John 4 tells the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. During their exchange, the woman raises a question that had divided people for generations: where is the proper place to worship God?

Her question served to redirect the conversation away from the uncomfortable personal ground Jesus was uncovering. Yet beneath it lies a deeper concern. She is not only asking where God should be worshiped, but whose worship is truly accepted, and on what terms. Is access to God determined by lineage, location, or tradition? Or is something else at work?

Jesus’s response reframes the issue entirely. He says,

“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 (NLT)

With these words, Jesus separates worship from place and form altogether. Worship, He explains, is not confined to a mountain, a city, or a building. It is rooted in something deeper than geography or ritual.

What does it mean, then, to worship God in spirit and in truth? To begin answering that, let’s first consider the spiritual side.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit priest from the early twentieth century, once wrote, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” I appreciate this perspective because it challenges how we often think about ourselves; it turns things upside-down. We tend to treat the spiritual as something occasional or secondary, layered on top of our physical lives. Scripture presents a very different picture.

The Bible teaches that we have been created with an eternal soul. While our physical lives matter, they are not the whole story. To worship in spirit begins with recognizing that our truest self is not merely what can be seen or measured, but the inner person God has made for communion with Him.

At the same time, worship in spirit is not something we manufacture by emotional depth or inner effort. It is a response made possible because God has already moved toward us. The Spirit who awakens our hearts is the same Spirit who draws us into worship. We do not initiate this encounter; we respond to it.

Jesus makes this even clearer earlier in John’s Gospel when He says that the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but only the Spirit can awaken what is truly alive within us (John 3:6).

This means that apart from the Spirit’s work, something essential in us remains lifeless. We may be curious about God, respectful toward God, even emotionally moved by religious experience, but true spiritual worship requires spiritual life.

Until the Spirit breathes life into us, worship remains external. It may be sincere and well-meaning, but it cannot yet be what Jesus describes. Worship in spirit begins when God’s Spirit brings our spirit to life and draws it into relationship with Him.

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis reflects on the relationship between our inner life and our knowledge of God. He points out that we cannot truly know a person without understanding what shapes them, what drives them, and what they love. The same is true with God. Worshiping in spirit is not primarily about outward expression or activity; it is about engaging God at the core of who we are.

For those who follow Christ, this kind of worship is made possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God does not remain distant or abstract; He draws near. His Spirit connects with our spirit, creating genuine relationship and response.

Worship, then, becomes an act of focused attention and devotion, shaped by who God is—His character, His holiness, and His love.

This kind of worship begins in the heart. It is marked by gratitude and sincerity, flowing from love for God and thankfulness for all He is and has done. This is not because our emotions are always strong, but because the relationship itself is real. Traditions, liturgical practices, and outward expressions are not excluded, but they cannot stand on their own. Without inner devotion, they become hollow. True worship flows from a heart aligned with God’s character.

Our hearts are meant to connect with God’s nature, which cannot be confined to physical locations, systems, or forms. Worshiping in spirit is led by the Holy Spirit, drawing us beyond surface-level emotion and outward signs into openness to God’s presence and a willingness to be shaped from within. Rather than being defined by external expression, worship calls us into a personal and enduring relationship with God, one empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This is the kind of worship Jesus describes.

This is the kind of worship the Father seeks.