John 4:23-24, “23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
What does it mean to worship God in spirit? To worship God in spirit means, “to love and adore God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in your inner most being.” The Bible teaches that you are a spiritual being living in an earthly body, Genesis 2:7. In other words, you are more than just a body with five senses; you are a living spirit created in the image of God to be in fellowship with God’s Holy Spirit.
Thus, when Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,” this is the same kind of command to worship God with your spirit. You are to worship God with everything on the inside of you- including everything that is spiritual and physical in nature. Of course you are also to worship God with your body and with its strength. But more importantly than singing songs with your mouth, kneeling, or raising your hands in worship- the most important thing is to totally love and adore God with everything you are on the inside.
The priests of the Old Testament would experience this kind of spiritual worship when they went to the temple in Jerusalem and encountered the manifest glory of God. At one occasion in the time of King Solomon the presence of God came so powerfully upon the temple that the priests fell to their faces and couldn’t even move, 2 Chronicles 7:1-2.
Paul also stated in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 that because God’s Spirit dwells within you- you can experience the presence of God in freedom and go from “glory to glory.” Therefore, worshipping God in spirit may be different each time you worship and for each person, but the result should be the same- God’s presence will come and encounter your life. Thus, make time each day to love and adore God with your spirit and get ready for Him to invade your atmosphere!
Reflection
Action
- Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your spirit and lead you in worship today.
- As you worship in your spirit be sensitive to the moving of God’s Spirit.
- Worship God with everything on the inside of you.
