Those who equate truth with doctrine and dogma insist that Jesus is making a reference to a right way to worship and a wrong way to worship. This viewpoint is partially correct. There is a right way to worship God and wrong way to worship God.
Those who equate truth with doctrine and dogma insist that the right way to worship God is in accordance with an acceptable form of worship. This acceptable form of worship is defined by a list of what you can or can’t do in a worship assembly.
What you can or can’t do in a worship assembly is defined by the tradition and experience of those who made decisions based on their own reading of the Bible. Thus, acceptable worship, worship in spirit and in truth is defined by the accepted doctrine or dogma. But is that what Jesus is really saying in this passage? I would say no.
According to the context of this passage, the conversation between Jesus and this Samaritan woman, the issue in question is where God can be worshiped not how should God be worshipped.
John 4:20 (NCV) Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.
Scholars have noted that this question “where to worship God” was one of the most critical issues between Jews and Samaritans.
It all started back when God spoke about where to worship.
Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (NCV) Be careful that you don’t sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you please. Offer them only in the place the LORD will choose. He will choose a place in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I am commanding you.
The where to worship (the place) seems to be important because God had previously singled out one mountain to be blessed and one mountain to be cursed.
Deuteronomy 11:29-30 (NCV) When the LORD your God brings you into the land you will take as your own, you are to announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim and the curses from Mount Ebal. (These mountains are on the other side of the Jordan River, to the west, toward the sunset. They are near the great trees of Moreh in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley opposite Gilgal.)
Under the leadership of Moses the people carried out these instructions. The curses of Mount Ebal are found in Deuteronomy 27 and the blessings of Mount Gerizim are found in Deuteronomy 28.
Fast forward a few hundred years and the Jews are now worshipping in Jerusalem but the Samaritans continue to worship on Mount Gerazim as their copy of the Pentateuch instructed.
One of the earliest worship wars, therefore, had to do with where you worship.
Jesus comes along and says the where is not important. A lesson we perhaps have forgotten. We can certainly come to a church building to worship but worship is not confined to a church building.
Jesus is saying that God is looking for people who will worship him in a genuine matter. I am by no means suggesting that those with a different viewpoint are not worshiping in a genuine manner.
God, as the object of our worship, is spirit. Because God is Spirit he can only be worshipped in spirit. God, as the object of our worship, is truth. Because God is truth he can only be worshipped in truth.
The word truth, as used in this passage, specifically means to be truthful in words and conduct. It means sincerity or veracity. It denotes the kind of words or actions (specifically worship in this context) given with sincerity.
The person who worships God in spirit and in truth is the person who worships God with a sincere heart and sincere mind not merely with external rituals.
This word for truth (ALETHEIA) is contrasted in New Testament Greek by the word PSEUDOMETHA in reference to one who does not act in sincerity, one who by their actions is lying or acting in a hypocritical manner.
Remember the person with a beam in his eye who desires to remove the speck from the eye of a brother?
Luke 6:42 (NCV) How can you say to your friend, ‘Friend, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’ when you cannot see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye.
This is the person who is not living in the truth so they cannot worship in truth. The further contrast between sincerity and insincerity is seen as this same word is used in the following contrasting passages.
1 John 1:8 (NCV) If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Thus, the person who refuses to acknowledge personal sin cannot worship God in spirit and in truth.
1 John 2:4 (NCV) Anyone who says, "I know God, "but does not obey God’s commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.
Thus, the person who does not seek to obey God cannot worship in spirit and in truth.
1 John 3:18-19 (NCV) My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring.
Thus, the person who does demonstrate love by actions and sincerity cannot worship God in spirit and in truth.
1 John 5:6 (NCV) Jesus Christ is the One who came by water and blood. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit says that this is true, because the Spirit is the truth.
Thus, the person that does not believe that Jesus Christ is the One sent from God cannot worship God in spirit and in truth. We worship in spirit and in truth because the Spirit is the truth.
Just like the command to love God with everything (Deuteronomy 6:5) means to not withhold anything from God so does the instruction to worship God in spirit and in truth means to put everything into your worship of God (heart, soul, mind, and strength).
10 Responses to “Truth (Part 2)”
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January 23rd, 2007 at 10:42 am
Where did you learn to write such a long blog? Several years ago, while doing some study on worship, I noticed something among us. The books by “our” people seemed to not deal so much with the text as they did with “us” … it was all about describing what we believe / practice rather than what the Word teaches. So, for the most part, I stopped reading books by “us” …
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:22 am
Thank you for the thoughts Randy. I remember having a conversation with an individual about what it means to worship in “Spirit and Truth.” He didn’t like the line of reasoning I was taking (along your thoughts) so he told me, “I just hate error!” I remember thinking that hating anything or anyone must equate to some kind of error.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 am
cwinwc: Could that someone have the initials of “IAP” by any chance?
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Excuse me Randy.
Greg, no. Think “Melbourne J.T.”
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Whew! There for a minute, I thought that IAP was JAP!!
January 23rd, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Did I hear someone mention a former Melbourne scholar?
Is IAP, JAP or is PAI, PAJ? Could you phrase that in the form of an answer?
Good post Randy. How much “bloodshed” has been committed in the name of “truth”?
Peace.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I agree with your positive assertions on the interpretation of the John 4 passage.
There is something to look at, and I don’t think I can explain it here, about Jesus saying that the time is coming and now is when true worshippers will worship in Spirit (or spirit) and truth. This seems to be in opposition to worship as it had been offered up to that point and time. That is, before this time (the coming of Christ) worship was NOT in spirit and truth. At least that seems to me to be what the passage is saying.
If what Jesus is teaching is that worship should not contain hypocrisy or self-righteousness, there is NOTHING new in what Jesus is saying. The Old Testament is full of that teaching, thank God.
On the basis of the above, I think Jesus is talking about something else other than the believer’s heart.
Is that possible?
January 24th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Yes.
“Without hypocrisy or self-righteousness” is ultimately a heart issue.
January 25th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Right. So if “Yes”, then what does Jesus mean?
January 25th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I said yes because of course it is entirely possible that I’m wrong and it means something else.
That being said, I don’t see a discrepancy between our two thoughts and see these thoughts as complimentary.