John 4:1-26 is the story of Jesus at “noon, the sixth hour”, at Jacob’s well in Samaria, Israel, where He explained to a Samaritan woman who He is, by telling the details of her life, for she wanted to know where and how proper “worship” was to be done, so Jesus explained “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth”, as He says in John 16:13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come”
In John 1:17 we know “grace and truth” came through Jesus Christ, and Jesus, in John 14:6, says He is “Truth and Life”; thus, He in the Holy Spirit, is “Spirit and Truth”, for Jesus says in John 16:13, the Holy Spirit will only tell us what He hears from Jesus, the “Spirit and Truth”.
Praise, prayer, thanks, and worship are not the words we speak, the raising of hands, or clapping, in an “emotional surrender” to God, but “knowing the Father’s heart”, which is “knowing the will and mind of Jesus”, the resurrected Christ, God’s dear Son, who when death, the last enemy is under His feet; will as 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 says in verses 24-26, 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (The satanic spirit of death is our enemy.”
Jesus, the resurrected Christ, is now reigning over God’s creation, and all forms of “worship” is what God’s dear Son, Jesus Christ, desires, so to “worship in Spirit and Truth”, to “worship in the Spirit of truth” is to “know the mind of Christ”, which as we learn from 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 and Philippians 2:5-11, is also the mind of the Father and Holy Spirit, for They are One.
Let me say it again, “Praise, prayer, thanks, and worship are not the words we speak, the raising of hands, or clapping, in an “emotional surrender” to God, but “knowing the Father’s heart”, which is “knowing the “will and mind” of Jesus, the resurrected Christ, God’s dear Son.
Ephesians 3:14-21 and Romans 8:31-39 explain this truth as well as God can explain it to us, and even then, most fail to fully understand why 2 Corinthians 1:19-22 places all God’s promises in Jesus, the resurrected Christ; thus, to receive God’s promises, we must have personal encounters (meetings) with Jesus Christ, 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. 20 For ALL the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (See also 2 Peter 1:2-4.)
Jesus warns us in John 5:39-40 a diligent search of Scripture trying to find a verse or verses to “claim” for our needs to be supplied is fruitless, for “the only purpose of the Scriptures is to testify” or point us to Jesus Christ, in whom is not only our present “abundant life” (John 10:10), but also our “eternal life” (1 John 5:11-12), and ALL God’s promises.
Now we know why Jesus explains in John 16:13-15, 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
Hosea 2:2-23 is the truth of God’s love and correction of Israel, His wife, who “harloted” herself with many foreign gods, by giving them what God had given Israel, His wife; thus, He placed Israel in “lockdown” as slaves of foreign nations, until she learned God was her faithful and true lover, provider, and protector, and God still loves and fight for His wife, Israel.
Ephesians 5:22-33 compares a loving husband and wife to Him and His bride, the church, members of His body, and Revelation 21 and 22 describe “New Jerusalem” as “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (21:9), with all the beauty and perfection she is in Him, with the “impure” and needy living outside her, which is also pictured in Jesus’ 7 parables in Matthew 13 and His 2 parable in Matthew 25, so always in every situation, remain in Christ Jesus and let Him fight all your battles.
Jim Nabors
