Articles
True Worshipers
The Samaritan woman at the well was first surprised that Jesus, a Jewish man, would even talk to her (John 4:9). After a short conversation she was surprised again when Jesus revealed that He had knowledge of her past and present (she’d been married five times and was then living with someone who was not her husband – John 4:16-18). This led the woman to the conclusion that this man was a prophet (John 4:19). He was from God! This was her opportunity to cut through the religious confusion of her day and get some real answers.
What should she ask Him about? Some think she was just trying to quickly change the subject, ashamed of her current living situation. Regardless of her intent, you would expect her next question to be one of great import. In fact, I would have expected her to revisit Jesus’ earlier statement that He had water which will “become a well of water spring up to eternal life” (John 4:14). He was offering eternal life! Once she knew He was a prophet, shouldn’t she ask Him more about that? She had asked, and gotten no real answer, but once she understood who she was talking about, I would have thought that she would press harder and ask the question that mattered most. How do we get eternal life?
Instead, she asked for clarity on a long-standing divisive question. Where was the right place to worship God (John 4:20)? Was it in Jerusalem, as the Jews taught or was it somewhere else, like her fathers had done and taught? Who was right, the Jews or the Samaritans?
Of course, it was the Jews who were correct. “Salvation is from the Jews,” Jesus said (John 4:21). That was the answer to her question, but Jesus quickly turned His attention to more important matters: the future. In the past, the right place to worship God was at the temple in Jerusalem. A time was about to begin (and had already begun) when there would be true worshipers. “An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). The Samaritans had been worshiping in error, but the implication is that the Jews had also failed to worship God correctly. Perhaps one group (Samaritans) had lacked the truth and were not worshiping God in accordance to His divine pattern, and the other group (Jews) had lacked the spirit and were not worshiping God with the heart that He deserved and demanded. That was about to change. True worshipers were coming who would combine these two crucial elements. They would worship in spirit and truth.
Obviously, we want to be worshipers like that. We want to blend these two elements perfectly. We want to partake of the Lord’s Supper in accordance to the pattern (weekly, unleavened bread and fruit of the vine), but also do it with the right spirit (in remembrance). We want to sing in truth (words of truth which teach) but to be filled with the spirit of gratitude and a heart begging to praise God. We want to give in truth (on the first day of the week as we have prospered) but also from the spirit (cheerful and planned giving). With every form of worship we ought to look at both the truth and the spirit—the method and the heart. Do not neglect either.
But it is what Jesus said next that intrigues me most. “For such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:23). He wants worshipers. He wants worshipers who get and implement this concept. More than wanting, God is seeking. He seeks to add these individuals into His kingdom and bring them into His eternal home. God seeks worshipers.
It is easy for us to get into a rut, and worship because it is time to worship. That may be truth, but is that spirit? Others, may be filled with passion, but have a disregard for the ways that God has asked to be worshiped. Is that truth? But, when we merge those two attributes together, what follows is beautiful to God.
Consider, what is preaching that is filled with truth and spirit? Singing? Praying? Giving? Partaking of the Lord’s Supper? Even our daily lives are to be a sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1). What will a truth and spirit filled sacrificial life look like?
Are you worshiping in such a way that God is seeking you?
