Thoughts on John 4:23-24

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

True Worshipers are those who are 1. Spirit filled, because God is Spirit and because man by nature is flesh and thus liable to sin and hates God by nature, he cannot rightly relate with God correctly because he is depraved and dead (Ephesians 2:1-3), So because God is Spirit and man is by nature depraved idolators and haters of God, the Spirit must regenerate the rebel and not only by His grace, make us alive with Christ, but also He must raise us up with us, and then He must then seat with Christ. So thus anything that the Christian (the one who has been regenerated and redeemed) in accordance with the Word and character of God is done in Spirit. 2. The Father seeks for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. (This is going to be brief and made into one point rather than three different points. In other words, rather than a 3rd point, I will put this with 2.)It is necessarily to point out that the worshipers the Father seeks are those who worship Him in spirit. This means that the Father is seeking those who worship Him with emotion, rather than stoicy, hard, no feelings at all type of person. But it must be pointed out that He seeks those who Worship in Spirit (right emotion) and Truth. Which means that our worship must be grounded in the Truth of God's word and who He ultimately is and with right emotion which is grounded in the right knowleddge of God's word and who he has revealed Himself to be to us. Worship is not an arbituary ambiguous act, but one that is set by God Himself and set by the Truth of who God is and who we are, which produces right emotions.

John Piper rightly says, "Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship." (Desiring God, pg. 81-82)

So Another verse for thought is Jude 18-19 which is pretty much the opposite of Worshiping by Spirit and Truth. Jude writes, "They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit."