There is no single way to worship. Depending on where you are in the world, church worship will vary enormously in style and form. The Bible doesn’t give us any guidelines or restrictions on how we should worship, which means that worship is free to evolve with our culture and preferences. However, it does tell us what our worship should be based on, for it to be considered true worship. Another way of putting it is that the Bible doesn’t specify the style of our worship, but it does specify the content of our worship.

Jesus spoke on worship, and we read about it in John 4. He was speaking to a Samarian woman at a well, who asked Jesus a question about where worship should take place. He responded with this:

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (ESV)

The first part of Jesus’ response is something that we now take for granted, which is that we are no longer required to worship in a temple or specific place that’s deemed to be sacred. Jesus’ death and resurrection didn’t just lead to forgiveness of sins, but a total revolution in the way that we have relationship with God, meaning that the location of our worship is an obsolete issue. Congregations are no more or less blessed and enjoy no more or less access to Him by meeting either in a school hall or a 700 year-old cathedral. Praise God!

In verse 23, he says that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth”, and reiterates in verse 24. Let’s break this down, and we’ll start with the more straightforward of the two!

Truth

Truth is something that evangelical Christians are universally comfortable with, at least conceptually. There is one truth, and it is revealed by scripture. We do not forge our own individual and personal truths; instead, we allow ourselves to be shaped by the Word of God, and everything (including spiritual gifts) is validated and weighed according to the Word.

So, how do we apply truth in our corporate worship on a Sunday morning?

1. Truth in songs

It goes without saying that the songs we sing should be truthful according to scripture. I don’t think anyone would claim that it’s ok to have heretical songs, so I won’t labour this groundbreaking point. But to “worship in truth” seems like a much higher calling than the words we sing simply being true.

Something I love to repeat is that Christians get the majority of their theology from worship. The right songs remind us of the story of the gospel in which we put our faith, the aspects and character of God, the victory won on the cross over sin, our belonging in the kingdom and the mission he’s given us, and the hope of heaven, to name just a few things. If our worship is overly focused on one aspect of truth, we end up with a lopsided theology.

For instance, it’s true to say that God helps us in our time of need. Psalm 46:1 says:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (ESV)

This is undoubtedly true. However, if a large portion of the songs we routinely sing are about our personal struggles, and petitioning God to come and break into them, we could develop a self-centred theology where we expect God to rescue us out of every uncomfortable situation. A balanced theology recognises verses like James 1:12 that talk about trials as an expected part of our faith.

As another example, if the only songs we sing are praise and exaltation but give no mention to our circumstances or how God interacts with us, we could develop a theology that sees God as distant and unknowable, and who has no relation to our lives.

We need the truth of our worship to reflect the truth of the Bible. If, like me, you are a worship leader, we have a responsibility to ensure that we don’t present a distorted theology. This doesn’t mean that each worship time needs to have songs that hit every aspect of Biblical truth - often, one aspect of theology may be emphasised throughout a meeting to respond to God’s leading. But, over a longer period of time, our songs should paint a full picture of who God is, what he’s done for us and how he relates to us and the world. Think about a new Christian joining your church; after, say, 3 months, how well balanced would their understanding of God be?

2. Read the Bible when gathered

The gift of prophecy is an important part of congregational worship, but it’s important that we don’t see it as the only way in which God can speak. He has spoken primarily through His Word, and we musn’t neglect to share it together in worship. Bringing the right truth from scripture at the right moment can change the path of worship, and can energise and unite a congregation in purpose. Singing songs where the words are straight from the Bible is another good way of bringing Scripture into worship.

3. Build personal habits of reading Scripture

Congregational worship is enormously impacted by the individuals who make up the congregation. If we as individuals don’t make the reading of the Bible in our day-to-day lives a priority, this will affect our theology and attitude towards truth when we meet together. A hunger for the Word of God comes when you see the real, living impact that it has on your life. Conversely, if you stop reading the Word, the impact of His truth is lessened and it’s possible to settle for a life of compromise. This is a challenge for all of us to remain rooted in His Word, because of the positive impact that will bring to the rest of the church when we meet.

Spirit

When Jesus says “spirit”, does He mean the Holy Spirit, or does He mean something to do with our own spirit, or does he mean “spirit” as in “passion”? At first glance, it isn’t cut and dry. However, verse 24 seems to clarify the meaning when He says that “God is spirit”, and Paul makes it even more explicit in Philippians 3:3:

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh (ESV)

We worship by the Spirit of God, i.e. the Holy Spirit. Let’s remember that the Holy Spirit is fully God, as He is one person in the trinity. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that allows us to worship Him.

The Holy Spirit is, of course, omnipresent: he is everywhere, all at once. How, then, can we worship in any way other than “in the Spirit” if He is always present? It is true that He is always present, but He can reveal His presence to us in different ways. All analogies for God are severely lacking, but it’s somewhat comparable to the sun: our day is illuminated by its light even when we aren’t in direct sunlight, but if we step out into the open we see and feel the sun in a new way. These verses point to something that we know intuitively, which is that God sometimes feels more present in certain situations. He is everywhere all at once, and He permanently lives within those who have accepted Him as their Saviour - none of this changes. Yet, He can choose to make His presence manifest. We see this in the Bible; even though God has always been ever-present, in Exodus 33 He chose to reveal his manifest presence to Moses.

The presence of God in worship is a promise that Jesus made, in Matthew 18:20:

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. (ESV)

He is guaranteed to be with us, but the level of activity of the Holy Spirit can vary. We can come away from a meeting saying things like “wow, God was really present”, or “it felt lifeless today”, and we can sense those differences in our own spirits. Having felt the tangible presence of God, you know what it feels like not to have it.

The manifestation of the Holy Spirit also brings spiritual gifts that are used for the benefit of the gathered church, and without His presence these gifts cannot function. Paul’s description of the church in 1 Corinthians 14 shows us that spiritual gifts were an essential and expected aspect of meeting together. Verse 26 says:

When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation (ESV)

I can’t help but feel that my experience hasn’t lived up to this! The activity of spiritual gifts in our churches is like a windsock that blows to show the amount and direction of the wind. In the same way that a windsock doesn’t itself cause the wind, spiritual gifts don’t stir up the presence of God but are indicators of His presence.

The Spirit is not something reserved for churches that play contemporary music. We often conflate the two, but the presence of God and gifts of the Spirit can be manifest in churches that are traditional in style, and contemporary styles of church can be devoid of them.

How do we invite more of the presence of God in our corporate worship?

1. Have faith and expectation

God loves and responds to our faith. By understanding the truth of His promise to us (Matthew 18:20) and raising our level of expectation for our meetings, we are inviting Him to come and be present in them. Pray for your meetings as a church. At Redeemer Church, we have a prayer meeting before our main meeting on a Sunday. Our level of faith, expectation and even desperation can often be an indicator of our experience of the presence of God in the upcoming meeting. If we are truly desperate for Him, He will come.

2. Meet with God individually throughout the week

We can sometimes be overly focussed on Sunday meetings, analysing what changes we can make to help us draw nearer to Him as we meet together. But our congregational meetings flow out of our individual relationships with Jesus. If our church is made up of “Sunday Christians” who effectively live as a non-believer throughout the week, in that they don’t pray, read the Bible or seek time with Him, our meetings together can feel like we are disconnected with God. If we want more of the presence of God in our meetings, we need to be seeking His presence individually, each day. Otherwise there’s a danger that we are seeking His presence for some sort of collective high experience, instead of making it about knowing Him more.

We can only account for our own relationship with Him, but we can ask the question of whether our church is creating a culture of personal relationship with Jesus. Are we making disciples who seek His face, not just on a Sunday but throughout the week when it’s hidden?

3. Leave space

The Holy Spirit doesn’t work to our timeline. When we meet, we have a plan and a routine. This isn’t bad in itself, and Paul himself was an advocate of order, as we see in 1 Corinthians 14:40:

But all things should be done decently and in order. (ESV)

However, we need to be prepared, and even expect, God to override our plan. We can only do this if we hold our plans lightly, as He will not force us. We need to be willing to sacrifice our control of our meetings, and be looking out for the voice of God and the move of the Spirit to take us in a different direction. If we stick to our regiment of three songs totalling 15 minutes before going into the sermon, there is little room for God to break in.

We must allow space in worship to hear the voice of God, to sense his leading and change our course accordingly.

4. Throw off inhibitions

We often incorrectly think of the Holy Spirit as a bit like an easily frightened animal, who will flee at the slightest disruption. This isn’t true, but there are things that we can do or believe that will stop us from experiencing Him in his fullest.

As mentioned, routine is one possible inhibition, but there are others. One of the major inhibitors to welcoming the presence of God is theology. If the church’s collective theology doesn’t allow for God’s manifest presence, there will be no acceptance and therefore no faith. Ensuring that the church is mostly on the same page and not in opposition is essential.

Sin is another inhibition that can block the work of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:30-32 talks about grieving the Holy Spirit, and then lists a number of sins that cause it. Repentance is a gift from God that lets us draw near to His throne of grace, and practising repentance together as a church lets us throw off the inhibition of sin and allow the Spirit to move amongst us.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of inhibitions. If you think your church is somehow inhibiting the work of the Spirit, pray and ask God to show you what it is that needs to change.

Spirit & truth together

Spirit and truth are not opposites. They are not conflicting things that we need to hold in tension with each other. By promoting one, you are not demoting the other. True worship must take place on a bedrock of truth and in the presence of the Spirit; this is how we glorify and exalt Him.

If we see one of these lacking in our worship together, don’t allow yourself to settle. If you are in a position to bring change, I’d encourage you to do so. If you aren’t, in love and humility bring your concerns to your church leaders.

We are called to be true worshippers, and “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth”.