The foundation of living to love with Jesus

John 4:23-24 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Do you think it is encouraging to know who the Father is seeking to be His worshipers? Psalms 53:2 puts this in God’s perspective. “God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” So question: Why is God seeking worshipers who worship Him in spirit and truth if there are none? Answer: Because only the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can create such a worshiper. Apart from the gracious work of Jesus, there would be no true worshipers. That’s why Jesus said, “But an hour is coming, and now is.” We can be encouraged from this story about the woman at the well that Jesus creates worshipers with whom the Father is well-pleased. Do you remember that Jesus told His disciples that apart from Him, they could do nothing to please the Father (John 15:5-8)? Let’s notice how Jesus made this woman into a worshiper in God. He told her some things about herself that reveals that she has always been in the presence of God. He sees and knows her because God is spirit. Jesus is God. Although He is in a material body, He is one with the Father, who is spirit. To say that God is spirit is to contrast the woman’s idea that God can only be worshiped in one place. The author of Hebrews wrote of the spiritual nature of God when he wrote in Heb. 4:13, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” To say God is spirit is to say that we can’t get away from His all-seeing eye. Because God is spirit, He is always present in His creation and working His will. What He is doing is the truth. What He sees happen is the truth because He’s ultimately the great, first cause of all that happens in His creation. Furthermore, and to the point of this encounter, the Father glorifies Himself through His Son. He does His work through His Son. Do you remember how I defined truth? Truth is what Jesus does, says, and sees. 1 Corinthians 8:6 expresses these concepts perfectly. “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” Do you get it? To worship God in spirit and truth can only happen if Jesus creates such worshipers. That’s what He came to do! He came to bring us to God, and that’s exactly what He was doing with the woman at the well. One can’t be a true worshiper without believing 1 Corinthians 8:6. That’s the only kind of worshiper the Father seeks and the Son creates. This kind of worshiper glorifies God because he knows his worship is God-wrought and that everything he does is in His presence for His glory. I suggest that glorifying God is the ultimate reason behind living to love with Jesus. He loves His Father and loves people, and that is His worship of the Father at work in all who believe. Their faith in God, who is spirit and truth, is the first work of grace that makes them the kind of worshiper the Father seeks—one who worships in spirit and truth. Believing that God is spirit is the foundation of living to love with Jesus. Is that your foundation? I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.