In John 7, the Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven-day feast that took place immediately after the harvest.
John 7:37 tells us that on the last day of the feast, Jesus made an announcement—He “cried out.” The Greek word translated “cried out” means to shout loudly or scream.
What did Jesus have to say that was so urgent?
He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (vv. 37-38).
This announcement was mysterious to those who heard it. What did He mean when He said, “Come to Me and drink”? How can rivers of living water flow out of our innermost being?
Thankfully, John 7:39 gives us a word of explanation: “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
Jesus was glorified through His death and resurrection (see Luke 24:26). Before His death and resurrection, He was with the disciples bodily, as a man. In John 14:16-17, He promised that after He left in death, He would return in resurrection as “another Comforter … even the Spirit of reality.”
So, the drinking spoken of in John 7 is our drinking of the Lord Himself as the Spirit after His death and resurrection. When we believe in Him, He comes into our human spirit as rivers of living water to continually quench our thirst. When we use our human spirit to pray, sing, or call “O Lord Jesus,” we drink of Him as the Spirit!
If you have not yet received the Lord Jesus, you can pray:
“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. Thank You for dying for my sins. Thank You also for resurrecting and becoming the Spirit so that I can drink of You. Come into me and quench my thirst. Fill me with Yourself and cause rivers of living water to flow out of my innermost being. Praise You, Lord Jesus!”
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