神的异象
按神的本性认识祂
经文
约翰福音四1-26
1主知道法利赛人听见他收门徒施洗，比约翰还多，
2（其实不是耶稣亲自施洗，乃是他的门徒施洗，）3他就离了犹太，又往加利利去。
4必须经过撒玛利亚，
5于是到了撒玛利亚的一座城，名叫叙加，靠近雅各给他儿子约瑟的那块地。
6在那里有雅各井；耶稣因走路困乏，就坐在井旁。那时约有午正。
7有一个撒玛利亚的妇人来打水。耶稣对他说：请你给我水喝。
8（那时门徒进城买食物去了。）
9撒玛利亚的妇人对他说：你既是犹太人，怎么向我一个撒玛利亚妇人要水喝呢？原来犹太人和撒玛利亚人没有来往。
10耶稣回答说：你若知道神的恩赐，和对你说给我水喝的是谁，你必早求他，他也必早给了你活水。
11妇人说：先生，没有打水的器具，井又深，你从那里得活水呢？
12我们的祖宗雅各将这井留给我们，他自己和儿子并牲畜也都喝这井里的水，难道你比他还大吗？
13耶稣回答说：凡喝这水的还要再渴；
14人若喝我所赐的水就永远不渴。我所赐的水要在他里头成为泉源，直涌到永生。
15妇人说：先生，请把这水赐给我，叫我不渴，也不用来这么远打水。
16耶稣说：你去叫你丈夫也到这里来。
17妇人说：我没有丈夫。耶稣说：你说没有丈夫是不错的。
18你已经有五个丈夫，你现在有的并不是你的丈夫。你这话是真的。
19妇人说：先生，我看出你是先知。
20我们的祖宗在这山上礼拜，你们倒说，应当礼拜的地方是在耶路撒冷。
21耶稣说：妇人，你当信我。时候将到，你们拜父，也不在这山上，也不在耶路撒冷。
22你们所拜的，你们不知道；我们所拜的，我们知道，因为救恩是从犹太人出来的。
23时候将到，如今就是了，那真正拜父的，要用心灵和诚实拜他，因为父要这样的人拜他。
24神是个灵（或无个字），所以拜他的必须用心灵和诚实拜他。
25妇人说：我知道弥赛亚（就是那称为基督的）要来；他来了，必将一切的事都告诉我们。
26耶稣说：这和你说话的就是他！
信息分享
一般来说，现代的基督教并没有培养出一些能够从忙乱的生活中退出来、专注于敬拜神的人，其中的原因包括他们失去了「神是超越的」这个观念。
你知道吗，如果我们对神的态度或看法不正确的时候，我们就不可能持守基督徒的原则、尽基督徒应有的本分。如果我们要看到属灵的能力流经我们的生命，我们就必须开始按神的本性来追求认识祂。陶恕说：「所谓敬拜，就是敬拜者对神完全彻底的敬仰，就是这么简单。」因此，对教会来说，最重要的事情不是「我们可以怎样传福音？」而是「我们可以怎样更认识神？」传福音是重要的，但远远不及认识神重要。我们对神的敬拜必需首要，然后才是工作。今天基督徒导师的工作应该专注于清楚认识神的教导，因为明天教会的建立很大程度上是依据我们今天对神所持守的观念。
真正明白神跟敬拜神同样重要。我们对神的敬拜、为神所做的工作以及所作的见证，有如地基对楼房一样重要。如果地基不稳固，楼房便会倾斜甚至倒塌。因此我们必须问自己：下一代的教会将从我们手上继承甚么样的楼房？是牢固的还是摇摇欲坠的呢？
「敬拜为先，工作为后」
进深研究
林前三1-11；弗二19-20
1. 保罗为甚么事情费神？
2. 我们要留心甚么？
祈祷
神啊，我愿全心渴望「以心灵和诚实」来敬拜您。无论途中有甚么障碍，求您帮助我将它们除去并克服它们。奉您宝贵的名祈求。阿们。
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?
本文英文版权属 CWR 所有，承蒙允准刊载。
背景音乐版权属 赞美之泉音乐事工 所有，承蒙允准使用。