True Worship is Obedience not Singing

Worship is understood by the Church to be the main reason for our existence. It is one reason for our existence, but what God wants for worship I don't believe is understood by the Church.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman by the well, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." (John 4:23 KJV) The obvious question is: "What does this mean?"

For the modern Protestant church, they think it means singing songs. For the high church and Catholics, they think it means taking communion. In the Old Testament worship was offering animal sacrifices. The early church had that backdrop still fresh upon them so the communion became the sacrifice of Christ again, and again, and again...

But Jesus gave the woman at the well two criterions for worship: "spirit" and "truth". So, to understand this better, we need to know what those words mean. For most Christians in all denominations they have a vague understanding about what "spirit" means. When asking believers what that means one gets glassy eyed looks similar to when one asks why we had the first world war.

Watchman Nee is one of the few people that has attempted to answer that question. However, he does not say what the spirit is, but rather what the spirit does. Our human spirits, according to him are the organs that provide our ability to commune with God, to receive from God intuitively, and are the means for our consciences to function.

I believe that Jesus gave us a clue as to what the spirit is when he told his disciples, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63 KJV)

If His words are spirit, what are words? Words have two components. First there is the intention of communication, or the meaning behind the words, and second there is the vehicle of communication that comprises the words.

In the spoken word that vehicle is the sounds created by the lungs, vocal chords and tongue. In the written word that vehicle are the characters that symbolize the sounds and the ink and paper or light and screen as on the computer. The second component is merely the form of the words, whereas the first component is the substance of the words.

Therefore the meaning of the word is the spirit of the word. Getting back to the Father wanting us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, I believe that worshipping Him in spirit is in agreement with the meaning of God's will. Or simply in agreement to His will. When one considers the spirit of a sermon or thesis, one is considering the point of the communication. Likewise the point of God's will is His Spirit, and the meaning and point of our lives are our human spirits. So to worship God in spirit is to worship God according to His will.

What is truth? Pontius Pilate didn't know, because Truth was staring him in the face before our Lord's crucifixtion. Truth is reality. It cannot change. What we perceive is truth is not necessarily truth. Truth is God. He does not change. His creation is truth only in it's direct relation to God upholding His Word. That which God did not speak into existence is not truth.

So then, to worship the Father in spirit and in truth means according to His will and in reality. In a word: obedience. Obeying God is to worship Him in spirit and truth. Samuel cried unto King Saul, "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (1 Sam 15:22 KJV)

When I talk to other believers about singing not being true worship, I usually get a denial of my comment. But then I ask, have you ever tried singing worship songs when you were willfully disobedient? It is very difficult. The problem with singing is the confusion of the experience of God in the singing. Emotions are not spirit. They are part of the soul. Most will admit that they believe the soul is the mind, will and emotions. However, that is not the case. The mind, will and emotions are the function of the soul, but are not the soul itself, just communion, intuition and conscience are functions of the spirit, but not the spirit itself.

When we sing worship, what makes the singing worshipful is the content of the song, not the singing itself. The spirit moves through content. If the lyrics reflect the word of God, then the song becomes another vehicle of the spirit. When the content is useable by the Lord we experience the emotions in our soul as an expression of the Lord's touch upon us. Singing worship songs, then is an act of communion with God, but not the actual act of worship. The act worship has to be in reality. And that is in obedience.

The prophet Isaiah was quoted by Jesus when he said, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt 15:8-9 KJV Isaiah 29:13)

Singing songs without an obedient life is the same as drawing nigh with our mouths, but our hearts being far from Him.

Obedience, then, is worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth.