神的異象
按神的本性認識祂
經文
約翰福音四1-26
1主知道法利賽人聽見他收門徒施洗，比約翰還多，
2（其實不是耶穌親自施洗，乃是他的門徒施洗，）3他就離了猶太，又往加利利去。
4必須經過撒瑪利亞，
5於是到了撒瑪利亞的一座城，名叫敘加，靠近雅各給他兒子約瑟的那塊地。
6在那裡有雅各井；耶穌因走路困乏，就坐在井旁。那時約有午正。
7有一個撒瑪利亞的婦人來打水。耶穌對他說：請你給我水喝。
8（那時門徒進城買食物去了。）
9撒瑪利亞的婦人對他說：你既是猶太人，怎麼向我一個撒瑪利亞婦人要水喝呢？原來猶太人和撒瑪利亞人沒有來往。
10耶穌回答說：你若知道神的恩賜，和對你說給我水喝的是誰，你必早求他，他也必早給了你活水。
11婦人說：先生，沒有打水的器具，井又深，你從那裡得活水呢？
12我們的祖宗雅各將這井留給我們，他自己和兒子並牲畜也都喝這井裡的水，難道你比他還大嗎？
13耶穌回答說：凡喝這水的還要再渴；
14人若喝我所賜的水就永遠不渴。我所賜的水要在他裡頭成為泉源，直湧到永生。
15婦人說：先生，請把這水賜給我，叫我不渴，也不用來這麼遠打水。
16耶穌說：你去叫你丈夫也到這裡來。
17婦人說：我沒有丈夫。耶穌說：你說沒有丈夫是不錯的。
18你已經有五個丈夫，你現在有的並不是你的丈夫。你這話是真的。
19婦人說：先生，我看出你是先知。
20我們的祖宗在這山上禮拜，你們倒說，應當禮拜的地方是在耶路撒冷。
21耶穌說：婦人，你當信我。時候將到，你們拜父，也不在這山上，也不在耶路撒冷。
22你們所拜的，你們不知道；我們所拜的，我們知道，因為救恩是從猶太人出來的。
23時候將到，如今就是了，那真正拜父的，要用心靈和誠實拜他，因為父要這樣的人拜他。
24神是個靈（或無個字），所以拜他的必須用心靈和誠實拜他。
25婦人說：我知道彌賽亞（就是那稱為基督的）要來；他來了，必將一切的事都告訴我們。
26耶穌說：這和你說話的就是他！
信息分享
一般來說，現代的基督教並沒有培養出一些能夠從忙亂的生活中退出來、專注於敬拜神的人，其中的原因包括他們失去了「神是超越的」這個觀念。
你知道嗎，如果我們對神的態度或看法不正確的時候，我們就不可能持守基督徒的原則、盡基督徒應有的本分。如果我們要看到屬靈的能力流經我們的生命，我們就必須開始按神的本性來追求認識祂。陶恕說：「所謂敬拜，就是敬拜者對神完全徹底的敬仰，就是這麼簡單。」因此，對教會來說，最重要的事情不是「我們可以怎樣傳福音？」而是「我們可以怎樣更認識神？」傳福音是重要的，但遠遠不及認識神重要。我們對神的敬拜必需首要，然後才是工作。今天基督徒導師的工作應該專注於清楚認識神的教導，因為明天教會的建立很大程度上是依據我們今天對神所持守的觀念。
真正明白神跟敬拜神同樣重要。我們對神的敬拜、為神所做的工作以及所作的見證，有如地基對樓房一樣重要。如果地基不穩固，樓房便會傾斜甚至倒塌。因此我們必須問自己：下一代的教會將從我們手上繼承甚麼樣的樓房？是牢固的還是搖搖欲墜的呢？
「敬拜為先，工作為後」
進深研究
林前三1-11；弗二19-20
1. 保羅為甚麼事情費神？
2. 我們要留心甚麼？
祈禱
神啊，我願全心渴望「以心靈和誠實」來敬拜您。無論途中有甚麼障礙，求您幫助我將它們除去並克服它們。奉您寶貴的名祈求。阿們。
The Vision of God
Knowing God as He is
Bible reading:
John 4:1-26
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—
2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria.
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?"
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband.
18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.
20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
21 "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26 Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you—I am he."
Message
Modern-day Christianity, generally speaking, is not producing the kind of person who can appreciate what it means to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of life and focus on worshipping God. And one of the reasons for that is the loss of the concept of God's transcendence.
You see, it is impossible to keep up the practice of Christian principles and perform our Christian duties in the way they should be performed when our attitude to God or our view of Him is erroneous. If we are to see spiritual power flowing through our lives then we must begin to think of God as He is. "Worship is as pure or as base," said Tozer, "as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God." Because of this the most important issue for the Church is not "How can we evangelise?", but "How can we know God better?" Evangelism is important, but not half as important as knowing God. Worship must always come first, and work must always come second. Today's Christian teachers should be focusing (among other things) on making clear who God is, for the Church of tomorrow will depend largely on what kind of concept of God we have today.
A true understanding of God is as important to our worship of God, our work for God and our witness to God as a foundation is to a building. If the foundation is not right then the building will be lopsided, or worse - topple over. Thus we must ask ourselves: What kind of building will the Church of the next generation inherit from us? A strong one or an unsteady one?
"Worship must always come first, and work second"
Prayer
O God, I long with all my heart to worship you "in spirit and in truth". And whatever the road blocks on that journey, help me remove them and overcome them. For your own dear Name's sake I pray. Amen.
Further study
1 Corinthians 3:1-11
Ephesians 2:19-20
1. What had Paul taken trouble over?
2. What are we to be careful about?
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