[bobthecockroach]

There is often dispute over what is proper for worship music. Whether rock music is inappropriate or whether dancing is inappropriate or something like that.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

How should we worship in spirit and in truth with our music?

[guitarplayer4jc]

I would guess that we are to worship whole-heartedly. Jesus often condemned the Pharisees for just making an outward show, but not worshiping God from their hearts.

[Tchabu]

It has to be a way of life. IMO, worshiping in Spirit and truth means to constantly be laying your life down on the altar and living with an attitude of thankfulness. You have to show your worship in your actions consistently and desire God's pleasure and His will to be achieved in your life; otherwise, when you show up on Sunday and sing some songs, then it is not in truth, much less in Spirit, it is a religious lie.

Once you determine to live in worship mode, it spills over into the expressions that are made through music. For example, I dance a lot in worship, and I love to sing to God, but it's not because I enjoy dancing and singing. It is because He's filled me with new life and joy and passion so that I have to express it. That is where the psalms and spiritual songs Paul spoke of will come from. As for worshiping in Spirit, I think it is a submission to the Holy Spirit and having your ears tuned to what He is doing and desiring in your life and in your times devoted solely to God.

But I think you have to just search it out for yourself--Psalms and Song of Solomon are two great places to learn about worship and intimacy with God, as well as 1 and 2 Samuel--all the accounts of David's life reveal so much about Scripturally sound worship.

[Chico]

i agree with Tchabu. why do we usually limit worship to music? worship starts with a lifestyle. Rom. 12:2 tells us that offering our lives as living sacrifices is a spiritual act of worship. so going by that verse alone, worshipping in Spirit could be living a sacrificial lifestyle.

but just dealing with music, to worship in Truth would mean that the music being used should line up with Scripture, completely. that is the only absolute Truth we have, so our worship should line up with what Scripture tells us.

to worship in Spirit means a lot of things. the Spirit provides us with many Christ-like attributes in our life, for example the Fruit of the Spirit. so one way to worship in Spirit would be to allow the Spirit to develop those attributes in your life. the Spirit also provides us with gifts to build up the church. maybe worshipping in Spirit also means to use our gifts that have been given to us by God through the Spirit. also, the Spirit tells us what to pray and reveals truth to us in Scripture. maybe worshipping in Spirit is when the Spirit reveals Truth to us.

i used to think that worshipping in Spirit meant that our emotions come out in worship. i now know that this is a faulty belief. worship has nothing to do about emotions. our passion can show in worship which sometimes creates emotion, but biblical worship, in Spirit and Truth, is much more than that. it is better than that.

chris