In Spirit and in Truth
Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' " —Matthew 22:37
There are two essential elements for worship to be what God wants it to be. Jesus said, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). That's it: two simple elements. Worship must be in spirit and in truth.
We need to worship in spirit to express our praise toward God. Worship should engage the affections, the heart, and yes, even the emotions. This doesn't mean that worship has to be emotional. Nor does it necessarily mean that worship should always be emotional. But it does mean that it can be.
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Bible study and worship go hand-in-hand. Worshipping in truth means that we will avoid that which is unbiblical. We will avoid the things that are not found in the pages of Scripture. Our worship will be more effective when it is based on our understanding of who God is. As we learn more about His nature, more about His character, and more about His plan and purpose from the Word, then our worship is a response to what we know about God.
The apostle Paul put it all together when he wrote, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16). Notice the elements of teaching and worship. They go hand-in-hand.
We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our mind. God is looking for true worshippers. May we be those worshippers today.
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