How to Worship in Spirit and Truth

What is True Biblical Worship?

The English word “worship” comes from two old English words put together:  “worth” and “ship” – the quality of having worth. So to worship means to declare something or someone to have worth. When we worship God, we are declaring that God is worthy of all glory and honor – that His worth surpasses all else! We do this when we praise God by speaking or singing about how great He is. We also declare His worth by giving attention to His words, by our obedience to His will, and by joyfully giving all we have to Him.

In the Bible’s original languages, both in Hebrew and Greek, there are two kinds of words for worship found in the Bible. For the first meaning, the most common word in the Old Testament for worship is the Hebrew word “shachah” and in the New Testament it’s the Greek word “proskuneo.”  These words both basically mean to bow down, to kneel, to put one’s face down as an act of respect and submission. Our body language is saying, I will do whatever you want me to. I am ready to listen to your instructions and I am willing to obey."  It involves the reverence we have for God.

The other kind of biblical word for worship literally means "to serve." In the New Testament, the Greek word is “latreuo.” Roughly half of the time this word is translated as worship, and the other half translated as serve. It carries the idea of doing something for God — making a sacrifice or carrying out His instructions. So when we think of worshiping God we must remember these elements: We’re proclaiming God’s worth with an attitude of deep reverence and submission to God, and it’s expressed in our service and sacrifice for Him. 

True worship is something that happens not just when we are in a church service singing praise songs to God, but it is something that encompasses all of our proper responses to God. We were created as worshipers and are at all times worshiping something! God’s desire is that all of our worship would be focused on Him. 

"And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment" (Mark 12:30).  

Worship includes:

• Responding with our heart and emotions - Our love and gratitude to God, the joy we feel in His presence, and the expression of these emotions through words and songs of praise and thanksgiving.

• Responding with our mind – Our belief in God’s worthiness, thinking carefully about who God is, listening attentively to His Word, desiring to learn all we can about God and how to please Him, and surrendering our will to Him.

• Responding with our actions and words – Putting into practice what we believe will please God, serving others as a way of expressing our love and devotion to God, witnessing to others about the greatness of God and the Gospel.

Our worship should include all of these. Some people focus primarily on speaking or singing praise to God. Praise is important, but if all we do is praise God, without ever obeying what He says, we need to question whether we believe the words we are saying. We need to be attentive to what He tells us because He is worth listening to.  Actions speak louder than words, and if our behavior isn’t changed by God, then our actions are saying that God isn’t important. Imagine a ship where all of the sailors proclaim “We love our captain! We honor our captain!” But when he gives a command they never obey. When we really believe that God is worthy of all honor and praise our desire is to please Him as much as we can. We will be eager to not only listen but also apply what we hear.  Worship must affect our behavior.

What Are the Conditions for True Worship?

John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

In spirit – Worship must be with the inner man. It is a matter of the heart and mind. Both must be fully engaged. External things don’t matter if the heart isn’t right. It doesn’t do any good to worship at a certain place or with certain rituals if our attitude isn’t right. “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). We can sing the right songs and hold our hands in the right way, but if our hearts and our minds aren’t in it, it isn’t pleasing to God. Think about the way that we participate in prayer during our services. How about the way we give our tithes and gifts to the Lord? Or the way that we actively listen to the sermons? What about the way that we serve and help out? Try contrasting that with the way that diehard sports fans engage in watching a soccer game! They are rooted to the action, they are totally engaged, they are willing to spend their money, time, and energy to proclaim the worth of their team. When the game goes into overtime they don’t complain. Yet we are worshiping the God of all Creation, the great I AM!  Shouldn’t we be the ones far more excited and devoted?  May God help us to worship God with all of our heart and our mind fully engaged!  

In truth – It is not just open for us to choose however we want to worship God. Our worship must be in full accordance with the Word of God. It must be based on the true doctrine and theology of the Bible! It must be true to who God is and reflect His full character and ideals.  It must never be based on what we like, what pleases us, what we are comfortable with. God requires our worship to be in Truth!

In holiness and purity – “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2b). Our thoughts and conduct must be pure and holy for us to worship God properly. If there is sin in our life we cannot respond to God in true worship.

Exclusive to God – “For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). We cannot worship God along with other things. There’s no room for loving any other “gods” even one percent. We cannot let money or possessions, self-consciousness or reputation, busyness or anything else get in the way. Worshiping God is to be our highest priority.

With the right purpose – "For the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23b). God wants us to come and give Him the worship He deserves. We don’t come to experience worship but to give worship to God.  Our focus is turned away from us and all else onto God.  True worship is all about Him and His glory!

The Bible makes it clear that God’s purpose and desire for us is that we worship Him. It is to be central in our life, not just something that we add on to our already busy schedule. It is our supreme duty – and it is our maximum privilege!

Ryan Henkelmann