Bible Strands
John 4:24
God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, answering her question about the proper place of worship (Jerusalem versus this mountain) by reframing the question entirely.
The words — προσκυνοῦντας (proskunountas) literally means "prostrating oneself," a physical act of bowing down, yet here it is qualified by ἐν πνεύματι ("in spirit"), pairing bodily submission with an invisible mode. πνεῦμα (pneuma) appears twice: once as God's nature, once as the medium of worship, binding the two together.
The thread — Philippians 3:3 repeats the formula "worship by the Spirit of God" as the mark of the true circumcision; Matthew 15:8 warns against the opposite — lips that honor while the heart is far; 2 Corinthians 3:17 identifies the Lord as Spirit, grounding the whole category in freedom rather than location.
Why it lands — The verse removes place, ritual, and institutional identity as the basis of worship and replaces them with two requirements: that the worshiper aligns with God's nature (Spirit) and with reality (truth), leaving no room for performance detached from what is actually true.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
- Matthew 15:8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
- Philippians 3:3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
- Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
- Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
- 1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Psalms 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- Psalms 50:23 He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rightly orders his way, I will show the salvation of God.”
- Psalms 50:13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?