We have all read chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, where Jesus has that well-known conversation with the Samaritan woman. In that passage, we can clearly see the long-standing dispute that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans regarding the proper place to worship God. This was not a minor disagreement, but a serious religious controversy that reflected deep divisions between both peoples. The Samaritan woman brings this issue before Jesus, showing that the subject of worship was still a point of tension in her day.
What is especially striking is that Jesus does not remain silent when the woman suggests that Samaria was the correct place of worship rather than Jerusalem. Our Lord does not avoid the subject, nor does He answer vaguely. Instead, He responds with clarity, authority, and truth. Jesus addresses the matter directly, not merely to settle a geographical debate, but to reveal something far greater about the nature of true worship and the condition of the human heart before God.
This makes the conversation deeply important for every believer. It is not only about a historical disagreement between Jews and Samaritans, but about understanding where true worship is found, how God must be approached, and whether people really know the God they claim to worship. The words of our Lord in this passage are therefore weighty, searching, and full of eternal significance. The words of our Lord are the following:
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
John 4:21-22
Jesus speaks to her in a very clear way and without covering anything of the “Truth of God” and says to her: “you worship what you do not know”. In short, “you worship God, but you do not know God.” Imagine, dear reader, what a strong blow it must be for this Samaritan woman to hear these words from Jesus, perhaps she thought that she had spent all her life worshiping a God who knew, but now finds Jesus telling her that they do not know what they worship. Do you know the God you love? Do you know enough about your God? Try not to be in the same place as this woman. There are so many brothers in our congregations, that they raise their hands and sing all the praises and do not know anything about God, they have only heard of one God, but they do not have a personal relationship with that God.
Jesus continues and says:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
Here Jesus is speaking to her of something that is already approaching, of something that is approaching, but that is now, and if we can say that that time was close, but closer than “it had already arrived”. Maybe you will wonder that Jesus was followed by many people, but these people did not follow Jesus as their “Lord (Kyrios)” and “teacher (depostes)”, they did not see Jesus as the one who had the absolute word and as the only one Lord (Kyrios). They only wanted a Jesus that responded to their human needs, healings, miracles and everything else, but this is not the adoration that the Father seeks, for which, the Father did not find true praise in them.
He continues:
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The nature of God and true worship
In these words, Jesus reveals something profoundly important about the nature of God and the way He must be approached. He does not leave room for human interpretation or preference. Instead, He establishes a clear and unchanging truth: God is Spirit, and therefore He is not limited by physical locations, rituals, or external forms. This statement alone dismantles the entire debate about whether worship should take place in Samaria or Jerusalem.
Because God is Spirit, He is not confined to temples made by human hands. He is not restricted to mountains or cities. He is omnipresent, sovereign, and holy. This means that true worship is not about where you are, but about how you approach God and with what heart.
From this verse, we must understand three essential truths:
1) God is Spirit. This means He is not material or visible in the way humans are. He transcends all physical limitations, and therefore cannot be reduced to external systems of worship.
2) You must worship Him. Worship is not optional. It is the natural response of the creature before the Creator. Every human being is called to worship God, not according to personal preference, but according to divine truth.
3) Your worship must be in spirit and in truth. This is the core of what Jesus is teaching. Worship must come from the inner being (spirit) and must be aligned with the revelation of God (truth). It is not enough to feel something; it must also be grounded in what is true about God.
Can God be worshiped falsely?
At this point, an important question arises: Can we worship God with falsehood? The answer, according to Scripture, is yes. It is possible to appear to worship God while actually being far from Him. This was not only a problem in the time of Jesus, but also in the history of Israel.
The Lord Himself declares this through the prophet:
The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.Isaiah 29:13
A call to sincere and true worship
Let us not fall into the same error of the people of Israel and the people of Samaria. Both groups, in different ways, demonstrated that it is possible to be religiously active yet spiritually distant. They honored God with their lips, they maintained traditions, and they practiced forms of worship, yet their hearts were not truly aligned with Him.
This warning is not only for them—it is for us today. It is possible to attend services, sing songs, and even speak about God, while lacking a genuine relationship with Him. External expressions of worship can never replace an internal transformation. God is not impressed by appearances; He examines the heart.
That is why Jesus emphasizes that true worship must be in spirit and in truth. Worship in spirit means that it comes from the deepest part of our being—it is sincere, alive, and not merely mechanical. Worship in truth means that it is guided by the Word of God, not by human ideas, emotions, or traditions.
To worship God in this way is to offer Him more than songs—it is to offer Him our entire lives. It is a daily surrender, a continual act of devotion where our thoughts, actions, and decisions reflect His lordship. As Scripture teaches, this is a life presented as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before God.
Therefore, let our worship not be superficial or routine. Let it be real, intentional, and rooted in truth. Let us seek to know God deeply, to love Him sincerely, and to honor Him not only with our words, but with our lives. This is the kind of worship that the Father seeks, and this is the worship that brings glory to His name.