The message I bring you today is this: to look at people by the Spirit. Not by the flesh, but by the Spirit. If we look at people by the Spirit, it will „unlock“ them. The gifts God has poured into them will be able to spring into action, and they will serve us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the reverse is also true: until we recognize people spiritually, we cannot „connect“ to them and „draw out“ the grace they carry.
In John 4 we read the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4:5–10).
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:5–10)
Notice that in verse 10 Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: „If you knew! If only you knew!“ The Samaritan woman did not know who Jesus was. Had she known he was the Messiah, perhaps she would have asked him for eternal life. But he had no halo around his head. He looked like an ordinary Jew. She was fixed on his outward appearance. She was spiritually blind, and this kept her from asking for and receiving things that only God could give her.
If only we could look at people by the Spirit! If only we could recognize who they really are, and what gifts lie hidden in them. If only we knew, we could receive them.
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is a conversation between two people who speak different languages. The Samaritan woman looked at Jesus by the flesh, while he looked at her by the Spirit. She looked at him with her fleshly eyes, and he looked at her with his spiritual eyes. She spoke to him in the language of the flesh, and he spoke to her in the language of the Spirit. She perhaps thought he was trying to flirt with her. He saw in her the gift of an evangelist. He begins the conversation like this (7):
Jesus: “Will you give me a drink?” (John 4:7)
Jesus really was thirsty, but these words may also have been prophetic. At that moment she did not have the living water of the gospel, but very soon she would begin to give „living water“ to her fellow townspeople.
The Samaritan woman: “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John 4:9)
She looked at him as a Jew – someone she could not associate with, someone from „the enemy camp“. Jesus, however, keeps speaking to her in the language of the Spirit (10):
Jesus: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)
„Living“ water in this case means flowing, fresh, or spring water – not well water. But what the Samaritan woman hears puzzles her; she begins to guess who he is, yet keeps looking at him by the flesh and says (perhaps mockingly) (11–12):
The Samaritan woman: “Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” (John 4:11–12)
The Samaritan woman surely thought she knew men… She had had five of them. But who was this one who was speaking to her at the well?
Jesus, on the other hand, was trying to make her desire the gift he had, because without her desire he could not give it to her. In the following verses he says (13–14):
Jesus: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14)
Here Jesus begins to pull back the curtain and reveal to her that he is speaking not literally but figuratively. She, however, does not grasp it and keeps thinking how wonderful it would be to spare herself the physical effort of trudging to the well every day to draw water from it (15).
The Samaritan woman: “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:15)
DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING
Then Jesus decided to apply a slightly sharper pressure and to make her see through to the spiritual realities (16):
Jesus: “Go, call your husband and come back.” (John 4:16)
With these words Jesus touched her sore spot. She, however, quickly tried to change the subject (17).
The Samaritan woman: “I have no husband.” (John 4:17)
Jesus, however, would not let her off (17–18).
Jesus: “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:17–18)
„Ta-da-da-daaan!“ This Jew showed her that he knew her, though she had never seen him before. This startled her, and she began to regard him as a prophet. Her spiritual eyes began, little by little, to open. She began to ask up to the level at which she expected to receive. She sought an answer to a spiritual question (19–20).
The Samaritan woman: “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” (John 4:19–20)
Jesus answered her with an authority greater than that of a prophet. He spoke as though he himself were the one who determines God’s time and manner of worship – the worship God requires (21–24).
Jesus: “Woman, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21–24)
Jesus confirmed that until his coming, Jerusalem – not Samaria – was the right place of worship. But he moved deeper, and directed attention not to the form but to the content. When he said „a time is coming“, Jesus hinted that he was speaking of the coming of the Messiah. Then, however, he added: „and has now come“. With these words he declared that the future had already arrived in the present. In this way Jesus turned the Samaritan woman’s thoughts toward the Messiah, because if she recognized him only as a prophet, that would not be enough to save her. A prophet can release a prophetic word, can reveal to her the secrets of her heart, but he cannot give eternal life. Eternal life is a gift that can be received only from the Anointed One. And in order to receive it, the Samaritan woman had to recognize Jesus not only as a prophet, but as the Messiah (25).
The Samaritan woman: “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” (John 4:25)
In these words there seemed to be a questioning note as well: „Could you be the Messiah?“ Jesus answered her plainly (26).
Jesus: “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” (John 4:26)
Do you feel the movement in the Samaritan woman’s understanding of Jesus? At first she looked at him by the flesh, perceiving him as a Jew. But with Jesus’ help her spiritual eyes gradually began to open, and little by little she began to see the spiritual realities. First she saw him as a prophet, and a little later as the Messiah as well.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE LIVING WATER
At this point his disciples came, and this gave her the opportunity to make sense of things – to believe him, to see him as the promised Messiah, and to receive him as such (27). Only then was she able to receive the gift of God – the living water of eternal life. Now, with Jesus’ help, she had fulfilled the condition he had set before her at the very beginning (10):
- to know who this is who is speaking with her;
- to understand the gift he has to give her;
- and to ask it of him.
What had Jesus told her?
If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water. (John 4:10)
As long as she looked at Jesus by the flesh, the Samaritan woman received nothing. But the instant she saw Jesus in the light of the Holy Spirit, she received eternal life. To look at people „by the Spirit“ means to see them in the light of the position they hold in God’s kingdom – regardless of worldly standards for measuring a person, regardless of their outward appearance.
When she understood with whom she was speaking and received the „living water“ from him, the Samaritan woman „left her water jar“ and went to tell the others, so that they too might come and „drink from the water of life“ (28–30).
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, (John 4:28)
I don’t know if you sense it, but there is something symbolic in this leaving of the water jar. The woman had come to the well for water, but now she was so stirred by the „living water“ she had received from Jesus that she left her jar behind and went to do something more important – to tell others about Jesus.
Notice that the apostles too looked at the Samaritan woman by the flesh (27).
IS THE „GRAIN“ RIPE OR NOT?
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” (John 4:27)
If they had been at the well when she came to draw water, they might simply have left without exchanging a single word with her. Then nothing would have happened. Unlike them, Jesus did not look at the Samaritan woman by the flesh. Had he looked at her that way, perhaps all he would have seen would have been a promiscuous, ruined, desperate, complex-ridden woman. But he looked at her by the Spirit and unlocked in her the gift of an evangelist. Suddenly she gained courage, authority, and boldness, and that same day she brought a large part of the citizens of Sychar to Jesus. She told them (29–30):
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. (John 4:29–30)
Her testimony was not in vain, for verse 39 says that because of it many believed in Jesus:
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” (John 4:39)
Looking at people by the Spirit is exceedingly important for salvation. And this attitude must run in both directions. On one hand, the one who is being saved must look at Christ, at the gospel, and at his servants by the Spirit. On the other hand, we as evangelists must look at people by the Spirit. Only so will we be able to see them „ripe“ for salvation.
We could not „gather fruit for eternal life“ if we look at people by the flesh. We would never begin to share the gospel with anyone, because we would immediately write them off as unreliable. In verses 35–36 Jesus said to his disciples:
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. (John 4:35–36)
If we look at people by the flesh, we will keep waiting for „revival to come“ and postpone the work of the gospel to some far-off, uncertain future. Only if we look at people by the Spirit will we see that they are already ready to be „gathered in“ to God’s kingdom.
Being received is exceedingly important for the growth of faith. In verses 40–42 we read:
40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:40–42)
These Samaritans received Jesus because they looked at him not „by the flesh“ – as some Jewish rabbi – but „by the Spirit“ – as the Messiah, the „Savior of the world“. Because of this way of seeing, they gained an invaluable spiritual benefit, unlike certain other Samaritans who later rejected him because they looked at him by the flesh (Luke 9:51–56).
THE BARRIER OF „LOOKING BY THE FLESH“
Jesus knew from his own experience that if people looked at him by the flesh, and he could not change that premise, he could not serve them.
God’s Spirit cannot move and act in an atmosphere where people look at one another by the flesh. After he had rebuked the storm, cast out many demons, healed the woman with the bleeding, and raised Jairus’ daughter, Jesus came to his hometown, and there he could not serve them fully (Mark 6:5).
5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. (Mark 6:5)
Jesus could not perform a single miracle in his hometown. Why? Because there the people looked at him by the flesh. Perhaps they said to one another: „Ah, him? Little Jesus, our boy, the carpenter. And what’s this – who does he think he is? The Messiah? My, has he no shame, hasn’t he gotten above himself? Why, this way he’s just blaspheming!“ They took offense at him. They could not accept him even as a prophet, let alone as the Son of God. Why? Because they looked at him by the flesh (Mark 6:1–4).
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. (Mark 6:1–3)
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” (Mark 6:4)
Why? Because it is very difficult, once you have looked at someone by the flesh for a long time, to begin to look at him by the Spirit.
FROM NOW ON WE REGARD NO ONE BY THE FLESH
The apostle Paul had a problem with some who rejected him because they looked at him by the flesh, not by the Spirit. That is why he wrote about how we should treat one another and how to know one another not by the flesh but by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:14–17).
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (2 Corinthians 5:14)
Because Christ died for us and in our place, everyone who is in him is dead to his old nature, to sin, and to the flesh.
15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:15)
We who have believed in Christ have been raised together with him to a new life. We no longer live for ourselves, but for God. This is true both of us and of our brothers and sisters in the Lord – of every Christian. This is the spiritual grounding for our practical attitude. And listen to what the apostle Paul says follows from all this:
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16)
Before he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul looked at him by the flesh. His assessment of Jesus was sincere, but shallow. He considered him an impostor who claimed to be the Messiah. That is why he thought Jesus’ followers ought to be wiped out (Acts 9:1–2; 26:9–11). After he met him, however, he renounced this notion of his, finding it utterly mistaken. When Jesus revealed himself to him, Paul recognized him as the God-appointed Messiah, whose death brings eternal life to all who receive him.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
How does God see us? How does he look at us – by the flesh or by the Spirit? By the Spirit. He sees us as „new creations“.
Looking at one another by the Spirit is of exceptional importance for the local church. For if Christ could move from one place to another whenever people looked at him by the flesh, the members of the local church have no such alternative. Our only option is to change our view and to look at others the way Christ sees them. The challenge before us is to give honor to the „prophets“ in their own „homeland, town, and home“. That is why my prayer is that God would help us – as the apostle Paul says – „from now on to regard no one by the flesh“.
THE REWARD FOR KNOWING PEOPLE BY THE SPIRIT
There is a reward for receiving people by the Spirit. In Matthew 10:40–42 Jesus said:
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40–42)
We must not let the natural sway us. We must not permit familiarity to creep in. It will keep us from taking God’s Word seriously. We will have many opportunities to be offended and disappointed by some brother or sister. But if we cut off our fellowship with them, we run the risk of stepping out of God’s plan for our life and of hindering some good thing from happening in the future. We must remember that, whatever our brothers and sisters do, they are called by the Lord, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and endowed with spiritual gifts. We must recognize them in the Spirit. This will „unlock“ them, and the Holy Spirit will begin to move in them.
In 2 Kings 4:8–17 we read how a Shunammite woman was rewarded with a miracle because of her attitude toward Elisha:
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. (2 Kings 4:8)
Notice that this woman insisted that Elisha be her guest. She „kept“ him. Why? Because she recognized that he was a man of God. And so she thought it too small a thing merely to have him over as a guest, and decided to set aside a room in her home where he could stay whenever he came.
9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God.” (2 Kings 4:9)
Notice that this Shunammite recognized Elisha as a „holy man of God“. One day she looked at him not by the flesh, but by the Spirit. Outwardly Elisha may not have been much to look at. From 2 Kings 2:23 we learn that he was bald. But she looked at him and saw the supernatural gift and calling that God had given him. So she decided to do something for him and thereby to honor God. She said to her husband:
10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. (2 Kings 4:10)
This attitude unlocked God’s power in Elisha.
11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. (2 Kings 4:11)
One day Elisha had stretched out on his bed in the Shunammite’s house, and perhaps he was thinking: „Glory to God! He has revealed himself to this Shunammite, and she has treated us so well. Now let’s see – if she has served us with her material blessings and her property, can we not also do something for her out of the position God has given us in the Spirit?“
12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I have a home among my own people.” (2 Kings 4:12–13)
The Shunammite was a modest woman. She had no need of connections in the high places of power.
14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” (2 Kings 4:14)
This woman had no children and could not have any. This is the greatest pain a family can know. And so, despite her wealth, she was perhaps not happy.
15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” (2 Kings 4:15–16)
For the Shunammite this was too good to be true.
“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” (2 Kings 4:16)
And yet these were prophetic words. Elisha was God’s representative, and he was speaking God’s Word – a Word that calls into existence what does not exist.
17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. (2 Kings 4:17)
Glory to God! Do you see how God rewarded the Shunammite? Why? What special thing did she do? Do you remember how it all began? She looked at Elisha by the Spirit and said: „I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God“. Truly, truly I tell you, if we look at people by the Spirit, we will certainly not lose our reward!
WHOM DO WE RECEIVE AND WHOM DO WE REJECT?
It is important to know people by the Spirit – to be discerning. To receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, but to take care not to receive a false prophet in the name of a prophet. That would truly land us in a mess… because that too is possible. The Corinthians received false apostles in the name of apostles (2 Corinthians 11:1–5; 13–15, 19). The Galatians received false teachers in the name of teachers (Galatians 1:6–7). We must be very careful – neither to reject those whom God has called and anointed, nor to receive those who seize for themselves authority and rights that do not belong to them.
May God help us! If we live by the Spirit, then let us also walk by the Spirit and look at others by the Spirit. So we will be able to hold the right attitude toward unbelievers and believers alike – and even toward our enemies.