John 4:24 (WEB)
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Catechism · 3
Celebrating the Church's Liturgy
“The worship "in Spirit and in truth"” — Catechism footnote: Jn 4:24.
Jesus and Israel
“Therefore his being put to bodily death presaged the destruction of the Temple, which would manifest the dawning of a new age in the history of salvation: "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father."” — Catechism footnote: Jn 4:21; cf. 4:23-24; Mt 27:5; Heb 9:11; Rev 21:22.
"I Believe in the Holy Spirit"
“He also alludes to the Spirit in speaking to Nicodemus, to the Samaritan woman,” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Jn 4:10, 14, 23-24.
Fathers and councils · 70
Augustine of Hippo
“Above all, however, that testimony is employed by the upholders of this opinion, where it is thus written, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;” “for God is a Spirit.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24
Read the whole comment“And I knew not God to be a Spirit, not one who hath parts extended in length and breadth, nor whose being was bulk; for every bulk is less in a part than in the whole, and, if it be infinite, it…” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“Some have here understood the Trinity in God, Itself God; the dispensation of Flesh being excepted therefrom: since it is written, “God is a Spirit.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“For he prayeth in the spirit and in truth, who prayeth in the peace of the Church; not in that temple, wherein was the figure.…” — editor's note: John iv. 21–24.
Read the whole comment“That “God is light,” saith he, “and there is no darkness in Him at all.”” — editor's note: 1 John i. 5. [God is Light; God is Love.—The Apostle gives in these two great words indications of the Divine essence, so far as it can be conveyed or…
Read the whole comment“…understand God the Father to be signified; as indeed it was concerning the worshipping of Him that the Lord was speaking, when He said, “God is a Spirit:” by the term, blood, the Son; because “the Word was made flesh:” and by the term water, the Holy Ghost; as, when Jesus spake of the water which He would give to…” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“Neither can the Trinity in any wise be called the Son, but it can be called, in its entirety, the Holy Spirit, according to that which is written, “God is a Spirit;” because both the Father is a spirit and the Son is a spirit, and the Father is holy and the Son is holy.” — editor's note: John iv. 24
Read the whole comment“For there is a Spirit also that is God, which cannot be renewed, because it cannot grow old.” — editor's note: John iv. 24
Read the whole comment“But the life which is God perceives and understands all things, and perceives by mind, not by body, because “God is a spirit.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24
Read the whole comment“And it is not said, O Lord my love, or, Thou art my love, or, God my love; but it is said thus, “God is love,” as it is said, “God is a Spirit.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24
Read the whole comment““God is a Spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“…of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” words which very expressly and excellently commend the Trinity; and where it is said, “God is a Spirit;” and in very many other places of the sacred writings.” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“And for no other reason, I suppose, is He called in a peculiar way the Spirit; since though asked concerning each person in His turn, we cannot but admit that the Father and the Son are each of them a Spirit; for God is a Spirit, that is, God is not carnal, but spiritual.” — editor's note: Chap. iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“For example, sanctity or sanctification properly pertains to the Holy Spirit, whence, as the Father is a spirit, and the Son a spirit, because God is a spirit, so the Father is holy and the Son holy, yet the Spirit of both is called peculiarly by the name of the Holy Spirit.” — editor's note: Chap. iv. 24.
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Origen
- Origen, Against Celsus II.70Book II
“…“God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all;” and in another, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment - Origen, Against Celsus VI.70Book VI
“God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”” — editor's note: Cf. John iv. 21, 24.
Read the whole comment “…“our God is a consuming fire;” and in the Gospel according to John, that “God is a Spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
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Gregory of Nyssa
“For since the appellation of “Spirit,” and that of “Holy,” are by the Scriptures equally applied to the Father and the Son (for “God is a Spirit,” and “the anointed Lord is the Spirit before our face,” and “the Lord our God is Holy,” and there is “one Holy, one Lord Jesus Christ”) lest there should, by…” — editor's note: S. John iv. 24
Read the whole comment“If the essence of the Son is called “Spirit,” and God also is Spirit, (for so the Gospel tells us), clearly the essence of the Father is called “Spirit” also.” — editor's note: S. John iv. 24
Read the whole comment“…has no brethren, (for how, if He had brethren, could the property of being Only-begotten be preserved?) and if the same Person Who said, “God is a Spirit,” says to His disciples, “Handle Me,” that He may show that while the Human Nature is capable of being handled the Divinity is intangible, and if He Who says,…” — editor's note: S. John iv. 24
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Irenaeus of Lyons
- Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies Fragments from.37Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenæus
“Now those oblations are not according to the law, the handwriting of which the Lord took away from the midst by cancelling it; but they are according to the Spirit, for we must worship God “in spirit and in truth.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
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Tertullian
“…the waters, balancing and refreshing and animating all things: not (as some suppose) meaning God Himself by the spirit, on the ground that “God is a Spirit,” because the waters would not be able to bear up their Lord; but He speaks of that spirit of which the winds consist, as He says by Isaiah, “Because my spirit…” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“For who will deny that God is a body, although “God is a Spirit?”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“…as when to the Samaritaness—not an adulteress by her now sixth marriage, but a prostitute—He showed (what He did show readily to any one) who He was;—no benefit is hence conferred upon our adversaries, even if it had been to such as were already Christians that He (in these several cases) granted pardon.” — editor's note: John iv. 1–25.
Read the whole comment“For God is a Spirit, and accordingly requires His adorers to be such.”” — editor's note: John iv. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“It is, however, more credible that the soul has service rendered to it, and has the mastery, as being more proximate in character to God.” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
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Cyril of Jerusalem
“God is a Spirit; He who is a Spirit hath spiritually begotten, as being incorporeal, an inscrutable and incomprehensible generation.” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“Though the word itself and title of Spirit is applied to Them in common in the sacred Scriptures,—for it is said of the Father, God is a Spirit, as it is written in the Gospel according to John; and of the Son, A Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord, as Jeremias the prophet says; and of the Holy…” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
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Council of Ephesus (431)
“If any one maintains that the flesh which is united with God the Word is by the power of its own nature life-giving, whereas the Lord himself says, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing” (St. John vi. 61), let him be anathema. [He adds, “God is a Spirit” (St. John iv. 24).” — the author cites it
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Theodoret of Cyrus
“And the same Christ that said ‘God is a spirit’ says to His disciples ‘Handle me,’ to shew that the human nature only can be handled and that the divine is intangible; and He that said ‘I go’ indicates…” — editor's note: John iv. 24
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Ambrose of Milan
“That there is one Spirit, all holy, grace witnesseth, because there is one Baptism, in the Name of the Trinity.” — editor's note: The Spirit here spoken of is, according to Hurter’s interpretation, not the Third Person of the Trinity, but the Triune God, Who is a Spirit (John iv. 24; 2…
Read the whole comment“Nay, if they will affirm this of the Son, they will make out in the Father also a need of bodily activity, in order that the Son may see that which He Himself is to do.” — editor's note: i.e. that the Father is not a Spirit (S. John iv. 24) but exists in bodily shape.
Read the whole comment“Yet since most suitable place occurs here, that we may not seem to have passed on without a conclusion, let them read that both the Father is called Spirit, as the Lord said in the Gospel, “for God is Spirit;” and Christ is called Spirit, for Jeremiah said: “The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord.”” — editor's note: S. John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.”” — editor's note: S. John iv. 23, 24.
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John Chrysostom
“…made] through the soul; those made through the spirit. (“God,” it is said, “is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”— John iv. 24 ); things which have no need of a body, no need of instruments, nor of special places, whereof each one is himself the Priest, such as, moderation,…” — the author cites it
Read the whole comment“For as in speaking concerning the Father, he says, “God is a Spirit” ( John iv. 24 ), and we do not, because the article is not joined to “Spirit,” yet deny the Spiritual Nature of God; so here, although the article is not annexed to the Son, the Son is not on that account a less God.” — the author cites it
Read the whole comment“…we have received a teaching that is far clearer, and learned that “God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” ( c. iv. 24 ); and again, that it is impossible to see God; “that no man knoweth” Him, “save the Son” ( Matt. xi. 27 ); that He is the Father of the true and…” — the author cites it
Read the whole comment“Ver.” — the author cites it
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Jerome
“The true worshippers worship the Father neither at Jerusalem nor on mount Gerizim; for “God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”” — editor's note: Joh. iv. 24.
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Basil the Great
“So our Lord, when teaching the woman who thought God to be an object of local worship that the incorporeal is incomprehensible, said “God is a spirit.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“For it is not said through the Spirit, but by the Spirit, and “God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” as it is written “in thy light shall we see light,” namely by the illumination of the Spirit, “the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“He is called Spirit, as “God is a Spirit,” and “the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord.”” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“Deceived as she was by the customs of her country into the belief that worship was local, our Lord, with the object of giving her better instruction, said that worship ought to be offered “in Spirit and in Truth,” plainly meaning by the Truth, Himself.” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
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Hilary of Poitiers
“But the words of the Gospel, For God is Spirit, need careful examination as to their sense and their purpose.” — editor's note: St. John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“…and Thy right hand shall hold me; that He is without body, for it is written, For God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth; that He is immortal and invisible, as Paul says, Who only hath immortality, and dwelleth in light unapproachable, whom no man hath seen nor can see, and the…” — editor's note: St. John iv. 24.
Read the whole comment“Now, therefore, I ask what Spirit works these things, dividing to each one according as He wills: is it He by Whom or He in Whom there is this distribution of gifts?” — editor's note: Hilary’s interpretation of this passage is not strictly Trinitarian. His view is that there are two Divine Persons at work, the Father and the Son, and that…
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Gregory of Nazianzus
“For Scripture says, God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.” — editor's note: John iv. 24.
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Catena Aurea on John
- John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
The woman is not offended at Christ’s rebuke. She does not leave Him, and go away. Far from it: her admiration for Him is raised: The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou art a Prophet: as if she said, Thy…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
The husband was beginning to come to her, though He had not yet fully come. She thought our Lord a prophet, and He was a prophet: for He says of Himself, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country.…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
And having come to this belief she asks no questions relating to this life, the health or sickness of the body: she is not troubled about thirst, she is eager for doctrine.
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
And she begins enquiries on a subject that perplexed her; Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. This was a great dispute between the Samaritans…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
By, our fathers, she means Abraham, who is said to have offered up Isaac here.
Read the whole comment - OrigenCatena Aurea on John
Or thus; The Samaritans regarded Mount Gerizim, near which Jacob dwelt, as sacred, and worshipped upon it; while the sacred place of the Jews was Mount Sion, God’s own choice. The Jews being the people from whom…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
Christ however does not solve this question immediately, but leads the woman to higher things, of which He had not spoken till she acknowledged Him to be a prophet, and therefore listened with a more full belief:…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
Believe Me, our Lord says with fitness, as the husband is now present. For now there is one in thee that believes, thou hast begun to be present in the understanding; but if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not…
Read the whole comment - Alcuin of YorkCatena Aurea on John
In saying, the hour cometh, He refers to the Gospel dispensation, which was now approaching; under which the shadows of types were to withdraw, and the pure light of truth was to enlighten the minds of believers.
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
There was no necessity for Christ to shew why the fathers worshipped in the mountain, and the Jews in Jerusalem. He therefore was silent on that question; but nevertheless asserted the religious superiority of the…
Read the whole comment - OrigenCatena Aurea on John
Ye, literally refers to the Samaritans, but mystically, to all who understand the Scriptures in an heretical sense. We again literally means the Jews, but mystically, I the Word, and all who conformed to My Image,…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
The Samaritans worshipped they knew not what, a local, a partial God, as they imagined, of whom they had the same notion that they had of their idols. And therefore they mingled the worship of God with the worship of…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
It is saying much for the Jews, to declare in their name, We worship what we know. But He does not speak for the reprobate Jews, but for that party from whom the Apostles and the Prophets came. Such were all those…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
The Jewish worship then was far higher than the Samaritan; but even it shall be abolished; The hour cometh, and now is, when, the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. He says, and now is,…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
Or by saying, true, he excludes the Jews together with the Samaritans. For the Jews, though better than the Samaritans, were yet as much inferior to those who were to succeed them, as the type is to the reality. The…
Read the whole comment - OrigenCatena Aurea on John
Twice it is said, The hour cometh, and the first time without the addition, and now is. The first seems to allude to that purely spiritual worship which is suited only to a state of perfection; the second to earthly…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
He speaks here of the Church; wherein there is true worship, and such as becometh God; and therefore adds, For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. For though formerly He willed that mankind should linger under a…
Read the whole comment - OrigenCatena Aurea on John
But if the Father seeks, He seeks through Jesus, Who came to seek and to save that which was lost, and to teach men what true worship was. God is a Spirit; i. e. He constitutes our real life, just as our breath…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
Or it signifies that God is incorporeal; and that therefore He ought to be worshipped not with the body, but with the soul, by the offering up a pure mind, i. e. that they who worship Him, must worship Him in spirit…
Read the whole comment - Hilary of PoitiersCatena Aurea on John
Or, by saying that God being a Spirit ought to be worshipped in spirit, He indicates the freedom and knowledge of the worshippers, and the uncircumscribed nature of the worship: according to the saying of the…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on John
And that we are to worship in truth, means that whereas the former ordinances were typical; that is to say, circumcision, burnt offerings, and sacrifices; now, on the contrary, every thing is real.
Read the whole comment - Theophylact of OhridCatena Aurea on John
Or, because many think that they worship God in the spirit, i. e. with the mind, who yet held heretical doctrines concerning Him, for this reason He adds, and in truth. May not the words too refer to the two kinds of…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
O for a mountain to pray on, thou criest, high and inaccessible, that I may be nearer to God, and God may hear me better, for He dwelleth on high. Yes, God dwelleth on high, but He hath respect unto the humble.…
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Cross-references · 59
Cited together in Council of Ephesus, Anathematism 11.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit Chapter 8 and 2 other places.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.16 and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity V.11.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in Theophylact of Ohrid on John 4:19–24 (Catena Aurea) and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Resurrection of the Flesh Chapter 7.
Cited together in Against Heresies Fragments from.37.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit Chapter 8.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.16.
Cited together in On Prayer Chapter 28.
Cited together in Against Celsus VI.70.
Cited together in Against Celsus VI.70.
Cited together in Hilary of Poitiers on John 4:19–24 (Catena Aurea) and 2 other places.
Cited together in On Prayer Chapter 28.
Cited together in On the Resurrection of the Flesh Chapter 7 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Against Celsus VI.70.
Cited together in Against Heresies Fragments from.37.
Cited together in Catechism §1179.
Cited together in Catechism §1179 and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Against Heresies Fragments from.37.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.16.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4 and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit Chapter 8.
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on John 4:19–24 (5) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in Expositions on the Psalms Psalm 131.
Cited together in Expositions on the Psalms Psalm 131.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.16.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4.
Cited together in Against Hermogenes Chapter 32.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 7.
Cited together in Against Hermogenes Chapter 32 and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XV.5.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XV.5.
Cited together in Expositions on the Psalms Psalm 131.
Cited together in Expositions on the Psalms Psalm 131.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4.
Cited together in On the Holy Spirit I.9.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Against Heresies Fragments from.37.
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on John 4:19–24 (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith I.5.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Exposition of the Christian Faith IV.4.