Tonight we looked at John's presentation of Jesus as the one who "baptises with the Spirit". I'm suggesting that the background is the OT and specially Ezekiel in which we have the promise of the Spirit who will wash (i.e. baptise) and change hearts. As a result of the Spirit coming Ezekiel 40-48 gives a grand vision of a new temple, in which God dwells in his glory and the people serve faithfully. From the temple flow wonderful streams of living water (Ezek 47). This all comes together in John. Jesus is the new temple (1:14, 2:21) and he brings the Spirit who brings people to new life (3:3-8). He offers the water of life (4:14). So when he answers that the age has come in which "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth", Jesus is summing up all these themes and saying that he is the new temple in whom Spirit people will worship.
I hope that gave an exciting picture of the Spirit's ministry, and that people left with a deep sense of the privlege of the Christian life, and that Jesus offers us a dimension of life which no one and nothing else reaches. I also looked at the implications for the holiness of all life for all Christians: there are no 2nd class christians, no trivialities in life (not that everything has to be intense - but relaxation is still in the temple!) and sin looks even uglier! I was struck by the image of living all of life in the temple - I hope it worked for other people.
The link is to an article by Ed Clowney on a biblical theology of temple. I think it helps fill out some of the themes.
Sunday, 28 October 2007
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2 comments:
Thanks for the sermon, John.
After Kristian's intro I was wondering whether Jesus was talking about two things, 'spirit' and 'truth', or one, 'spirit and truth'. If they were two things, I'd have to check that I was worshipping in spirit (whatever it ended up meaning) and also check that I was worshipping in truth (ditto). I was also a little perplexed by 'spirit' and 'truth' being contrasted to a geographic location...
By drawing out the links between these words and Jesus himself, your sermon helped answer the question for me. I need to be one who is in Christ, and worships in the temple, that is Him.
Was I picking up what you were putting down?
That's it! The more I looked at it, the more I thought that was obvious in John. Jesus is the temple (1:18, 2:24) and is the truth and gives the Spirit.
So true worship is being in him, or abiding in him (Jn 15). How?
John's main answer is 'faith' - but faith is heartfelt commitment to Jesus, so intense that it is as if we have eaten and drunk Christ!
Johnh
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