John 7:38-39 38“The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow out of his inner being.’” 39Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
The key idea is given at the beginning of verse 38: whoever believes in me. Believing in Jesus is the primary message of the Gospel of John and is repeated 98 times. To believe in Jesus is an action (verb) word that means to put one’s trust and follow in obedient love. It means accepting that what he said about himself being the only Way to the Father and source of eternal life. Believing is more than a simple statement of intellectual confession, although that is helpful and a good place to begin. Believing includes all of one’s life and aligning how one thinks and acts with what Jesus taught and revealed about himself. Belief in Jesus
The significant additional point Jesus makes in these verses is the source of this life being the Holy Spirit. The Spirit changes us from the deep, inner part of a person (koilias) where one thinks and makes decisions. Other modern words might be the “mind,” “feelings,” or “consciousness.” It represents who we are outside of the flesh, bones, muscles, and other physical elements. The Bible uses words like “soul” or “spirit” to describe this inner essence. It is the awareness we have and our ability to communicate with God. Thus, it has something to do with God’s image in us.
From this deep place within our being will come living water. This image fit well with the historical context of the Feast of Booths and the offering of water on the close of the week (see verse 37). Jesus provides water than brings life. Water can be in different forms. Stagnant water can become poisonous, and nothing growing around it except mold and an environment hostile to human life. Fresh water than flows from cool mountain runoff is good to drink and produces life. In the dry area of Israel, like in the western USA, there are trees, shrubs, and plants around where the streams and rivers flow through dry areas. The type of spiritual water that Jesus gives brings life, and this life comes from deep within a person.
The change in a person comes through the Spirit. Verse 39 is another foreshadowing of a future event. The first-time reader of this Gospel has read about the Spirit already, especially in chapter 3, but will find out more in chapters 14-16. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be given to his followers after his death, resurrection, and ascension. John reflects how even in Jesus’ earthly ministry, he was teaching his followers about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would not be given until after Jesus’ ascension (glorified, (edoxasthē). Acts 2 records the Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost, another significant Jewish feast. The Holy Spirit has been with humanity since creation and the first breath Adam took, but the Spirit would come in a new way to bring new inner spiritual life to all who believed in Jesus. A new age of “God with us” through the Spirit would begin after Jesus had resolved once and for all the problem of sin and separation from God. These verses give the wonderful and powerful hope of how eternal life begins in this earthly lifetime and is experienced through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us and with us.
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