05.09- CHAPTER NINE -- SPIRIT FLOWS THROUGH...
CHAPTER NINE -- SPIRIT FLOWS THROUGH HEARTS
"This spake he of the Spirit."
IT WAS THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. JESUS WAS teaching in the temple. On the last day of convocation, He cried out: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38). These words constitute an explanation, an invitation and a satisfaction. They deal with faith, fact and a flow. The details plainly in view lay the whole picture clearly before us. We note the surrounding crowd, the Saviour’s concern and the sudden cry. The Explanation of Christ The Faith.
"He that believeth on me." Perhaps one of the simplest definitions of a Christian is, "One who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and keeps on believing." Most of us are willing to trust Him for forgiveness but unwilling to trust Him for fruitfulness. However, there must be a continuing trust, a constant dependence. We leaned upon Him yesterday for deliverance; we must look to Him today for promotion. We received Him for salvation; we must now resign ourselves to Him for service. Yesterday’s faith will not win today’s battles. The manna was fresh each day for the children of Israel in the wilderness. Likewise, daily benefits from above (James 1:17) are the heritage of God’s people today. To keep on believing Christ, to rest continually upon His promises, enables us to derive from Him life in its promised abundance. It may be gradual in its manifestation. Indeed, it is the nature of growth to be gradual. But we must keep on believing if we are to continue in Christian development. The Basis of Belief The Fact.
"As the scripture hath said."
Faith must be anchored as well as channeled. It must hold to something as well as reach for something. If faith is not attached to fact, it has no anchor. If it has no anchor, then it cannot reach out to grasp reality. Hence, the explanation that what He was promising was unalterably contingent upon a scriptural belief in Him.
These whom He addressed were religious but ignorant of the revealed plan and purpose of God!
They waved their branches;
They recited their ritual;
They camped in their tents.
They tried to keep the Law;
But they did not trust in the Lord.
They made a great display of effort, but were destitute of assurance. They had everything but satisfaction. After all the Law and the Prophets said concerning the Messiah-Redeemer, after all that had been recorded in the Psalms about Him, He was unrecognized when He came-and unwanted. The Invitation and Objection
It must be remembered that the cry of our Lord in this critical moment of Israel’s blindness was of more than passing importance. It was an announcement of spiritual blessings soon to abound. It was addressed to all who thirst. It presented a promise of refreshing satisfaction in marked contrast to the formal, ritualistic, unsatisfying religion displayed all about Him.
It impressed some favorably, others adversely.
Some said, "Of a truth, this is the Prophet" (John 7:40).
Others said, "This is the Christ" (John 7:41).
Still others, perhaps the majority, were dubious.
The chief priests and Pharisees said that out of Galilee ariseth no prophet (John 7:41-42). Such are the varying reactions to the Word of the Lord. And the conceptions concerning a Spirit-filled life are today just as divergent and confusing. It is not one single act of the Spirit; it is rather a continuous operation. It is not one fantastic flood; it is a faithful flow. The Promise of the Spirit The Flow "Out of his [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water." This was not an enigma. It was figurative language, to be sure, but at once it was given an application. "This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" (John 7:39).
This dissipates all mystery of terminology.
This designates an inward ministry.
This denotes an outward manifestation.
It is evidential Christianity, the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit in the trusting saint. The word "flow" means what the humblest person understands it to mean. As water flows when unhindered, even so will the Spirit of life. There will be an increasing, multiple manifestation of Christlike characteristics attending one’s growth in grace:
the sweetness of humility,
the constancy of faithfulness,
the joy of fruitfulness,
the effectuality of prayer,
the tenderness of compassion.
The Waters of the Word The subject of His promise is living water.
"Deep waters" speak of problems: "I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me" (Psalms 69:2).
"Still waters" speak of peace: "He leadeth me beside the still waters" (Psalms 23:2).
"Mighty waters" speak of pretense: "Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! . . . They shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind" (Isaiah 17:12-13).
"Many waters" speak of perplexity: "Therefore will not we fear . . . Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled" (Psalms 46:2),
"Living waters" speak of life: "Out of his [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).
The Power of the Spirit
Climaxing His invitation-a compounded appeal to a lost world-the Lord says: "And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). The living water, then, is the water of life; and the water of life is in the Son of God (1 John 5:12). This new life which one has by believing in Christ is given of, sustained by, and energized through the Holy Spirit. As the Christian continues to believe on Christ, continues to take Him at His Word in careful obedience, the Spirit increasingly evidences through that believer the very life which He is nurturing, cultivating and developing. The Lord Jesus did not promise merely a trickle or a trace of Holy Spirit manifestation in the life of one who is constant in his trust, but rather rivers of living water. The word rivers speaks of an impressive abundance. If there is the right kind of believing, this will be the actual result. Jesus Christ cannot lie, If there is not the flow of spiritual characteristics from our innermost being, then there is not the right kind of believing. There is no other conclusion to be found. If there is not a flow, there must be hindrances. What are they? The Sin of Obstructing the Flow
Resisting.
Stephen was candid in his denunciation of the council before whom he was arraigned. "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost," he charged with surprising firmness. "As your fathers did, so do ye." To resist is to oppose, to hinder, to obstruct. This does not mean that a finite creature can overpower the Infinite. What it does mean is that the economy of God is so designed that the Holy Spirit works through human instrumentality; and this is based upon willing obedience. Where there is disobedience, there is resistance. If it were a matter of forcing submission upon the Christian, the whole divine scheme of things would be distorted. There would be no honor, no reverence, no obedience, no love and, of course, no reward. One resists the Holy Spirit who objects to His plan and purpose and procedure, either by substituting some human scheme or by silently ignoring divine directions.
Quenching.
"Quench not the Spirit," Paul warned (1 Thessalonians 5:19). This has to do with suppressing His witness, of silencing His promptings, of counteracting His gracious movements upon our souls. We are told that our actions often speak so loudly that people cannot hear what we say. In some such manner, our own desires and designs assert themselves so insistently that we cannot detect the still small voice which would direct us aright.
If we only knew how sadly we clutter our lives with selfishness and worldliness and foolishness and worthlessness, we might begin to see why the flow of living water is not evident, not profuse. Since the issues of life are from the heart (Proverbs 4:23), and since the heart is synonymous with our innermost being, how can living water flow concurrently with asserting willfulness? They do not commingle.
If we long for the fleshpots of Egypt (Exodus 16:3), the Spirit will be quenched. He will have nothing to do with such unholy and unsavory longings. If, on the other hand, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, He will assist us in our holy aspiration, and we shall be abundantly satisfied (Matthew 5:6). When our pleasure coincides with His purpose and our faith co-operates with His resurrection power, then the flow swells until it permeates the whole being and overflows for the profit and delight of others.
Blasphemy.
Blasphemy is anything of a sacrilegious nature or an irreverent character.
Things in these categories, whether words or deeds or attitudes, are definitely contrary to the very nature of the Holy Spirit.
to hold Truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18),
to harbor ill-will,
to tolerate unforgiveness,
to create dissension
are but a few of the things against which we should guard if the living water is to flow from the innermost being.
Lying to.
Only a look at Ananias and Sapphira will convince us that this offense is to be looked upon with the greatest concern. We should fear it more than the venom of a poisonous serpent. Yet how often is this offense committed! We are responsible to the Holy Spirit for our conduct and for our conversation, for our substance and for our service, for our time and for our talent. The accounting is inevitable (2 Corinthians 5:10). When we claim to be Christians, there must be compatibility between the lip and the life. There must be vital experience as well as vocal expression. The Holy Spirit desires truth in our inward parts (Psalms 51:6).
Grieving.
"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" is another firm warning which we would do well to observe. And what is grief? Is it sorrow? It is more than sorrow. It is injury to love. There is no discomfort so perturbing. If we had a proper appreciation of His great love (Romans 15:30) as He indwells and patiently ministers to us and secures and sustains us, then would we begin to know how greatly we may injure that love. And grieving is not necessarily a separate offense against the Holy Spirit. It may result from any offense against Him, or from all of them. When these offenses are avoided, the Holy Spirit will flow from the innermost being. This is the promise of Christ. It is spiritual life in its richest display.