As Jesus traveled through Samaria, he stopped at a well and conversed with a woman of ill repute. Very quickly in the conversation, this lady recognized that Jesus was a man of incredible wisdom. So, she asked him a question to distract him from the heart-probing questions he was asking her. So she went to the hot-button issue of the day, the worship war between the Jews and Samaritans. The Jews believed God said what he meant and that true worship needed to involve the temple. However, the Samaritans believed that as long as they had the right heart, they could worship on a mountain they had set apart for worship. The woman inquired about Jesus’ thoughts on the matter. Jesus replied with incredible wisdom, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Over the past several weeks, we have focused on the second half of Jesus’ answer. Worship that honors God must be true worship. In other words, we need to worship the right One the right way. So we have examined four foundational principles from God’s Word to help us in that endeavor: Our worship should be to God alone and for God alone, our worship should be how God requires, a primary purpose for congregational worship is the edification of fellow believers, and the church is congregational so we should emphasize congregational singing.
As we emphasize worshipping God in truth, there is a danger. As we have worked through these foundational principles, the message has been that we must avoid being worked into an emotional frenzy devoid of truth. Just because something makes us feel good does not make it right.
However, often to avoid the ditch of emotionalism in worship, we end up in another ditch. We become stoic, passive, and hard. While we must worship God in truth (we must worship the right One the right way), Christ also informs us that we are to worship in Spirit. We are to worship the right One, the right way, with the right heart. So we must ask the question, what does it mean to worship God in spirit? There are three critical things to consider when we discuss worshipping God in spirit.
Today we will examine the first. We should understand that worshipping in spirit involves our emotions. This point arises from several texts. However, today, I will point to just three. “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” (Psalm 47:1). “Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!” (Psalm 134:2). “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (1 Timothy 2:8). From these texts we see that God does not desire a dry ritualism. Sadly, to ensure we are true, we have interpreted that as a message that worship should be devoid of emotion. We must be stoic and bland. We must stand rigid and be careful lest any smile come across our faces.
As good Baptists, we maintain austerity and severity as we worship. But sometimes, someone gets out of line. The song’s message, or the Bible’s content, begins to take hold in an individual’s heart. And before they know it, a tingling begins in their arms, and those arms begin to rise up in praise to God. And the next thing we know, here is this person, in the middle of our service, holding up their hands while the worship takes place. And like all good Baptists, we do what we do. We all stop and stare at them while thinking, “what a weirdo.”
But I would like to propose to you today that they are not the ones who are weird; instead, we are weird. In the natural course of life, when we hear great news or are confronted with some message of incredible nature, we do not respond with stoicism. Instead, we react with joyful explanations, raising hands, clapping, and enthusiasm. But somehow, that is wiped out when we walk through the church doors. We could use some good old enthusiastic emotional responses to worship. We should not look at someone as strange or immature when they raise their hands or clap. In fact, the Bible tells us we ought to do these things.
I don’t think the Bible commands unnatural, forced, or manipulated reactions to worship. The moment it becomes forced or rote, it becomes a dry ritualism. But I do think that what these passages are saying is that worship should engender natural emotional responses. In his commentary on 1 Timothy, Kistemaker notes, “Posture in prayer is never a matter of indifference. The slouching position of the body while one is supposed to be praying is an abomination to the Lord. On the other hand, it is also true that Scripture nowhere prescribes one, and only one, correct posture during prayer. Different positions of arms, hands, and of the body as a whole are indicated. All of these are permissible as long as they symbolize different aspects of the worshiper’s reverent attitude, and as long as they truly interpret the sentiments of the heart.”
This principle would also apply to singing, reading Scripture, receiving the preached Word, or picturing the Gospel in the ordinances. These all should engender natural responses in us that are appropriate to the message from God. So, if the singing overwhelms your soul and you want to raise your hands, then by all means, raise your hands. And the rest of us should not look at them with disdain. If the Spirit’s conviction leads you to bow your head in prayer, then do so. But what should never happen is a stoic, passive, or hard response to the worship. That response is indicative of a heart that is hard to the Gospel. I am not proposing forced or false emotions. But I suggest that we should be engaged in worship involving our emotions. To worship in the spirit involves our emotions.