I wanted to post a brief summary about what I spoke on yesterday morning: worship in spirit and truth. This is a phrase I hear people in the Church using frequently, but frankly I have never understood it. The phrase comes in John 4 while Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman, but after listening to Driscoll's teaching on idolatry, I believe a working definition of "true worship" comes out of Romans 1 (worship of the Creator rather than the created).
The central point is that "spirit and truth" is a necessary pairing, because the first leads to the second. Once we've been born into the spirit realm (recognizing that this in itself requires the work of the Holy Spirit - 1st Cor. 12:3), we undergo a process of spiritual maturation, wherein we are postured to begin understanding the things of God (truth). Truth always comes by the Spirit's revelation.
This concept has several implications for the modern Church. The problem we see with the Samaritan woman is her preoccupation with material issues: 1) the deepness of the well, 2) Jesus having nothing with which to draw water, and 3) the theological debate of where to worship (Piper). Because we know from Romans 8:7 that the carnal mind is antithetical to the things of God, I argued that the fixation on physical things has a "crowding out" effect on the things of God, leaving us susceptible to idolatry. Like the Samaritan woman, sometimes we become preoccupied with trivialities (e.g. where to worship). In the modern Church, I think our physical fixations are sometimes manifested in concerns over style and our fear of irrelevance. This also happens at the individual level. Under this model, we adopt "functional saviors"--things we believe will get us out of our personal hells and into our heavens (Driscoll).
Secondly, we have to know whom or what we worship. Jesus challenges the Samaritan woman on this same point in John 4, after she throws out question of where to worship. Christians worship the triune God, and we should exert ourselves to understand what that means.
Another key implication is on the value of corporate worship. Because revelation of truth comes by the Spirit, discovering the truth requires as many gifts of the Spirit operating as possible (see 1 Cor. 12:4-11 for a list of spiritual gifts) This is why gathering together for moments of worship is critical.
This is obviously a very brief summary, so I'd like to reference a few resources I used in case anyone wants to do more research.
- John 4:7-24 - main text
- Romans 1
- 1st Cor. 2:9-16, 12:1-11
- 2nd Cor. 5:17
- Teaching by Mark Driscoll on idolatry
- Liturgical Theology by Simon Chan
- Sermon by John Piper on John 4
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
