Thursday – August 25, 2016
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus. Peace and grace be multiplied in each of our lives as we grow in the knowledge of Him. This growing in knowledge and receiving the multiplied peace and grace of God requires the meditation of the knowledge and its implementation. As many of you know, on Thursday I frequently discuss a topic that is separate from the text we are studying at least for part of the teaching. Today I am going to speak about each of us being a ‘true worshipper’.
John 4:23-24 (KJV)
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
As you may already know the setting for this passage is Jesus asking for water and having a conversation with a Samaritan woman.
John 4:7 (KJV)
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Samaria corresponds geographically to what is called the West Bank today. In ancient times Israel split into northern and southern kingdoms. In the north were ten tribes collectively called Israel, and in the south was two tribes (Judea and Benjamin) collectively called Judea. When the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom (Israel) they carried off many of the Jews and repopulated in part from Assyria. So in the time of Jesus there would be three predominate groups in that area, Jews, Assyrians, and those who intermarried. It would appear from John 4:9 that this woman was not a Jew but a gentile.
Jesus asks this woman for a drink of water when she came to draw water from the well. She is willing to draw water for Him and give it to Him but she is taken aback that He would ask her for to the Jew she was considered inferior. Jesus may well have been thirsty for natural water for He was a man. Water in Scripture is representative of the Word of God, therefore it is Jesus Himself. The intake of natural water is necessary for life and for cleansing. The more important ‘water’ is the spiritual water which is The Word, the written Scripture, and Jesus. This Water is necessary for eternal life (one with God) verses eternal death (separate from God). This Water, Scripture, first the acceptance of Jesus as Lord, cleanses us of the filth of the world system, renews the mind, establishes and maintains righteousness. Sounds like some pretty good stuff to me!
John 4:13-14 (KJV)
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Jesus immediately starts to talk to this woman (all of us) about this spiritual water and how it (Jesus and Scripture) brings one into everlasting life. Now that we have a foundation let’s take a look again at our text.
John 4:23-24 (KJV)
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
As we re-examine this passage let’s expand our foundation (paradigm) further by looking at the following verse in two different translations of the Bible.
John 6:63 (KJV)
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63 (HCSB)
63 The Spirit is the One who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
First let’s deal with the word worship and in Scripture and this passage in particular what does it mean to worship. According to the Complete Word Study Dictionary in part it means: to worship, do obeisance (homage, respect, deference, duty, loyalty, and bow to). So there can be the physical demonstration of worship which is kneeling before or falling prostrate on the ground before a person, in this case God. That is symbolic of a larger concept or reality. Full and complete worship is to place oneself completely at the mercy of and subject to another, in this case God, Jesus, the Word, the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Our text John 4:24 tells us that we must (not optional) worship the Father in spirit and truth, if we are to operate in the Kingdom of God. We must be focused on God with the words of our mouth with our behavior fully reflecting His Truth. Because God is a spirit does not mean He is imaginary and unreal, the spirit realm is the source of the physical but cannot be measured by the physical realm. That is not to say that you and I cannot detect the Holy Spirit. Whether you or I can feel Him or not He is in us and all about us. How much we are aware of Him in the sensory realm is no measure of the power present and available.
Be fully cognizant that understanding of the physical realm gives us greater insight into the spiritual (Romans 1:20). All words are spirit and originate from the thoughts (which are spirit) which originate in our minds a spiritual organ, part of our soul, and these words will bring life or death into our lives and even the lives of those around us. So, our worship, complete submission, to God, will be in spirit (the words of our mouth). The only words that show submission and will accomplish things in our lives and the Kingdom of God are the Words of God. Mixing His Words with those of the world (evil) is evil.
Now Jesus also said we must worship in Truth. So what is the Truth? One might say, why it is the Word of God and in general that is correct. There are four things which constitute the Truth.
- Jesus (John 14:6)
- The Word of God (John 17:17)
- The Holy Spirit (John 16:13)
- Love (Psalm 119:142, Matthew 22:36-40)
A full study of these is extensive so this will be for another time and can be found in my Booklet titled: Knowledge of The Truth. True worship (spirit and Truth) before the Father will cause us to be His representatives, bring revelation of Him to others, and be a spiritual and physical expression of Him.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
