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

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

True worshippers will worship in spirit. That’’s what Jesus said. In fact, He said that they must worship the Father in spirit. Here the Lord is not referring to the Holy Spirit, but to the spirit of man, that constituent part of man which relates to God. Jesus said that the reason we must worship in our spirit was because God is a Spirit. In a way, He was laying out a mechanical reality that we must be aware of if we are to worship successfully.

We can move towards the center of this truth by peeling away outer layers of misunderstanding. We can determine, from what Jesus is saying, that true worship does not occur on the strictly physical, emotional or mental levels, but on the spiritual level. That is to say that physical displays, emotional feelings and good thoughts, by themselves are not worship. Worship is a communion, and it must occur in the spirit of a man. It is true that engaging our physical body is absolutely essential for getting to the place of worship:

Rom. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

And it is also true that engaging you mind is also essential for getting to the place of worship…

Rom. 12:2 …And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

And our emotions also are necessary in helping to bring us to the place of worship…

Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thyheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind….

All these things are necessary for bringing ourselves to attention in our spirit. If we stop at any of these levels of our being, and take for gratification from what we experience there, we will miss God and remain “in our flesh”. But if we press through with our body, mind and emotions, into the core of our being: our spirit, then we will begin to worship the Father. We will find Him there.

Elijah is in a cave on Mt. Horeb, seeking the Lord…

1 Kings 19:11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

1 Kings 19:13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

The wind, fire and earthquake were undoubtedly all affected by the Spirit of God, yet for the purposes of worship, the Lord was not in any of them. Afterward it was the still small voice, probably within Elijah’’s own spirit, by which God spoke.

It is necessary to bring our body mind and emotions together in a coordinated attentiveness that points toward consciousness of God. But Proverbs states it best:

Prov. 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

It is also appropriate to say that true worship not only occurs in the spirit of man but also in the Holy Spirit. Paul states:

1 Cor. 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

The Holy Spirit resides and communes with us in our spirit. Therefore our fulfillment in worship comes from the Holy Spirit, in the place of our spirit. We are not fulfilled in worship by music or any emotional release – though it may occur. But only God Himself can edify our human spirit, and we must press into that place for worship to happen. Until we have, we have not worshipped, and whatever we’ve gained mentally and emotionally will be burned off quickly, like vapors on a hot road. The core of our being cries out for the reality that begat it…

John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Our spirit yearns for freedom only the Holy Spirit can give…

Psa. 42:7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;

More on worship tomorrow, so until then……

Stay On The Path!