The book of John stresses our need of the Spirit, who is the reality of the divine life. In this chapter we will examine four cases in this Gospel that illustrate the principle of life versus good and evil. Within the fallen race of man there is always the question: “Is this good or evil, right or wrong, yes or no?” When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, people always brought questions concerning good and evil, right and wrong, and yes and no to Him.
In John 4 is the case of a sinful woman despised by society. In her talk with the Lord, He pointed out to her that she needed the living water (v. 10). The living water is the Triune God, even the Son of God, the very Christ who became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). This was all that the woman needed. When she asked Him for this water, Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here” (John 4:16). The Lord was wise and very gracious. He was not like us. Many times when we preach the gospel, we do not have much wisdom. When we preach the gospel of the Lord as the living water and the sinner replies that he wants it, we may say, “What about your sin? Don’t you know you are a sinner?” This may offend people, and this offense will cause them to be closed. The Lord Jesus was wise. He did not use the word sin; He used the word husband instead. It is as if He said, “Go call your husband. I do not want to talk to you about sin. I want to talk to you about your husband. You have a problem concerning your husband.” That woman was deeply touched. The matter of her husband was the real issue with her. This matter was the center of her sinfulness.
At this point the woman lied to the Lord Jesus by speaking the truth. She said, “I don’t have a husband” (v. 17). Whether this was a lie or the truth depends on your interpretation. The Lord did not condemn her but said, “You have well said, I don’t have a husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband; this you said truly” (vv. 17-18). She did not confess her sins, but the Lord Jesus made a thorough confession of her sins for her. Then the woman became clever and turned the question concerning her husband to a religious question concerning the worship of God. She said, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men must worship” (v. 20). Her question was related to whether one should worship in that mountain or in Jerusalem. It was a question of yes or no, right or wrong. The Lord Jesus did not answer yes or no, right or wrong. He said, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father....But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and reality; for the Father seeks such to worship Him” (vv. 21, 23).
Here we may see a principle. In that day among the Jews and Samaritans, there was much talk about the worship of God. This is a good, glorious, and beautiful subject. Today it is the same. In the churches we may have much talk about the worship of God. Some may talk about whether to worship God in this way or in that way, by this means or by that means, or in this place or in that place. These are the different opinions, ideas, concepts, and understandings concerning the worship of God. We may have been caught up by the issue of the worship of God. However, we may have neglected and forgotten that to worship God is altogether not according to the outward way, but is a matter in our spirit. The One whom we worship is not outward. He is a Spirit. His nature and essence is Spirit, just as the nature and essence of a table is wood. We must realize that the very One whom we worship does not demand that we worship Him in a certain place or in a certain way. He is a Spirit essentially. We cannot touch electricity with a piece of wood. We must use metal to touch electricity, to become electrified. In the same way, only the spirit of man can touch this God who is Spirit (v. 24). Talk about ways means nothing.
The Jews learned the things concerning the worship of God from the writings of Moses, and the Samaritans learned the worship of God from the same writings. History tells us that the Samaritans had the Pentateuch and worshipped God according to that part of the Old Testament, as did the Jews. Both peoples had the same portion of the Bible, but they had different interpretations. The Jews said that they had to worship God on Mount Zion, the central part of Jerusalem. But the Samaritans said they must worship in Samaria. In these two places, two peoples held two concepts. The one people said that their concept was according to the Bible, and the other people said that their concept was more according to the Bible. This sinful, despised, and clever woman brought the question of worship to the Lord Jesus. She wanted to know who was right and who was wrong. She only had the knowledge concerning the worship of God. The mere knowledge concerning the worship of God means nothing. If you are really concerned about the worship of God, you must know that the very God whom we worship is Spirit in essence. Worship does not depend upon regulation, knowledge, a place, or any ways. It all depends upon what part of your being you use to worship-your spirit, your mind, or your body.
When I visited Jerusalem, I saw Moslems worship God by prostrating themselves on the ground. I said within myself, “What are you doing there? Don’t you realize that this is abominable in the eyes of God?” They took off their shoes because they considered their place of worship to be sacred, and they replaced them with special, expensive slippers. Then they got in a line and followed everyone else to bow down several times. They worshipped God by an exercise of their physical bodies. However, the Lord Jesus told us that worship is neither in this place or in that place, and neither in our mind or our body, but in our spirit. “God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit...” (John 4:24). We must exercise our spirit. It is possible that we may talk much about the worship of God but forget that the worship of God could only be prevailing in our spirit. Do not talk about the ways or the “hows.” We must realize that anything concerning God must be in our spirit. Turn to the spirit. This must be renewed among us. We should say, “Don’t talk about the worship of God. Turn to your spirit.” What matters is neither Samaria nor Jerusalem but our spirit, because the very One whom we worship is Spirit, and we can contact Him in and with our spirit.
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