Quote:
Originally Posted by mizpeh
John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
TLM,
I know you're busy but I wanted to make one comment in response to your post.
Jesus said " we know" concerning the knowledge of God that the Jews and He himself had. He didn't say "I know" what I worship. Jesus didn't try to explain a progressive revelation of God (the Trinity) to the woman at the well nor did he tell her that his Jewish brethren were not complete in their knowledge of God. He didn't bring into question whatsoever their current understanding of God.
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Here is another opportunity for Jesus to reveal the Trinity and bring his brethren into a more perfect knowledge of God but he did not. What Jesus doesn't say speaks very loudly to me.
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Hello Mizpeh:
You reading things into what you believe someone doesn't do instead of carefully interpreting the things they do say or do is going to lead you down many wrong roads.
I did not say this was about the Trinity, in fact I said just the opposite. Mizpeh, the Samaritans rejected all of the old testament except the Pentateuch, they rejected the Psalms and Prophets and so forth: therefore they did not know what they worshipped (they were literally ignorant). The Jews had to that point in time the whole of revelation: therefore they were not lacking and were not ignorant (that is theoretically, not necessarily pratically). And in this I'm talking about progressive revelation Mizpeh. The Law of Moses, the Pentateuch is what the Samaritans accepted while rejecting the rest of the OT and if there is no progressive revelation, that should be all the needed. But Jesus immediately identified this void in knowledge on the part of the Samaritans (if you understand the cultural context to what is going on and being said). Since we are on this topic keep in mind what this idiom means as you read the NT, the Law and the Prophets:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all
the law and the prophets.
Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in
the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me.
Jhn 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom
Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Even so, Jesus says, temple worship will end and people would no longer travel to Jerusalem for certain festivals (I believe the Samaritans had also built at least one temple to worship in but it was destroyed by Jews a hundred plus years before). The levitical Priesthood would end, sacrifices would end, and so on. Temple, priestly, legalistic, liturgical worship would end. The place and the way of worship was going to change because salvation was of the Jews. Salvation was sitting in front of her, Jesus was a Jew, and Jesus was salvation.
Acts 24:14
However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect . I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,
At any rate Mizpeh, my point was that this passage is not about the "nature of God." I'm wondering what God you think the Samaritans worshipped having the Pentateuch as opposed to what God the Jews worshipped having the whole of OT revelation. Amazing that the Samaritain woman recognized Jesus as Savior after one short conversation when the spiritual leaders of Israel didn't, even after all the Messianic miracles. As I said, believe what you like. My comments where offered as information and something to chew on, there's really nothing to debate here.
Blessings,
TheLayman
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