This week, as we continue our 6-week study on the person of the Holy Spirit, we will be looking at what it means to worship in Spirit and truth.
For many, Christianity is bound up with a day, a place and certain routines. In this sense, it is more like what we find in the Old Testament than the vision of knowing God that Jesus paints for us. Adults spend nearly 4 hours a day watching television. But a revolution is happening as mobile devices such as phones mean we can watch things everywhere we go. With the coming of Christ we can meet God everywhere we go and we need to allow this revolution to change our behaviour.
To worship in the Spirit, in part, means that we can meet God wherever we go. There are no holy places. God dwells in each Christian, we are His temple. This means that we can worship wherever we are. Sing, think, enjoy, and pray throughout the day.
In John 4, Jesus seeks to bring truth to a Samaritan woman. Jesus reveals that He is establishing a new era of worship in which destination is not important; an age where one can commune with God, in the Spirit, in any place, with equal potency.
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)
The Ark of God’s presence was situated in the holiest place in the temple. This pointed to the New Covenant in which every Christian becomes a dwelling place for the Most High! He is in you by the Spirit. He is in you because Jesus has removed our sin. David wrote,
‘Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.’ (Psalm 139:7-8)
God is with you by the Spirit. As you go into your day He wants to bless you with a sense of His love, lead you in different ways and use you to show love and share the gospel. Our lives will be transformed if we walk in the good of being a living tabernacle of the Spirit.
Paul and Silas, whilst imprisoned for the gospel, knew the reality and life-transforming nature of worshipping in the Spirit - worshipping because God was present with them in all circumstances:
‘About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.’ (Acts 16:25-26)