"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24)
Anatomy of Worship
The above passages, taken from the Gospel of John, were spoken by Jesus as he engaged in a dialog with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Because of the history of Samaria as a mixed breed, there was long-established Jewish contempt for these people, and such an encounter was forbidden and thus socially unacceptable. However, the truth of the Gospel of Christ makes no distinctions and shows no preferential treatment. It sees only two races: the saved and the lost. Jesus dealt with the Samaritan woman accordingly.
Prior to the subject of true worship, Jesus demonstrated to the Samaritan woman that his concern was her soul and not the violation of superficial man-made traditions or prohibitions. His objective was to enlighten her eyes to the truth of soul satisfying and eternal living water, as opposed to water that quenched a physical thirst and only temporarily:
"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." (John 4: 13-15)
This illustration of the Messiah's encounter with the Samaritan woman depicted His desire to draw her to him, which would only come to fruition if she chose to repent and withdraw from a life of adulterous living and fornication. She would then be a product of a new life in Christ and inhabited by the spirit of truthfulness. Then, and only then, would she understand, along with anyone else who yielded his or her life to Christ, the true meaning of worship. Since God is spirit and possesses no physical form, He is not restricted to a location, time or space. He exists everywhere and at the same time, and consequently may be worshiped anywhere and at anytime. Since Christ is the "new and living way" (Hebrews 10: 20-22), He becomes the Way of Worship.
Worship and Idolatry
By definition, worship is homage or profound adoration, reverence and obedience to God. The act of worship is expressed in a heart attitude and posture, and based on the freedom, as the temple of the Holy Ghost, to honor and serve the one true God and offer ones self as a living sacrifice: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12: 1)
Alienated from the empowerment and providence of the Spirit of truth, one is subject to the allure, enticement or temptation of an alternative image or form of worship. In other words, one is in danger of falling prey to idolatry or the worship of an idol or false god, which was forbidden and condemned, even to this day, by the one true God. What is an idol? For our purposes, It is a reproduction of a symbol, object of worship, a product of the hands of man, or a worthless thing. Typical examples would be images crafted of wood, metal or stone and such examples are found in both Old and New Testaments. The foregoing idols would be classified as tangible or material.
However, we must remain sensitive and aware of the presence of other forms of idols that are on the prowl and persist in plotting the invasion of our souls. These are classified as intangible or immaterial and tend to be more insidious, formidable, dangerous and difficult to overcome once one has carelessly stumbled under their influence. However, the living and life-giving Word of God is our sole source of revelation and ultimately guaranteed victory over these enemies of righteousness.
We must not lose sight of the fact that an idol qualifies as an object of adoration. Are you ready for this? Any covetous person is an idolater: "For this we know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in kingdom of Christ and of God." (Ephesians 5: 5) Furthermore, any worldly desires or irresistible urges are tantamount to idolatry: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry...". (Colossians 3: 5)
Actions or conduct dominated by the works of the flesh showcase the practice of idolatry: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5: 19-21) Though it may come as a surprise to some of us, if anyone is found guilty of violating the law of God in any way (which is sin), they become servants of idolatry: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." (1 John 5: 21)
The Fulfillment of Worship
In conclusion, we have the ability to remain true to our worship of Christ, who is the "visible image of the invisible God", by remaining vigilant and thereby separated from anything that undermines our liberty and ensures our enslavement to idols. In other words, an unrelenting service to God in spirit and in truth, is a function of our freedom from service to idols or other things. The Apostle Paul confirms this and assures us that this, in fact, is the case: "Now the Lord is that spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3: 17)
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."
(Hebrews 10: 19-22)
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