The Pattern and John 4:23-24

Clipped from Bible Q-n-A #257

The only way to worship in "spirit and truth" is if there is a pattern for worship that we can follow. There is! It's the New Testament.

Jesus said the kind of worshippers God wants are those that will worship Him in "spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24). "Spirit" refers to our attitude in worship. That is, we must worship God from a heart of love and devotion - free from ulterior motives. "Truth" refers to following the divinely inspired instructions for how God wants to be worshipped. Jesus said that the truth by which we are sanctified is the word of God, "Your word is truth" (John 17:17). So, if there is no clearly defined pattern for worship in the word of God, the word that "is truth," then how could we possibly worship God in truth? This passage, among many others, proves that we must have a divinely-inspired pattern that we can understand and follow. That divinely-inspired pattern that we must follow is the Bible, the inspired word of God.