Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:37-38
Today: Read John 7
Trusting in Jesus is everything! It is the work of God; that we believe in the One whom He sent (John 6:29). It is the will of God that those who believe will have eternal life (John 6:40). And it is the power of God that whoever believes will be saved (Romans 1:16). All of these wonderful truths are reserved for everyone who will simply believe.
Today’s passage reveals yet another magnificent reality that will occur in the life of all who place their trust in Christ. Whoever believes in Jesus, from his inner most being will flow rivers of living water.
When I read this passage, I can’t help but imagine a roaring fountain, the kind that flows as it splashes those who stand near. As Christians, our lives are to exemplify this same type of impact. Those who are near us should be impacted by the spiritual “splashing” that flows from our innermost being. If we continue to read in this passage, we discover that this living water is the result of God’s Spirit living in us. That got me to thinking about what the Bible says regarding the effects of a life powered by the Spirit of God. These effects are referred to in scripture as fruit (since in that day much of the culture was agrarian). People understood the concept of fruit bearing trees and how a particular tree would only bear the fruit natural to that species.
Well the life controlled by the Spirit of God is to flow with living water. That means that the fruit or evidence of this Spirit-led life will be obvious to everyone around. Onlookers should get “soaked” with the living water flowing from our lives. And what are the effects (fruit) of a Spirit-led life? We should see flowing from our lives:
Rivers of love…
Rivers of joy…
Rivers of peace…
Rivers of patience…
Rivers of kindness…
Rivers of goodness…
Rivers of faithfulness…
Rivers of gentleness…
Rivers of self-control…
This is not something that we will find in religion rather this life is reserved for those who believe. And this living water is not just for us rather it is a living testimony of the goodness and greatness of God!
So why does the Spirit allow us to flow with these attributes? Beyond the obvious reality that all of these traits are attributes of God, I can think of three passages of scripture that lay the foundation for why believers exhibit such traits.
- Believers find inward strength from the Spirit of God.
…that He (God) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…
Ephesians 3:16
Paul prayed that the believers of his day would experience inward spiritual strength as a result of the Spirit in their lives. As we believe in Jesus, we experience His saving power in our lives. Through believing we know that we have eternal life. And through believing, we rest in the truth that we righteous in His sight and fully justified in His presence (Romans 4:4-5, Galatians 2:16).
- Believers experience daily, inward renewal in spite of physical aging.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16
Rivers of living water are also the result of spiritual renewal going on in our daily lives. As we age, our bodies remind us of the reality that we are indeed getting older. But our spirits are not supposed to undergo that same phenomenon. In fact, Christians should be getting spiritually stronger and stronger by the day. As we do, we see the evidence of spiritual life. As a result, we become the kind of people that others desire to be around. Thirsty people do not head for the desert in order to quench their thirst rather they go to a source of water. Jesus said, ““If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink”(John 7:37). Jesus is the living water and as His children, we should be exemplifying His life-changing power.
- Believers do greater works than even Christ by the power of the Spirit of God.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
John 14:12-14
In the midst of Jesus’ instructions about the Holy Spirit, He states that those who will minister beyond His time on earth would indeed do greater works than He. Again, these individuals that will do these “greater” works are described as those who believe. This passage has much to say about the power of prayer but for our purposes, let’s not miss Jesus’ description of what a Spirit-led life power is to become. When we operate under the power of the Spirit, we see God do what only He can do in our lives (Ephesians 3:20). And as He does, others will certainly take notice.
Have you placed your trust in Christ? Are you living a life that is flowing with living water? Let’s be counted among those who are being renewed daily and who walk in the confidence and power that comes from believing in Jesus! (Ephesians 1:19)
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