2000 years ago, Jesus taught that we must worship God in spirit and in truth. Then how can we worship God in spirit and in truth?
John 4:19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 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. 23 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. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Today many so-called Christians say that the Sabbath was abolished and we don’t have to keep the Sabbath Day as the day of worship. However, Jesus gave us an example of keeping the Sabbath Day. It is true that we must not keep the Sabbath day according to the Law of Moses by sacrificing animals. But still we should keep the Sabbath according to the Law of Christ by worshiping God in the Spirit and in truth just as Jesus taught. Then how can we worship God in the Spirit and in truth? Apostle Paul and Peter teaches us about the spiritual act of worship that we have to practice.
Paul says:
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Paul teaches that we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice instead of an animal sacrifice. And he says that this is the spiritual act of worship, or the worship of God in the Spirit and in truth.
Also Peter says:
1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Apostle Peter also teaches that we must offer spiritual sacrifice, which is the true act of worship acceptable to God. We can worship God in spirit and in truth when we offer spiritual sacrifices to God by offering our bodies as a living sacrifice. Then how can we offer our bodies to God? What is the meaning behind it?
Romans 6:13 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
Romans 6:16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.
In these teachings Paul teaches that we offer our body to God for the righteousness. This is worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Once we offered our body for the sinful things and as a result we were under the slavery of sin and death. Now since we are freed from the slavery of sins and death through the blood of the Christ, we must make efforts to walk in the righteous path by listening and obeying to the words of God. When we obey to the words of God, God is creating us to be holy like himself.