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By James Quansah
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth” (Matthew 4: 24).
The Lord Jesus wants His disciples to worship God in Spirit. We, therefore, need to understand when we really worship God in Spirit. This is what this short article teaches to help you deepen your relationship with God.
Now, a child of God worships God in Spirit when he or she is under the control of the Holy Spirit or when they are under the influence of the Spirit of God. That is, the person is inspired, stirred up, stimulated, prompted or led by the Spirit of God to serve or sacrifice.
The Bible says John, the apostle, worshipped God in the Spirit. He wrote, “It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast,” (Revelation 1: 10).
The Apostle John could only hear the voice of the Lord Jesus behind him for instruction while he was in the Spirit.
Yes, John could only hear the voice of Christ while he was in the Spirit. It may be impossible to clearly hear God while in the natural or in the flesh. Why? Because God is a Spirit and He operates in the Spirit. Therefore, for man to effectively fellowship with Him, man needs to be in the Spirit too.
Also, a believer worships God in Spirit when he lives his life by the Word of God. In other words, the believer’s life is regulated by the Word of God. He carefully and gladly acts the Word and lives the Word. Simply, he obeys the commandments and precepts of the Lord.
This makes him worship God in Spirit and in truth. The Lord Jesus himself described the Word of God as the truth and Spirit (John 17: 17, 6: 63).
A person cannot truly worship God in Spirit and truth if he does not have the Holy Spirit in him.
obviously is one of the reasons why true Christians are told to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times and not to quench or grieve the Spirit. The Spirit’s fire must be kept ablaze at all times.
Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. Paul was filled with the Spirit. Peter was imbued with the Spirit. In fact, all the 120 believers who met under the leadership of the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2 were filled with the Spirit. Even Master Jesus Himself was full of the Holy Spirit.
People God has used mightily to execute His plan on the earth were filled with the Holy Spirit or had the Spirit upon them. Without God’s Spirit we can do nothing.
The indwelling Spirit of God in the heart of a Christian is the testimony of his true relationship and son-ship to God.
However, believers who have received the infilling of the Spirit or been baptized with the Holy Spirit can be empowered to worship the Father in Spirit in a greater measure.
