1. The coming of God's spirit: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23 -24)
The Samaritan woman met Jesus at Jacob's Well and it turned out to be a day of surprises for her. Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies. Jews considered the Samaritans as spiritually unclean. They don't talk to them. They don't use or touch things owned by the Samaritans. An orthodox Jew would avoid setting foot on land of the Samaritans. If compelled to do so they would take off their sandals and shake off the dirt. The Jews also don't talk to women in public, even their own wives and daughters. The Samaritan woman was surprised when Jesus spoke to her. She was a woman as well as a Samaritan. Further no one would dared to talk to her publicly because of her ill reputation. She was surprised that Jesus, a stranger, knew everything about her. It shocked her when Jesus asked her for a drink of water, an unheard of thing. She was in for another shock when Jesus declared to her that he is the Messiah who both the Jews and the Samaritans were expecting. Jesus was not concerned about her past or racial and political differences. Jesus told her about eternal life and what would happen soon.
Jesus said to her that “a time is coming" for everyone to be able to worship God in spirit. The time Jesus spoke of will come after God gives everyone his spirit. That time is about the establishment of the New Covenant--now, for those Christians who have now received God's Spirit and are daily motivated to be guided by his Spirit in everything they do and later for those who will receive it when the whole world receives it.
2. The incarnated Word: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
This is the basic statement of the Incarnation, for Christ entered into a new dimension of existence through the gateway of human birth and took up his residence among human beings.
3. Truth and freedom: To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31 & 32) Jesus addressed the Jews with the assumption that they would proceed to a further commitment on the basis of his teaching, which would mark them as genuine disciples and lead them into a deeper experience of truth for he felt the necessity of making perfectly clear the conditions of discipleship. The freedom Jesus spoke of was spiritual freedom. It is being set free from sin and its effects.
4. The way to the Father: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the way to the Father because only he has an intimate knowledge of God, unmarred by sin. He is the truth because he has the perfect power of making life one coherent experience irrespective of its up and downs. He is the life because he was not subject to death but made it subject to him. He died to demonstrate the power and continuity of his life. Because he is the way, the truth, and the life, he is the only means of reaching the Father.
5. The true worship: Truth is the teachings of Christ, which come from the Father. True worship to God must be done in spirit and in truth. "In spirit" points to the level at which true worship occurs. The worshiper must come to God in humility and complete sincerity and with a life that is lived in surrender to God and directed by the Holy Spirit. Truth is characteristic of God, incarnate in Christ, intrinsic to the Holy Spirit, and is the very heart of the gospel. Therefore, worship must take place according to the truth of the Father that is revealed in the Son and received through the Spirit.
