like taming a hurricane…

This is something that God’s really been working in me lately. I’ve been provided with opportunities to participate in and even lead music worship recently, and it’s something that I am really feeling called to pursue. But pursuit of something that you don’t understand usually turns into pursuit of something else entirely, and so I’ve done what I can to determine exactly what worship means. (I can’t claim to have given birth to all these ideas, but I have adopted them and claimed them as my own.)

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 ESV). It can’t really be any more plain to us that we are called to worship God. But in spirit and truth? These are two specific guidelines for worship, and I had to know what Jesus meant when he said this. But the word that comes before these two guidelines is “in.”

That has nothing to do with anything.
The word before “in” is “worship.”

The Hebrew word for worship is “schacah,” which means “to bow down.” Other Hebrew words that appear in the Bible for worship are “barak” (to kneel and bless) and “hallal” (praise and celebration—this is actually where our word “hallelujah” comes from). To bow down, kneel, bless, and praise. The Greek word for worship is “proskuneo” which means “to kiss.” Our English word “worship” is derived from the Saxon word “weorthscipe,” which basically means “worthiness.” The phrase “worship God” now becomes “the worthiness of God.”

The thing about these three words is that they all focus on giving something of yourself. I know, it’s a common concept that worship shouldn’t be about you and it should be all about God. But I was thinking about this, and Hebrews 13:15 came to mind— “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” We are also called to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1). So together, we are told to make our bodies into a living sacrifice of praise.

The thing about sacrifice, in the Bible and in the countless other places it appears in history and in other religions, is that it always had to be the best the sacrificers had to offer. This is basic principle; I think of the story of Cain and Abel. And of course, the story of Christ, there’s not really any more God could give than himself. And so our living sacrifices of praise also have to be the very best that we can give. Worship is all about giving, and not about us: our questions about a worship service (I don’t really agree with that term—worship service should describe your life, not a single meeting of people) transform from “Did I enjoy it?” “Did I feel like I accomplished something?” “Is my heart in the right place to be worshiping God?” “Am I distracting others?” and so on…to “Did God enjoy it?” “Did God accomplish something?” “Have I offered everything I have to God?” and “Am I being distracted from him?”

Worship is not dependent on how we feel. Worship is not dependent on what we think we did. Or on how we think we sang (or if we sang at all). Or on how many people were there, or what the experience was like, or how good of a worship leader are they (or are you), or where you are, or anything like that at all. Jason wrote about God meeting him at the Hillsong United performance, and that despite the hundreds of people all packed into the church it was just him and God.

Can you really ask for anything more?

But we still don’t know what “spirit and truth” means.
When we are called to worship in spirit, we are not being called to spirit-inspired worship. God is not telling us that we will be inspired by the Holy Spirit when we worship, and he is not saying that worship requires that. Not to say that this never happens or that it is a bad thing if and when it does happen, it simply is not part of the guidelines God has set for us. He is not calling us to spirited worship—that is, worship that gets you excited; lively songs, cool lights, good performances, other people’s reactions…being excited is great, and these worship catalysts are nice, but it is not a requirement of worship. We are not being called to spirit-filled worship, either. What I mean by that is we do not have to feel spiritual when we worship. You know, the feeling you get sometimes when you’re singing a song that really hits you where you’re at right then; the amazing feeling you get when God’s presence totally washes over you. That’s not a requirement of worship either (it’s more of a benefit). We may even feel discontent and bitter when we worship—but again, it’s not about us. It doesn’t matter what I feel like. Because I am human, and of course I will forget how incredible God is because it’s not something I can wrap my mind around, and I’m imperfect. There will always be times when you don’t feel filled with the Spirit, and there will always be times when you are angry and when you don’t feel that your heart is right, and when you are less than excited to worship God. But he doesn’t say, “worship in spirit and truth when you feel like you should.” God says worship in spirit, not with spirit or by spirit or of spirit. Going back to Romans 12:1, “your spiritual worship” is “[presenting] your bodies as living sacrifices.” Worshiping in spirit means giving the best we have to God.

I thought about what “the best I have” is. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” And it is our spirit that is made in the likeness of Christ, in the image of God. If the best God could give to mankind was himself, and he’s put himself in me…is there anything at all that would be better to give back to him than my spirit? The one that is “joined with the Lord?”

Worship in spirit is giving God back to God.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). It’s pretty obvious what truth is. To worship in truth means to claim the truth as your own, and give that to God as well. It means that only truth should be included in your worship, nothing else. God calls us to worship in truth, not out of truth. Not worship that originated from truth, and not worship because of truth. Worship that is truth.

I know nothing that is more truthful than God. My worship should include nothing but God. My worship shouldn’t even include myself. Just you and God isn’t enough—it has to be just God. God, and your spirit that is made in his image. There is nothing else that is worthy for worship, because there is nothing else that is more true.

In understanding this concept of worshiping in spirit and truth, I’ve come to have a fuller understanding that worship is not at all a music genre, or a part of a church service, or something you do. It has nothing to do with what is going on in your life. Worship is not situational.

Worship is a way of life. It is a transformation, not an occasion.

I’m really excited to see how God will be using this in my life, and in yours.