Ephesians 6:17; The Word and the Holy Spirit Make True Worshippers

Class Outline:

Wednesday June 1, 2022

 

The word and the Holy Spirit.

 

The sword that Paul chooses is the machaira which is the Roman short sword and not the long sword. This small sword was the crucial offensive weapon in close combat.

 

JOH 4:1-26

When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 The Samaritan woman therefore said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  11 She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."  15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw." 16 He said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly. " 19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. 22 "You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

Before Jesus could give her the water, she had to know who He was, so He instructed her to go and get her husband. He knew this would give Him the opportunity to show her who He was and at the same time forgive her for her sins.

 

The reality of all-mighty God, and His love and gentleness to us sinners, breaks our self-will and pulls our gaze towards Him.

 

God has revealed Himself to the world as the only one who can fulfill the ache in every heart. He has revealed His Son on the cross as the means. Therefore, He has revealed His love to the world so that the narrow gate is of grace, not of works. Though many still turn away, the love, grace, gentleness of God is a magnet that pulls on all eyes. As believers, having walked through the narrow gate, we have the wonderful opportunity through the word and Spirit to see God’s face as it is revealed, and in essence, since seeing means obeying, submitting, adoring, loving; this is the worship of God, not in ritual but in real-time relationship.

 

The Lord Jesus would later reveal that the rivers of living water would be the Holy Spirit flowing in our inner being (heart, mind, spirit, soul). And He says an incredible thing to the Samaritan woman, that God would seek for the true worshippers, who would worship Him in Spirit and in truth. The truth was the first article of armor and the sword of the Spirit the last.

 

The believer is to worship God. He is to worship in Spirit and in truth.

 

It might seem a paradox that we worship God while wearing His armor. However, knowing what the armor consists of: truth, righteousness … etc., we see that we couldn’t wear the full armor and not worship God. To worship is to revere Him, to place Him at the center of your life because He alone is worthy. To worship God is to celebrate God’s worthiness by adoring Him and basing everything on Him. We will discuss more about worship farther on in the doctrine.

 

Jesus later revealed the living water - the gift of the Holy Spirit to mankind.

 

JOH 7:37-39

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"  39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

The Holy Spirit inspired the word of God and He gives it its edge. Without the Holy Spirit, the word of God is only text. It must be alive to us.

 

We will only see the living quality of the word of God by faith and application.

 

MAT 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

 

“pure” - katharos = free from impure admixture, without blemish, spotless. We are cleansed from sin at salvation. We need now only look with our pure eyes (faith).