in Spirit and in Truth

God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in Truth.
John 4:24

On my way to work this morning as I was praying and meditating on the Word, I began to think about what it truly means to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Why did Jesus say specifically “Spirit and Truth”? It suddenly came to me that in order to worship God we must be led by both the Holy Spirit (Spirit) and the Word of God (Truth). Paul spoke about this in his 2 letters to the Corinthians. As most who are familiar with the Pauline Epistles know, the Corinthian church were a people who were very gifted spiritually. They operated prophetically, spoke in tongues, exhibited gifts of healing, and signs and wonders followed them. As a whole, their problem was that they were unbalanced. They began to focus more on the gifts than the Giver. I get the impression they sought the gifts of the Spirit of God, but forsook the proper study of the Word of God. Paul himself said to covet the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. However he also said that he would rather speak 5 words of understanding than 5000 words in an unknown tongue. Yet Paul spoke in tongues more than them all AND he walked in a divine understanding of the Word. He was balanced.

So many times as Christians we walk imbalanced. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:1 that a false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight. When Jesus gave his instruction on how to worship God, he used the word “must” which actually made it a command. If we want to worship God we have no choice but to do it in Spirit and in Truth. We can’t focus so much on the Word that it becomes a dead letter. And we can’t focus so much on the gifts of the Spirit that we end up falling into witchcraft. We must be led by the Spirit and led by the Word; walk in the Spirit and walk according to the Word; pray in the Spirit and pray according to the Word. We must know the Spirit of Truth, as John puts it in John 16:13 along with the Word of Truth. I believe a reason why many have not and do not see the power of God working in their lives is because they are imbalanced. We (I say we to include myself) have yet to worship God the way that Jesus instructed. We have yet to surrender our body as a living sacrifice and give up everything for Jesus. We have yet to tap into the manifested glory of God and allow Him to reign in our lives to the point where people no longer see us, but Christ within us. We have yet to truly worship God. Worship is a lifestyle. It is a form of adoration and humility before our Creator. It is only in worship that we can develop an intimate relationship with the LORD. Anyone can praise God, but it takes a true son and daughter of the Most High to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Perfect Peace

God's perfect peace is amazing. So much so it is impossible to put into words. In the midst of trials and disappointment, I find myself in a state of constant peace that I have rarely experienced. It is almost as if I am aboard that boat on the raging sea with Jesus and his disciples (Mark 4:36:41), except the storm is in the form of trials, suffering, and rejection. Rather than be moved by the storm as the disciples were, I chose to call on Jesus, who said "Peace, be still." And what could have caused me to panic and doubt, instead elevated me to a place of perfect peace where my faith has multiplied to a level it has never been.

Even as I write this I am listening to a song called Peace by Othello. I am reminded of one of my favorite scriptures:

Philippians 4:6-7
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Being careful for nothing also means to be anxious for nothing and to take no thought for anything! For as Isaiah said in chapter 26 verse 3: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." As we keep our mind on Christ we prove that we trust in Him. When we trust in the LORD with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, God's peace will reign. That is why Paul wrote through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the next verse of Phillipans 4 - "...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (verse 8) What we meditate on affects our very state of being. This is why we must meditate on the Word day and night. Not only does the Word of God bring renewal to our mind - but it also brings peace. The Word was with God, the Word was God, the Word became flesh in Jesus, and Jesus is our peace!

Ephesians 2:14 - "He is our peace"