Rivers of living water

15 March 2009

John 7:37-39

Read: John 7:37-39

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." [39] Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

1. Background

Jesus spoke these words on the last day of the feast of booths (tabernacles).

The Feast of Booths fell on fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasted for seven days (Exodus 23:16, 17; Lev 23:34; Neh 8:18) during which people built booths of branches from palms and other leafy trees and lived in them, symbolizing their sojourn in the desert on route from Egypt to Canaan. It was a season of rejoicing for the whole family, including servants and visitors (Lev 23:33-43). Sacrifices were offered and every seventh year there was a public reading of the law. On the eighth day (a holy convocation) people celebrated entry into the Holy Land by abandoning their booths and returning home.

In later years, on each of seven feast days the practice developed of drawing water from the pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher and carrying it in procession to the temple, in commemoration of the water from the rock which God provided. But on the eighth day, this was not done because they now symbolically entered the land where springs of water abounded.

Marcus Dods comments: ‘But the deeper spirits must have viewed with some misgivings all this ritual, feeling still in themselves a thirst which none of these symbolic forms quenched and wondering when the vision of Ezekiel would be realized, and a river broad and deep would issue from the Lord’s house. Filled with these misgivings they suddenly hear a voice, clear and assured…’ (Expository Greek Testament).

Jesus stood to speak. Teachers usually sat so he was really drawing attention to what he was saying by standing. There was no water poured on this last great day – but Jesus offered them something greater: rivers of water from within.

John tells us plainly that Jesus is talking here about the Holy Spirit whom believers would receive (39).

2. ‘If anyone thirsts…’ (37)

The promise is for everyone. There are no exceptions here.

3. ‘Let him come to me and drink’ (37)

This is an astonishing claim! Only God can truly issue such an invitation. Who else could dare to say such a thing?

4. ‘Whoever believes’

Again, this applies to everyone – to everyone who believes.

5. ‘Out of his heart’

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit he indwells our innermost parts.

The heart = the spirit

Literally = stomach. ‘Hidden, innermost recesses of the human body’ (Rienecker). Possibly what the Bible elsewhere calls the spirit. There are many aspects to this, but here we consider the implications for prayer.
1 Cor 14:14-15 tells us that when we pray in tongues it is our spirits that pray. Note the phrase ‘MY spirit’… (i.e. not the Holy Spirit).
Also note that such prayer is edifying i.e. constructive; building up; strengthening (1 Cor 14:2)

Praying with the spirit is psychologically beneficial

Compare a psychoanalytical approach to the effect of hidden memories in the unconscious mind It is probable that the spirit corresponds with what psychiatrists call the ‘unconscious’. (See B. Chant, Praying in the Spirit, 119).
When we pray with the spirit we release inner tensions and hurts and long-forgotten but painful memories from the past.
We speak mysteries (i.e. secrets) with the (human) spirit (1 Cor 14:2, NIV).
So praying in tongues can be emotionally and psychologically beneficial. Certainly, it is a way of releasing needless tension and worry. Regular prayer with the spirit not only glorifies God but it has therapeutic value as well.
Research has actually shown a high degree of emotional and psychological stability among people who pray with the spirit (for sources of the following and other research see B.Chant, Spirit of Pentecost at www.barrychant.com).
Virginia Hine recounts an interesting situation in which four psychologists were given the results of personality tests undertaken by a traditional church group and a radical tongue-speaking group. The clinicians were asked, on the basis of the results alone, to identify each group. They all assigned to the traditional group the results which showed them to be less neurotic, less distressed psychologically and less repressive. In fact, these were the results for the tongue-speakers.
Hummel notes that studies by the United Presbyterian Special Committee in the United States in 1970, and other research by Kildahl, McDonnell and Samarin indicate no evidence for the view that those who speak in tongues are emotionally unstable or prone to ecstatic excesses.
In fact, the results are quite the opposite.
Kildahl suggests — Almost invariably, they (i.e. tongue-speakers) said they were more cheerful, more joyful and more optimistic as a result of speaking in tongues. They were less depressed and less pessimistic and had a pervading sense of God’s presence and strength within themselves... They all seemed to report that being filled with the Spirit had made them better able to cope with frustration, and better able to show greater patience and stability in dealing with others.
In South Africa, experiments showed that people who prayed in the Spirit were more stable, less bothered by tensions, more sensitive and displayed ‘a greater ability to renounce immediate satisfactions for long-term goals’.
Pentecostal scholar Walter Hollenweger uses the phrase ‘the psycho-hygienic function’ in reference to prayer with the spirit. Bittlinger talks of the inner release of such prayer transcending the value of psychoanalysis.

6. ‘As the scripture has said’

While not an exact quotation, this passage is reminiscent of Ezekiel 47:1-6.where we are told how Ezekiel was led into a river – ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, deep enough to swim! This was the river of life.

7. ‘Will flow rivers of living water’

The river of life = the life of Christ.
When the Spirit comes upon us, the life of Christ flows through us and from us. This means a flow of the character of Jesus – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

These are flowing rivers

Not like the Murray-Darling system at the moment where in places there are just isolated pools. Sometimes, people’s spiritual lives are like this. Just a pool here and there. A Sunday pool, perhaps. Or a Club O pool. Or a Seniors pool. Or a payday pool. Or a good-health pool…
So there is a flow of the love of Christ. We are able to respond warmly and generously to people because there is a river of love in our lives.
There is a river of joy – it is abundant and ongoing.
There is a river of peace. C.f. the old song, ‘I’ve got peace like a river in my soul, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got joy like a fountain…’
There is a river of patience! Of kindness! Of goodness! Of faithfulness! Of gentleness! Of self-control!

When we are Spirit-filled these rivers are a daily expression of the presence of Christ in our lives.

These qualities should characterise our lives, not just be an occasional expression. They are rivers not pools.
Story of recent leak in our backyard – water kept on flowing in spite of all we could do. Thousands of litres. We turned off every tap but we could not stop the flow. It took plumbers two days to find it and fix it. When the Spirit is within us, the flow continues regardless!
In reference to prayer, this means that our lives become lives of prayer. We are able to fulfil Eph 6:18 and 1 Thess 5:17. This involves both the understanding and the spirit (1 Cor 14:14-15)..
In her best seller Chasing the Dragon, Jackie Pullinger writes –
Every day... I prayed in the language of the Spirit. Fifteen minutes by the clock. I still felt it to be an exercise. Before praying in the Spirit, said, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray, or whom to pray for. Will You pray through me — and will You lead me to the people who want You.’ And I would begin my fifteen-minute stint. After about six weeks I noticed something remarkable. Those I talked to about Christ believed. I could not understand it at first and wondered how my Chinese had so suddenly improved, or if I had stumbled on a splendid new evangelistic technique. But I was saying the same things as before. It was some time before I realized what had changed. This time I was talking about Jesus to people who wanted to hear. I had let God have a hand in my prayers and it produced a direct result. Instead of my deciding what I wanted to do for God and asking His blessing I was asking Him to do His will through me as I prayed in the language He gave me.
Elsewhere, she writes of the overwhelming weariness and strain that came upon her as she had to keep going night and day to respond to the needs of the Walled City. Sometimes, she was so exhausted, she could hardly think, let alone pray. At these times, as she stumbled through the filthy lanes or collapsed on her bed after hours of ministry, all she could do was pray in the Spirit. This provided her with the strength she needed.
The 10/7 program was instituted in a Bible College class some years ago as a practical exercise – to pray with the spirit for ten minutes a day seven days a week. As a result, students testified to a deeper walk with the Lord, to a rejuvenated prayer life, to spiritual growth, to greater peace of mind, less tension etc.

8. ‘Whom those who believed in Him were to receive’

By faith we receive the Holy Spirit in his fullness in our lives. At this time, before Pentecost, this was not possible, for Jesus was still with them. But after Pentecost the Spirit came in his fullness. He still comes today. We receive him by faith.

9. Challenge

To maintain the flow of the river of life we need –

To be filled with the Spirit
Commit ourselves to devoted prayer in the Spirit.

Something to think or talk about

Remember – you don’t have to answer all the questions. Just choose those most relevant to you.

Biblical
1. Find out what you can about the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). Wikipedia has a helpful although somewhat lengthy article. See Google images for some nice pictures.
2. What are the implications of the first thing Jesus said? (37)
3. What was the reaction to what Jesus said? (37, 40-52). Why were some people puzzled or even angry?
4. What Old Testament Scripture references can you find to which John may have been referring here? (38)
5. To what event is John referring in 39? What do we learn from this verse about how the Holy Spirit is received?
6. When was Jesus glorified? (39) Compare John 12:23-24.

Personal and practical
7. The phrase ‘rivers of living water’ could refer to many outcomes of receiving the Holy Spirit. Suggest some that seem appropriate.
8. What has been your experience of 38?
9. From one (little) to ten (much), in terms of a flowing river, how would you rate your experience of the Holy Spirit in your own life? What can you do about it?
10. What has been your experience of (a) praying problems or hurts out of your system by praying with the spirit and (b) the 10/7 program?

Christian Life