Essentials Of The Christian Life / Part 5

Series – November 2019 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Essentials Of The Christian Life

Part 5 –Worship In Spirit And In Truth

In Philippians 3:3 , the apostle Paul gave three characteristics of Christianity: “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” ( KJV ). Worshiping God in the spirit and rejoicing in Christ Jesus is a real characteristic and essential of the Christian life. This life is from God and rejoices in Him as its source of life and every blessing. In the description of the Christian’s position and blessings as given in Romans 5:1-11, the highest given is: “... we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Darby’s New Translation uses “reconciliation” in place of “atonement.” This “joy in God” expresses itself in worship and praise to the Giver and Source of all its joy and blessings.

What Is Worship?
Worship is the grateful, joyful response and overflow of the heart to God when filled with the deep sense of the blessings He has given. It is giving Him honor, adoration, praise and thanksgiving, due because of what He is in Himself and what He has done and does for us. Praises, thanksgivings and the making mention of the attributes of God and His acts in the attitude of adoration constitutes worship. The meaning of the Greek word for “worship” (proskum), which is used in most of the New Testament, is: “to do reverence or homage by prostration – to bow one’s self in adoration.”

In John 4:24 we are told, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” Because God is Spirit, spiritual worship is all that He accepts. He must be worshiped “in spirit and in truth.” Spiritual worship is in contrast with religious forms and ceremonies of which the unregenerate man, or unbeliever, is capable. These are not the spiritual worship for which God is looking. True Christian worship is the expression of the new, inward, divine life in the energy and power of the Holy Spirit. It is manifested in utterances of praise, adoration and thanksgiving. This sets aside all human formulas, imposing ceremonies and rituals practiced by human will and the energy of religious but unregenerate man.

The Father Seeks Worshipers
“The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (v.23). God is known as “Father” by His children and is worshiped as such in spirit and in truth. He has made Himself known as a Father seeking and adopting children to worship Him.

God has gone out in His own redeeming love in a quest of worshipers, seeking them under the gentle name of “Father,” and placing them in a position of nearness and freedom before Himself as the children of His love. This is the blessed place the Christian is brought into, and now our loving Father is looking for worship from His blood-bought children. Let us then freely give Him daily the praise, thanksgiving and worship which He is due and is seeking from His children.

Cultivate The Spirit Of Praise
The psalmist wrote: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High: to show forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night” (Ps. 92:1-2). Writing to Hebrew believers, an apostle said, “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name ... for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13:15-16). So also the apostle Peter wrote: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

These Scriptures, and many others, tell us of the spirit of praise and worship that should daily characterize the Christian. Let us then cultivate this spirit of thanksgiving and worship, which is the expected outflow of the divine nature and an essential characteristic of the Christian life.

Where Are The Nine?
The Lord asked this question of a leper who was cleansed of his leprosy. We may recall that ten were cleansed, but only one returned to the Lord and fell at His feet to give Him thanks when he discovered his cleansing. “Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that return to give glory to God, save this stranger” (Lk. 17:17-18). This shows how the Lord appreciated the worship of this cleansed leper and how keenly He felt the ingratitude of the other nine. May we not be like the nine but like the one who worshiped His Savior.

“This Do In Remembrance Of Me”
Connected with giving the Lord the praise and worship which He seeks and which is His due, there is the special request, which He has asked of us. He desires that we remember Him in His death for us by eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord’s Supper. “He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you” (Lk. 22:19-20). “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come” (1 Cor. 11:26).

It is therefore the Lord’s desire that we often partake of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him and His atoning death for us. In this, we give Him praise and worship as our Savior, Redeemer and Lord. It is a vital essential of the Christian life and one the believer cannot neglect if he would be found pleasing his Savior and prospering in his soul. Are you, dear young believer, obeying the Lord in this special request and remembering Him in His own appointed way?

By Raymond K. Campbell

Look for Part 6 of this Series next month.