Mensa Otabil - Worshipping In Spirit and Truth
- Watch
- Donate
We’re still in John chapter 4, looking at Jesus’s conversation with a Samaritan woman by Jacob’s well. The conversation has been progressing well, and now we’re getting to the heart of it. It starts with Jesus talking about water, becomes personal as he addresses the woman’s life, and then shifts to a religious discussion when the woman tries to change the topic to a religious argument. Jesus says it’s no longer about Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim; it’s not about religion.
So what is it about? That’s what we’re reading today in John chapter 4, verses 23 and 24: «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. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.» This is the essence of the message Jesus is conveying to this woman. What He wants to communicate is what God is looking for and how we should approach Him. He begins by saying God is spirit; He is not a man and not just a logical concept.
God is spirit, and we encounter Him spiritually. God is not tradition; He is spirit. He is not just a man like any other person. Because God is spirit, the way to worship Him is in spirit. Jesus tells the woman that the true worshipers God seeks are not those who go to a mountain to worship or limit Him to a shrine, grove, or other practices or traditions. God is not just looking for religious observance; He desires a relationship. Since He is spirit, those who worship Him must do so in spirit. Worship must be spiritual.
This means worshiping God starts from our hearts; it is a spiritual devotion, a heartfelt connection to God, His nature, and receiving His life into us, living for Him. All of this begins in the spirit. He continues by saying we must not only worship Him in spirit but also in truth. This means our worship must be free of corruption; it cannot be a sham, deception, or just religious routines. It must be rooted in truth. The word truth means reality. Worshiping God is encountering reality. When we meet Him, our lives change. There is transformation-a change of heart, mind, and preferences-because the spiritual must also be in truth.
This is how Jesus addresses this woman with the Word of God. The living water that God speaks of is the worshiping spirit. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, brings us into a vital relationship with the Father-not merely another religious observance but a relationship with God that begins in the heart and extends to all areas of our lives. This is how Jesus presented the gospel to the Samaritan woman, and I pray that you would encounter the reality of who God is, in spirit and in truth.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, open my heart to Your Spirit. Help me to worship You in spirit and in truth, in Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. I will catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.