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.
To worship as Jesus said “in Spirit and truth’ means, in part, to worship out of the truth of the gospel and the whole bible.
1. THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE
The Spirit uses the scriptures to remind us of the gospel and to raise our hearts to the glory of God. Terry Virgo has written of worship in truth,
‘Often people are not praisers because they are actually not very impressed with God. The more we sing songs that tell us who God is and what He has done, the more we will understand and begin to praise… Praise isn’t a matter of bullying people, ‘come on what’s wrong with you this morning?’ It may be that we still haven’t got hold of enough truth or that we are singing songs with no content. I was absent when Stuart Townend first introduced his song ‘In Christ Alone’ in our church. People were raving about it. When I heard it on tape in my car, I couldn’t hear all the words, so I wondered why everybody was so excited. But the next Sunday I was in the meeting and felt the impact of the truth in it. Don’t keep singing songs that have no content. Sing songs that absorb your mind and expand your understanding of God.’
The Spirit wants to use the truth of scripture to inflame your worship. He wants to fill you with His love for you and revive your love for Jesus, for the Father, for the church, for the world…those who worship in truth have filled their minds with truth that the Spirit can use. The Psalms are particularly helpful in this regard. The psalms are the songbook of the Bible and are full of awe-inspiring and comforting truth with which to worship God. Psalm 103 is a great example,
‘Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Psalm 103:1-5)
I find it helpful to ask of a text: what can I praise God for from this text? What does it tell me about Him?
2. THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL
I always start my prayer/worship times by remembering the gospel. Remembering that I am a sinner saved by God’s grace through the blood of Jesus. I like to choose a passage and use it as a basis for worship. I ask the question: what does this say about the gospel (How I’ve been saved by Jesus)?
For example, I might choose,
‘At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour…’ (Titus 3:3-6)