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
4 comments:
Great summary, Jeff! I hope this will prompt many to post a response and get some real dialog on this topic. It would even help as I prepare my message this week to have some more feed back.
I've really enjoyed the messages the last two weeks based on John 4. Thanks Jeff and Rod. I love this passage because I see Jesus making a statement that worship is no longer about a place or a form but it is purely a matter of the heart. We see worship in the O.T. often referring to an outward act that happened in the Temple or in places of designated worship. The temple stood for the place where the people of God met with God. And Jesus comes saying that worship doesn't need a building or a priesthood or a system of sacrifices and external outward traditions and acts of worship...Jesus now becomes the means for which we meet with God... and Jesus deritualizes ( is that a word?) worship and the focus IS the HEART.
And this is what I was thinking about recently:
I love that we can express our worship to God outwardly as we gather and worship together weekly. And I don't want to gather to worship every Sunday JUST because it is the culture of the church. Although, what a great culture to be a part of! and we need to be a part of!!! :)But I don't want to drag myself out of bed every Sunday for Worship, and I don't want to raise my hands, sing songs of Praise in a setting like on Sundays simply because it is the "Norm" or "culture" of the church or just what those around me do...
But I want to anticipate gathering together and worshipping on Sunday's because it is the culture and joy of my heart. I want to express my worship to God externally, in community, because it is the culture and desire of my heart. Is it something we just "do"? or at the core is Worship the culture and desire of our hearts? Let it be the latter!!! ;)
I'm tired.. hopefully I communicated that thought clearly... ;)
I love your point, Sara, and I agree. I want to come to church and worship in community because we were made to be in community, to understand and to be in fellowship, as Jesus is in fellowship with the Father and Spirit and with us, and because we should have joy in that fellowship as Jesus takes joy in it. I wish I grasped that joy more than I have.
What strikes me out of these worship sermons is the worshipping in spirit and truth aspect. That just clicked with me: the Spirit revealing the Creator to the created. Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth means that as we worship, the Spirit reveals Truth, and as we gain greater revelation of who Truth is, we cannot help but worship in response. I love that. It gave me a clearer picture of why we even come together on Sundays. It gives us corporate purpose. I love it.
I was challenged today by Pastor Rod's sermon because it was all about this concept of worshipping out of a revelation of Truth. You worship what you know, who you know. You worship whatever perception of God you have. I have to admit that I have some twisted ideas of who God is. Thank the Lord He is continually bringing correction to those lies that I believe about Him. But if I don't pursue Him; seek after Truth; find out more of who He is; surround myself with people who know Him and love Him; put any effort to know who it is I worship, it's no longer Him I worship, but myself and the lies I believe about Him. I was challenged when Pastor Rod asked us, "What kind of worshipper do you want to be?" What kind, indeed?
Emily - I really like your point... When Pastor Rod read what you had wrote this morning, it finally really clicked for me! (must have been too deep for me to understand initially) :) This statement spoke to me:
"But if I don't pursue Him; seek after Truth; find out more of who He is; surround myself with people who know Him and love Him; put any effort to know who it is I worship, it's no longer Him I worship, but myself and the lies I believe about Him."
Love it!!! Gonna think on this one for awhile... thanks for sharing!!!
Post a Comment