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NEWS &
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FEATURES |
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THE FATHER
SEEKS TRUE WORSHIPPERS -
Philip P. Eapen |
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The worship of the Living God, the father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, is our greatest privilege and
our primary duty. Although Christians in general agree
on this matter, disagreements about the manner of
worship or its expression are common. Evangelical
Christians, including those in Pentecostal folds, say in
one voice that the God who is Spirit should be
worshipped “in spirit and in truth.” What exactly does
that mean?
My associations are largely with Pentecostal churches,
especially with those from Kerala. Several times, I have
heard pastors preach from John 4:24 - “God is spirit,
and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in
truth.” All of them consider Jesus’ words as an
attestation of Pentecostal styles of worship as opposed
to worship found in mainline churches that use a written
liturgy or congregations that follow quieter forms of
worship.
Whenever they speak of worship “in the spirit,” they
refer to glossolalia, speech in unknown languages, as
given by the Holy Spirit. This they say by citing Paul’s
assertion that a person who prays in an unknown
Spirit-given language prays in his spirit. Those who
pray in their own language pray with their minds while
those who pray in “another tongue” prays in his spirit.
They slap Paul’s statement about glossolalia (1
Corinthians 14:14) on to John 4:23 to get a definition
for “worship in spirit and in truth.” Therefore, for
most Indian Pentecostals, “worship in spirit” is
equivalent to speaking in an unknown language to God,
either individually or together in a church service.
None of Paul’s injunctions against the loud use of
glossolalia in public worship meetings – except with
interpretation for the edification of those gathered –
is considered worthy of obedience. Paul’s guidelines for
increased private exercise of glossolalia in the place
of immature public flaunting of this gift are torpedoed
by the need to “worship in spirit.”
What did Jesus mean when he said that true worship is
“worship in spirit and in truth?” Was Jesus asking his
followers to “worship in other tongues?”
The Lord’s reference to true worship is taken from his
conversation with a Samaritan woman. The woman had a
past and was living in sin. When Jesus revealed her
secrets, she understood that the man who spoke to her
was a “prophet.” She quickly switched the conversation
over to a debate that existed in that land about
worship. “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but
you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is
in Jerusalem.” Samaritans preferred Mt. Gerizim to the
temple at Jerusalem. She wanted to know what this
“prophet” thought about this issue.
Jesus’ reply was different from what she expected to
hear. She did not succeed in pulling Jesus into a debate
over where people should gather to worship God.
Jesus said, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when
you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor
in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not
know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from
the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the
true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father
seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship
in spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24
First, Jesus said that the Samaritans had got it all
wrong. The Jews were right. God had revealed himself to
the Jews and they were right to worship God at
Jerusalem.
Second, Jesus took the discussion to a higher plane. He
said that the time had come for Jews and Samaritans – or
anyone for that matter – to stop arguing about the right
place to find God. God isn’t limited to a place. He is
not a part of this material universe. Instead, He is
spirit. He transcends time and space. The question that
matters is not “where do you worship” but “whom/how do
you worship.”
Therefore to “worship in spirit and in truth” is to
worship God sincerely with the realisation that He is
omnipresent. It is to recognise that no place on earth
is holier than another. For the true worshipper, the
whole world is a sanctuary. He does not recognise any
special “holy” label attached to or attributed to places
of worship. A true worshipper need not go on a
pilgrimage in search of God. As a necessary corollary,
we need to say that any form of worship that localises
God to a particular place, that considers a “place of
worship” as holier than other places, is “false”
worship.
Jesus was also announcing the divine de-recognition of
Jerusalem or its temple as a “holy” place. If God is
spirit, and if true worship is that which recognises
God’s transcendence over time and space, then Jerusalem
can no longer be called a “holy” city. God’s name could
no longer be tied to one city or one temple. The Jews
acted according to the revelation that they had until
then. They got it right, compared to other peoples who
were in the dark, as far as worship was concerned.
Salvation was to come from them. Now that the Messiah
had come to them, it was time for the Messiah to usher
in a new scheme of things. The Jewish religious economy
and the Temple in Jerusalem – the ultimate emblem of
their religion – was to be torn down shortly by God.
Finally, the Messianic age is characterised by the
impartation of God’s Holy Spirit upon His people. People
have to born anew (as seen in the previous chapter, John
3) by water and the Spirit, in order to be a part of the
Messianic kingdom. Those outside the kingdom are born
just by the “flesh” while those in the Kingdom are born
by the spirit. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the
Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6).
Therefore, when the New Testament contrasts the new
Messianic order with the old Jewish order, it uses
expressions such as these:
“... for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2
Cor 3:6
“ ministry of death” versus “ministry of the Spirit” 2
Cor 3:7-8
“ministry of condemnation” versus “ministry of
righteousness” 2 Cor 3:9
“... Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being
perfected by the flesh?” Gal 3:3
Therefore, when Jesus said that “true worshippers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth,” he was
referring to the worship of God by those who received
the Messiah, those who were regenerated the Spirit. In
other words, he said that true worship is the worship
offered by the global church of Jesus Christ. He invited
Jews to turn their backs on the old and to welcome the
new age.
Without realising this, many Pentecostals think that
John 4:24 is about turning our backs on liturgical or a
quieter form of worship to a more noisy form of worship
marked by speaking in “other tongues.” Such a skewed
understanding forced many Pentecostals to discount the
importance of songs, adoration and praise in their own
languages. The songs they sing get reduced to mere
launching pads for “speaking in other tongues,” which
they consider to be “real worship.”
Tongue-speaking is a form of prayer. The one who speaks
in a strange tongue in the Spirit talks to God. That is
not necessarily worship. Let’s not confuse prayer with
worship. Let us use glossolalia in our private times of
prayer. Even if we are led to burst out in ecstatic
speech in other tongues while in church, let us do so
quietly. That’s perfectly in sync with Pauline teaching
in 1 Corinthians 14:28 - “... if there is no
interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let
him speak to himself and to God.”
The Father seeks true worshippers. Let us worship God,
ascribing all the glory due unto His name. Let our
worship arise from the knowledge of God that we get from
Scriptures. Let us worship with the full assurance that
we who believe in Jesus Christ are the true worshippers.
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This page
is updated on June 02, 2010 |
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PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY
10 YEARS CELEBRATION
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