When man made his fatal choice in the garden he lost all. He lost his happy estate and became a miserable sinner. He no longer enjoyed spiritual communion with his maker. His understanding became darkened and obstructed his view of the triune Jehovah. An inherent nature to worship was perverted, yet worship he would. The sons of fallen Adam inherit that perverted religious nature and are prone to worship yet they know not what. In the “new creation,” performed by the Holy Spirit in regeneration, all is restored; but until then men will continue to worship they know not what by medium of their own device. We read in John four of a woman to whom Jesus spoke these words, “The hour will come, and now is, when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him, God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” The woman’s conscience had been aroused by Christ’s knowledge of her sin. He touched on matters of vital importance and her depraved heart naturally repelled from conviction. The truth, when becoming too personal, turned her to that natural response of the carnal mind, namely, a religious conversation of her outward observances. Instead of confessing her sin and asking how it could be forgiven, she says, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and you say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship?” The natural heart dreads the contact of spiritual truth and finds a convenient way of avoiding it by running to questions of moral and religious practices – places, times, and customs. Jesus informed her that the question that she had asked was of only temporary importance. There had been a time when it was well to know that salvation was of the Jews, and that the rival temple of the Samaritans was counterfeit; but He says in conclusion to her, “Woman, believe me that question is of no importance now, for the hour is coming, and now is, when these externals are to be abolished and the ritualistic is to be put away, and a purer, simpler, and more spiritual worship is to take its place, a true worship. Now you worship you know not what!” Our Lord gave a very brief, but a very instructive description of what this true worship was to be, a distinguishing kind of worship, for He mentions true worshippers. God is to be worshipped in the character of a Father, true worshippers shall worship the Father; having believed in Christ, one has received power to become a Son of God. True Christian worship addresses God as One who is very near of kin to us, our Father, beloved of our souls. Jesus also told the woman that Gospel Worship is to be a kind which does not result from man himself, but comes from God, and is a work of grace manifesting to the heart a clear knowledge of knowing in truth the One whom we worship.
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