4:24

God is a Spirit: The Greek word pneuʹma is used here in the sense of a spirit person, or being. (See Glossary, “Spirit.”) The Scriptures show that God, the glorified Jesus, and the angels are spirits. (1Co 15:45; 2Co 3:17; Heb 1:14) A spirit has a form of life that differs greatly from that of humans, and it is invisible to human eyes. Spirit beings have a body, “a spiritual one,” that is far superior to “a physical body.” (1Co 15:44; Joh 1:18) Although Bible writers speak of God as having a face, eyes, ears, hands, and so forth, such descriptions are figures of speech to help humans understand what God is like. The Scriptures clearly show that God has a personality. He also exists in a location beyond the physical realm; so Christ could speak of “going to the Father.” (Joh 16:28) At Heb 9:24, Christ is said to enter “into heaven itself, so that he . . . appears before God on our behalf.”

worship with spirit: As shown in the Glossary article “Spirit,” the Greek word pneuʹma can have a number of meanings, among them God’s active force, or holy spirit, as well as the force that impels individuals, that is, their mental disposition. One of the things that the different meanings of the term “spirit” have in common is in reference to things that are invisible to human sight. Jesus explained at Joh 4:21 that worship of the Father would not be centered on a physical location, such as Mount Gerizim in Samaria or the temple in Jerusalem. Because God is not material and cannot be seen or felt, worship of him would no longer need to revolve around a physical temple or a mountain. In other Bible verses, Jesus showed that to worship God acceptably, a person would need to be guided by God’s invisible holy spirit, also called a “helper.” (Joh 14:16, 17; 16:13) Therefore, “worship with spirit” apparently refers to worship that is guided by God’s spirit, which would help an individual to be attuned to God’s thinking through study and application of His Word. So Jesus’ statement about worshipping God “with spirit” involves far more than being sincere and having a spirited, or enthusiastic, mental disposition about serving God.

worship with . . . truth: Worship that is acceptable to God cannot be based on imagination, myths, or lies. It has to be in harmony with facts and consistent with “the truth” that God has revealed in his Word about himself and his purposes. (Joh 17:17) Such worship must conform to the “realities that are not seen” but are revealed in God’s Word.​—Heb 9:24; 11:1; see also the study note on worship with spirit in this verse.