Worship - The gospel priority
John 4:15-26 - Terry Phillips
January 11, 2015
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Worship - The Gospel Priority
John 4:15-26-NOtes
Last time we considered the opening statements in the Lord’s discourse with the Samaritan woman at the well, recorded in the 4th chapter of John’s gospel.
It is a most fascinating passage, First of all, in respect to the impartial and condescending concern of the Lord for a single unlikely soul that most others would have completely ignored.
In spite of the Lord’s physical weariness on that hot dusty road, He is intent to take the time to impart soul-saving truth to this lost and struggling sinner.
It is also a very crucial passage in respect to the profound teaching Jesus communicated – teaching that we would have expected to be reserved for the most brilliant religious scholars.
This is another of those passages that so clearly confirms the truth that the apostle Paul was so thoroughly convinced of. I Corinthians 1:26-29
As we have already seen, Jesus deals with some of the key elements of the gospel, when He spoke to this woman about the living water that He gives to sinners.
1.) The condescending love of God in imparting living water to spiritually dead sinners.
2.) The uselessness of any merit of our own. It is the gift of God! (Jn. 4:10, Eph. 2:8)
3.) The exclusive source of living water. “…the water that I shall give…”
4.) The abundance of the provision. “living water…a well of water springing up…”
There is yet another key element of the gospel to be noted as we proceed in the narrative.
5.) The need for repentance.
The woman begins to show a genuine interest in what Jesus is saying to her, even though she is unable to follow the spiritual nature of His words. Jesus immediately hones in on her needy sinful condition. vs. 16-18
For the woman, it is an awkward and embarrassing turn in the conversation, but it is a very necessary one. It demonstrates the genuine depth of the Lord’s concern for her.
Jesus came to save us from our sin – not to comfort us in our sin.
This is a crucial aspect of the gospel that is far too often ignored. The blessed truth is, that Jesus reaches down and saves even the vilest offender – we can come the way we are – but He doesn’t bring us near to Himself the way we are.
(Ephesians 2:13)
He cleanses us by His own blood, so that we can be justly justified before a holy God.
He delivers us from the way we are – so that in one Divine stroke of grace, the way we are, becomes the way we were!
This is not to suggest that at the moment of salvation we become sinless in living. In the sight of God, we are justified – reckoned to be just as if we had never sinned – being clothed, by faith, with the imputed righteousness of Christ.
We will still struggle with sin, but our attitude and relationship to sin have been radically and forever altered in Jesus.
When the concept of repentance is ignored in the message of the gospel, there will be the danger of people being confused as to what they are coming to Jesus to be saved from.(bad health, bad job, bad marriage, bad finances, hard struggles…)
Apart from Christ, we are in no position to determine what we need to be saved from. God alone knows our real need. That is why He sent His only Son to save His people from their sin.
“And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” I John 3:5
In dealing with the crucial matter of repentance, Jesus was demonstrating the condescending kindness of God to this heavy-laden woman. (Romans 2:4)
Jesus is direct and to the point, but His words are vouchsafed in genuine love.
The woman responds with a somewhat awkward deflection – that at the same time reveals an increasing interest. (vs. 19-20)
She first states the obvious, and then introduces religious controversy. This is indeed a well-worn ploy in the face of the personal conviction that accompanies the gospel.
The controversy is a real one – in fact, a very deep and intense one.
The Jews and the Samaritans had no shortage of animosity for one another. But Jesus refuses to be sidetracked by the controversy. Instead He exposes the transcendent perspective that renders the particulars of the controversy irrelevant.
At this point Jesus directs this woman’s attention to the priority of the gospel. Jesus declares the priority of the gospel to be the worship and honoring of God.
This is most critical – though we would have never seen this priority on our own.
On our own we would have seen the priority of the gospel to be the delivering of sinners from eternal condemnation. But this is not – of itself – a worthy priority for so great a salvation.
The saving of sinners came at a cost to the God of the universe that is not worthy to be compared on the same plane as the benefits bestowed upon arrogant rebels.
The indescribable gift of God’s Son on our behalf demands a priority of awe-inspiring reverence for the Lord that eclipses our own undeserved blessings.
There is only one appropriate priority for so great a salvation – and that is the exaltation and worship of the One who possessed the perfect righteousness and justice, the infinite riches of mercy and grace – capable of providing so adequate a remedy for such undeserving reprobates.
Jesus says that God purposed for His redemptive plan to be realized through His chosen people. This was God’s declaration to Abraham before the Jewish nation existed.
Jesus says that an hour is coming, and now is. This is confirmed again by the Lord when He said:
“something greater than Jonah is here.” (Mt. 12:41)
“something greater than Solomon is here.” (Lk. 11:31)
“something greater than the temple is here.” (Mt. 12:6)
The arguments of heritage were no longer necessary. When the Eternal Word became flesh – the covenant promises were made clear.
The focus and apex of the Abrahamic covenant was Jesus! (Galatians 3:16)
The goal of the Mosaic covenant was Christ! (Romans 10:4)
The culmination of the Davidic covenant is God’s own Son! (Isaiah 9:6-7
Jesus declared to this woman, that the O.T. concepts of worship were no longer valid in light of the revelation – the presence of God with us – Immanuel! Jn 1:14 & 18, Heb. 1:3
God is spirit. He is infinite in all His attributes and perfection. He is beyond the confines of human comprehension, material limitations, and even time itself! Psalm 145:3 I Kings 8:27, Isaiah 66:1 John 1:1, Rom. 16:26, Heb. 7:3, 13:8
Mindless ritual, sacred location, vain repetition, hypocritical tradition – heartless religion, is not worthy of the Lord of glory. (Matthew 15:7-9)
God is the ultimate reality – He must be worshipped in spirit and truth.
God is seeking true worshippers.
We need to carefully consider what this actually involves.
Revelation 5:13
