BASICS: Lesson 3-3b - The Promise Spirituality

Passage to Read: (John 7:37-39)

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" But 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. (John 7:37-39)

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The thirst Jesus is talking about is spiritual. The Lord phrases His invitation in a conditional sentence. "If any man is thirsty" is a third-class condition that means "maybe you are thirsty and maybe not." The verb dipsao, "thirst," is a present, active, subjunctive. The subjunctive mood indicates potential. The active voice indicates that this is a matter of personal choice. We decide whether to be spiritually thirsty or not.

If we decide that we will be thirsty, then we decide whether we will quench our thirst or not. The solution to thirst is to take a drink. The phrase, "let him come to Me," reminds us that there is only one place where our thirst will be quenched—in Christ. In the imperative mood, it is the Lord's command to us. Pino, "drink" is a present, active, indicative. Again, the active voice indicates that we make the choice of whether or not to drink.

In Jn 7:38, Jesus makes it clear that to drink means to believe. Faith is analogous to the drinking that quenches our thirst. Every one of these verbs—"thirst," "come," "drink," "believe"—is in the present tense, indicating continuous action. We choose whether we will keep on being thirsty; we choose whether we will keep on coming to Christ and drinking; we choose whether we will keep on believing. Only through moment-by-moment faith in Christ can we quench the moment-by-moment thirst of the soul.

John makes it clear that the Holy Spirit, who would be sent to indwell every believer after Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, is the source of the rivers of living water. Only faith can open the floodgates in our souls and release the power of the Spirit of God to flow through us.

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This material was originally a highlighted topic in "The Basics". Additional topics can be found here.