True Worship ~ John 4:24

Leviticus 10:1-3 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace. (NKJV)

All Generations Must Treat God as Holy Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor 10:11-12 (NKJV) … as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NKJV)

All Generations Must Treat God as Holy It’s important for people of all generations to treat God as Holy! We should be focused on this regarding our manner of worship -- by doing exactly as God instructs in His Word! We’re examining the nature of worship in general, and considering what the NT says about worship.

Types of Worship Mentioned in NT Scripture There is “true” worship (Jn. 4:20-24) There is also “vain” worship (Matt. 15:7-9) There is worship that is offered in ignorance (Acts 17:22-23, 30) There what Paul refers to as “will” worship (Col. 2:20-23)

John 4:19-24 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (NKJV)

Worshiping in Spirit Some think this means to do with sincerity, or “from the heart”. Service from the heart was a requirement under the Old Law (Deut. 6:4-7; Josh. 24:14). A more accurate explanation is that worshipping in spirit means to offer “spiritual worship”. In John 4:24, Jesus says that God is Spirit. Therefore, the worship of Him is to be “spiritual”, that is more in keeping with His nature. This interpretation is in harmony with what we learn about the contrast between OT and NT worship in Heb. 9:1-10. OT worship consisted of fleshly ordinances. (Tabernacle, the lampstands, the sanctuary burning of incense, animal sacrifices. All which appeal to the physical senses.)

Worshiping in Spirit NT worship is geared more toward the spiritual side of man: God’s temple is spiritual and made up of Christians (1Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:19-22) All Christians are priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices (1Pet. 2:9; Rom. 12:1, Heb. 13:15) Our prayers are sweet incense (Rev. 5:8) Our music consists of making melody with the heart (Eph. 5:19) The physical ordinances of the Old Law were to last until a “time of reformation” (Heb. 9:9-10)

Worshiping in Truth To worship according to the commands of God? Of course we should worship according to the commands of God, but that’s no different than what He expected in the OT (Deut. 5:32-33). Jesus admitted that the faithful the Jews were right in their worship (Jn. 4:22). The contrast Jesus made wasn’t between “True” or “False” worship… It seems the contrast is between that which is “True” (or real), and that which had been a “Shadow” pointing toward the true!

Worshiping in Truth The elements of OT worship were a “symbol” or “shadow” of what was to come. The Tabernacle was a symbol (Heb. 9:8-9) The Law with its worship was only a shadow of that which was to come (Heb. 10:1) Christ is now in the TRUE tabernacle (heaven) (Heb. 9:11-12, 24) Therefore, we should expect the worship of the “true” to be different from that of the shadow. The OT worship, which was but a shadow, was physical in nature. But NT worship, which God now expects of “true worshippers”, is according to the true realities (God is Spirit, Christ in heaven) and is therefore SPIRITUAL in nature.

Conclusion What do we hope to have gained from this lesson? We’ve seen that there are distinct types of worship, but only one is now acceptable to the Father. We see that this worship is “in spirit and in truth”. It is not the physical worship found in the OT which was only a “shadow” of what was to come, but a spiritual worship which is the true meaning of what God wants from us now.

Hebrews 5:8-9 … though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, (NKJV)