Correct. Keep up the good work!
Jesus
said in John 4:23-24: "But an hour is coming, and
now is, when the true worshipers
shall
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for
such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
"God is spirit, and
those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(NAS)
Worshiping in spirit and truth is not just a
suggestion. John 4:24 says "those who
worship Him
must worship in spirit and truth."
In Spirit...
Do you think that it is important that our heart
and spirit be focused on God when we worship?
...And in Truth:
Is it also important to worship God with our
minds and according to His truth?
Understandable?
What if we worship in a way where the hearer
doesn't understand the prayers or word being
sung...or doesn't hear any words from our lips?
1 Corinthians 14:15-16
"What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the
spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I
shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with
the mind also. Otherwise if you bless in the
spirit only, how will the one who fills the
place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your
giving of thanks, since he does not know what
you are saying?" (NAS)
1 Corinthians 14:19-20
"...in the church I desire to speak five words
with my mind, that I may instruct others also,
rather than ten thousand words in a tongue*.
Brethren, do not be children in your thinking;
yet in evil be babes, but in your thinking be
mature." (NAS)
* from the Greek word "glossa" meaning
a foreign language.
Truthful?
What if the words we are
saying or praying are not the truth? Do we sing
songs that teach God's truth from the Bible, or
do we sing songs that teach the commandments of
men?
"And He said to them,
"Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites,
as it is written, 'This people honors Me with
their lips, but their heart is far away from me.
'But in vain do they worship me, teaching as
doctrines the precepts of men.' "Neglecting the
commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of
men." He was also saying to them, "You nicely
set aside the commandment of God in order to
keep your tradition." Mark 7:6-9 (NAS)
"'This people honors Me
with their lips, but their heart is far away
from me. 'But in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'" And
after He called the multitude to Him, He said to
them, "Hear, and understand. "Not what enters
into the mouth defiles the man, but what
proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the
man." Matthew 15:8-11 (NAS)
God wants us to worship both in Spirit and in
Truth:
"We are from God; he who knows
God listens to us; he who is not from God does not
listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error." I John 4:6 (NAS)
Jesus said to his apostles in
John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you* into all the truth; for He will
not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He
hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you
what is to come." John 16:13 (NAS)
*Note: this was spoken to
Jesus' apostles during the last supper which is
recorded beginning in John 13:1 and ending at John
18:1.
The Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into all
truth, but the Holy Spirit would not speak on His
own initiative:
"But when He, the Spirit of
truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;
for He will not speak on His own initiative, but
whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will
disclose to you what is to come." John 16:13 (NAS)
"And it is the Spirit who bears
witness, because the Spirit is the truth." 1 John
5:6 (NAS)
What other instructions are
there for the worship of the church (New Testament
worship)? Click on the next question to
continue... |