IF YOU KNEW THE GIFT OF GOD
(Part 1)
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." (John 4:10, NKJV)
Hosea wrote, "
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6, NASB) Their priests had failed to instruct them in the ways of God and they were suffering for it. If they had known and obeyed the ways of God, they would have avoided destruction.If I informed you that the XYZ stock, which is selling for $2 today, will be selling for $102 Wednesday, how would this information effect your life? If you bought 10,000 shares today, by Wednesday your $20,000 investment would be worth $1,020,000.
What you don't know can hurt you and what you know and don't act on can doesn't benefit you.
If the military leaders at Pearl Harbor had known the Japanese were going to attack the Naval Base on December 7th, they could have taken evasive measures that would have saved hundreds of lives.
IGNORANCE IS THE MOTHER OF DESTRUCTION!
Jesus said to this woman, "If you knew the gift of God."
She had lived her life in ignorance of God's gift. The evidence of this is found in five failed marriages and her adulterous relationship with a man that wasn't her husband. She had failed to meet the satisfy her thirsty soul.
SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE GIFT WAS!
The gift Jesus refers to is "
living water." The Samaritan woman interpreted this to be running water in contrast to the water held by the well. She was thinking in terms of natural water and Jesus was talking about the spiritual water. She was thinking in terms of indoor plumbing and Jesus was talking about an indwelling fountain of life--"the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." (4:14)Jesus Identifies the Water.Later, in John 7:37-39, Jesus said:
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
John defines the water in verse 39:
"But this He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
The gift that He would give her would be the life giving Spirit. It is the Spirit who imparts life.
SHE DIDN'T KNOW THE NATURE OF THE GIFT!
The term "gift" is "doorean," and refers to a free gift or an act done undeservedly. The gift is by nature a grace endowment, i.e., it is freely given to the recipient whether the recipient deserves it or not.
Paul told the Ephesians, "
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9, NKJV).Paul enlarges on this in his letter to the Romans.
What then shall we say that Abraham, our father according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those who lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin."
(Romans 4:1-8)In verse 16 of this same chapter, Paul wrote, "
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace..." (4:16).It came 14 years prior to circumcision and 430 years before the giving of the Law. Circumcision was the seal of the righteousness given to faith (Rom. 4:11), not its source.
SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO OBTAIN THE GIFT!
She equated obtaining water with labor--"
Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water?" (4:11) Jesus tells her that the water is obtained by ASKING--"you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." (4:10)Matthew 21:22 (NASU)
Luke 11:13 (NASU)
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"John 15:7 (NASU)
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.James 4:2 (NASU)
You lust and do not have; [so] you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; [so] you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend [it] on your pleasures.1John 5:14 (NASU)
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.Mark 11:24 (NASU)
"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be [granted] you.John 16:24 (NASU)
"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.CONCLUSION
THOUGHTS
If the world knew the gift of God, every church building would be filled to capacity seven days a week.
If the church knew the gift of God, we wouldn't be so shy about sharing this gift with the world? We would be bold and joyful in our evangelism. We would literally radiate the joy of Jesus and live in constant praise and worship of the gift giver.
Copyright 1997 by Louis Bartet.
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