Religion & Spirituality
The essence of worship extracted from this verse is that worship must be “in spirit and truth.” Spiritual worship in the New Testament is quite different than the physical worship of the Old Testament and the two must not be intermixed, even though they very much are today. Those of the Old Testament had never been born anew of the Spirit therefore they only know the worship of the natural man in temples, at sacrificial altars and holy places, but having known nothing of spiritual worship. All worship involves coming into God’s presence in humility and surrender, with an open heart of praise and thanksgiving. However, worship of the Old Testament involves elements of the natural man not found in the New Testament. For instance, Ps. 150.4
“Praise Him with the timbrel (tambourine) and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!”
Using instruments and dance are of the natural man and are not of the spirit. The New Testament does not mention instruments and dance in worship, or are there any doctrinal statements giving advice on what kind or music may accompany worship. There are no examples of instruments and dance ever being used in any of the early churches. Christians have no Biblical or prophetic command from God to introduce musical instruments or dance in the worship of God. The early church, from which I personally pattern the whole of my spiritual life, used only prayer and singing for both personal and public praise and worship.