When God Says …
“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:21-23 KJV)
When the Lord said "believe me", He calls attention to the woman and us too, with what He is about to say. As she professed Him being a prophet, it is of importance to take seriously the Words He speaks. It is not a matter of dispute where and how to worship God. The truth is, worship is not confined to any place or time, as it was from the start. Religious worship under the law is not what God desires and is now in the past. Grace and truth has come in the person of Christ Jesus (John 1:17).
The Lord affirmed that Samaritans, as with other gentiles and pagans, worship totally out of ignorance from truth. Their worships are corrupted and far from truth. Their worships are abhorrent to the One true God. They are of no value, done out of ignorance from the truth. While the Jews in general who were the custodians of God's promises and Words, do worship the true God they claim to know, but as the Lord Jesus recognized, their worship too were futile. They corrupted it by doctrines of religion that they concocted and pursued zealously. They've fallen from grace and truth that God desires.
The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the time for true worship has come. Grace and truth is in her presence and us too, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our worship is not anymore dictated by corrupted doctrines. It is not the worship by religion borrowed from pagans and human precepts, of rituals, customs, traditions and of self efforts made by men. Worship is not only at certain elaborate places and appointed time designed by religious enterprises to hold captive the souls of many led astray. Definitely not worship to images of dead men and women. We are to worship in spirit and truth, the Lord Jesus declared. We now have direct access to the Father as it has been from the beginning, through grace by faith in Christ Jesus.
We are to worship Him in temples not made by human hands. He doesn't dwell in temples made by men no matter how massive and extravagant those are (Acts 7:48). We glorify and worship Him every moment of our lives and in our hearts. By His grace through faith in Christ Jesus, scriptures declare: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
(When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.)
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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