True Worship Is in the Spirit
“The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to worship Him.” (John 4:23-24)
Jesus revealed a crucial principle: True worship does not come from reason or emotion, but from the spirit – the deepest part of our being. God is Spirit, so those who want to commune with Him must live and worship in the spirit, not in the flesh or in external religion.
Not Everyone Can Worship
Those who have not been born again are spiritually dead – incapable of receiving or responding to God. They may worship wood, stone, tradition, even “worship God” in a human way, but still do not know who He is (John 4:22). True worship can only occur after salvation, when the spirit is made alive by the Holy Spirit.
Who Do We Worship?
Many people say, “I worship Jesus,” and that is true—but the Bible is clear: Jesus came to bring us to the Father. He did not glorify himself, but always revealed the Father (John 14:6-9). Even after his resurrection, he said, “I ascend to my Father and your Father” (John 20:17). We cannot make the Son the Father, or confuse the persons of the Trinity.
There is one God—revealed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In divinity, he is one; but in person, the Father and the Son are different. Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). When we worship, the object is the Father, in spirit and in truth—the very Christ whom we bring through the Holy Spirit.
To Whom Does Salvation Lead Us?
Jesus is the Savior, the only Son of God. But He did not come to replace the Father, but to bring us to the Father. He is the eldest brother in the new family, and the Father is the Father of all children (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). We are born again to be children of God, not just disciples of Jesus.
Jesus did not seek equality, although He was equal to God (Philippians 2:6). The mind of Christ was one of obedience, of yielding, not of seeking status. He lived to glorify the Father. We – His body – must also live to glorify the Father, not competing with one another.
Learning to Worship Rightly
Today, many Christians simply say “Jesus” without knowing the Father. But Christ living in us will always point us to the Father – the One to whom we belong. He taught us to pray: “Our Father in heaven…”
We do not offer sacrifices to the Son with the Son. Jesus is the sacrifice – to the Father. We pray “in the name of Jesus” because we cannot come to the Father in our own selves, but must come in Christ, clothed with Him as a living sacrifice, with His blood and His righteousness.
Knowing the Father – True Worship
True worship does not come from emotion or ritual, but from a living relationship with the Father. If you do not know the Father, how can you worship Him? If you only know the Savior but not the One who sent Him, you are only halfway there.
We are children of God, and so we worship the Father.
May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to know the Father, to love the Father, to live in the Father, and to worship Him in spirit and truth.