John 4:23-24

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:21-24

(d) The spiritual nature of God and his worship. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:21-24

The spirit of the true worship. Our Lord acts a prophet's part in answer to her inquiries. 1. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE NEW WORSHIP . "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." 1 . All localized worship was soon to end. 2 . The fatherhood of God emancipates worship from every limitation of time and space. Men will worship God as a Father. The title is characteristic of this Gospel. II.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:23

But the hour cometh, and now is —already the day has dawned, the new conception is breaking like "awful rose of dawn" upon the minds of some— when the veritable £ worshippers —those who answer to the idea of worshippers, those who actually draw near to the Father in living fellowship and affectionate appreciation of his eternal Name— shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. An old misreading of this text, accepted by some Fathers, and based upon the idea expressed in John... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:23

The Divine search. That we should seek God seems most natural and proper. Poor, ignorant, sinful, helpless creatures that we are, we should be insensible and infatuated if we did not seek him who alone can supply our wants, pardon our errors, and secure our happiness. But that God should seek us seems passing strange. This is like the king seeking the rebel, the philosopher seeking the boor. Yet we have here an instance of the truth that "God's ways are not our ways." I. WHOM GOD ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:23-24

Worship and worshippers. In some form worship is all but universal. Wherever on earth man is found, there he presents to the Power above the offerings of his devotion. Doubtless there are cases without number in which worship has degenerated into mere superstition. Yet, where worship is at its best, it is one of the very highest manifestations and exercises of human nature. Much has been said by philosophers, by poets, by theologians, concerning the nature and the virtue of worship. But... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:24

A still more explicit and comprehensive reason is given for the previous assertion, based on the essential nature of God himself in the fulness of his eternal Being. God is Spirit ( πνεῦμα ὁ θεός ; cf. John 1:1 , θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος ,—the article indicates the subject, and the predicate is here generic, and not an indefinite; therefore we do not render it, "God is a Spirit"). The most comprehensive and far-reaching metaphor or method by which Jesus endeavoured to portray the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 4:24

The fallacy of holy places. I. THE FALLACY EMPHATICALLY STATED . Up to this point in the conversation the woman has not the slightest idea that religious matters are in question; but immediately on concluding that Jesus is a Prophet, she proceeds to show that she can talk about religion as well as other people. Jesus seeks to fasten her up in a corner where she may be dealt with according to her individual sin and individual need, and so she tries to escape away into a general... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - John 4:23

But the hour cometh, and now is - The old dispensation is about to pass away, and the new one to commence. “Already” there is so much light that God may be worshipped acceptably in any place.The true worshippers - All who truly and sincerely worship God. They who do it with the heart, and not merely in form.In spirit - The word “spirit,” here, stands opposed to rites and ceremonies, and to the pomp of external worship. It refers to the “mind,” the “soul,” the “heart.” They shall worship God... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - John 4:24

God is A spirit - This is the second reason why men should worship him in spirit and in truth. By this is meant that God is without a body; that he is not material or composed of parts; that he is invisible, in every place, pure and holy. This is one of the first truths of religion, and one of the sublimest ever presented to the mind of man. Almost all nations have had some idea of God as gross or material, but the Bible declares that he is a pure spirit. As he is such a spirit, he dwells not... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - John 4:23

John 4:23. But the hour cometh and now is The fixed and stated time, concerning which it was of old determined when it should come, even the accepted time and day of salvation. And when our Lord thus spoke, it was coming in its full strength, lustre, and perfection. As if he had said, The thing you are chiefly concerned to know is, that a dispensation of religion is now beginning, under which all languages, countries, and places being sanctified, men are to worship God, not in... read more

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