John 4:23: 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.
A true worshiper of God worships in spirit and in truth. Let’s begin by defining the words ‘spirit’ and ‘truth’. The word ‘spirit’ here is ‘pneuma’ in Greek. It’s the deepest part of you, your spirit. ‘Pneuma’ is the word used both for the ‘spirit’ of man and the ‘Spirit’ of God. The word ‘pneo’ in ‘pneuma’ actually means ‘breath’. As true worshipers, we worship God with our spirit. We can even worship in the spirit, just as we pray in the spirit. The word ‘truth’ in John 4:23 is ‘aletheia’ in Greek. It means ‘truly, true, not concealing, not hiding anything.’ As true worshipers, we also worship in truth, or in other words, ‘just as we are’, without hiding anything from Him, or without ‘putting up a front’.
Let’s now look at the background story of this verse John 4:23. That was when Jesus met a Samaritan woman. Do you know who the Samaritans were? They’re a race formed when the Jews married non-Jews. They lived in a region called Samaria, and in those days, the Jews despised them, and they would never want to pass through these Samaritans' land.
However, Jesus did pass through their land. You may ask, ‘why did Jesus reveal such important truths about worship to a Samaritan woman?’ Not only that, as a woman in those days, she had no standing even in her own community. Worse still, she’s been living in sin (John 4:17-18). You may also ask, ‘why didn’t Jesus reveal these truths to the Pharisees, or anyone who’s of high-standing in Jerusalem?’ Well, nothing in Bible was written by accident. Here, Jesus was demonstrating God’s love for the Samaritans as much as He loved the Jews. God loves all of us. We can worship Him disregarding of our background or race. Also, Jesus revealed this truth to a Samaritan woman (instead of a ‘knowledgeable, intellectual’ Pharisee) because she was open, and was humble enough to acknowledge her weaknesses (John 4:19). In those days, worship has become a religious, outwardly act, 'just for show’ (instead of from the heart).
Today, God is looking at the heart of a worshiper, not how much ‘head knowledge’ one may have, or how ‘sophisticated’ one may be, or how high a position (even in ‘spiritual office’) one may be in. He is looking for those who are totally open to Him, those who worship Him ‘just as they are, without hiding anything from Him’, and those who are humble enough to acknowledge their weaknesses (like the Samaritan woman). These are the ones God is seeking for. Beloved, as said by the prophet Jeremiah, let us lift our hearts (and not just our hands) to Him in worship (Lamentations 3:41), and let us worship Him in spirit and in truth.
