THIS HOLY SPIRIT - 3

‘THE LIVING WATER – WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN?’

In the gospel of John chapter four, Jesus had a discourse with a Samaritan woman and during this discourse; he mentioned a living water which he would give. We shall look closely at the discussions between them, which will also help us to understand another function or role of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers.

When God made the first man, he made him a spirit being. Man was in cordial relationship with God. God made man to rule and dominate the earth realm as he dominates the heavenly realm. God had to be in constant connection with man in order to relate his counsel to him and in order for him to function exactly like him. Then Adam lost it all. He lost this relationship. The spirit of man died, he became controlled by his mind. His control faculty became his senses. He no longer receives constant communication from his creator. This birthed religion.

In lieu of this, Jesus proposed a solution of the living water in his discussion with the Samaritan woman:

Now, in John Chapter 4… (words in brackets are mine)

1-2: The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

3-4: When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria.

5-8: So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" …His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" …For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew THE GIFT OF GOD and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you LIVING WATER."

(This is what we have discussed in lesson one; the confusion about the identity of Jesus has caused religion to thrive. So the knowledge of Christ and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit is very important)

11-12 "Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

13-15 Jesus answered, "EVERYONE WHO DRINKS THIS WATER WILL BE THIRSTY AGAIN, BUT WHOEVER DRINKS THE WATER I GIVE HIM WILL NEVER THIRST. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to ETERNAL LIFE." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."

Clearly we see how that the woman is confused about the statement of Jesus Christ on the living water. Jesus Christ was simply referring to the reception of the Holy Spirit. When he said “everyone who drinks will never thirst”, he meant that, this Holy Spirit is an eternal satisfaction to the thirst of man for God.

After the fall of man, the Spirit of God left man. There was a breach in relationship as we have said in the first paragraph, and ever since then, man has wanted to return back to their position in the Godhead. Man has had a desperate longing for God.  Man has had a very deep thirst for the divine, the glory they lost.

This thirst was what Jesus Christ was referring to. That this Holy Spirit is the water that can satisfy the thirst of humanity. That this Holy Spirit is the living water that will never run dry in the life of anyone who drinks it. This Holy Spirit is the eternal answer to world’s problem. This Holy spirit is the solution to the long time quest.

How do we know? See it again John 7:38-39

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this HE MEANT THE SPIRIT, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

The Holy Spirit is the living water, water that can never run dry.

This is telling you and I that, what we actually need in this life is the Holy Spirit. He is all we need. If he is God, and he is the solution to the dryness in the life of man, then he is all we need and all  we should seek to have in us.

Amen.