God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John
4:24
People are wired differently. As a songwriter who has never been mistaken for
a manager, I am fascinated by accountants. It's a marvel to me that anyone could
actually enjoy doing what they do. I'm sure they wish they could be normal like
me... (I hope you know I'm kidding!)
God delights in irony and contrasts. He made both the rhinoceros and the butterfly.
Making everything the same is not His idea of a good time. And speaking of contrasts,
His masterpiece of contrasts is the creation of man and woman. What was He thinking?!
Here's another of His great ironies: God wants His worshipers to worship in
spirit and in truth. Some of us think that spirit is fundamental and truth is
incidental. For others it's just the opposite.
Charismatic Jack & Seminary Sam
Bear with me for a moment as I draw some caricatures. Any resemblance to anyone
in your church fellowship is purely coincidental. Let's imagine a Tuesday night
home group meeting. You're the worship leader and your name is Jack.
You really like to "flow in the spirit in worship -- oh, glory to God!"
And Sam, over there -- bless his heart -- "just can't get free." "Oh
God," you pray, "please don't let Sam interrupt this great worship
time with all those trivial obscurities that he gets out of 'the original languages.'"
Meanwhile, Sam, over there is trying to figure you out. "Is he for real?
Why does he always close his eyes when he sings? How long is this 'free worship'
time going to last anyway? I'm ready to hear some good teaching."
Back to you, Jack. "I just wish Sam knew that God is Spirit. I wonder if
he understands that the greatest commandment requires that we love God with
all our hearts?"
Sam: "I just wish Jack knew that God is Truth. I wonder if he understands
that the greatest commandment requires that we love God with all our minds?"
Jack: "I'll bet he's not even filled with the Holy Spirit. He probably
doesn't even have any worship CD's... too busy reading all those books!"
Sam: "I'll bet he's never read a book longer than 200 pages. He probably
thinks John Calvin is a jeans designer."
End of caricature. Jack and Sam have just proven what one translation of Proverbs
21:2 says, "every man's way is right in his own eyes."
Physiological Predispositions
Assuming that what the neuropsychologists tell us is true, the right and left
hemispheres of our brains have fundamentally different functions. In his book,
Worship is a Verb, Robert Webber tells us, "The left hemisphere
of the brain specializes in verbal skills, while the right side of the brain
centers on nonverbal and inductive skills such as the spatial and poetic impulses
of the person. The left side of the brain is more word oriented and orderly
while the right side of the brain is more symbolic and creative."
Everyone will operate out of both sides of the brain, but the fact is, some
will function more from one side than the other. Sam, for instance, has a little
more circuitry in his left side. The tragedy is that relationships are broken
and churches split because of not understanding and appreciating these different
predispositions.
Spirit and Truth
Jesus said that His Father is looking for worshipers who worship in spirit and
truth -- not one or the other. Here's the principle: AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE
IS AN OFFERING THAT IS PLEASING TO GOD, IN HARMONY WITH HIS SPIRIT AND IN ACCORDANCE
WITH HIS TRUTH.
If we genuinely want to please God in our worship, we must understand that truth
without spirit is unacceptable, as is spirit without truth.
In John 5, we see the Pharisees searching the Scriptures but unwilling to come
to Christ. This is an example of truth without spirit -- knowledge of God without
fellowship with God. How serious is this problem? It can be idolatrous!
The flip side of the problem is spirit without truth. In 1 Chronicles 13, King
David led in vigorous charismatic worship as they were returning the ark to
Jerusalem. But according to I Chronicles 15:13-15, it was not in line with God's
truth. How serious is this problem? Even as the joyful sounds of the tambourines
were going strong, God's anger was growing. Uzza died before the worship service
was over! Pretty serious!
Rob & Braden
Several years ago, a revelation came to me at a wedding rehearsal dinner for
two special friends, Rob and Braden. He was a solid, serious-minded student
who has since become a pastor; she had an art degree, was more spontaneous and
very creative. As I was looking for words that would bless their marriage, I
came to this: "God's truth is like a rock -- it is eternally the same,
it never changes. God's Spirit is like the wind -- you don't know where it's
coming from or where it's going. Truth is fixed; Spirit is dynamic. Rob is like
the rock; Braden is like the wind. Here's to the marriage of the rock and the
wind."
Shouldn't that be our prayer for our worship ministries, our congregations and
the Church as a whole? If you agree, lift your glasses: "Here's to worshipers
who worship in spirit and truth! Here's to the marriage of the Wind and the
Rock!"
This article is one of 10 by Gerrit Gustafson included in the book, Times of Refreshing, a collection of 100 devotions for worship teams, compiled by Tom Kraeuter. For more information, go to Times of Refreshing.