| The Christian Life | August 1942 |
The True Worship of God
THE expression, “true” worshipers presupposes that there are “false,” or as St. Paul suggested in his lecture on Mar’s Hill, “ignorant” worshipers; and, when we take into consideration the remarks of our Lord in the context from which our text is taken, there can be no question about it. (Acts 17:30,31) The mere fact that a person may have a reverent demeanor, and may he disposed to seek divine counsel and grace and, generally speaking, be considered a noble, generous specimen of humanity, is no warrant for concluding that his prayers are being heard or that he is a “true” worshiper of the living and eternal God. Notwithstanding one’s apparent nobility of character and reverential demeanor, he may be far from the divine standard of what constitutes “true” worship of God. False doctrine and the “commandments” and “traditions” of men may hinder; or, too high a regard for man-made and man-constituted institutions; or excessive regard and esteem for servants of the Lord, may be the predisposing cause of a failure to fully and properly worship the Heavenly Father.—Matt. 15:7-9; Isa. 29:13; John 4:22
The narrative from which our text is taken furnishes many valuable lessons in connection with our subject and it is well that we consider it very carefully. Our Lord was on His way from Judea to His home land, Galilee, and had to pass, therefore, through Samaria. When He reached the heart of Samaria and came to the city of Sychar, He became wearied and in need of refreshment from the arduous journey north-ward. In the ordinary method of counting time in those days, it would appear to have been around noon when He reached this point. However, from noted authorities, we learn that this could not have been the case, that it must have been toward evening. Dr. Wilson, the author of the Emphatic Diaglott, is one of these who believe that St. John counted time like we do today—from midnight to noon and noon to midnight. Therefore, the sixth hour would be either the early morning or the evening; because it was very rare indeed for the drawing of water in. the heat of the day. There were certain stated times for this purpose and it was usually in the cool of the day—either very early morning or in the evening. Since our Lord was wearied from His journey it would preclude the early morning hour.
While His disciples had gone into the city to obtain food, as the account shows, a woman of this city of Sychar came out to get her customary supply of water and there at the well of Jacob, she came upon the Master resting. To us living in this day of general education and increase of knowledge, it may seem strange that this woman should hesitate about giving the requested drink of water. But the rules of deportment and etiquette were different then from what they are today, and it was considered a lowering of dignity and station in life for an inferior to expect service from a superior. In this instance, the line of distinction was even more sharply drawn between those whom the Jews considered to be heathen and outcasts; therefore for a Jew to ask a favor of a dog like a Samaritan was something out of the ordinary in the general run of life then. See Luke 17:7-8; 22:25-27; John 13:12-17; Mark 7:24-30. The account in the Common Version indicates that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans, but this is not altogether correct. The Diaglott rendering provides the proper translation: “For the Jews do not associate with Samaritans,” considering them “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” The people of Samaria being a mixed race and not Jews, it would be natural for them to consider them in the light of Gentiles.—Ephesians 2:12
Our Lord thereupon suggested that He had’ the water of life and that she might more appropriately ask Him for this “gift of God” to a sin-sick and soul-weary world. The question naturally presented itself to her mind, “What sort of a person is this that He should presume to be greater than our father Jacob who originally had title to this property?” Then when He disclosed to her that He was aware of her past life and how unworthy it was of divine recognition, she concluded that He must be a messenger of God, a prophet of the Lord. Wishing to justify herself in the face of these facts, she thereupon raised the question of the proper place and method of worship. She said, “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” No doubt she was aware of the formalism, etc., attaching to the worship of the Jews and may have felt that the simple worship of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, without resort to tabernacle or temple, was more effective and had divine recognition rather than the ceremonials of the Jews at Jerusalem, which had been established at a later date—rather like the Roman Catholic view of being the oldest church.
When it is remembered that it was upon this very site that the Samaritan temple was built at the foot of Mt. Gerizim, the attitude of this woman toward the proper place for worshiping God seemed but natural. But our Lord did not agree with her regarding her viewpoint and indicated in no uncertain terms that God was a God of order and that He it was who had arranged for salvation to come through a specific medium. “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” Yes, God had acknowledged them as His very own people and it was to them that He had made all His promises; therefore if anyone would become a true worshiper of Him, he would have to recognize this fact and act accordingly.
Our Lord did not agree with the commonly accepted thought that any religion and worship is better than none, and that all forms of worship have their respective merits. Neither did He agree that worship would continue to be recognized by God if merely directed toward Him. In the words of our text, He gave unmistakable testimony to the fact that there was only one proper and suitable form of worship that henceforth would be recognized by God—“in spirit and in truth.” Neither did He say that there had been no true worshipers before. But none of those who had worshiped the Father before the time of Jesus could possibly be said to worship Him “in spirit and in truth”; for, up to that time, none had been begotten of God’s Holy Spirit and had the light of truth to a sufficient degree to warrant the full and complete worship of God implied in the words of the Master to this woman of Samaria.
Neither could those ancient worthies enumerated by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, 11th chapter, although accepted of God, have had the conception of God necessary to this worship, because the love of God had not yet been manifested, His only begotten Son not having been sent into the world. (I John 4:9) While God accepted their worship and adoration, He did not recognize them in the same way nor to the same degree. Not that they were not as worthy as those who lived subsequent to the coming of the Lord into the world, but that God had a specific time and place for each feature of His divine plan of the ages, and the time had now come for the development of those who were in readiness to receive the gift of life in the person of His only begotten Son; and only such could He recognize as sons. None was recognized by Him as such before the coming into the world of the Savior and Redeemer. Up to that time, they were only recognized as friends and servants of God.—Isa. 42:8; James 2:23; Heb. 3:5,6
WORSHIP “IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH”
In order to understand what is meant by the worship of God “in spirit and in truth,” it is essential, first of all, to have clearly in mind the meaning of worship. In Old Testament times, the meaning of the Hebrew word, shachah, translated “worship,” meant to prostrate oneself, to bow in obeisance. In the New Testament, the Greek word is proskuneo and means the same thing as the Hebrew word, shachah. But this is only the outward form or method of recognition of that which is superior or which merits devotion, esteem and honor. It is merely the way the ancients had of acknowledging this greater thing, power, or being. Naturally it was representative of their inmost feelings and sentiments. In other words, it represented their attitude. It will be recalled that it was this form of outward indication that Cornelius manifested when Peter brought to him the words of life, and which Peter promptly rebuked as improper, when offered to him as a servant of God, and only properly offered to God Himself. It was the same form or manifestation by St. John on the Isle of Patmos offered to the angel of the Lord who brought the Revelation to him, and which the angel promptly rebuked, and reminded St. John, the spirit-begotten one, that ONLY GOD WAS TO BE THUS WORSHIPED.—Acts 10:25,26; Rev. 22:8,9
Today, we do not prostrate ourselves before that which we recognize to be superior or esteem and honor; but rather, this worship is shown by bowing the head, kneeling, the making of a cross on the breast, the tipping of the hat or a salute of the arm. These various ways of indicating our heart’s sentiments and feelings may be different from that of olden times but they have exactly the same meaning.
The meaning of the word, “worship” as given in the Standard Dictionary is as follows: “Primary 1. To pay an act of worship to; perform acts or have feelings of worship.. To honor. Secondary 1. The act or feeling of adoration or homage; the paying of religious reverence, as in prayer, praise, etc. 2. The act or feeling of deference, respect, or honor toward virtue, power, or the like. 3. Excessive or ardent admiration. From the definition of the word, “worship” it will be seen that it covers a large field.
There are some in our day who are inclined to separate the thought of worship from anything else but religion. That this is unwarranted can be readily seen from the meaning attached to this word. Anything to which a high degree of admiration can be attached is “worship” in the true sense of the word whether it be of a religious character, or not. The thought of our time has been to separate the religious from the purely secular and to consider them two separate and distinct fields. However, with the Jew this distinction was not so clearly drawn as it has been in these latter times.
It will be recalled of those chosen to perform the work of constructing the tabernacle, and who had been trained in their respective arts, that, not only did they have the necessary natural qualifications for the work in hand, but, additionally, and more important still, they were filled “with the Spirit of God in wisdom and understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” (Exod. 31:1-11; 35:30-35; I Kings 7:14) Similarly those who have been called of God in this Gospel age are given this same Spirit of God, only that its action and operation are in a different manner and for a different purpose. However, the same sense of consecration and devotion to the divine service is to be rendered.—Isa. 11:1-4; Col. 1:9-13; Rom. 14:8; I Thess. 5:9-10; I Cor. 1:31; Col. 3:17; I Peter 4:11
This thought of complete surrender to the loving influence of God in every thought and act of life is but rarely seen and but little understood and appreciated by the great mass of nominal Christians. If this fact were but clearly seen, what a difference it would make in the world outlook today. Every influential thing even in the normal, every day way of life would have a different meaning than it has. No longer would it be said that “business is business,” and “religion is religion,” and never the twain shall meet; but business would be conducted religiously, conscientiously (according to conscience), and as it should always be conducted.
Some day—and we trust that it may be soon—the whole world will recognize the true meaning of worship and all that is involved by it; for then the principles of Christ will be in full operation and no longer will the great Adversary be permitted to befuddle the minds of men upon all these questions of life and death. On page 2071 of the REPRINTS, Brother Russell says:
“Worship in spirit and in truth does not apply simply to prayer, praise, supplication and thanks giving. It goes deeper than all these and takes hold upon the affections, upon the heart, and hence signifies not an ‘act of worship’ but rather a life of worship—a life in which, through the begetting of the Spirit and the knowledge of the divine plan, the individual becomes so at one with God, and so in unison with the law of God and all the features of the plan of God that it is, in the words of our Lord, his meat and his drink to do the Father’s will. This is worship in spirit and in truth. It will find its expression in bended knee and in orderly and reverential demeanor in approach to God in personal prayer, in family prayer and in company with the household of faith, and it will find its expression in all the acts and words of life. The captivated heart will seek to bring every talent of the body into complete subjection to the will of God and of Christ. The whole of this is the worship which God seeketh; and surely, only those who are captivated to the Lord in heart, and who serve Him in Spirit and in truth and endeavor to have His will done in their hearts, words and conduct, are in the full sense the true worshipers whom the Lord seeketh: the ‘little flock,’ the faithful ‘royal priesthood.’”
FURTHER LESSONS FROM THE NARRATIVE
When the woman of Samaria perceived that the Lord had a message of such great import for her, she called attention to the promise of God to send a Messiah, and that He would tell them all things. This showed that although considered as a profligate and an outcast from the covenants of promise to the Jews, she had a keen sense of values and appreciated the words of promise, even though she hadn’t brought herself into line with those promises. Our Lord did something that He had done only once before in Judea or Galilee. Here in Samaria where the interests of the Kingdom of God were little esteemed and to which people our Lord forbade His disciples to go preaching the message because it was not then God’s due time for it to be made general, He made a statement of the greatest moment and importance. Answering the woman’s statement, He said: “I that speak unto thee, am He.”
Here in this supposedly God-forsaken country, He acknowledged to this woman of ill repute the fact that He was the Messiah sent of God. True, He acknowledged His identity to the disciples; but never did He come out with such a blunt statement, except to the blind man, when after He had rebuffed the scribes and the Pharisees. Why was this? Because had He done so in Israel, immediately He would have been branded as an impostor and a blasphemer. In fact, this is just what the scribes and Pharisees hoped to get Him on—the charge of blasphemy. It will be recalled that when this man, blind from his birth, was healed on the Sabbath—giving occasion to the scribes and Pharisees to declare Him a law-breaker on this account—that they wished to discredit the miracle and indicate that our Lord was just a sinner like everybody else. They went to the parents to try to influence them against the thought that a miracle had been performed by Jesus. But while the parents refused to acknowledge that he had not been blind from his birth, they were unwilling to acknowledge that it was Jesus who did it for fear of being cast out of the synagogue.
This was a disgrace most of the Jews were unwilling to bear, and so the parents turned the matter over to the son to make a statement himself. While the son wasn’t sure of our Lord’s identity as the Messiah, he did not deny the fact that He had worked a miracle in his interest, thereby attaching Himself to the name of infamy, to the Jews—Jesus of Nazareth. His statement to the Pharisees is worthy of note in this connection: “Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth.” How much of truth this man had. In fact, he entirely confounded these learned men by his statements and they could do nothing with him. And it is written, “And they cast him out [margin, excommunicated him].” (John 9:34) While they cast him out as unworthy of their recognition, Jesus thereupon disclosed Himself to him as the Messiah, and told him His purpose in coming to the earth.—John 9:35-41
The effect of what Jesus said to the woman of Samaria was electrifying. Taking her water, she rushed into the city to tell her friends and neighbors of the Messiah who had told her about her past life, etc. And they went out to learn for themselves and when they, too, were convinced they insisted that He remain with them and He abode with them two days. Another point of interest in this narrative is the fact that when the disciples returned from their mission to the city and found this Samaritan woman, this renegade, in the company of the Lord, they did not question Him about it. Why was this? Because they had so much confidence in their Lord and Master that they knew there must be some good reason for His conversing with her.
And this raises a question that sometimes arises in the minds of some of the Lord’s people, “How could the disciples who were not present know what conversation took place and so record this incident?” Our Lord and disciples were one in sentiment and desire to please the Heavenly Father, and it is only reasonable to suppose that our Lord would take them into His confidence. For three and a half years He was leading them away from the purely mundane things to the higher, better things of the Spirit, so that they would be ready when the time came for the reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and in all these things He knew they had a vital interest. The very fact that they did not question His right and privilege to converse with this stranger of Samaria shows how highly they esteemed Him and unquestionably, like He was always wont to do, He would reward their desire to know just what did take place; but they left it entirely with Him, which was only right and proper. This same realization may help us to understand other instances when the disciples were not present—like at Gethsemane—and yet knew what had transpired and so recorded them. Another view is that having the same spirit of the Lord, sharing it with Him, and later, having the miraculous powers of discernment, etc., they could easily know the facts relating to all these otherwise difficult to understand passages of Scripture. In fact, this was the promise our Lord made to His disciples.
HINDRANCES TO TRUE WORSHIP
One of the main hindrances to the proper worship of God is the acceptance of the “commandments” or “traditions” of men—false doctrine. How much of persecution and suffering might have been avoided had this powerful influence of false theology not been permitted to interfere with the proper understanding of God’s character and plan for the salvation of the race. Only the truth sanctifies; only the truth fully and clearly discloses the purpose and character of God. In addressing the scribes and Pharisees, our Lord characterized them as hypocrites in their superficial and formalistic attitude toward the true worship of God. He said: “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isa. 29:13) prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”—Matt. 15:7-9
On page 2079 of the REPRINTS, Brother Russell says:
“At the first advent our Lord said of some of the unbelieving professors of religion of the scribes and Pharisees: ‘In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ The majority of those addressed, it seems, were outwardly very pious, and fasted and prayed much, and for a pretense made long prayers in the streets; but theirs was not true and acceptable worship; and therefore, they were not prepared to be introduced at Pentecost to the begetting of the Spirit and thus to become worshipers in Spirit and in truth. And our Lord … shows one important hindrance to their acceptance as worshipers; namely, false doctrines—human traditions and commandments as instead. of the pure teachings of God’s Word. And it is but reasonable to suppose that similarly all down through this Gospel age many, very many, have been hindered from proper development as true worshipers of God, worshipers in Spirit, worshipers in every act and word and deed of life, by the same baneful influences; namely, false doctrines, human creeds and traditions accepted and held to instead of the Word of God, the true bread which comes down from heaven.”
Another hindrance to the proper worship of God, is the “excessive admiration” that some have for organizations, made-made institutions, for synods, presbyteries, councils, papal encyclics, and individuals. In I Thessalonians 5:12,13, St. Paul says: “We beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.” However, this love, esteem for and confidence in the servants of the Lord should never go to that extreme that sees in them perfection and infallibility.
No servant, no matter how effective or beneficial his service may prove to be, should ever be so excessively admired that no good, nor anything worth while can be expected from other servants of the Lord. Neither should anyone presuppose that all the light and truth that God has at His disposal for the interests of His people is committed to one sole organization or individual. Only the perfect one of God, Christ Jesus, can claim that distinction. And no true servant of God would make any such unwarranted claim. Nothing should take the place of God in our reverence and admiration, adoration and praise. To whatever extent this fact is lost sight of, to that same degree there is a likelihood of the loss of spiritual insight and discernment. Let none of God’s people be found creature-lovers and worshipers instead of God-lovers and worshipers.
In Colossians 2:18,19, St. Paul writes: “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels [messengers], intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. And not holding the Head, from which all the body by, joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” Commenting on this passage of Scripture, Brother Russell on page 2080 of the REPRINTS, has this to say:
“Nor is this beguiling of the flock, away from the only shepherd, to a fellow sheep always the fault of the ‘leaders’; there seems to be a general tendency on the part of all who have the true, humble sheep nature to follow one another. (Heb. 13:7,17,24, Diaglott) It is a lesson, therefore, for all to learn—that each sheep recognize as leaders only such as are found in full accord with the voice and spirit of the Chief Shepherd (Christ), and the under shepherds (the apostles), and that each sheep see to it that he eats only ‘clean provender’ and drinks only ‘pure water’ as directed by the Shepherd. (See Ezek. 34:17-19) This implies the exercise of the individual conscience of each member of Christ’s flock on matters of doctrine and practice, and tends to keep each one in sympathy and fellowship with the Shepherd, who knoweth each sheep and ‘calleth His own sheep by name.’ (John 10:3) The same intimate relationship of the individual Christian with the Lord is illustrated in the figure of Christ, the Head, and the church as members of His body.—I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:15,16
“As we have been to some extent, by the grace of God, used in the ministry of the Gospel, it may not be out of place to say here what we have frequently said in private and previously in these columns; namely, that while we appreciate the love, sympathy, confidence and fellowship of fellow-servants and of the entire household of faith, we want no homage, no reverence, for ourselves or our writings; nor do we wish to be called Reverend or Rabbi, nor do we wish that any be called by our name. The name of Him who died for all—the name Christian—is quite sufficient to designate the spiritual sons of God, the true brethren of Christ; and whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil, or carnality, and tends toward more of the same.
“Nor would we have our writings reverenced or regarded as infallible, or on a par with the Holy Scriptures. The most we claim or have ever claimed for our teachings is, that they are what we believe to be harmonious interpretations of the divine Word, in harmony with the spirit of the truth. And we still urge, as in the past, that each reader study the subjects we present in the light of the Scriptures, proving all things by the Scriptures, accepting what he sees to be thus approved, and rejecting all else. It is to this end, to enable the student to trace the subject in the divinely inspired Record, that we so freely intersperse both quotations and citations of the Scriptures upon which to build.”