John 7:37-39
Rivers Of Living Water
John 7:37-39 MKJV
And in the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out,
saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes on Me, as the Scripture
has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (39) But He spoke this about the Spirit,
which they who believed on Him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet
given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
What
is the relationship between our innermost beings and God?
- The innermost
being is a place of wounds and alienation and neurosis and we are to
struggle to fix up our innermost being so it can be made acceptable to
God.
- The innermost
being is a dream world where we receive messages from God, but God does
not actually dwell there, He is “somewhere outside”.
- The innermost
being is the mind and if we fill it with right knowledge we can know God.
- The innermost
being is our emotions and our job is to have nice peaceful emotions and
the goal is to end suffering in the innermost being. The less emotions we
have the better, the goal is an empty self in a state of disconnected
bliss.
- The innermost
being is a volcano of wild urges that must be tamed by Reason in the
service of Religion.
- Our innermost
being contains the whole Universe including God, but we are not aware of
this yet.
- There is no
innermost being; we are just a physical body.
- Innermost beings
are the chief concern of neurotic middle-aged women and sensible people do
not worry about them but just get on with the practical details of life.
- Good Christians
do not concern themselves with subjectivity and introspection and issues
of innermost being but solely focus on obedience to the Bible.
- We can
reconstruct our innermost beings and achieve enlightenment through a long
and arduous series of disciplined spiritual exercises that only so-called
Masters really succeed in.
I
have heard people espouse all of the above answers but they are ALL PROFOUNDLY
WRONG.
By
contrast Jesus tells us that
a)
We
have an innermost being (v. 38).
b)
This
is something we should develop (v. 38) and be concerned about it.
c)
The
abundant inner life is composed of “spirit” - not primitive urges or the mind
or the emotions. (v. 39)
d)
That
this Spirit is a gift from God, as a result of historical process (Jesus being
glorified) and originates in God and not in the individual. (v. 39)
e)
That
arduous exercises and lengthy psychoanalysis are not required for an abundant
inner life– just faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. (v. 38)
f)
That
it is not our own advanced human consciousness but is God’s consciousness
within us. (v. 39)
g)
The
innermost being can receive the Spirit that is from God (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
h)
That
Christ can dwell in the innermost being. (Ephesians 3:16,17)
i)
That
while God may dwell in the innermost being, the innermost being is not the same
as God or the Universe. God the Holy Spirit is an objective reality who existed
before human consciousness was even created. (Genesis 1:3, Psalm 8))
j)
That
the Spirit can flow out of us to others and is not isolated or self-contained
but is connected, abundant and communicative. (v.38,39)
k)
The
flow of Spirit is not a result of knowledge or of human effort or of psychic
evolution by humanity - but is a promised and prophesied result of God’s grace
through faith. (v. 38, see also Galatians 3:1-5)
[Homework:
See how these Scriptural statements directly contradict the first ten false
statements.]
A
major leap forward in who we are – our innermost being, comes when we place our
faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – and we spend our whole
Christian lives living out and understanding this change. Yet some Christians,
though born-again do not experience the “rivers of living water” because of
reasons such as:
a)
Legalistic
striving (Galatians 5:1-11)
b)
Quenching
the Spirit – by forbidding prophecy and other spiritual manifestations.
(1 Thessalonians 5:19,20)
c)
Grieving
the Spirit through wrong and carnal attitudes such as bitterness (Ephesians
4:30-32).
d)
Ignorance
concerning the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-6)
Since
the rivers of living water are promised by Jesus, as a result of faith, and are
an important part of the Christian life we should seek to enter into this
experience. We need to ask God to let the living waters flow – and to do our
bit in removing major blockages such as hatred and unforgiveness.
May
I add that the Spirit is given freely and is never earned or deserved. The
Galatians tried to earn the Spirit through works of the law – and were rebuked
harshly by Paul (Galatians 3:1-5, 5:1-11). The Spirit is given as a free gift
Acts 2:38, 10:45 Hebrews 6:4) – and is given without measure.
John 3:34
MKJV For He whom God has
sent speaks the Words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
Thus
it is not our performance that is the problem! We do not have to do more, say
more or know more in order to know the living waters within us, and flowing
from us. We just need to believe in Jesus and in the gift of the Spirit and
deal promptly with the blockages to His operation.
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