When we study the life of Christ, we see that, in many ways and on many occasions, he directed man’s focus away from external worship of God to an internal worship of God.
Christ came to put the focus on man and not on religious observance and man’s organized system of worshipping God.
Christ came to let us know that our connection with God is intrinsic to our new life in Christ. He came to let us know that our connection with God is not in our fruitless religious activities, but in our spiritual acknowledgment of God in man.
Let me show you a scripture that buttresses my teaching.
“At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
— John 14:20 (KJV)
That day is the day that we are in. Hallelujah!
It is the day that began with the resurrection of Christ.
“God in us” is a very important knowledge that we must have. It is the genesis of true spirituality.
Here is another scripture you should consider.
Luke 17 (KJV)
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²⁰ And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
²¹ Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The kingdom of God being within us suggests that the divine realm is not a physical place, but rather a state of consciousness that is within each person.
You need to know that in Christ, you have the full potential to experience divine guidance, wisdom, and love in your daily life.
For those who have believed the gospel, they are not separate from God, but rather an expression of God.
Here is an iconic scripture that speaks of Christ’s mission to reset our mode of worshipping God. Sadly, a lot of Christians are still stuck in the former unspiritual and false mode of worship.
John 4 (KJV)
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²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Notice that Christ said that those who worship the Father in the manner he seeks to be worshipped are the true worshippers. That means that there are false worshippers.
To give a context to who the false worshippers are, let us examine the preceding verse to John 4:21.
“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
— John 4:20 (KJV)
Then Christ responds with these words:
John 4 (KJV)
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²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
The Samaritan woman was alluding to temple and mountain worship like we still have today. And Christ tells her to believe him that a time will come, which time is now, when man will no longer worship God according to temple demands but in spirit and in truth.
What does it mean to worship the Father in spirit and in truth?
To put it plainly, to worship the Father in spirit and in truth is to worship the Father in consciousness.
Let me elaborate on my definition.
To worship God in spirit and in truth is to be conscious that God is in you, be conscious of every good thing that is in you in Christ, and live your life intentionally by the consciousness of Christ.
To worship God in spirit and in truth is to live by the consciousness of who you are in Christ, who Christ is in you, what you have in Christ, and where you are in Christ.
This kind of consciousness is the mark of true spirituality.
A higher consciousness is actually what the Christian faith is all about. But many Christians miss this and they settle for religious activities as a way of worshipping the Father.
Check this out:
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:16 (KJV)
To have the mind of Christ is to have the consciousness of Christ.
It even becomes more interesting when we realize that the transformation of our physical lives is a result of changing our consciousness to match the consciousness of Christ which is the consciousness of who we are in Christ, who Christ is in us, what we have in Christ and where we are in Christ.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
— Romans 12:2 (KJV)
Did you know that the place where Jesus was crucified is called the place of the skull?
John 19 (KJV)
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¹⁷ And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
¹⁸ Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
Christ had to be crucified at the place of the skull to signify the death of a consciousness that has held man in bondage to satan and his angels.
When Christ died the death of the cross, man died to the consciousness of sin, fear, and satan.
If your present temple worship teaches you in a way that maintains the consciousness of sin, fear, and satan, then you are in the wrong place and you are a false worshipper of the Father.
Only gather in a physical temple that teaches you to worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
For brevity’s sake, I will stop writing at this point.
God is in you and you must always be conscious of this fact.
Apostle Destiny Kingston