John 4 – The Theme of "Eternal Life" Continues
The essay of John 3 concludes by declaring that:
(1) Jesus Christ "comes from above" and is above all.
(2) He "bears witness" of what He has seen and heard.
(3) "That God is truthful", and that Jesus speaks the words of God, "for He gives the Spirit without measure,"
(4) And, "eternal life" is what they have who believe in the Son, and obey the Son, that is, they obey the words of God that He has delivered to them from heaven.
(5) Finally, to not see "life" is to remain under "the wrath of God."
John 4 finds Jesus sitting by the well that Jacob gave his son Joseph, talking to a Samaritan woman about “living water” that becomes "a fountain of water that springs forth for eternal life."
We have already seen in the previous chapter, that entering the kingdom of God demands rebirth. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the new birth required a birth of water, or baptism for the remission of sins, the very practice that Jesus and his disciples had been carrying out, baptizing more disciples than John. The Holy Spirit through John and Jesus and their disciples was preaching the message of repentance, which is a rebirth of thinking and practice, thus they had to be born of the Spirit also. Being born of the Spirit is about accepting His testimony, that is, the teachings that come from heaven, inspired of the Holy Spirit, through the Messenger sent from above. (The laws of Moses are called "the testimonies" as well. Deut. 4:45; 6:17; Psalm 78:56; 119:2, 22, 167) One must believe in the Son of Man, whom Nathanael confessed to be the Son of God in John 1:49. As Moses raised up the serpent in the wilderness, John 3:14, so it was necessary for the Son of Man to be raised up on the cross, that all who believe might have in Him "eternal life."
Eternal life depends on repentance from past sinful practices (born of the Spirit) and baptism in water for the remission of those sins (born of water), being born again, according to the teachings of the Holy Spirit, through John the Baptist, and now through Jesus. The Samaritan woman with whom Jesus spoke in John 4, also needed to hear , believe, and be born again, that she might have eternal life, John 4:10, 14, 17-26.
(1) He offered her living water, v10.
(2) He taught her that the living water that He offered her would be change into a fountain of water that springs into “eternal life,” v14.
(3) When she asked for that water, v15, Jesus confronted her with her sins, the sins that she would have to repent of in order to be born again and have that eternal life, v16-19.
(4) Moreover, Jesus corrected the religious error of the Samaritans, for salvation, v22, but explained that He as the Messiah would be changing the pattern of worship that God demanded very soon. Our salvation also depends on us being "true worshipers," v23, who "will worship in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such worshipers to worship him." Those the Father seeks "must" worship Him in spirit and in truth, v24.
The Samaritan woman and the inhabitants of Sicar believed in Jesus, v39-42, after hearing him and confessed that "He is indeed the Savior of the world." The Samaritans called Jesus, the Messiah, and Christ. To believe in the Christ is to believe in the King of the kingdom of God. The Savior King is the one who commands and makes the laws of His kingdom. He bears the scepter of power and authority, Matthew 28:18. The King's orders are His commandments and laws. They are the statutes and testimonies of God. To believe in the King is to declare allegiance and fidelity to the King and his orders. This new allegiance is the object of repentance as taught by the Holy Spirit. When someone listens to the teachings inspired by the Holy Spirit, his repentance is born of the Spirit.
Jesus explained to his disciples that his food was to teach such people as the Samaritan, v34, because that was the will of the One who sent him. His food was to carry out the work of the heavenly Father. That work is called the "harvest," v35. The reaper "gathers fruit for eternal life." Eternal life refers to the effect of his teachings that motivated the Samaritans to repent of their sins and mistakes, and thus be born again of water and of the Spirit. The new life is the harvest, that bears fruit for eternal life. The fountain that flows from the heart of one who hears Jesus is the knowledge that fills him and then in turn flows as the blessings of good works and the blessings of knowledge that he teaches those who live in his world. If the life that one learns and practices is shared with others, they in turn will have the same life if they accept the teachings and put them into practice in their own lives.