True Worship (Rev 1.17a)

“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” (Revelation 1.17a, NKJV)

In recent years there has been a beautiful revival in worship. Some have coined it “The Worship Generation.” But what exactly is worship? To a Samaritan woman who was struggling over the proper place to worship God, Jesus said:

“Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 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.” (John 4.21-24, NKJV)

God is searching to and fro throughout the earth to find true worshipers. He finds them in every nation and culture and among all ages. God is Spirit, and if we would truly worship Him we must worship Him in spirit and truth. What does that mean?

I believe we have a clue here in Revelation. John was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s Day. He heard a voice behind him; then he turned to see who was speaking to him. He saw the Lord in His glorified and exalted state; then he fell at His feet as dead. The Greek word used for “worship” in John 4.24 is proskuneo, meaning “to bow down.” It described the act of falling upon the knees and touching the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence. This is exactly what John did when he saw the Lord. This was worship in spirit (for John was in the Spirit) and truth (for John had a true revelation of Jesus Christ).

If we would be the kind of worshipers that God seeks, if we would worship Him in spirit and truth, then we must follow John’s example:

We must be “in the Spirit“–that is we must walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
We must hear the Voice of the Lord.
We must turn from our sins and from the cares of this world.
We must see Jesus for who He truly is.
We must fall at His feet, bowing down before Him.

I believe that if we really have seen Jesus, then we cannot help but worship Him. When He reveals Himself to all people, then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2.10-11). But then it will be too late for many. Their confession will result in damnation. Why wait till then when we can truly worship Him today as our Savior, Redeemer, Lord and Friend?