Message Twelve

A Laboring Priest of the Gospel of God
and
Serving God in the Gospel of His Son

Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:9; 15:16, 29; 16:25-27

Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Rom. 15:16 That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.

Rom. 15:29 And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Rom. 16:25-27 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages But has now been manifested, and through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith; To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I. “That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit”—Rom. 15:16:

A. Paul’s being a laboring priest of the gospel of God to minister Christ to the Gentiles was a priestly service to God, and the Gentiles whom he gained through his gospel preaching were an offering presented to God—1 Pet. 2:5:

1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1. By this priestly service many Gentiles, who were unclean and defiled, were sanctified in the Holy Spirit and became such an offering, acceptable to God—Rom. 15:16; 16:4-5.

Rom. 16:4-5 Who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; And greet the church, which is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the firstfruits of Asia unto Christ.

2. These Gentiles were set apart from things common and were saturated with God’s nature and element, and were thus sanctified both positionally and dispositionally; such a sanctification is in the Holy Spirit—6:19; 15:16.

Rom. 6:19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness unto sanctification.

3. Based on Christ’s redemption, the Holy Spirit renews, transforms, and separates unto holiness those who have been regenerated by believing into Christ—3:24; 12:2; John 3:15.

Rom. 3:24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

John 3:15 That everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life.

B. Paul is a pattern of the priesthood of the gospel; in the Epistle to the Romans, which concerns the gospel of God, he tells us how sinners can be saved and justified by believing in the Lord, how they advance in Christ by being sanctified and transformed, and how they present themselves to God as living sacrifices so that they may become members of the Body of Christ to live the church life, expressing Christ corporately and awaiting His coming—1 Thes. 2:1-12; Acts 20:17-36; Rom. 1:16-17; 3:24-26; 12:1, 4-5; 13:11.

1 Thes. 2:1-12 For you yourselves know, brothers, our entrance toward you, that it has not been in vain. But having suffered previously and having been outrageously treated, even as you know, in Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much struggle. For our exhortation is not out of deception nor out of uncleanness nor in guile; But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who proves our hearts. For neither were we found at any time with flattering speech, even as you know, nor with a pretext for covetousness; God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, neither from you nor from others, though we could have stood on our authority as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle in your midst, as a nursing mother would cherish her own children. Yearning in this way over you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you became beloved to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail: While working night and day so as not to be burdensome to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, as well as God, how in a holy and righteous and blameless manner we conducted ourselves toward you who believe, Just as you know how we were to each one of you, as a father to his own children, exhorting you and consoling you and testifying, So that you might walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Acts 20:17-36 And from Miletus he sent word to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them, You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time, Serving the Lord as a slave with all humility and tears and trials which came upon me by the plots of the Jews; How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house, Solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith in our Lord Jesus. And now, behold, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will meet me there, Except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in city after city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I consider my life of no account as if precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you on this day that I am clean from the blood of all men, For I did not shrink from declaring to you all the counsel of God. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among you yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease admonishing each one with tears. And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my needs and to those who are with me. In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had said these things, he knelt down with them all and prayed.

Rom. 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, both to Jew first and to Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in it out of faith to faith, as it is written, “But the righteous shall have life and live by faith.”

Rom. 3:24-26 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; Whom God set forth as a propitiation place through faith in His blood, for the demonstrating of His righteousness, in that in His forbearance God passed over the sins that had previously occurred, With a view to the demonstrating of His righteousness in the present time, so that He might be righteous and the One who justifies him who is of the faith of Jesus.

Rom. 12:1 I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom. 12:4-5 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Rom. 13:11 And this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to be raised from sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

C. The New Testament service ordained by God is that all believers are priests to serve God with the offerings that He desires—Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9:

Rev. 1:5-6 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood And made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.

Rev. 5:9-10 And they sing a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain and have purchased for God by Your blood men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made them a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.

1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1. As priests of the gospel of God, we offer saved sinners, as parts of the enlarged and corporate Christ, to God as sacrifices—Rom.15:16.

2. The offering of the believers to God is in three steps:

a. Those who preach the gospel offer the newly saved ones to God as spiritual sacrifices—v. 16; 1 Pet. 2:5.

1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

b. After the new believers grow and begin to understand what it is to be a believer in Christ, they are encouraged to offer themselves to God as a living sacrifice—Rom. 12:1.

Rom. 12:1 I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.

c. As the believers continue to grow unto maturity, those who labor on the believers present them full-grown in Christ—Col. 1:28.

Col. 1:28 Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ;

D. In order to function as priests of the gospel, we need to see that the gospel of God includes the entire book of Romans; this Epistle shows us that when we preach the gospel, we make sinners the sons of God and members of the Body of Christ, and we help them to grow so that they can be active members in the practice of the Body life in the local churches—1:16-17; 3:24; 5:10; 8:16; 12:2, 4-5.

Rom. 3:24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Rom. 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,

Rom. 8:16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

Rom. 12:4-5 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

E. The service of the priesthood of the gospel is the service of the church as the Body of Christ; the focus of our service is to save sinners and offer them to God, and the goal of our service is the building up of the Body of Christ—15:16; 12:4-5; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Eph. 4:11-12, 16.

Rom. 12:4-5 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Eph. 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

Eph. 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

II. “God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son”—Rom. 1:9:

A. The spirit in Romans 1:9 is not the Spirit of God but Paul’s regenerated spirit—John 3:6:

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

1. Christ and the Spirit are with the believers in their regenerated human spirit—2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16.

2 Tim. 4:22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Rom. 8:16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

2. In Romans Paul stresses that whatever we are, whatever we have, and whatever we do toward God must be in this spirit—2:29; 7:6; 8:4-6, 9, 13; 12:11.

Rom. 2:29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God.

Rom. 7:6 But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.

Rom. 8:4-6 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. For those who are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 8:9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.

Rom. 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.

Rom. 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.

3. Paul served God in his regenerated spirit by the indwelling Christ, the life-giving Spirit, not in his soul by the power and ability of the soul—Phil. 3:3.

Phil. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh,

4. In order to serve in our spirit, we must sense the spirit, know the spirit, discern the spirit, and be burning in spirit—Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11; Heb. 4:12.

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 8:10-11 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

B. The apostle Paul served God in the gospel as well as in his spirit; the way to serve God involves service in the spirit inwardly and service in the gospel outwardly—Rom. 1:9; 15:19-20; 7:6; 12:11.

Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Rom. 15:19-20 In the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ, But have done so aspiring to announce the gospel not where Christ has been named, so that I would not build upon another’s foundation;

Rom. 7:6 But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.

Rom. 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.

C. Our service to God in the gospel concerning His Son is related to the three sections of the gospel of God in Romans—redemption, life, and the Body:

1. In the first section we should help the saints to know what redemption is, to know that the cross has dealt with every problem between us and God, and to know that in Christ we have been forgiven of our sins, justified by God, reconciled to God, and accepted by God—1:16-17; 3:24-26; 5:1, 9-11.

Rom. 5:1 Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rom. 5:9-11 Much more then, having now been justified in His blood, we will be saved through Him from the wrath. For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled, And not only so, but also boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

2. In the second section we should help the saints to know that Christ as the life-giving Spirit is in us as our life, mingling Himself with our spirit as one spirit, and that now we may eat Him, drink Him, enjoy Him, be filled, saturated, and permeated with Him, and be saved in life and reign in life by being sanctified, renewed, transformed, and conformed to His image—vv. 10, 17; 6:19, 22; 8:9-11, 29; 12:2.

Rom. 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,

Rom. 5:17 For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Rom. 6:22 But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal life.

Rom. 8:9-11 But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

Rom. 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;

3. In the third section we should help the saints to know the Body, to live in the Body, to coordinate together as members of the Body, and to realize that spirituality is a Body matter and that our spirituality must be measured by the Body and be tested by the Body—vv. 4-18.

Rom. 12:4-18 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another. And having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or service, let us be faithful in that service; or he who teaches, in that teaching; Or he who exhorts, in that exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who leads, in diligence; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Love one another warmly in brotherly love; take the lead in showing honor one to another. Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoice in hope; endure in tribulation; persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another, not setting your mind on the high things but going along with the lowly; do not be wise in yourselves. Repay no one evil for evil; take forethought for things honorable in the sight of all men. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with all men.

D. The Greek word rendered “serve” in Romans 1:9 means “serve in worship”; Paul considered his preaching of the gospel a service in which he worshipped God:

Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

1. The worship of God is our service to God, and this worship includes all positive matters between us and God, such as contacting God, praying to God, looking unto God, waiting on God, having fellowship with God, and working for God—Matt. 6:9, 33; John 4:23-24; Phil. 4:6, 20.

Matt. 6:9 You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified;

Matt. 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

John 4:23-24 But an hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truthfulness, for the Father also seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.

Phil. 4:6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Phil. 4:20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

2. In the book of Revelation we see a special line—the line of worship—4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 9:20; 11:16; 13:4, 8; 14:7, 11; 15:4; 16:2; 19:4, 20; 20:4; 22:9:

Rev. 4:10 The twenty-four elders will fall before Him who sits upon the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever; and they will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Rev. 5:14 And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.

Rev. 7:11 And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God,

Rev. 9:20 And the rest of the men, who were not killed by these plagues, still did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship the demons and the idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Rev. 11:16 And the twenty-four elders who sit before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God,

Rev. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? And who can make war with him?

Rev. 13:8 And all those dwelling on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name is not written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev. 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who has made heaven and earth and the sea and the springs of waters.

Rev. 14:11 And the smoke of their tormenting goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.

Rev. 15:4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous judgments have been manifested.

Rev. 16:2 And the first went and poured out his bowl into the earth; and there came to be an evil and malignant sore upon the men who have the mark of the beast and worship his image.

Rev. 19:4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who sits upon the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah!

Rev. 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet, who in his presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.

Rev. 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Rev. 22:9 And he said to me, Do not do that! I am your fellow slave and a fellow slave of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God.

a. God needs our worship, but Satan fears our worship of God, wants worship, and is seeking worship—Matt. 4:8-10; Rev. 4:10; 5:14; 13:4.

Matt. 4:8-10 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, All these will I give You if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”

Rev. 4:10 The twenty-four elders will fall before Him who sits upon the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever; and they will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Rev. 5:14 And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.

Rev. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? And who can make war with him?

b. We should seek to give special worship to God, because Satan is getting worship for himself more and more—7:11; 13:4; 22:9.

Rev. 7:11 And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God,

Rev. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? And who can make war with him?

Rev. 22:9 And he said to me, Do not do that! I am your fellow slave and a fellow slave of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God.

c. If we live according to our spirit, God will gain our worship, but if we live according to the soul, Satan will gain our worship—Rom. 1:9; 8:4.

Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Rom. 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

3. The worship that satisfies God the Father—worship in spirit and truthfulness—is the worship in the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity by our drinking and flowing the water of life in resurrection—the fountain, the spring, and the river—John 4:14, 23-24; 7:37-39; Exo. 17:6; Psa. 36:8-9; 1 Cor. 10:4:

John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.

John 7:37-39 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Exo. 17:6 I will be standing before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Psa. 36:8-9 They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light.

1 Cor. 10:4 And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.

a. The Samaritan woman worshipped God in her spirit by drinking of Him as the living water to quench her thirst; thus, God was worshipped by her in a genuine way—John 4:7-14, 23-24.

John 4:7-14 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give Me something to drink. For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman then said to Him, How is it that You, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, who am a Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 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. The woman said to Him, Sir, You have no bucket, and the well is deep; where then do You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank of it himself, as well as his sons and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.

b. Throughout the centuries, only a small number of Christians have worshipped God in spirit by drinking of Him as the living water—cf. Matt. 15:9.

Matt. 15:9 But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commandments of men.”

c. God in Christ as the Spirit comes to us as the living water for us to drink; when we drink of Him as the water of life, we worship Him in a genuine way—John 1:1, 14; 4:10, 14, 23-24; 7:37-39.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

John 4:10 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.

d. We urgently need to enter into the real worship of God in spirit by drinking Him as the living water—4:10, 14, 23-24.

John 4:10 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.

4. Genuine worship is realized in the Body of Christ; worship in the New Testament is a corporate matter, and apart from the Body, it is difficult to have genuine worship—Rom. 1:9; 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 10:3-4, 16-17; 12:12-13.

Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Rom. 12:4-5 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

1 Cor. 10:3-4 And all ate the same spiritual food, And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.

1 Cor. 10:16-17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.

1 Cor. 12:12-13 For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.

E. The more we serve and worship God in our spirit in the gospel of His Son, the more we will enjoy the fullness of the blessing of Christ, and the more we will offer praise to God—Rom. 15:29; 16:25-27.

Rom. 15:29 And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

F.“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery...to the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”—vv. 25, 27.

Rom. 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages

Rom. 16:27 To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.