João 7
Dwight Pentecost · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 7:37-39
Pentecost - e.g., Joel 2:30-32 was not fulfilled at Pentecost!], Zechariah 12:10 = this outpouring will bring about national confession and repentance when the Messiah returns. The oldest interpreters of this passage however both Jewish and Christian, understood this passage clearly referred to the Messiah to come. ) this which you both see and hear (Ed: Speaking in languages that were not their native tongue)." (Acts 2:33, cp Acts 2:38-39) Comment: Even as out from the smitten rock of Ex 17:6 (Nu 20:10-11) flowed the living waters in the OT, so too now as a result of Christ the smitten Rock (crucified, resurrected, ascended, glorified), there is an eternal flow of the living waters, in the form of the Holy Spirit. Below are other NT Passages that allude to the giving of the Spirit to believers. Notice that the Father and the Son are both involved in the giving of the Spirit. (Luke 24:49) (Jesus speaking) “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Acts 1:4) Gathering them together, He (Jesus) commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me (John 14:16) (Jesus declared) “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. (John 14:26) (Jesus declared) “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 15:26) (Jesus declared) “When the Helper comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, (John 16:7 (Jesus declared) “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. For - term of explanation - What is Jesus explaining? Obviously He is explaining that this was a promise yet to be fulfilled. While that was true for His immediate audience, the condition of the promise was fulfilled by Jesus some 9 months later. Now in the Church Age the promise is not future but present, for now ALL believers receive the Holy Spirit when they believe. Paul writes "you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." (Ro 8:9) Because Jesus was not yet glorified - Notice that because is another term of explanation. When was Jesus glorified? He was glorified at His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension, taking His seat at the right hand of the Father (See Acts 2:33). John speaks often of the glorification of Jesus - John 8:54; 11:4; 12:28; 13:31–32; 14:13. Tenney notes that glorified "has varied meanings in this Gospel. It may refer to establishing status or to enhancing a reputation (John 8:54; 12:28; 13:32; 14:13; 15:8; 16:14; 17:1, 4, 5, 10; 21:19). In this particular context it refers to Jesus’ death, which, despite all appearances, would be the entrance to glory for him (John 7:39; 11:4; 12:16, 23; 13:31). The death and resurrection of Jesus would demonstrate the perfection of God’s love and power through humiliation” (Expositor's Bible Commentary) Glorified (1392)(doxazo from doxa = glory) has a secular meaning of to think, suppose, be of opinion but strictly speaking is not used in this sense in Scripture where it usually means to give a correct opinion or correct estimate of God, as possessing infinite greatness, grandeur and worth. FOUR FACTS ABOUT THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BELIEVER (1) He takes up residence within the “inner being" (2) He “flows” with an inexhaustible supply. (3) He brings the life of God to the soul. (4) He satisfies the deep thirst inside every heart. W E Vine - The Lord thus promises a twofold source of refreshment and satisfaction: He Himself satisfies the thirsty soul (cp Jn 4:10, 13-14), and by the indwelling Holy Spirit the believer is to be the means of satisfying others. To the Samaritan woman He had spoken of the water bestowed by Him as becoming in the recipient “a well of water springing up unto eternal life” (Jn 4:14); now He enlarges the promise: the believer is to be a channel of the fullness of life-giving ministry and enrichment to needy souls. He does not say “a river of living water,” but “rivers.” What a contrast to the golden picture of water poured out each day at the Feast of Booths! How great the possibilities of a Spirit-filled life! How important that we should permit nothing to clog the channel! This being “filled with the Spirit” is not an attainment securing a condition of permanent freedom from any defect on our part, it necessitates recourse to the efficacy of the cleansing blood of Christ (1 John 1:7), and the renewing of our mind (Ro 12:2). The purpose of the Spirit is to glorify Christ (John 16:14) and this ministry He fulfills in and through the believer who, seeking to refrain from grieving the Spirit, presents his body to God as a living sacrifice. So let us thirst, come, be filled, and be a channel of supply. The “living waters” were figurative of the Holy Spirit (v. 38) and the Lord was promising what would, and did, take place at Pentecost, and from that time onward. The Spirit would not be given thus till the Lord Jesus was glorified. There is no mention here of the Church; only the individual believer is in view. Further, what is here mentioned is not the Spirit’s work of regeneration. He was to be a gift to those who were already believers when Christ was on earth. What takes place since Pentecost is that when we believe and are born of the Spirit, He indwells us and becomes a river flowing through us in blessing to others. (Collected Writings) Rich Cathers on Lessons from John 7:37-39 - Spirit Filled. Are you thirsty? Are you unsatisfied with your life? Maybe you have never opened your life to Jesus. Maybe you realize that you need help. Maybe you are a Christian, but you’ve been living your life in your own strength. Four things from this passage: 1. Thirst - You have to have a need for Him. You have to “suffer from thirst”. There must be a strong sense of need in our life. We need to come to the point where we realize just how much we need God's help. If we're complacent about it, and don't really care one way or another, then don't expect anything. 2. Come to Jesus - You have to realize that to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you're going to have to come to Jesus. Going to Mohammed won't do. Nor Buddha. Coming to a special pastor to pray over you is a nice sentiment, but if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you must come to Jesus. If you aren’t coming to Jesus to have your thirst met, it’s like (show video of Nestea gone wrong – people falling backward and hitting the dust) Only He has paid the price for your sins, enabling you to come into a personal relationship with God. 3. Drink - To drink a glass of water, you first have to open up your mouth. Imagine drinking a glass of water with your mouth closed. You would certainly have a “drinking problem”! To receive the Holy Spirit, you have to open up your heart. Dr. A. B. Simpson used this illustration about being filled with the Spirit: “Being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean. You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a little bit of the ocean. So it is with the Christian.” A. W. Tozer wrote, “We are filled unto the fullness of God, but, of course, we cannot contain all of God because God contains us; but we can have all of God that we can contain. If we only knew it, we could enlarge our vessel. The vessel gets bigger as we go on with God.” 4. Believe - Jesus didn’t say, “He who feels this tingle down his back will have rivers of living water … ”. He said, “He who believes … ” Being filled with the Holy Spirit is based on trust, on faith, not on feelings. Robert Neighbour - Ezekiel gives a wonderful description of the flowing of these Waters. Ezekiel 47:1-8 says that the waters issued out from under the threshold of the house, eastward. They flowed with ever increasing depth and width. Then we find the statement "These waters go down into the desert, and go into the sea." Then comes the remarkable phrase, "It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live." (Ezek 47:9) To us this is exceedingly suggestive. The Holy Spirit begins to flow rivers of blessing from us when He is exalted to the throne of our hearts. He goes forth into the deserts of the world with blessing. Everything that He touches lives. Every miry place and every marsh is healed. In Ezekiel, on either side of the river there were all trees for meat. Their leaves did not fade, and their fruit could not be consumed. Would that God would give us such lives as these (Pr 4:23). The Spirit-filled life is the dominant need of every believer. Unless we are filled with the Spirit we cannot get God's best, neither can we prove ourselves able to give forth God's best. No wonder the Bible says, "Be filled with the Spirit." (Eph 5:18) (Living Water Commentary) Tony Evans' illustration regarding the Holy Spirit - In 2006, the Arizona Cardinals signed former Indianapolis Colts tailback Edgerrin James to a four-year contract worth $30 million, which included a signing bonus of $11.5 million. We live in a time when professional athletes not only ask for, but often expect, a signing bonus. In some ways, it has ceased to function as the special gift it was intended to be. This is also how we as believers can find ourselves treating the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we need to be reminded that the Holy Spirit is God's great gift to us. In John 7:37-39, Jesus stood on the crowded streets of Jerusalem and declared that those who believed in Him would experience living water springing from their innermost being. the Holy Spirit's job is to run interference so we can move forward in our spiritual lives. In Jn 7:39 John says, "This He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Something that is given is a gift, which is exactly what the Bible calls the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, many believers today function as if the Holy Spirit is the bench player of the Trinity. They know He is there, but they don't let Him in the game very often. Yet the Holy Spirit is the most active member of the Godhead when it comes to spiritual growth, so it's vital we learn what God's Word says about Him… The Holy Spirit lives in every believer (Ro 8:9, 1Cor 12:13), but not every believer allows Him full control of their lives. This comes through the Spirit's filling (Eph 5:18), which opens up the rivers of living water that He wants to send flowing through us. Why do we try to live life by our own strength rather than God's strength? When do you find it easiest to turn over control to God's Spirit in your life? (Get in the Game - An Athlete's Guide for the Spiritual Journey) ><>><>><> It’s Bubbling In My Soul - Decades ago, I visited a ministry center in West Africa and saw a little girl climb onto a truck that had a public address system. Smiling, she began to sing over the microphone: It’s bubbling, it’s bubbling, it’s bubbling in my soul; I’m singing and laughing since Jesus made me whole. Since Jesus came within, and cleansed my heart from sin, It’s bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling in my soul! Christ departed so that the Holy Spirit could be imparted. ><>><>><> James Alexander - This is not a well in the desert, of which you may only once taste and must then leave forever, but a river of life, at which you may perpetually slake your thirst. The Israelites all drank of that Spiritual Rock which followed them; and that Rock was Christ (1Cor 10:4). The current from the smitten rock pursued the journeyings of the camp. The unchanging Redeemer in His fulness is always beside you and within your reach. "As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him."… You may be already justified indeed; but are there not a thousand wants within you which crave supply? Has not your path been through a wearisome land, and are you not sensible of an inward thirst, which nothing but spiritual refreshment can assuage? You need daily purifying; you need daily increase of knowledge; you need strength for the remaining journey, and healing for the fevered wounds of your conflict. Behold the boundless provision and hearken to the liberal summons. Approach anew to Him Who is the Source of all your life and Who cries anew "If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink." (Col 2:6) (Discourses on Common Topics of Christian Faith and Practice) Though you may have for days without number forsaken the fountain of living waterand hewed out cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no water, rest assured beloved believer that none who who will be turned away from the Fountain, Christ Jesus, for the Diffuser of gracious refreshment is ever ready to take us back and satisfy us with His love. Again the sound of falling waters is in your ears. From the clefts of the saving Rock the holy stream breaks forth in profusion. "And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost." (Rev 22:17) It is the final feast of the seven great Jewish feast. It is called the Feast of Ingathering. It began one day after the Day of Atonement The Temple held at least 6000 within the walls. Even as water is indispensable for the natural life of man, so too "living water" from Jesus is indispensable to the supernatural life of man, for the non-believer bringing spiritual life, for the believer bringing abundant life. Partake of Jesus or perish. If anyone also implies that there will always be enough, that the supply of living water found in Jesus is ever springing, inexhaustible source, sufficient to satisfy in this short life and the eternal life to come. Jesus' invitation is large, and the provision is vast, for His righteousness is infinite. Here is Jesus the most unpopular and most popular in the midst of the Temple - teaching earlier Jesus at the right place, right time with the right word! It has not yet been celebrated by the church. Estimates are there were more than 1 million in Jerusalem. Eccl 6:7 All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied. Nothing can satisfy the deepest needs of our soul except the Water of Life, Christ Jesus. 7:39 is a prophecy Cry - a voice of anguish (?) - the last day, the last feast, the last time! The Bread of Life, the Water of Life, the Door of Life, the Resurrection and the Life Our part is to seek. His part is to satisfy. The trumpets sounded and the people sang, “Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3-note). This water symbolized salvation. (Constance, Mrs. T. M.) If the 7th day, it would have corresponded with the finale - marched around altar 7x before pouring out the water. If the 8th day, there was no water ceremony. His offer would be in juxtaposition to the physical water the day before. Pr 11:25 - He who waters will himself be watered. John 14:17 with you and will be in you (helps understand He was always present but not as He would be) Ezek 36:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Criswell - God's promise to "sprinkle clean water" is a figure of the purification and forgiveness of all the sins of Israel, including idolatry. Appetites of the body are used to set forth the desires of the soul. The waters of this wilderness world yield no pure, refreshing stream. "Piety is influential." (Jabez Burns) God blesses a man that he may be a blessing. As Paul said "What would you have me do?" Not to merit blessing, but to spread blessing. And not to gain honor for us, but to bring glory to God. Isaiah 12:3 (See Isaiah 12 Commentary) was recited at the Feast of Booths "Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." (See devotional on Isaiah 12:3) When we "draw" from the Well Who is Jesus, He becomes our salvation, a well of living water within us and our lives become like (supernatural) artisan wells gushing forth streams of living (life giving) water! Hallelujah! Does this describe my life? It should! It can! Come and drink of Jesus by reading, meditating, obeying and praying His trustworthy Word and His Spirit will flow through you, cleansing and purifying your innermost being, yea, even flowing forth onto other thirsty souls in dire straits and in great need of supernatural satisfaction! The Rolling Stones were right on one thing - "I can't get no satisfaction!" The best this natural world has to offer will never match the supernatural source of satisfaction found in our precious Savior, Christ Jesus! Men without Christ are like mariners adrift on a sea surrounded by water they can't drink. The context of Isaiah's original words is clearly prophetic ("in that day" at beginning of Isa 12:1, 4 and speaks of a time that many know as the Millennium or Messianic Age when Messiah returns to redeem Israel and reign in righteousness. Constance - The emphatic word “thirst” means all the needs of the soul and the deep cravings of mankind. The word “drink” is equally as strong. Jesus offers Himself as a complete satisfaction to man. The claim here is the same as that given in Isaiah 55:1, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat.” Coming and drinking are two sides of one action, that of believing in Jesus. Those who respond to the invitation of Jesus are given promise of blessing and of being a blessing to others. The believer, having received Jesus, becomes himself a fountain of eternal blessing. Jesus strengthens what He promises the believer by anchoring this promise in the Old Testament scriptures. His entire mission and work, with all the blessings He came to give, are the fulfillment of God’s promises. This fact proved the genuineness of His Messiahship. His reference to scripture is a direct answer to the rulers who scoff at His claims. It is through Jesus that every believer actually attains what God promised by His holy prophets. That is evidence for the truth of Christianity. The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated to renew the old promises of God to the people. Then Jesus gave the invitation to the multitudes in fulfillment of these promises. The Christian is a channel through whom the grace of God flows to bless others. This is the effect of the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This is secured by the atonement of Jesus Christ. The cross has two sides: one turned toward God the Father, reconciling Him to man, a sinner; the other turned toward man, securing for him redemption and sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Under these two aspects Christ’s sacrifice is always presented in the Bible. (Constance, Mrs. T. M.) D L Moody - What does a hungry man want? Fame? No. Good clothes? No, he wants food. What does a thirsty man want? Stocks and bonds? No, he wants water. When we really hunger and thirst for Holy Spirit power, nothing else will satisfy us. God has commanded us to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18). We have His promise that He will pour water on him that is thirsty (Isa 44:3KJV). Claim that promise now in faith, fulfill the conditions laid down in the Word, and God will not disappoint you. (Talks to Christians) Henry Clay Trumbull - What want in the world equals thirst, and how vain and mocking are man's endeavors to supply what in this realm is longed for!… " Living water " is water from a perennial spring, as distinct from ordinarily well water, or cistern water. And " living water " is to this day, in the East, cried by the water-carrier in the crowded city streets as " The gift of God! The gift of God! "… No appetite or passion, no craving or desire, is so universal, so constant, so fierce, and so resistless, as thirst. Thirst was the first want of the first-born babe. Amid the awful terrors of Calvary, thirst forced an agonized cry from the lips of the dying Redeemer (Jn 19:28). The one cry that has come back to us from a spirit in torment was for a drop of water to cool a tongue parching with thirst (Lk 16:24). And one of the promises precious to the children of God is that in heaven they shall not thirst any more (Rev 7:16). To slake another's thirst but for a moment, is a bounty acknowledged gratefully by man, and not unnoticed by God. (Mt 10:42, 25:34-35, cp Acts 20:35)… One whose lips have parched with thirst in an army-prison, or on a sandy march, or while lying wounded on a field of battle, can realize the preciousness of "a cup of cold water only" as others cannot. After one of the battles of our Civil War, a member of the government ambulance corps was moving among the wounded on the field, assisting in their removal. He came to a dying Southern soldier, too far gone for hope through removal. As he stooped over the dying man with a kindly word, the parching lips asked for water. The lips were tenderly moistened. "Thank you! Now please lay my cap over my face, and let me die." As this service was rendered lovingly, there came another call from the dying man: " Will you please tell me your name, my friend ?" " Why, of course I will ; but why do you ask it ?" "Oh, so I can pray God through all eternity to bless you for giving me that water!" To bring water for his thirst, man has poured out millions upon millions for costly aqueducts, the very ruins of which are among the world's wonders. He has bored the artesian well into depths which could never be reached by cutting. He has tunneled under the lake's bottom, miles beyond the shore, for a purer supply. He has linked the desert with the river by chains of canals. Yet at the best, pure water has not always satisfied man's thirst ; so he has searched the world over for tempting beverages, and has taxed the ingenuity of his fellows for new and refreshing drinks… The longing for drink has been neither satisfied nor removed. Men still drink and thirst, and thirst and drink again. Only one person in all the world, and he that travel-worn pilgrim by the well of Jacob, has ever dared confidently to say, " Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst."… even as fainting travelers have been deluded by the mirage of the desert into one more vain effort to reach the water which they longed for, even so, also, thirsting souls have been mocked with the wine of superstition, have famished at the exhausted cistern of a false religion, or have wasted their latest strength in pursuing the mirage of some delusive philosophy of first causes and ultimate destiny. When Philip V, of Spain, first saw in full play the magnificent new fountains he had erected at La Granja, it is said that an expression of pleasure passed over his sad face ; then his melancholy look returned, and he said, bitterly : " Thou hast given me three minutes' distraction from my cares ; and thou hast cost me three millions." Might not his words be spoken of many a costly fountain erected to gratify man's spiritual longings? The ruins of such fountains dot the world over. What else are the crumbling, but still magnificent, temples at Nineveh and Nuffar, at Memphis and Thebes, at Susa and Persepolis, at Athens and Rome, at Mexico and Cuzco! Their cost was millions. Their relief to soul-thirst was momentary. " Broken cisterns" are they all, "that can hold no water." (Jer 2:13)… Myriads have turned, with thirsty souls, to Jesus; never one, never one, never one has been refused or disappointed. Men and women and children who rested on this promise have gone calmly into the fires of martyrdom, and with moistened lips have sung the praises of Jesus while the flames were purifying their bodies. Others have sorrowed on alone in life, but not as those who had no hope (1Th 4:13). They have been "troubled on every side, yet not distressed;… perplexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed " (2 Cor. 4:8, 9). They have been " as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things " (2 Cor 6:9-10). Many of you here before me are also witnesses of these things. You could rise up, one by one, and say in grateful confidence: "I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'Behold, I freely give The living water; thirsty one, Stoop down, and drink, and live ! ' I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him." (Col 3:4, Jn 20:31, 1Jn 4:9, 5:11) I never yet heard one say that he had drunk of the water which Jesus proffers and not had his soul-thirst quenched. (Henry Clay Trumbull - A Sermon on Thirst - 1903) Imagine the scene - Jesus standing and shouting out that He had water His hearers should drink and yet all could plainly see He had no pitcher, no glass, no real physical water. Imagine how the hearers must have processed this Man's offer! DO YOU MAKE OTHERS THIRSTY? - A little Chinese girl said, "I know why Christ said, 'You are the salt of the earth.' Because salt makes folks thirsty and Christians should make others thirsty for Christ." Are you making folks thirsty? People are too lazy to look up. Few try to find Christ. So Christ wants others to see Him reflected in us. In the famous Sistine Chapel in Rome, the beauty of the art is in the ceiling. As you enter, you are given a mirror. It seems strange to see people walking around looking down when the paintings are above. But they see all the glory reflected in the mirrors before them, without breaking their necks. Be a reflector. Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you. - Henrietta Mears These rivers of living water are to flow to us and through us as waters which are living, perennial and inexhaustible, yielding supplies to wants which are perpetually returning. Taste and see that the Lord is good. On March 29, 1848, Niagara Falls stopped for several hours due to an obstruction at the mouth of the river upstream, causing the falls to come to a trickle. What a picture of a believer who has drunk of the living water of Jesus for salvation, but now instead of experiencing rivers of living water flowing forth, is experiencing just a "trickle." Jesus desires that we "have life and have it abundantly." (Jn 10:10) And yet the flow of His Spirit through us has been obstructed by something in our lives. Nu 20:7-9 (Num 20:7) and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (Num 20:8) “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.” (Num 20:9) So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; Isaiah 44:3 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; Isaiah 49:10 “They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He (Messiah the Good Shepherd) Who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water. Jeremiah 31:25 "For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes." Ps 23:2 He leads me beside quiet waters. Rev 7:16-17 “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Rev 21:6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Re 22:1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, Amos 8:11-13 (Amos 8:11) “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. (Amos 8:12) “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it. (Amos 8:13) “In that day the beautiful virgins And the young men will faint from thirst. Ro 12:20, Pr 25:21 Pr 25:25 Like cold water to a weary soul, So is good news (aggelia agathe = message good - that is "good news" which when from God is called the Gospel) from a distant land. - Jesus came from a distant land to bring good news which was like water to weary souls! In Lk 2:10 when the angels announced "good news of great joy" the verb they used was euaggelizo which elsewhere means to proclaim the Gospel! William Arnot comments "The “peace on earth” which was proclaimed by angels and procured by Christ—which is offered in the word and enjoyed by the faithful, is like cold waters to a thirsty soul… The message of mercy is to most men like cold water to a soul that is not thirsty. Where there is a burning thirst perhaps there is no material blessing that affords to a human being such a lively pleasure as cold water; but, on the other hand, scarcely anything can be more insipid in the absence of thirst. When it is applied to the lips of a satisfied man, it is not indeed actively or violently offensive, but it is utterly tasteless, and is therefore set aside and forgotten… Thirst is a blessed thing, if cold water be at hand; cold water is a blessed thing to those who thirst. Needy sinners get; a gracious Saviour gives. When thirst drinks in cold water, when cold water quenches thirst, the giver and the receiver rejoice together. While the redeemed obtain a great refreshment in the act, the Redeemer obtains a greater; for Himself was wont to say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth: Illustrations of the Book of Proverbs) Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Ps 42:1-2 For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants (Heb = arag = longs for; Lxx = epipotheo = longs for desire, present tense = continually) for the water brooks, So my soul pants (Heb = arag = longs for; Lxx = epipotheo = longs for, desires, present tense = continually - same verb in 1Pe 2:2 = like a newborn babe longing for the Word) for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? Thirst produces a craving in the mind and body of a person which is not satisfied until the person drinks. This metaphor is cleverly used by the writer. Notice that the verb in the Lxx is epipotheo which describes a strong desire, an intense craving of possession, a great affection for, a deep desire, an earnest yearning for something with implication of need.
João 7:39
Pentecost - e.g., Joel 2:30-32+ was not fulfilled at Pentecost!], Zechariah 12:10 = this outpouring will bring about national confession and repentance when the Messiah returns. The oldest interpreters of this passage however both Jewish and Christian, understood this passage clearly referred to the Messiah to come. ) this which you both see and hear (Ed: Speaking in languages that were not their native tongue)." (Acts 2:33+, cp Acts 2:38-39+) Comment: Even as out from the smitten rock of Ex 17:6 (Nu 20:10-11) flowed the living waters in the OT, so too now as a result of Christ the smitten Rock (crucified, resurrected, ascended, glorified), there is an eternal flow of the living waters, in the form of the Holy Spirit. Below are other NT Passages that allude to the giving of the Spirit to believers. Notice that the Father and the Son are both involved in the giving of the Spirit. (Luke 24:49+) (Jesus speaking) “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Acts 1:4+) Gathering them together, He (Jesus) commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me (John 14:16) (Jesus declared) “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. (John 14:26) (Jesus declared) “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 15:26) (Jesus declared) “When the Helper comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, (John 16:7 (Jesus declared) “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. For - term of explanation - What is Jesus explaining? Obviously He is explaining that this was a promise yet to be fulfilled. While that was true for His immediate audience, the condition of the promise was fulfilled by Jesus some 9 months later. Now in the Church Age the promise is not future but present, for now ALL believers receive the Holy Spirit when they believe. Paul writes "you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." (Ro 8:9) Because Jesus was not yet glorified - Notice that because is another term of explanation. When was Jesus glorified? He was glorified at His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension, taking His seat at the right hand of the Father (See Acts 2:33+). John speaks often of the glorification of Jesus - John 8:54; 11:4; 12:28; 13:31–32; 14:13. Tenney notes that glorified "has varied meanings in this Gospel. It may refer to establishing status or to enhancing a reputation (John 8:54; 12:28; 13:32; 14:13; 15:8; 16:14; 17:1, 4, 5, 10; 21:19). In this particular context it refers to Jesus’ death, which, despite all appearances, would be the entrance to glory for him (John 7:39; 11:4; 12:16, 23; 13:31). The death and resurrection of Jesus would demonstrate the perfection of God’s love and power through humiliation” (Expositor's Bible Commentary) Glorified (1392)(doxazo from doxa = glory) has a secular meaning of to think, suppose, be of opinion but strictly speaking is not used in this sense in Scripture where it usually means to give a correct opinion or correct estimate of God, as possessing infinite greatness, grandeur and worth. FOUR FACTS ABOUT THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BELIEVER (1) He takes up residence within the “inner being" (2) He “flows” with an inexhaustible supply. (3) He brings the life of God to the soul. (4) He satisfies the deep thirst inside every heart. W E Vine - The Lord thus promises a twofold source of refreshment and satisfaction: He Himself satisfies the thirsty soul (cp Jn 4:10, 13-14), and by the indwelling Holy Spirit the believer is to be the means of satisfying others. To the Samaritan woman He had spoken of the water bestowed by Him as becoming in the recipient “a well of water springing up unto eternal life” (Jn 4:14); now He enlarges the promise: the believer is to be a channel of the fullness of life-giving ministry and enrichment to needy souls. He does not say “a river of living water,” but “rivers.” What a contrast to the golden picture of water poured out each day at the Feast of Booths! How great the possibilities of a Spirit-filled life! How important that we should permit nothing to clog the channel! This being “filled with the Spirit” is not an attainment securing a condition of permanent freedom from any defect on our part, it necessitates recourse to the efficacy of the cleansing blood of Christ (1 John 1:7), and the renewing of our mind (Ro 12:2). The purpose of the Spirit is to glorify Christ (John 16:14) and this ministry He fulfills in and through the believer who, seeking to refrain from grieving the Spirit, presents his body to God as a living sacrifice. So let us thirst, come, be filled, and be a channel of supply. The “living waters” were figurative of the Holy Spirit (v. 38) and the Lord was promising what would, and did, take place at Pentecost, and from that time onward. The Spirit would not be given thus till the Lord Jesus was glorified. There is no mention here of the Church; only the individual believer is in view. Further, what is here mentioned is not the Spirit’s work of regeneration. He was to be a gift to those who were already believers when Christ was on earth. What takes place since Pentecost is that when we believe and are born of the Spirit, He indwells us and becomes a river flowing through us in blessing to others. (Collected Writings) Rich Cathers on Lessons from John 7:37-39 - Spirit Filled. Are you thirsty? Are you unsatisfied with your life? Maybe you have never opened your life to Jesus. Maybe you realize that you need help. Maybe you are a Christian, but you’ve been living your life in your own strength. Four things from this passage: 1. Thirst - You have to have a need for Him. You have to “suffer from thirst”. There must be a strong sense of need in our life. We need to come to the point where we realize just how much we need God's help. If we're complacent about it, and don't really care one way or another, then don't expect anything. 2. Come to Jesus - You have to realize that to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you're going to have to come to Jesus. Going to Mohammed won't do. Nor Buddha. Coming to a special pastor to pray over you is a nice sentiment, but if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you must come to Jesus. If you aren’t coming to Jesus to have your thirst met, it’s like (show video of Nestea gone wrong – people falling backward and hitting the dust) Only He has paid the price for your sins, enabling you to come into a personal relationship with God. 3. Drink - To drink a glass of water, you first have to open up your mouth. Imagine drinking a glass of water with your mouth closed. You would certainly have a “drinking problem”! To receive the Holy Spirit, you have to open up your heart. Dr. A. B. Simpson used this illustration about being filled with the Spirit: “Being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean. You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a little bit of the ocean. So it is with the Christian.” A. W. Tozer wrote, “We are filled unto the fullness of God, but, of course, we cannot contain all of God because God contains us; but we can have all of God that we can contain. If we only knew it, we could enlarge our vessel. The vessel gets bigger as we go on with God.” 4. Believe - Jesus didn’t say, “He who feels this tingle down his back will have rivers of living water ...”. He said, “He who believes ...” Being filled with the Holy Spirit is based on trust, on faith, not on feelings. Robert Neighbour - Ezekiel gives a wonderful description of the flowing of these Waters. Ezekiel 47:1-8 says that the waters issued out from under the threshold of the house, eastward. They flowed with ever increasing depth and width. Then we find the statement "These waters go down into the desert, and go into the sea." Then comes the remarkable phrase, "It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live." (Ezek 47:9) To us this is exceedingly suggestive. The Holy Spirit begins to flow rivers of blessing from us when He is exalted to the throne of our hearts. He goes forth into the deserts of the world with blessing. Everything that He touches lives. Every miry place and every marsh is healed. In Ezekiel, on either side of the river there were all trees for meat. Their leaves did not fade, and their fruit could not be consumed. Would that God would give us such lives as these (Pr 4:23). The Spirit-filled life is the dominant need of every believer. Unless we are filled with the Spirit we cannot get God's best, neither can we prove ourselves able to give forth God's best. No wonder the Bible says, "Be filled with the Spirit." (Eph 5:18) (Living Water Commentary) Tony Evans' illustration regarding the Holy Spirit - In 2006, the Arizona Cardinals signed former Indianapolis Colts tailback Edgerrin James to a four-year contract worth $30 million, which included a signing bonus of $11.5 million. We live in a time when professional athletes not only ask for, but often expect, a signing bonus. In some ways, it has ceased to function as the special gift it was intended to be. This is also how we as believers can find ourselves treating the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we need to be reminded that the Holy Spirit is God's great gift to us. In John 7:37-39, Jesus stood on the crowded streets of Jerusalem and declared that those who believed in Him would experience living water springing from their innermost being. the Holy Spirit's job is to run interference so we can move forward in our spiritual lives. In Jn 7:39 John says, "This He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Something that is given is a gift, which is exactly what the Bible calls the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, many believers today function as if the Holy Spirit is the bench player of the Trinity. They know He is there, but they don't let Him in the game very often. Yet the Holy Spirit is the most active member of the Godhead when it comes to spiritual growth, so it's vital we learn what God's Word says about Him....The Holy Spirit lives in every believer (Ro 8:9, 1Cor 12:13), but not every believer allows Him full control of their lives. This comes through the Spirit's filling (Eph 5:18), which opens up the rivers of living water that He wants to send flowing through us. Why do we try to live life by our own strength rather than God's strength? When do you find it easiest to turn over control to God's Spirit in your life? (Get in the Game - An Athlete's Guide for the Spiritual Journey) It’s Bubbling In My Soul - Decades ago, I visited a ministry center in West Africa and saw a little girl climb onto a truck that had a public address system. Smiling, she began to sing over the microphone: It’s bubbling, it’s bubbling, it’s bubbling in my soul; I’m singing and laughing since Jesus made me whole. Since Jesus came within, and cleansed my heart from sin, It’s bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling in my soul! Christ departed so that the Holy Spirit could be imparted. "If Any Man Thirst" Vance Havner "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified."—John 7:37-39, R.V. OUR Lord was at the feast of tabernacles. It is very likely that He had just been observing a peculiar ceremony which was a custom at that time. It seems that each day a priest with a golden pitcher went to the pool of Siloam followed by a throng of people. Filling the pitcher at the pool, he bore it down the streets amid the shouting and singing of the multitude and the sound of trumpets and cymbals. When he reached the temple he poured out the water by the altar while all the people sang, "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3-note). It was such a hilarious occasion that, according to Lightfoot, it was said, "Whoever has not witnessed it has never seen rejoicing at all." Doubtless our Lord had just witnessed this ceremony and, although it was very impressive, He must have been struck with the futility of it all. For, although these jubilant multitudes sang and shouted and went into raptures, after it all was over they went home with their same old heartaches and cares and fears. Then, too, it was a perfect picture of the fact that the law, represented by the priest, and legalism and religiousness and ceremony, represented by the pouring out of the water, could never assuage the thirst of the human heart. And more than that, it symbolized the utter inability of the waters of earth, its pleasures and possessions and philosophies, to satisfy the weary soul. Men might make great ado over these things, might for the moment rejoice in them, but always they must go away thirsty, because they have forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13). But there stood among the throngs on this feast day One Who could satisfy the thirsty soul. While the worshippers sang, "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation," little did they realize that the fulfilment of that prophecy stood among them! And now, with the vivid contrast of the water-pouring ceremony before Him, the Lord Jesus did a most unusual thing, He stood and cried aloud to the throngs around Him. "He stood and cried" —very rarely is that phrase used of our Lord. "He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets" (Matthew 12:19), but here He went out of the ordinary, did the exceptional thing of standing, probably in some elevated position, and crying aloud to the multitude. Why did He do it? Because He had something exceptional and extraordinary to say! His soul had been moved within Him by the vain ceremony of the feast day and now He sets Himself against the hollow observance of the empty pitcher and cries, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink! He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water!" It is as though He cried: "Ah, you thirst for something, you know not what. These hollow ceremonies, these ecstasies of the flesh, these empty pitchers from Siloam, these waters of earth can never satisfy. Come unto me and drink and I will give you living waters which shall become in you fountains of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14), and rivers of water forever overflowing. 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters' (Isaiah 55:1). 'Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely'" (Revelation 22:17). Nineteen centuries have gone their way, and today a thirsting world still hews its broken cisterns and seeks in poured-out waters of Siloam living waters that fail not. Ponce de Leon still looks for the fountain of youth. Modern fads and isms, psychologic tricks and philosophic cure-alls—these are golden pitchers from Siloam which are soon poured out. And what shall we say of thousands who go through all the motions of religion, even grow ecstatic like these Jews at the feast, yet go away unsatisfied as ever? Amidst it all stands One Who is the Bread of Life, Who invites the labouring and the laden to come unto Him and rest (John 6:35; Matthew 11:28). Whosoever lives and believes in Him shall never die (John 11:26). In Him, though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (II Corinthians 4:16). He is the soul's fountain of youth. If any man thirst, let him come unto Him and drink and he shall have within himself a fountain of living waters overflowing in torrents of blessing. That, of course, is the first application of this precious passage—Christ's invitation to a lost world. But I am thinking now of another situation painfully evident today: thousands of Christians, believers, saved people, whose actual, daily experience is more like the emptied pitcher from Siloam than it is like the living fountain with its rivers of water. As I go about over the land, I am continually meeting preachers grieved over a defective experience, who are convinced that they have missed something and that surely there must be more in the filling of the Spirit than they have ever understood. They are good men, able men, devout men, but many of them seem to have stopped short of that utter abandon in which men lose themselves to become blazing firebrands for God, flaming torches by which He sets on fire a smug and sanctimonious church and awakens to burning conviction a sleeping world. Some are willing to miss a blessing rather than give up a prejudice, but others are worried and deeply conscious that their fire is not Pentecostal fire but painted fire which does not burn! I am continually meeting Christians whose experience is like getting all of a story except the point. Like the Jews at the feast, they have a happy day once in a while when they "scale the utmost height and catch a gleam of glory bright," but these are few and far between and soon "a sense of things real comes doubly strong." After one of his sermons, Andrew