The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.” Jesus said to her, “Believe Me, woman, that a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will 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.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”

John 4:19-24

Worship God in spirit and truth.

Jesus spoke these words to a woman who was not of God’s people, that is the political, earthly nation which God created for Himself, nor of His worshippers who followed the Law as they learned it as other Gentiles did at that time. Neither was she a Christian, having received a portion of God’s Holy Spirit, since Jesus had not yet died.

So what did Jesus mean “in spirit”? There is a part or perhaps an entirety of our being which is spirit. That part of us carries on in spiritual ways, which may not always be perceptible to the body of flesh, but it is still something we possess. Jesus said we are to conduct our spirit in worship of God, making that spiritual part of us demonstrate our love and reverence.

Worship God in spirit and truth; truly and spiritually worship God. Not merely by word or action, but through the posture of our being, we worship Him.

Ethan Kirl

Originally Published July 19, 2021