Questioning God
A Sermon on John 4:13-14
Originally preached April 16, 1967
Scripture
13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting …
Sermon Description
The world asks many questions, but why do they never come to true answers? Why does humanity always seek true wisdom and knowledge but not find it? The answer is found in the world’s rejection of Jesus Christ as the true wisdom of God. In this sermon on John 4:13–14 titled “Questioning God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells that all true wisdom has been given in Christ, but the world in its sinfulness does not know Him. For God’s wisdom is not the wisdom of the world; it stands in opposition to all sinful thinking. This wisdom of God is not accessible to sinful people because they are blinded by their own pride and have fooled themselves into believing that they can know truth without God’s revelation. The only way out of this dilemma is for sinful people to be transformed by His grace and made new and given the gift of salvation. This question confronts all in the revelation of God’s gospel: “do you know the truth of God or are you blinded by your sin and pride?” All either believe that Jesus is the true wisdom of God or they believe in the vain and passing wisdom of this world.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon examines whether Jesus satisfies us in relation to residual problems and questions that remain unanswered.
- The sermon begins by stating that we are not given complete and detailed answers to all questions in Scripture. However, we must not become obscurantists who refuse to think and make dogmatic statements without reason.
- Jesus removes our agitation and confusion over these residual problems. He deals with our spirit by humbling us through showing us the truth about humanity and ourselves. We realize how small, finite, and ignorant we are.
- We are also shown the greatness of God which emphasizes his transcendence and our limitations as creatures. God is in heaven and we are on earth.
- Our greatest trouble is intellectual pride and the desire to know what is beyond our capacity. We must become as little children.
- The Bible teaches us about the sinfulness and finitude of humanity, even after the Fall. We lack understanding. Our minds are darkened and sinful.
- The original sin was the desire to be as God in understanding. This pollutes all of humanity. Even as Christians we are prone to intellectual pride.
- God does not give us complete answers but takes away our agitation. He shows us enough to give us satisfaction but not so much that it overwhelms us.
- Heaven and the afterlife are beyond our imagination and vocabulary. God gives us glimpses and pictures but not full details. We could not stand more.
- There are secret things that belong to God and things revealed that belong to us. We must accept what God has chosen not to reveal.
- We see this with questions about God's will, election, and why some are saved and not others. We must not question God but accept his sovereignty.
- We must recognize the inevitability that there are things we cannot understand and rejoice in what God has revealed. We deserve nothing yet he has given us much.
- We must come to say with Job that we have uttered what we did not understand, things too wonderful for us. We repent in dust and ashes.
- Even angels long to look into the mysteries of God's wisdom and salvation. How much more should we accept our limitations?
- We walk by faith, not by sight. We cannot see the secret things of God but in heaven we will understand fully even as we are fully known. We must be content with what is revealed.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.