In Spirit and In Truth— Part 1
Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship you know not what. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. [John 4:21-24]
This passage from John’s gospel is probably one of the most important accounts of the words of Jesus in the New Testament. In it, the Lord reveals the hinge by which the door of eternal life opens to us—from the incomplete worship of God under the Old Testament, to the true worship of God in the new. Furthermore, Jesus reveals that not only must people relate to God differently, but He also revealed God’s perfect will in the way He deals with us. The problem is that most Christians do not have revelation of this truth.
Here’s a question I want you to consider carefully in your heart: How is it that we understand that God became a man and submitted Himself to all that Jesus endured, including actually becoming sin and bearing our punishment for us, but yet not much would change in how God relates to us, and how we are to relate to Him? Perhaps you don’t see it this way and you might be shocked that I would even suggest such a thing, but in this chapter I will show you by practice that these things are true. That in spite of what Jesus has done, the Christian church, for the most part, continues to relate to God through the customs, rituals, and laws of the Old Testament.
I believe the greatest struggle in the Christian church today has been cultivated through a failure to understand the extent of what Jesus accomplished in relation to how God dealt with people under the old covenant and how we are to relate to Him under the new. Because of Jesus, God has established a completely different method of relating to us, and also us to Him. The Lord’s own words in John 4 and His actions prove this.
Here’s a great truth: Everything Jesus did for people during His earthly ministry is a perfect representation of God’s will for the human race. Furthermore, what Jesus did for individuals was for them, but what Jesus did on the cross was for everyone. Jesus said this on several occasions:
- For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. [John 6:38]
- And he who sent me is with me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. [John 8:29]
- You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice. [John 18:37]
However, in spite what the Bible teaches, most Christians have been taught to mix the old and the new together, which has caused major confusion and misunderstanding of God, resulting in clichés like “You never know what God’s gonna do” and “God works in mysterious ways”. What they are truly saying is that the God they know is schizophrenic at best, never knowing what side of the bed He has risen from—that He’s just as apt to wipe out a city with a hurricane as He is to heal someone from disease.
Some view Jesus as the compassionate counterpart to the angry God of the Old Testament, conjuring images of Jesus begging and pleading His Father not to blow His top and wipe us all out. The Lord showed me that many believe that the reason Jesus is now seated on the right hand of the Father is because it’s the only way to keep the Father from destroying us. They define longsuffering and patience as “not blowing your top” instead of its true definition.
It’s no wonder that many unbelievers have such a negative perception of God and also that many Christians spend very little time in prayer or studying the Bible. Few people want to spend time with someone who is moody and unstable.
Often when someone objects to the truth of the gospel—that God is dealing with us differently than before—they often say, “Yes, God is love, but He’s also a God of wrath and justice.” It’s as if they have applied a Yin/Yang or a Freudian Id/Ego/Superego characteristic to God. Because of their lack of knowledge and inability to rightly divide the truth, many Christians draw this conclusion from God’s actions in the Old Testament.
Under the old covenant, God used external things like the law and its rituals by which to worship Him, but now in the new covenant, God has placed the law and the Spirit of Christ within us (Hebrews 8:10; Romans 8:9-10). Therefore, the physical aspects of the Old Testament are no longer to be used to relate to God because these things are not representative of true worship of God. Likewise, God is no longer dealing with us in the same way through carnal ordinances that apply to the physical man, but through the spirit via Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul writes of this truth in his letter to the Romans: For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not of the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. [Romans 2:28-29]
The Bible makes a very clear distinction between the physical circumcision of the Old Testament and the spiritual circumcision of the new. Paul uses circumcision to illustrate these same truths throughout his teachings. Therefore, God is not using the law of carnal ordinances represented by the rite of circumcision because it was weak through the flesh.
The Bible says, For verily there is a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw near unto God. [Hebrews 7:18-19]
Let us remember this important truth from John’s gospel: And of his fullness have all we received and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. [John 1:16-18]
God was revealed in part through the Old Testament law, but He was completely and perfectly revealed through the grace that is in Jesus Christ. In other words, the law of Moses was not a reflection of God’s heart, but since Jesus is in the bosom of the Father, we can see that Jesus is the perfect reflection of God’s heart.
Therefore, when the Samaritan woman at the well asked Jesus about true worship of God, He said that the true worship of God would not be comprised of going to a mountain or temple, but that it would be personal (in spirit) to everyone—that God Almighty would actually dwell within us by the Spirit.
The Bible refers to the temple and tabernacle of the Old Testament, The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only in meats and drinks, and diverse washings, and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. [Hebrews 9:8-11]
Jesus is telling us that worshipping God through a temple or mountain, or any of the Old Testament articles (or vessels) is NOT true worship of God. Furthermore, the Lord is saying that God does not desire for us to relate to Him according to the law and customs contained in the old covenant because these customs were only parts of God represented through types and shadows of Christ, who is the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9). In other words, the ways of the old were weak in that they were of the flesh, but the Lord exhorts us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10) which refers to relating to God by grace through faith in Jesus—in spirit and in truth.
The eighth chapter of Hebrews relates this perfectly. Referring to the priesthood of Jesus Christ: Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For, See, he said, that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you in the mount. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people; and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother saying, Know the Lord. For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he said, A new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.
The word of God makes it very clear. The covenant He has made with us in Christ is NOT according to the covenant He made with Israel. He did not say this new covenant would be similar to the old, but in fact, it would be completely different (Hebrews 7:12-19). When God says it’s a new covenant, it’s new—not refurbished or dusted off, but completely brand new. If God said this was a better covenant established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6), why would we believe God desires for us to revert back to the old way? That would be like me as a father relating to my adult daughter in the same way I did when she was a child. The apostle Paul asked the same question to the Galatians: But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? [Galatians 4:9] The two ways are not compatible. The Bible says that Jesus has an unchangeable priesthood (Hebrews 7:24) and Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. [Hebrews 13:8]
Just from the ministry of Jesus, we see that He dealt with people in direct contradiction to what the law stipulated and how God acted previously. This is why the religious leaders in Israel saw Jesus as the devil—because what He was doing was exactly opposite of what they had perceived God to be through the Old Testament. There are many examples of the truth that God deals with us differently because of what Jesus did. I’ll share two of them with you.
Fire Down From Heaven
Lord, do you want that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them like Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. [Luke 9:54-56]
Here is perhaps the most obvious demonstration of this truth. Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem where the Lord had told them that He was going to be crucified. The Bible says:
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And sent messengers before his face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. And they did not receive him because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them like Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. [Luke 9:51-56]
For those who may not be familiar with the Old Testament, James and John were referring to what the great prophet Elijah did by the power of God when he called down fire from heaven to destroy 102 men (2 Kings 1). In 1 Kings 22:51-53 we read Ahaziah was the king of Israel and he reigned in Samaria. The Bible says that Ahaziah walked after the way of his father Ahab and his mother Jezebel; and did evil in the sight of God by worshipping the pagan god Baal.
Ahaziah had fallen through the ceiling in his house and became sick as a result. Instead of consulting the God of Israel, the king chose to send messengers to consult of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron to see if he would recover from this disease. The Lord sent Elijah to intercept the king’s messengers to tell them that Ahaziah would not recover from his sickness; and when the messengers returned to the king, they informed him of what Elijah had told them.
After hearing this, the king sent a captain and fifty soldiers to arrest Elijah, but when they tried to arrest him, Elijah said, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. [2 Kings 1:10]
Afterward, the king sent another fifty soldiers to get Elijah and once again the prophet called down the fire of God from heaven and killed another 51 men. This was an awesome display of the power of God. Because the king was rejecting the counsel of the true God, 102 men were killed through the power of God. And this is what James and John wanted to do—emulate the great prophet Elijah, and destroy the Samaritans for basically doing the same thing—they had rejected Jesus. But yet, we see that Jesus scolded them and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of, indicating they were operating out of an ungodly spirit rather than a godly one. What could’ve been so wrong to try to do what Elijah did?
The reason Jesus scolded James and John was because in spite of what Elijah did under the Old Testament, this was not representative of God’s best. Jesus represents God’s best and just because God sanctioned something previously does not make it His perfect will. It is clear that when Jesus arrived on earth, God’s dealings with mankind drastically changed.
So why is it that we still hear Christian ministers and so-called prophets proclaiming the impending “judgment of God” to come upon the nation because of sin, when it is clear that this is no longer God’s method of dealing with us? The ministries of the Holy Spirit and New Testament prophets are to testify of Jesus (John 15:26; Revelation 19:10). Therefore, if Jesus rebuked His disciples for wanting to do what Elijah did then, Jesus would certainly scold them now.
Therefore, if anyone proclaims the judgment of God like many did in response to September 11, the Pacific tsunamis, and the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, Jesus would scold them and say, You know not what manner of spirit you are of.
What Say You?
Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned; but what do you say? [John 8:5]
Another clear portrayal of the truth that God is dealing with us differently in the New Testament is the incident with the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8). Because they hated what Jesus taught and demonstrated, the religious leaders sought any occasion to destroy Him and His ministry. In this case, the Pharisees were presented with an opportunity to challenge Jesus in a public forum with a seemingly impossible dilemma.
The Old Testament law clearly stated, And the man that commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he that commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. [Leviticus 20:10]
It is clear that the hypocritical Pharisees were not interested in seeing justice served because if they were, they would have brought both the man and the woman before Jesus seeing that she was caught in the very act. They actually weren’t as concerned with seeing the woman killed, but rather, I believe they brought the woman alone to engender sympathy from Jesus so He wouldn’t condemn her, which would give them the legal right to kill Him for not complying with the law.
In their minds, whichever course Jesus would choose, they believed they had Jesus cornered. Either He would abide with the law and command her to be killed, which would destroy everything He taught about mercy and grace; or He would extend mercy to the woman, which would give the religious hypocrites a legal right to kill Him.
But, as the Scripture says, He (God) takes the wise in their own craftiness. [1 Corinthians 3:19; Job 5:13] The wisdom of the Pharisees was no match for the wisdom of Jesus.
Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded that such should be stoned, but what do you say? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are those your accusers? Has no man condemned you? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. [John 8:1-11]
The actions of many Christians today are much like the religious hypocrites in Jesus’ day. We have many Christian leaders who are quick to expose people who have committed sins and through the media set them in the midst of all the people to be judged, while Jesus is saying, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone… While the law prescribed death, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus extends mercy to those who would otherwise be condemned. Is it no surprise that Christians are known for “shooting” their own wounded?
I’m not saying that this woman or anyone else who is in sin is not wrong. Jesus said that adultery was sin, and sin is terrible. But what we have to understand is that what Jesus did on the cross is so much greater than any sin we could ever commit. One drop of His blood, one millisecond of His suffering was a million times more valuable than all the murders, rapes, sexual sins, or any other rotten thing in the world! Yes, she (and all of us) deserved death, but God chose to punish Jesus for our sins so He wouldn’t have to punish us. That is great news!
In Spirit and In Truth Part 1
The Purpose of the Law Part 1
The Purpose of the Law Part 2
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 1
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 2
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 3
The Comforter Part 1
The Comforter Part 2
God is Love Part 1
God is Love Part 2
God is Love Part 3
