Worship as seen in John 4:24

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

In John 4:24 the Bible tells us that because God is a Spirit we are to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Why are these two things specifically stated and separate? During that time Jews had the Law and practiced it to the letter, so they worshiped in truth. While the Samaritans who believed did not have the law, but they knew that the Messiah was promised to come, so they worshiped in spirit. We see the reason Christ said this was for His followers to realize true worship of Him must have these two aspects combined and not separated.
The fact that God is a Spirit is one of the greatest and most necessary truths in all of nature. God is the cause and controller of all things; He is eternal, governing, and all present for He is the infinite Spirit. Therefore He can only be pleased with those things that resemble Himself and His attributes. Because of His divine nature He abhors sin, only delighting in those who partake of His mercy and grace. Since all things were made by Him, all owe Him obedience and reverence. To achieve this spiritual worship it must come from the very depths of your heart, and the Holy Spirit must influence it. To worship in spirit is to bring your all before the throne of God and lay it at His feet. As it says in 1Timothy 1:17 we are to give honor and glory to our eternal King forever. God is all knowing and sees the condition of our heart, 1 Samuel 16:7. He values those who come to Him willing to submit to His power, Psalm 51:17. The legal ceremonies of Judaism do not bring peace to the heart because though it contains the truth, the Spirit is not in it. The emphasis on the truth becomes hypocrisy because they have no spiritual worship to fulfill the purpose. For this reason the ceremonial worship patterns of religion were abolished. Though, through that we were given liberty to worship freely, but not license to fulfill our own ways.
God is looking for truth in worship presented to Him, not just in sincerity but every purpose of the heart directed by Him. Matthew 15:8-9 shows that Christ was not pleased with those who spoke in honor while they erred in heart. Those who worship without being in truth will not only fall into judgment but lead others to destruction with them. Truth in worship will exude all our feelings, thoughts, words, and actions. In 2Corinthians 1:12 Paul exposes the fact that our conversation must be full of simplicity, Godly sincerity, void of fleshly wisdom, and by God’s grace. We conclude that God as a pure spiritual being, must be worship in spirit and in truth. So we are to worship Him in spiritual principles, men must offer a worship corresponding with the divine nature and attributes of God. When we can resemble Him in our worship then is He most honored.