01.05. Chapter V - WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
Chapter V - WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH The apostle Paul gives us in Php 3:3 three characteristics of Christianity. There we read, "We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Thus worshipping God in the spirit and rejoic ing in Christ Jesus is a real characteristic and essential of the Christian life. This life is from God and rejoices in Him as its source of life and of every blessing. In the delineation of the Christian’s position and blessings, as given in Romans 5:1-11, that which is given as the highest step in the ladder, as it were, is: "we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we now have received the atonement" (reconciliation - New Trans.). This joy naturally expresses itself in worship and praise to Him who is acknowledged as the Giver and Source of all its joy and blessings.
What is Worship
Worship is the grateful and joyful response and over flow of the heart to God when filled with the deep sense of the blessings which have been given from Him. It is giving Him the honor, adoration, praise and thanksgiving which is His due because of what He is in Himself and because of what He has done and does do for us. Praises, thanksgivings and the making mention of the at tributes of God and of His acts in the attitude of adoration is what constitutes worship. The meaning of the Greek word for worship (pros-kum), which is used in most of the New Testament, is: "to do reverence or homage by prostration - to bow one’s self in adoration." In John 4:24 we are told that "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" As God is a Spirit, spiritual worship is all that He accepts. He must be worshipped "in spirit and in truth." Spiritual worship is in contrast with religious forms and ceremonies which the unregenerate man is capable of. These are not that spiritual worship which God is looking for. True Christian worship is the expression of the new, inward, divine life in the energy and power of the Holy Spirit, and manifested in utterances of praise, adoration and thanksgiving. This sets aside all human formulas, imposing ceremonies and rituals practiced by human will and the energy of religious but unregenerate man. The Father Seeketh Worshippers
"The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him" (John 4:23). God is known as Father by His children and worshipped as such in spirit and in truth. He has made Himself known as a Father seeking and adopting children to worship Himself. God has gone out in His own redeeming love in quest of worshippers, seeking them under the gentle name of "Father," and placing them in a position of nearness and freedom before Himself as the children of His love. This is the blessed place the Christian is brought into, and now our loving Father is looking for the worship of His blood-bought children. Let us, then, freely give Him daily the praise, thanksgiving and worship which is due Him and which He is seeking from His children.
Cultivate the Spirit of Praise The psalmist tells us: "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night" (Psalms 92:1-2). The apostle, writing to the Hebrew believers, says: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name . . . for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Hebrews 13:15-16). So also the apostle Peter writes: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5).
These Scriptures, and many others, tell us of the spirit of praise and worship that should daily characterize the Christian. Let us, then, cultivate this spirit of thanksgiving and worship which is the natural outflow of the divine nature and an essential characteristic of the Christian life. Where are the Nine? The Lord asked this question of the one leper out of ten who returned to Him and fell at His feet to give Him thanks when he discovered that he was cleansed of his leprosy. "Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that return to give glory to God, save this stranger" (Luke 17:17-18). This shows how the Lord appreciated the worship of this cleansed leper and how keenly He felt the ingratitude of the other nine. May we not be like the nine but like the one who worshipped His Savior.
"This do in Remembrance of Me"
Connected with giving the Lord the praise and worship which He seeks and which is His due, there is the special request, which He has asked of us, and that is that we re member Him in His death for us by eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord’s Supper. "He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19-20). "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
It is therefore the Lord’s desire that we often par take of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Himself and of His atoning death for us and to give Him praise and worship therewith as our Savior, Redeemer and Lord. This is a vital essential of the Christian life and one the believer cannot neglect if he would be found pleasing his Savior and prospering in his soul. Are you, dear young believer, obeying the Lord in this special request and remembering Him in His own appointed way?