10. John 4:20-26 Jesus Teaches True Worship

March 11th, 2025
by Randy Eliason
1
 

1. SCRIPTURE 

Vs 23-24:  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

VS 26: Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

2. OBSERVATIONS : 

After Jesus confronted the woman about her personal spiritual and moral failure, she tried to shift the conversation away from her personal need salvation and life transformation and began a conversation about the religious debate between Jews and Samaritans over proper location of God’s Temple. The Samaritans had built their own temple as a rival to the temple in Jerusalem. 
 
Jesus shifted the conversation back to the heart of the matter. The temple was only the temporary place where people would need to go to meet with God and enjoy his presence. Now that Jesus was among them, God ‘s presence was experienced through Jesus, the incarnation of God. John 1:14 states that the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among mankind. In John 2:19 Jesus described himself in terms that indicated he was the true temple of God.
 
Jesus explained that God was doing something new. Worship would no longer be confined to a specific structure in a particular location. True worship, worship which would be acceptable to God, is worship “in Spirit and truth”.  Worship must come from the heart, motivated and directed by the Spirit. Worship must be according to the truth God has revealed about himself. We must worship God according to His revelation about himself, not according to what we imagine him to be. Worshipping a God of our imagination is idolatry.
 
The woman seemed to be thinking out loud, wondering if Jesus was in fact the Messiah. Her words show her to be thinking. “We have been expecting the Messiah, and he will be a man who will reveal all things. Here I am, talking to a man who has revealed knowledge about me and God that is beyond what any normal man could know, maybe he is the one?!”
 
Jesus explicitly declared that he was the Messiah.

3. APPLICATION: 

We must be careful not to turn my focus to superficial “religious” talk while ignoring the things the Holy Spirit is trying to say to us about the condition of my heart.


This passage helps me to think about the way I worship God. It reminds me that God is more concerned about the posture of my heart in worship than the posture of my body. 


As someone who loves “worship music” I am reminded that I must never become dependent upon a level of musical production for me to worship. If I do so, I will be worshipping the way the songs and the music make me feel rather than the God I am singing about.


I will choose to worship God by seeking to honor him with my whole life: My words, my body, and my stewardship decisions.

4. PRAYER: 

Dear Jesus, thank you for changing my heart and showing me what it means to worship in Spirit and truth. Thank you for pouring out your grace and love in my life through the presence of the Holy Spirit. I dedicate my life to you. Help me to live for your glory.
 
In Your name, I pray. Amen.
Posted in The Gospel of John

Randy Eliason

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Anne Vaughn - March 11th, 2025 at 2:29pm

When Jesus, through his spirit, speaks to the heart of my matter, I often deflect from the the moment. If I listen the Holy Spirit always has questions for me. When God asks a question it is always a soul issue.... never superficial.

nLORD help me to be willing to go deep... to the inward parts...where you desire the truth.

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 2025
 March
Reading Plan : The Gospel of John Reading Plan1. John 1:1-18-Jesus, the Word Made Flesh(The Incarnation)2. John 1:19-28 - John the Baptist: The Forerunner of Christ3. John 1:29-34 Jesus, the Lamb of God Who Takes Away Sin4. John 1:35-51 Jesus Calls His First Disciples5. John 2:1-12 Jesus Turns Water into Wine6. John 2:13-25 Jesus, the True Temple of God7. John 3:1-21 Jesus, the Giver of Eternal Life8. John 3:22-36 Believe in Jesus, Receive Eternal Life9. John 4:1-19 Jesus, the Giver of Living Water10. John 4:20-26 Jesus Teaches True Worship11. John 4:27-42 Jesus Calls Workers for the Harvest of Souls12. John 4:43-54 Jesus Heals an Official’s Son13. John 5:1-18 Jesus Heals at the Pool of Bethesda14. John 5:19-29 Jesus, the Son Who Shares the Father’s Authority15. John 5:30-47 Jesus, The Fulfillment of Scripture16. John 6:1-21 Jesus, the Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15)17. John 6:22-59 Jesus, the Bread of Life (Exodus 16:4, 14-15)18. John 6:41-71 Jesus, the Source of Eternal Life19. John 7:1-24 Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles20. John 7:25-52 Jesus, the Messiah rejected by the World21. John 8:1-30 Jesus, the Light of the World22. John 8:31-59 Jesus Declares Freedom23. John 9:1-23 Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind24. John 9:24-41 Jesus, the just judge of the world25. John 10:1-21 Jesus, the Good Shepherd and the Door26. John 10:22-42 Jesus, One with the Father27. John 11:1-27 Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life28. John 11:28-44 Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead29. John 11:45-57 The Plot to Kill Jesus30. John 12:1-19 Jesus's Triumphal Entry
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