There is more!

Recently there was another 'There-is-More' conference. I hope you haven't been there. We've written about it before (see especially here). We're not going to dwell on it here.

In the same week we spent a day with about 70 believers and we reflected on the encounters of the Lord Jesus with Nicodemus and the woman from Samaria (John 3 and 4). In both cases there was alonging for more'.

Nicodemus, a seeker of more…

Nicodemus was a great man who was sincere in his pursuit of pleasing God and conforming to God's standards in everything.

Still, he apparently felt he wasn't quite successful at this—he was missing something, and he probably wasn't quite sure what it was. Life in the Kingdom of God had to be something different from what he experienced in his own life. But he couldn't put his finger on what that would be. There had to be more… but what?

What Nicodemus knew about the Lord Jesus made him suspect that he might find the answer to his question for more in Him.

That's the first thing to learn:

“…if you are looking for more, you must be with the Lord Jesus and nowhere else!”

The answer

The answer that the Lord Jesus gives to the question that lived in Nicodemus' heart (but which he did not utter) is quite confronting.

Probably Nicodemus expected something that he would have to do a little extra. Something he had apparently missed thus far. Perhaps he had expected something like "Five Steps to The Kingdom." Or "four steps to sanctification" or "seven keys to deliverance." But the answer was nothing remotely like what Nicodemus had expected.

That Nicodemus'born again' had to be means that there was no good in him and that he would have to start all over again, as if as a completely different person. Moreover, he wouldborn from above' because that's what the word 'born again' also means.

Reborn

He would have to start a completely new life that originated in heaven, in 'above'. Nothing of earthly life down here could bring him closer to the Kingdom of God. Being born again is something that you as a human being cannot do yourself. It is something that happens to you through the Word of God (the water) and the Spirit of God. Apparently you can determine that the rebirth has taken place, but you do not know how it happened. It is like the wind whose sound you can hear, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going.

How is this possible?

Then Nicodemus is left with the question “How can these things happen?”. In other words, what is the key to this secret? The Lord Jesus then gives an answer (in verses 10-21), which is briefly summarized as follows.

You must believe in Who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done. It is said in several ways:
- Taking the Heavenly Testimony (verse 11)
- Believing in the Son of Man who was lifted up (verses 14,15), in Him who died on the Cross of Calvary
- Believing in the only begotten Son of God who came into the world (verse 16)
- Believing that He was sent to bring salvation (salvation) (verse 17)
- Believing in the Name of the only begotten Son of God (verse 18b). That means believing in all that He is and what He has done
This belief is only possible when
- you realize that all your deeds are "bad" and "evil" (verse 19,20) before God
- you are under the judgment of God (verses 18, 19)
Finally, you will have to make a choice whether to remain in the darkness or to acknowledge the truth and turn to God and accept the Lord Jesus Christ (verses 19-21)

The Gospel for Nicodemus

The gospel the Lord Jesus presented to Nicodemus was (in reverse order):

recognize that you are in darkness and under God's judgment.
Then you must turn to God and accept the Lord Jesus, that is to believe in Him, that He also came for you to die on the cross and to undergo the judgment of God on you in your place.
Then you will not perish, but you will receive eternal life.
You receive the Holy Spirit within you, through which you are 'born again'. From that moment you understand the things of God and you can grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Kingdom of God).

Nicodemus' "desire for more" was fine, but he had to learn that God's way is this - none of your own and Christ in all things instead!

John the Baptist understood this and you hear him say it

“He must become more, but I less"(John 3:30).

That is what really matters in our spiritual life. Paul also had to realize that everything he was in himself was of no value to God. Read the beautiful part in the letter to the Philippians (3:4-11).

The woman from Samaria

Then the Lord Jesus meets the woman from Samaria[1] (John 4:1-30). A woman with a miserable life; the constant 'demand for more' has ruined her life. She has given up hope that there is 'more'; at least she isn't looking, for that has brought her nothing but misery so far.

Uncomfortable in the local community, she goes daily to Jacob's well to draw water. After all, you have to keep your head above water. Then life is nothing more than making sure you survive from day to day.

It is a beautiful conversation between the Lord Jesus and the woman, about the water from the well and the water He gives, so that you will never be thirsty again (verses 7-14). It gives the woman hope that there is 'more' after all, something that can give meaning and content to her life. So she asks for the water He offers her and says:Lord, give me that water, that I may thirst no more, and come here to draw” (verse 15).

But you don't just give a woman a special gift and that's why it's appropriate for her husband to be there. This leads to the conversation about her situation, which shows that the Lord Jesus knows everything about her. It is clear to the woman that He is a prophet, what He says must come directly from God. This shifts the subject of the conversation, because the woman apparently realizes that she is guilty before God and she may be thinking of making a (sin) sacrifice. So she asks where to worship, here on the Gerizim or in Jerusalem.

Then the Lord Jesus tells her that from then on we must worship God the Father in spirit and truth. The text does not make it very clear what she has understood; in any case, she understood that this was really very different from what Jews and Samaritans knew before. Therefore He who spoke to her had to be the promised prophet[2] be, the anointed of God. Probably then also 'the penny' fell that what the Lord told her did not only come from God, but was also the living water through which she would never be thirsty again (verses 10-15).

Through a work of God's Spirit in her heart she discovered Who He was standing before her and she believed in Him[3]. She discovered that there was more to life after all: she discovered Who the Lord Jesus is: the beloved Son of the Father (3:35), the promised prophet of God, the Christ, Who knew all about her and Who knew her relationship with God has put it right. Through Him she would be allowed to worship God as Father.

At that very moment, she became a different woman, able to put all her old life behind her and bear witness of Christ boldly to all who would hear.

Worship – that's all there is

It is remarkable that the Lord Jesus says nothing to Nicodemus about worship. This is probably because Nicodemus was not ready for that at all. He had to want to see first that he was lost and under the judgment of God. He should first believe in the Name of the only begotten Son of God and be born again.

But the woman from Samaria knew she was a lost man, and when she found out Who the Lord Jesus was, He told her of the desire of God the Father. Surely that is the most lofty question a man can ask:what is the desire of God?' The Lord Jesus gives the answer:

“…the Father seeks those who thus worship Him.” (John 4:23)

That is the highest there is: approaching God the Father with the praise, thanksgiving and adoration of our hearts! Because He desires it. How many reasons do we have to do that, every day. When we think about who we ourselves are, Who God is and what He has done in Christ. His eternal purpose to “to bring everything together again in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10). All Scripture gives ample occasion to praise, thank and worship the Father.

It is the Spirit of God who is given to us (Romans 5:5) that generates in our hearts this praise, thanksgiving and worship. For that we got God's Spirit indwelling, for without Him a natural man will not know God as Father and worship Him.

Over ‘worship in spirit and in truthhere are some thoughts an 'old' article.

Desire for More: The Lord Jesus Christ

With Nicodemus we have seen that he had to put aside his own efforts and qualities if he really wanted to experience 'more'. He should see himself as a lost sinner before God and come to believe in the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. Then he would be born again and given a new life.

The woman from Samaria knew her own misery, but had to discover Who the Lord Jesus was. That there was 'more' that He wanted to give her. Then her life would be completely renewed.

The Biblical 'lake' always has to do directly with the Lord Jesus Christ. With faith in and knowledge of Him, the only begotten and beloved Son of God, the Sent of the Father. Christ the Crucified.

You, Father of the lights
brought by Your faithful Word
and by thy Spirit that worketh with power,
us as Thy children.

Your wonderful grace gave
Your only begotten Son.
From Him shines all Your glory;
He is Your joy and crown.

He has lighted our dark hearts,
Your Father's name revealed.
He, sinless, came into judgment,
the Holy One was to blame.

O Father, all is accomplished,
and to Your glory
Do you have a people of Satan's power?
drawn and released.

We may now, renewed and clean,
Seam you and in spirit
and truth are Thy worshippers,
here and at the celestial feast.

Yes Father, we adore You
and Your beloved Son.
The highest praise and glory be to You,
the Eternal on the throne!

Spiritual Songs 194 (2016 edition)

[1] The Samaritans recognized only the books of Moses as the Word of God and believed that God should be worshiped on Mount Gerizim rather than in Jerusalem. Also see http://www.christipedia.nl/Artikelen/S/Samaritanen

[2] Deuteronomy 18:15-19

[3] See also John 3:34-36, the testimony of John the Evangelist.