal. 2:11-14).

But there is more. It is not enough that we worship the Father, as grace reveals Him in the Son. There is the two-fold relationship, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." When He speaks of the Father, it is the fulness of grace to make us what He wants us to be, but when He speaks of God, it is a necessity of His nature, and of ours too as born of Him.

As God is a Spirit, spiritual worship is all He accepts. His worshippers "must worship in spirit and in truth." It is a moral necessity flowing from His nature. This qualification He has most fully provided for us, as the new life we enjoy is by the Spirit and is spirit, not flesh. We live by the Spirit; we walk by the Spirit and we "worship by (the) Spirit of God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and do not trust in flesh" (Phil. 3:3 New Trans.). Thus Christian worship is the expression of the new inward life in the energy and power of the Holy Spirit. This sets aside all human formulas, imposing ceremonies, and rituals, for worship in spirit and in truth precludes all this. It is the flesh and human will that produces such things, and the energy of the flesh can have no place in the worship of God.

Though verse 21 has not yet been fulfilled, yet verse 23 says that not only was the hour coming, but it had already arrived, when the true worshipers should worship the Father in spirit and in truth. This was true because the Lord Jesus had come, the One who fully reveals the Father, and through whom the Father was seeking worshipers. In Christ the formal worship of the law is done away: indeed such “carnal ordinances” could never satisfy the Father's heart. Worship “in spirit” is in contrast to fleshly worship, for it issues from the inner springs of one's being. Certainly worship must be “in spirit” if it is to be “in truth,” for one might worship formally who has no heart in the matter at all, which is pretense rather than truth. But the Father's presenting His own Son before the eyes of mankind was the means of drawing out worship in spirit and in truth on the part of some at least.

This is true worship. It is the outcome of a power within towards an object without. It springs upward from the heart to God. It is independent of all outward circumstances. The Holy Spirit plants the capacity within us, and by His working it rises to the source from whence it came, to the God and Father of love and grace. Oh, beloved friends, how marvellous it is that we should be made vessels of the Holy Spirit in this way, to praise and worship God acceptably and continuously!

And God is seeking this worship from the redeemed sons of men. "The Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." "That which is born of the [Holy] Spirit is spirit," and so we have a new nature given us. When with this spirit we have truth in us also, we have the two elements of worship to God.

We may sing a hymn of praise tunefully with our lips, but if our spirit is not with it, it is not acceptable worship to God. I must sing with the spirit and with the understanding. My heart must be right before my lips. Why? Because I am worshipping the Father, and He is seeking worship in spirit.

The worship the Son sought for the Father was "in spirit and in truth." In spirit is according to what God is essentially; and in truth in accordance with that full revelation of Himself in the Son. What a blessed place is this where we can so worship God! As another has said, "Here is the true Beulah land for the saint, where the birds sing ever, and the heart goes forth in perpetual melody. God delights to have us remind Him — though He can never forget it — of the work of the Son of His love: how sweet our occupation!"