Today we will be talking about true adoration, of that which is produced in a “born again” and we will draw several points about this and we will go to other chapters of the Bible that speak deeply of adoration.
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.
John 4:23
The discord about the place of worship between Samaritans and Jews
We have to take several things, and the first one is in the sense of summary, that the Samaritans and Jews had certain discords about what was the right place to worship God, and without a doubt, the response of our Master was incredible and I dare to say that His answer goes much more than we have interpreted about it.
The term “worship”
This word appears about 150 times. Worship is a word we use a lot today, but what is worship? It is not simply to raise one’s hands, to vociferate that God is God or to make corporal movements, it is a word that goes far beyond, is to serve, to give everything, to render an account to someone, and in our case, it is to the true God.
It is true that in our days we sing many hymns and we only do it with the lips because our heart is far from all those letters. That is why God told the people of Israel: “With your lips you honor me but your heart is far from me”. That means that worshiping God goes beyond a bodily movement, it is the “heart” of the “mind”. Although our body expresses adoration and movements, it is not useful if our heart is far from God.
There will be no specific place for worship
Jesus tells the Samaritan woman: Believe me, the time is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem you will worship the Father. This verse is very significant, since I do not see it as mere words or a bridge for others. Jesus is saying to this woman: Woman, believe me, that the hour of my death and resurrection is almost here and when that moment comes, which is already, not only in Jerusalem will they seek God, but even in the ends of the earth they will adore the father. What do you think the death of Christ produced? At the time of dying and rising we are resurrected together with Him, with a new heart and bones covered with flesh. This is a glorious work.
In the book of Ezekiel chapter 37 we are told about a valley of dry bones and what we read in this story is exactly what God has done with us: He gave us a new heart, clothed us with flesh and gave us a new mind so that we be true worshipers; what a great miracle this is. Something we must understand here is that the work of dry bones is much deeper than the creation of genesis, since it is a divine reconstruction.
Those who adore Him must adore Him in spirit
Previously there were many rituals, animal sacrifices and a lot of things, but now our praise is changed to a spiritual one, it is not a simple corporal exercise or sacrifice to the Lord, but an adoration that comes from our spirit and perfume the throne of God. This is a command of the Lord: “Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” And it is exactly here where the difference between a simple worshiper and a true worshiper is made.
To conclude, we can find three examples of true worship: 1- Abraham going up Mount Moriah to worship the Lord, offering his son Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:5); 2- The adoration that Micah spoke of: “… to do justice, to love mercy, and to humble yourself before your God” (Micah 6: 6-8); and: 3- The adoration taught by the apostle Paul: “… that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your rational worship” (Romans 12:1).
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