The Overflowing of Life: Rivers of Living Water
Text: John 7:37-39
“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. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” But this He said in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
John chapter 7 recounts a pivotal moment during the Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles) in Jerusalem. This feast was a jubilant celebration, particularly marked by a daily procession of priests to the Pool of Siloam to draw water. This water, brought back to the temple, was poured out as a libation, symbolizing Israel’s dependence on God for rain and blessing. The joy associated with this ritual was so profound that it was said, “He that never has seen the joy of the Beth he-She’ubah [water-drawing] has never in his life seen joy.” This joy was linked to Isaiah 12:3: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
It was on the very last day of this vibrant feast, the crescendo of celebration, that Jesus stood and cried out with a powerful invitation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” He was signaling to the people that something far greater than this symbolic ritual was on the horizon – a direct, living source of satisfaction. He was referring, as John clarifies, to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who would believe in Him, a promise that would be fulfilled after His glorification.
The central idea here is clear: The “rivers of living water” Jesus spoke of is the Holy Spirit. The Christian life was intended not merely to be sustained, but to become a “spring” from which the Holy Spirit flows abundantly into the world. This concept resonates with prophecies like Psalm 46:4, where a river’s streams make the city of God joyful, and Isaiah 44:3-4, where God promises to pour out His Spirit like water on thirsty ground, causing His offspring to spring up like poplars by streams.
The Holy Spirit is the Living Water
A “living water” is a source that never dries up; it perpetually flows like a fountain or a spring, a river that moves and does not stagnate. It is full of life. God Himself is likened to such a fountain, whom Israel abandoned for broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:11-13). Unlike cisterns—artificial reservoirs dependent on rain or human effort to fill—a fountain or spring gushes forth from deep within the earth. Idols are like cisterns; their worshipers must exert themselves to make them appear alive or to “please” them. God, however, is the self-sustaining source of life and joy for believers.
In the wilderness, God miraculously provided water from a rock (Deuteronomy 8:15; Exodus 17:6). Significantly, 1 Corinthians 10:4 reveals that “that rock was Christ.” This powerfully symbolizes that Christ was struck on the cross so that life may flow out from Him, allowing all who thirst to partake!
Jesus is the very Dispenser of the Holy Spirit (John 1:33), and by one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body and made to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). This “flow” signifies movement—where there is life, there is dynamic action.
The Holy Spirit: Filling Our Needs and Flowing Out to Others
The Holy Spirit is given to “fill in” our personal needs, satisfying the soul’s deep thirst. In His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus revealed, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:10-14).
“Thirst” here indicates an unsatisfied craving, an unfulfilled life. We keep “drinking” from worldly sources because the soul is never fully satisfied; we constantly look for “other sources” because life feels perpetually discontent. Only the Holy Spirit has the capacity to truly satisfy the soul of man! To “never thirst again” means never needing to seek another source for ultimate satisfaction. This is the baptism in the Holy Spirit—a transformative, one-time experience where Jesus dispenses the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with His abundant life. And significantly, the Holy Spirit abides forever (John 14:16).
But the Holy Spirit is also given to “flow out” of one’s life into other lives (John 7:38). Just as the pouring of water from the Pool of Siloam brought joy to the Jews, Jesus offered something far superior—His Spirit. This “overflowing” creates “rivers” of living waters. The use of the plural “rivers” indicates the greatness of the work of the Spirit and the diverse manifestations of the one Spirit into different gifts, ministries, and activities (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11). This is the filling of/with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it inevitably spills over from our lives, compelling us to minister to others. Ministry is the direct result of Spirit-filled lives!
Consider biblical examples:
- John the Baptist: Filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, he turned many of Israel back to the Lord (Luke 1:15-17).
- Jesus: Full of the Holy Spirit, He returned from the Jordan in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread as He taught (Luke 4:1, 14-15).
- The Apostles and Early Church: All were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, speaking in various tongues, leading to amazement and bewilderment among the crowd (Acts 2:4-7). The rivers of living water flowed from where the disciples were praying (Acts 4:31).
Two key marks of a ministry that is an overflowing of the Holy Spirit are:
- The Word: It is the seed of life and the primary vessel through which the Spirit of God flows from one life to another.
- Joy in the Spirit: Even amidst persecution, the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52). This joy is not isolated; it accompanies other “fruit” of the Spirit like love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The kingdom of God is characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), and God fills us with all joy and peace in believing, so we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
Conclusion
Are we, as a church, a community of men and women who are truly full of the Holy Spirit? Do we regularly experience the filling of the Spirit in our personal lives? But more importantly, have we been filled enough to overflowing?
God does not only want to fill your life; God also wants your life to overflow! This overflow is not just for our benefit but for the world around us. Fellowship (as discussed in a previous article) is where this Spirit-filled overflow becomes visible. By ourselves, we are practically invisible, but together—as the visible expression of the Body of Christ—we become a powerful testimony to our community.
Therefore, let us earnestly seek to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us allow His living waters to satisfy our deepest thirst and then, from our innermost being, to flow out in rivers, bringing life, joy, and the transforming power of God to a thirsty world.
