God is Spirit
This phrase emphasizes the non-material nature of God, highlighting His omnipresence and transcendence. In the context of John 4, Jesus is speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, contrasting the physical locations of worship (Mount Gerizim for Samaritans and Jerusalem for Jews) with the spiritual nature of true worship. The concept of God as Spirit aligns with Old Testament teachings, such as in Isaiah 31:3, where the distinction between the spiritual and the physical is made. This understanding of God as Spirit also connects to the creation narrative in Genesis, where God breathes life into humanity, indicating a spiritual essence.

and His worshipers must worship Him
The necessity of worshiping God is a central theme throughout the Bible. Worship is not merely a ritualistic practice but a fundamental response to God's nature and actions. In the historical context, both Jews and Samaritans had specific locations and rituals for worship, but Jesus is pointing to a deeper, more personal form of worship. This phrase underscores the idea that worship is not confined to a place or a set of actions but is a requirement for those who follow God.

in spirit
Worshiping in spirit means engaging with God on a spiritual level, beyond physical rituals and locations. This reflects the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers, as seen in passages like Romans 8:9, where the Spirit of God dwells within. The emphasis on spirit also connects to the prophecy in Joel 2:28, where God promises to pour out His Spirit on all people. This spiritual worship is a fulfillment of the new covenant, where the law is written on hearts rather than tablets of stone.

and in truth.
Worshiping in truth involves sincerity and alignment with God's revealed Word. Truth is a recurring theme in John's Gospel, with Jesus Himself declaring, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). This phrase calls for worship that is genuine and based on the truth of who God is, as revealed through Jesus Christ. The connection to truth also ties back to the Old Testament, where truth is associated with God's faithfulness and covenant promises, as seen in Psalm 119:160. Worship in truth requires a commitment to living according to God's Word and acknowledging Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God.

1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, revealing profound truths about worship and the nature of God.

2. Samaritan Woman
A key figure in this account, she engages in a theological discussion with Jesus, leading to a revelation about true worship.

3. Jacob's Well
The setting of this encounter, located in Samaria, symbolizes a place of historical and spiritual significance, bridging Jewish and Samaritan traditions.

4. Samaria
The region where this event takes place, highlighting the cultural and religious tensions between Jews and Samaritans.

5. Mount Gerizim
Mentioned earlier in the conversation, it represents the Samaritan place of worship, contrasting with the Jewish focus on Jerusalem.Understanding God's Nature
Recognize that God is Spirit, which transcends physical limitations and requires a spiritual approach to worship.

True Worship Defined
Worship must be conducted in spirit and truth, meaning it should be genuine, heartfelt, and aligned with God's revealed truth.

Cultural and Religious Barriers
Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman shows that true worship transcends cultural and religious boundaries.

Personal Reflection
Evaluate your own worship practices to ensure they are sincere and based on biblical truth.

Living Worship
Worship is not confined to a location or ritual but is a lifestyle of honoring God in all aspects of life.1. What is the meaning of John 4:24?

2. How does John 4:24 define the nature of God as "spirit"?

3. What does it mean to worship God "in spirit and truth"?

4. How can we ensure our worship aligns with John 4:24's teachings?

5. How does John 4:24 connect with other scriptures about true worship?

6. What practical steps can deepen our spiritual worship as described in John 4:24?

7. What does "God is Spirit" mean in John 4:24?

8. How does John 4:24 define true worship?

9. Why must worship be in spirit and truth according to John 4:24?

10. What are the top 10 Lessons from John 4?

11. How do evolutionary psychology studies show that belief in God is a byproduct of survival instincts?

12. Is God considered male or female?

13. What defines spiritual presence?

14. What defines spiritualism?God is Spirit

• Jesus reveals that the Father is not confined to a body, place, or statue. “A spirit does not have flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), so nothing in creation can house or limit Him.

• Because “the Lord is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17), He is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10) and sees the thoughts and motives beneath outward actions (1 Samuel 16:7).

• His invisible nature underscores that He alone is eternal and immortal (1 Timothy 1:17). We approach One who is infinitely higher than us, yet graciously moves toward us through His Spirit.

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and His worshipers

• The Samaritan woman’s question about proper worship sites (John 4:20) gets redirected to proper worshipers—people, not places.

• Worshipers are those who belong to Him through faith in Christ (John 1:12; 1 Peter 2:9). Salvation makes us “a royal priesthood,” privileged to draw near.

• Hebrews 10:19-22 reminds believers that, by Jesus’ blood, we “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place.” Worship is a family activity for God’s redeemed children.

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must worship Him

• “Must” shows divine necessity. Worship is not a hobby; it is the reason we exist (Revelation 4:11).

• Jesus echoed Deuteronomy 6:13 when He said, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matthew 4:10). Anything else is idolatry.

• True worship centers on God Himself—His character, works, and worth—not on personal preference or religious ceremony.

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in spirit

• The location question (Gerizim or Jerusalem) becomes a heart question. Jesus explains, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:21-23).

• Worship springs from the inner person enlivened by the Holy Spirit. “We who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:3) offer praise that pleases Him.

• Because our bodies are “a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19), every place and moment can be a sanctuary when our spirits respond to His.

• Spirit-led worship involves affection, reverence, confession, gratitude—an authentic outpouring that reaches beyond rituals.

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and in truth

• Worship must align with God’s revealed reality. Jesus, “the way and the truth” (John 14:6), is the lens through which we know the Father.

• Scripture is “truth” (John 17:17), guiding what we believe and how we praise. Doctrinal accuracy matters; sincerity without truth can still miss the mark (Matthew 15:8-9).

• Integrity is also in view: “The LORD is near to all who call on Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18). Honest hearts, honest words, honest lives—nothing counterfeit.

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summary

Jesus’ statement in John 4:24 lifts worship above geography and ceremony. Because God is Spirit, His people—made alive by the Spirit—must worship from the depths of their being, anchored in the truth of His Word and the person of Christ. Spirit and truth are not two options but two inseparable strands of genuine worship, calling every believer to heartfelt, biblically grounded adoration wherever we are.

(24) God is a Spirit.--Better, God is spirit. His will has been expressed in the seeking. But His very nature and essence is spirit, and it follows from this that all true worship must be spiritual. The appeal is here made to a doctrine of special prominence in the Samaritan theology. They had altered a number of passages in the Pentateuch, which seemed to them to speak of God in language properly applicable to man, and to ascribe to Him human form and feelings. But to believe in the spiritual essence of God contained its own answer both as to place and mode of worship.

The second "Him" ("they that worship Him") should be omitted, as the italics show.

Verse 24. - A still more explicit and comprehensive reason is given for the previous assertion, based on the essential nature of God himself in the fulness of his eternal Being. God is Spirit (Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός; cf. John 1:1, Θεὸς η΅ν ὁ Λόγος, - the article indicates the subject, and the predicate is here generic, and not an indefinite; therefore we do not render it, "God is a Spirit"). The most comprehensive and far-reaching metaphor or method by which Jesus endeavoured to portray the fundamental essence of the Divine Being is "Spirit," not body, not ὕλη, not κόσμος, but that deep inner verity presented in self-conscious ego; the substantia of which mind may be predicated, and all its states and faculties. The Father is Spirit, the Son is Spirit, and Spirit is the unity of the Father and the Son. St. John has recorded elsewhere that "God is Light," and "God is Love." These three Divine utterances are the sublimest ever formed to express the metaphysical, intellectual, and moral essence of the Deity. They are unfathomably deep, and quite inexhaustible in their suggestions, and yet they are not too profound for even a little child or a poor Samaritaness to grasp for practical purposes. If God be Spirit, then they who worship him, the Spirit, must by the nature of the case, must by the force of a Divine arrangement, worship him, if they worship him at all, in spirit and in truth. The truth which our Lord uttered was not unknown in the Old Testament. From Genesis to Malachi, in the Psalms, in the historical books, in Judges, Samuel, and Kings, the Spirit and the spirituality of God are presupposed; but the Lord has generalized these teachings, cited them from darkness and neglect, combined them in one eternal oracle of Divine truth. The Galilaean Peasant has thus uttered the profoundest truth of ethic and religion - one which no sage in East or West had ever surpassed, and towards which the highest minds in all the ages of Christendom have been slowly making approach. Forms, postures, ceremonial, sacraments, liturgies, holy days, and places are not condemned, but they all are inefficacious if this prime condition be not present, and they can all be dispensed with if it be. Only the spirit of man can really touch or commune with the Spirit of spirits, and the history of the new dispensation is the history of a progress from forms to realities, from the sensuous to the spiritual, from the outward to the inward, from the earthly to the heavenly.

Parallel Commentaries ...


God [is]
Θεός (Theos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

Spirit,
Πνεῦμα (Pneuma)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151: Wind, breath, spirit.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[His]
τοὺς (tous)
Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

worshipers
προσκυνοῦντας (proskynountas)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4352: From pros and a probable derivative of kuon; to fawn or crouch to, i.e. prostrate oneself in homage.

must
δεῖ (dei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1163: Third person singular active present of deo; also deon deh-on'; neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is Necessary.

worship
προσκυνεῖν (proskynein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 4352: From pros and a probable derivative of kuon; to fawn or crouch to, i.e. prostrate oneself in homage.

Him
αὐτὸν (auton)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

spirit
πνεύματι (pneumati)
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151: Wind, breath, spirit.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[in] truth.”
ἀληθείᾳ (alētheia)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 225: From alethes; truth.


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NT Gospels: John 4:24 God is spirit and those who worship (Jhn Jo Jn)