Can you explain the verse, “There is One God. Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”? It has always made me wonder. I feel there is more than I am seeing.
Your quote is actually from two different verses. First, let’s read 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Now, let’s read John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
There is only one God as we read in Isaiah 45:5, “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” We also read in Isaiah 45:21, “…there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.” Of course, God is a triune being and is manifested in the Word as such. We read in Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” We also read of the Lord Jesus in Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
“God is a spirit” as we just read in John 4:24. God does not dwell in a body like man does. He is pure and infinite spirit. The Apostle Paul would later write of the Lord in 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Because God is spirit, our worship must be in spirit and in truth. What is worship? The best definition of true worship I’ve seen is this: It is the honor and adoration which are rendered to God by reason of what He is in Himself and what He is to those who render it.
Because we are in the flesh, we tend to delight in things that are tangible. We like beautiful music, we like robes and costumes, we like ceremonies that can be seen and heard, but in these things, spiritual worship is all too often left out. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that, “…the LORD looketh on the heart.” He searches our hearts for true spiritual worship that is born out of appreciation and awe of who He is and what He has done. True worship always comes from the heart. To show that, let’s read Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” We can go through much formality, but still not truly worship the Lord. Notice that small word we read in John 4:24, “must”, “they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” As one writer said, “The more spiritual is our worship, the less formal and the less attractive to the flesh it will be.” Indeed, true worship will be quiet and reverential. True worship will have us occupied completely with our Lord.
Worship must also be in Truth, not only in sincerity, but offered in accordance to the divine revelation which he has given to men about Himself. We find the truth of God’s person, mercy, grace, and love found in the person of His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in John 1:14-17, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” The Lord Jesus says of Himself and His Father in John 14:9, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…” So, to know the Father, look at the Son. The Lord says in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” May we learn of Him. May our hearts lead us to the Word to learn more and more about our blessed savior so that we may properly worship the Lord in spirit and truth.
It’s interesting to see that both the Son and the Father are searching. We read in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The Lord Jesus is searching for precious lost souls that He may save them. He saves them by using us! We have the privilege of sharing the Gospel of salvation with others so that they might believe on the Lord. It’s up to us, dear friends, to share the good news with others so that they might be saved. Romans 10:14 says, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” A preacher is not someone that is paid to minister to a group of people. A preacher is a proclaimer…and that is us! We need to proclaim the wondrous Gospel to all we have opportunity.
The Father is also searching. We read in John 4:23, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” While the Son seeks lost souls to save, the Father seeks those who have been saved that they would worship Him in spirit and truth. Let’s all be obedient to the Word of God and worship the Lord according to His Word. As David wrote in Psalms 29:2, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”