John 4:1-14 (HGM on 23 May 23)

1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, Commentary: Here is seen the development of the "he must increase" John (the Immerser) mentioned in Chapter 3. The Pharisees always kept tabs on religious activities in and around Palestine. This was certainly a picture of conflict in the eyes of the Pharisees because conflict was the way the Pharisees did business. 

2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) Commentary: Jesus never baptized one person His disciples did, but one thing for sure Jesus knew how to delegate. He trained His disciples and then sent them out to preach and perform signs and wonders. God gets His disciples involved so that He can do an inner work in them bringing them from a place of servant hood to friendship. We work the Gospel so that the Gospel can work us. 

3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. Commentary: So, Jesus left. Why did not John leave? John did not have enough spiritual discernment to know to leave. Jesus saw the conflict of the two ministries and knew His Father would not be glorified and the Pharisees would then exploit the division. We must be ready to shift gears in the LORD or He cannot use us. If called to the mission field we may not be called there our entire life. There are only two calls in the Bible: a call to repentance and a call to fellowship with the LORD. Example: Paul did not live and die in Macedonia (Act 16:6) 

4 And he must needs go through Samaria. Commentary: Most Jews take the Jordan Valley when traveling north to south. Then they usually cross over the east side of the river Bethabara (House of Crossing over) where John was immersing (John 1:28) This leading was contrary to custom and would be severely frowned upon by the Jews. So too today when we have a leading in God away from the traditions of men the Brethren frown upon it. But Samaria represents the racism, nationalism, and class status that Jesus bridges. When was the last time you went by way of Samaria? 

5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Commentary: "Then" comes only after a when. Only after Jesus (and us) are willing to move out from His ministry in Judea do we get our when. This is God's overall plan of ministry, when and then our "then." The "then" is a divine appointment destination. The when are the stepping stones. When we confess then we get our divine destination. This principle will follow us through life and even into eternity. Knowing the Father's will Jesus traveled towards Sychar. A servant may be put in a place for years before they see the reason, but faithfulness yields purpose. 

6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied (laboring) with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. (noon) Commentary: The natural always flows with the spiritual, so Jesus being tired rested at the well waiting for the Spiritual to yield an opportunity. We are brought into the Spiritual to live there as natural human beings. The LORD wants our Spiritual life to be more natural, but not carnal. We must not become over spiritualized this does more harm than good. But our life in the Spiritual must be lived out naturally, as breathing. The well usually was deserted, but Jesus had a divine appointment. 

7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. Commentary: Due to the time of day the woman wanted to avoid (morning and evening) the other women. Alone Jesus and the woman had a divine arrangement. Jesus initiated the conservation as He does with us all. He reaches out to the needy by the Holy Spirit before they can reach Him. He draws and we follow. 

8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Commentary: How odd all of the disciples were in the city buying meat. (food) God often will move well meaning disciples out of the way to get a specific work done in someone's life. 

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Commentary: I guess the Samarian lady never talked to a Jew. Here is a "then" after a when. Jesus did not hesitate to perform the when even if it will break tradition and custom to feed a hungry heart and touch the needy. This unlikely woman was a much needed spiritual refreshing for Jesus. Often our blessings come from packages we deem unworthy. 

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. Commentary: Jesus was offering the woman two things: one a picture of His deity and two eternal life. Jesus' refreshing started when the Spirit reached out through Him to meet the woman's need. Jesus' nontraditional approach and usual answer pulled the woman from any attempt to actually draw water for Jesus. She was naturally draw by men, but she was strangely drawn to this man who she referred to as a Jew. 

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Commentary: Now the LORD has her respect, "Sir" the Samarian woman is curious about this living water. This was a sign she was opening her heart even though she was still unaware of the truth before her, but she was unsure where this water is located, "thou hast nothing to draw with." 

12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Commentary: Even though she did not know who Jesus was her respect did not elevate Jesus above Jacob, however she did see some greatness in Jesus from the start. 

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: Commentary: Jesus was drawing a parallel between the natural and the spiritual water. The Samarian woman could not find the satisfaction in life. She came to the well day after day as she looked for satisfaction in every relationship. This woman was used to being thirsty and was seeking gratification when she met Jesus. The words "thirst again" means temporary contentment. So too in our lives. 

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Commentary: Jesus spoke a mystery to her that she did not understand. He was telling her fulfillment comes only from God. Because the Father gave Jesus life within Himself he now can impart life to others. A Spiritual principle: a man cannot give what he does not have. Unless we too have life in us we can impart life, but if not then all we can impart in every relationship we enter is death. The result is a divine quality of life not that the believer becomes divine, but now they can partake of His divine nature. The entire process in each individual is toward and into eternal life. The person grows toward many areas of divine quality entering into each area as the work of God as it is completed and the believer qualifies.

SETTING OUR MIND

Paul in the Book of Romans tells us, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Romans 8:5-7) But, what does the Bible mean when it uses the phrase, set your mind or affections? To answer this we have to take the phrase in two parts. We first have to understand the Greek word translated "mind" and then we have to understand the meaning of the word set. The word translated "mind" in the New Testament does not mean brains. Neither is the meaning limited to the idea of thought or thinking. It really has to do with a person’s volition or will. My "mind" – under this use of the word – is my intent or purpose. Indeed, we might even say that we are to set our intent upon or set our purpose upon – whatever we are talking about. We can see this usage of the word elsewhere. For example, we are told to, "have this mind in ourselves, as was in Jesus Christ." We are told to have, "the mind of Christ;" to, "arm ourselves with the same mind" as Christ. This is talking about the moral attitude, indeed the relationship, between Jesus Christ and His Father that was Jesus’ "mind" towards God and then, as the outcome of the "mind" Jesus had towards God. I hope I did not lose you here. Thus, in a very real sense, a person’s "mind" is who they are in intention. It is their commitment of themselves and the purpose that governs them. We are not here talking about how they have come to have the "mind" that they have, we are only talking about what the word means. The "mind" in Biblical use, in many respects, is the real us. This is important. Now, Paul tells us that we are able to set our minds on and then the alternatives of either flesh or Spirit are given. Note that we can set our "mind" on or to put it another way, we can choose to live upon and be governed by one basis or another. The meaning here is not merely that of focused thoughts or thinking. This is not so much about what occupies our thinking each day. Paul is not talking about whether we are thinking about that which is of the flesh or that which is of the Spirit. Of course, this would be loosely included because if our intentions are being set upon a certain way we will be thinking about it. But rather than limit this to what thoughts we are having it is more accurate to see it as the realm which governs us. To set my "mind" upon the flesh means that I am allowing the flesh or natural to govern me. To set my "mind" upon the Spirit means that the Truth in Christ Jesus governs me. So when Paul uses the phrase, "set your mind upon" or the phrase "set your mind upon the things…," he is talking about what we adopt as our basis for living: Flesh or the Spirit. He might as well have said, "live your life on the basis of either the flesh or the Spirit." In other words, if I set my "mind" upon the flesh or things of the flesh I have accepted the natural realm as the basis for my living. I am walking according to my natural perception. I am determining truth according to my natural thinking, and according to outward circumstances. But, if I set my "mind" on the basis of the Spirit then I am detached from the natural and living on the basis of Jesus Christ. Now, all of this is verified in what is really the summation of the passage: "Those who are "led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14). Now the word translated "led" in this verse can mean governed. We are governed by what we set our "mind" upon. For once we set our "mind" upon the flesh or Spirit then our "mind" and all that comprises it becomes governed by either. For a saved person, this is, of course, voluntary. But it is nevertheless a fact. You know we all strive for spiritual growth and development or we should be striving towards this goal if we are serious with the LORD. But, how do we know when we have grown to a new level in the LORD? After all there is no voice from Heaven that says, good job you just have passed to a new level or there is no handwriting on the wall that tells us we have advanced in the LORD, but there are ways, I believe, ways that tells us we are moving closer to setting our "mind" on Christ and have grown in the grace and knowledge of the LORD Jesus Christ. In keeping with our article I believe one way we can tell we are moving closer to the "mind" of Christ is when we are quietly spending time with the LORD waiting on Him, no talking, no praying, no reading just sitting there quiet with our mouth shut, but in our spirit we are magnifying Him, pushing our spirit upward to the LORD in thankfulness and thanksgiving. I really believe the LORD really likes these times when we get quiet before Him. Last Sunday we were with Pastor Tek Dahal from Kathmandu, Nepal at The LORD's Table in Goldsboro, NC and he spoke of tithing our time with the LORD. Pastor Tek recommended, to start, we spent at least 120 minutes in the morning and 120 minutes at night with the LORD. That would be 1/6th of our 24 hour day with the LORD. So my thinking here, while waiting if our mind or thoughts drifts away from a current thought (which for most Believers it will) towards thinking about the things of God, instead of things of the world or self, in some fashion or another then our "mind" has been set to the spiritual realm and not the fleshly which reveals in us a spiritual growth in us from a spiritual aspect. Not thinking about something, but being directed in our spirit to think about the things of God truly speaks of us our "mind" being set on Christ. You know what we think on is who and what we really are. This thought of setting our "mind" really goes much deeper. We can now see a little more as to what it means to set one’s "mind" on the flesh or to set one’s "mind" on the Spirit. This is talking about what realm governs us. it is talking about what realm frames our perception indeed, it is talking about what realm we use to frame our perception, even of God. Which realm is our standard for Truth? To set one’s "mind" upon the flesh or upon things below means that our life is based upon that realm. For example let’s take something simple as sin. How is a Believer supposed to respond to their own sin? What are we to do with our sin? We all know the answer to that, put faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross. But, how many of us, despite knowing this, and despite doing it again and again, never seem to get free of condemnation and fear regarding our sin, not to mention our complete lack of victory over sin. What? Is Christ real or not? Why does our faith seem not to work? Now we will agree that Jesus Christ died for every sin we will ever commit. It is finished. This is the Gospel truth. And there is nothing, especially our sin, that can ever change this Truth. Yet the guilt, condemnation, or fear that we experience when we sin contradicts this Truth, right? In fact, we might say that everything about our natural makeup: emotions, psychic, and even our natural mind can seem to function contrary to this Truth. This Truth never changes, but so much in us cannot seem to flow with it. Indeed, there are times when we do not feel, sense, or think in a manner that flows with the Truth. We literally function whether we like it or not contrary to the Truth. Why does this happen? We are told in Romans 7 and 8. All of what I have just described those dimensions of our being that function contrary to the Truth are of the natural. And the natural "mind" in the natural man is contrary to the LORD. Indeed, is at enmity against God. We are told that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The flesh cannot submit to God. We need to read that, see it, and believe it. Thus, all that we experience in ourselves that is contrary to the Truth is functioning exactly as God says it does. There is nothing unbiblical here. "That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit." (John 3:6). The Truth is all of this is the result of a faith that is in ourselves and not the LORD. We may never suspect this, but when we look for evidence in ourselves of the Truth then our faith is in ourselves. But we are looking for the spiritual man in the natural man. We are trying to find evidence of the Truth in that which God has already told us is utterly untrue. Christ in us is the only Truth we are going to find. And Christ in us is NOT US. What do I mean by that? Well, in this day and age we are more and more being taught that salvation is a matter of God doing things to us. Or a matter of God giving things to us. Or a matter of God imparting to us something that will make us better people. No! Salvation is not a THING, or something that God does to us. Salvation is Christ in us. And Christ is NOT US. You know at some point in our walk with the LORD we are going to have to, step outside of ourselves and step outside of how we feel, and outside of what we sense and ask: What is the Truth? We will find that the Truth is not determined by what we think it is nor is it determined by anything about us. The Truth is Christ. And the only way we are going to know the Truth is to know Him. Thankfully, God is working on that. What I am saying is this: The Truth is not found in us. It does not come from us. The source of all Truth is other than us and is completely outside of us. The Truth is found in Christ. Thus, if we want to know the Truth we have to know HIM. You have to have Christ formed in you. Then you will not only know Him and the Truth, but you will know what is NOT of the Truth. That is the only way to come through this matter. This is a matter of what governs us. If we do put our "mind" upon the Truth, then we will be walking in the Truth, for Christ has already died for our sin. You are simply putting your faith in Him. So we see that it is possible to set one’s mind upon the Truth – to rest one’s faith upon Christ even if everything else is presently in chaos. But do not turn this into a religious routine or a law to keep. Do not turn it into a "mind" game or an emotional condition. Oh no, it is more than all of that. This is a relationship with Christ in the Truth. I set my "mind" on things above because it is in keeping with the Truth in Christ to do so. It is the only way to walk in the Light. So when we speak of all of these matters of settings one’s mind or affections on things above, and when we talk of realizing that we must not lean upon our own understanding, it is vital that we understand that we are not talking about mental gymnastics. We are not talking about getting a psychoanalysis, or about figuring out what makes us tick. This is not about developing an emotional condition or about rousing up our imagination in a more healthy way. Rather, it is about seeing Jesus Christ. Nothing else will work. Only the true knowledge of God through Jesus Christ will do. And if we want to know how to know whether something is of us or of God, you will have to see Christ then you will know what is of Him. If we want to come to see the difference between our soul and Spirit Jesus Christ must be introduced. He will cut between the two. For hundreds of years Christian people have tried to fashion this or that system of laws, principles, and religious routine that is geared to getting us through to God. But in the end, Jesus simply said, "I am the Way." It is only through knowing Him and walking with Him solely on the basis of Christ in us that we can so much as get started. To walk in the Spirit, rather than the flesh, means to live upon the basis of CHRIST. This will mean that we will not live on the basis of our natural makeup. That won’t govern us. Neither will circumstances govern us. Rather, we will live according to Christ as we learn Christ. There is simply no other outcome of walking in the Light. Written by David Stahl