True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. – John 4:24

Scripture reading: John 4:1-26

Since joy, in some measure, ought to be present in every believer and since worship should include the believer’s heartfelt response to the Saviour, it follows that true worship should be joyful. Joy isn’t the only thing, but it is an essential thing.

Jesus responded to the Samaritan woman’s question about worship with these words: “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 in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). What does this mean? William Hendriksen rightly explains it in his Commentary on John’s Gospel:

“…worshiping in spirit and truth can only mean a) rendering such homage to God that the entire heart enters into the act, and b) doing this in full harmony with the truth of God as revealed in His Word. Such worship, therefore, will not only be spiritual instead of physical, inward instead of outward, but it will also be directed to the trueGod as set forth in Scripture and as displayed in the work of redemption.”

Our worship must avoid what God described in Isaiah 29:13 and repeated by Jesus in Matthew 15:8, 9: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

Today, worship the Lord in spirit and truth, with joy in your heart.

Suggestions for prayer

Pray that God would find in you the kind of worshipper He is seeking and that your heart will be filled with the joy of the Lord today.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen is the minister of Coram Deo Reformation Church(URC) in Littleton, Colorado.