Text: John 4:1-26
In John 4:23, while conversing with a Samaritan woman by a well. Jesus tells her there will be a time when “the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”. Part of the reason Jesus says this is because He wants the Samaritan lady to understand that location of worship was not going to be a feature in the new work and covenant of God.
The term spirit in this passage is typically explained as our spirit and the term truth as the Bible. In other words, we need to worship God with a genuine attitude and in a way that God has authorised in His word. Worshipping from the heart and obeying God’s word is important but is that what Jesus specifically meant in John 4:23? When you consider how the apostle John uses the word spirit in his book, the majority of the time, he uses the word spirit to refer to the Holy Spirit. Two exceptions to that are in John 6:63, where Jesus states that His word is spirit, and in John 19:30, where Jesus yields up His spirit in death. However, most references mean the Holy Spirit.
An example of this is found in John 7:39. In this verse, John records, “But this He (Jesus) spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified”.
When you also consider what Paul says in Philippians 3:3 that Christians “worship by the Spirit of God”, I believe it is pretty reasonable to interpret spirit in John 4:23 to refer to the Holy Spirit. For a better understanding of what Jesus meant by truth, we can turn to John 14:5 where Jesus says of Himself, “I am the way and the truth and the life”. Notice Jesus says He is the very definition of Truth. So, in John 4:23, it seems Jesus was explaining to the Samaritan woman that location of worship would soon be irrelevant because there would be a time (the Christian age) when God’s people would have the ability to worship anywhere by means of the Holy Spirit and the saving knowledge of the Messiah. In other words, God’s people wont need to travel to a physical temple in a specific location because they themselves would be the temple wherever they are (Ephesians 2:20-22, 1 Peter 2:4-5).
Practically speaking, what does this mean for us who are believers today? It means approaching God with an appropriate attitude that recognises and appreciates the deep connection and access we have to Him because of the Spirit’s presence in our lives and the saving work of Jesus Christ.
