Living Water

Q: Is there a connection between Living waters, the river that flows from the throne of God, and the Holy Spirit?

A: Thank you for your question. Yes, I believe there is a connection. The key is found in your question. You used the word "living" to describe the waters. In John 4, Jesus has a conversation with a Samaritan woman. He asks her for a drink. Amazed that He, being a Jew, would ask a Samaritan for a drink, she replies, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink (John 4:9)?" Look how Jesus answers her question. "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 (John 4:10)."" He turns the conversation to the subject of salvation. Jesus mentions the gift of God. What is the gift of God? According to Romans 6:23, "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The problem between man and God is that man is dead in sin and needs the life of God. Jesus Christ came to this world to restore the life of God to mankind. The life of God is the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus further makes His point when He says to the woman, "Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14)." The connection between water and the life of God is obvious.

To make this a bit more clear, we must go back to the Garden of Eden. When God created Adam, we read where it says, "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7)." The breath of life that made Adam a living being is the very life of God. It is the same life that God removed from Adam after the Fall. God gave Adam a warning soon after He breathed His life into Him. God warned Adam to "not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:17)." Adam died after he ate the forbidden fruit of the tree. However, the death he experienced was a spiritual death, not a physical death. We know this to be true because Adam lived 930 years before he physically died. Because Adam was spiritually dead to God prior to having any children, all mankind is born into this world spiritually dead to God in sin. We are born physically alive to the world, but spiritually dead to God. That is what makes what Jesus Christ did on our behalf so special and unique.

Jesus was talking to Nicodemus in John 3, when He said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3)." What is birth? Birth is life, new life to be exact. Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus meant by being born again. Just like the woman at the well, he could only relate to Jesus in terms of the physical. The woman equated Jesus' use of water with physical water. Nicodemus could only think of birth in terms of physical birth. Therefore, Jesus explained to Nicodemus what He meant by being born again. "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:5-6)." Here we see Jesus use water again to explain salvation, but this time He uses it to help explain natural birth. The phrase "born of water" in verse 5 is equated to "flesh gives birth to flesh" in verse 6. He is talking about the natural, physical birth we all experience. All children, inside the mothers womb, are inside a sack of amniotic fluid which is often called a sack of "water." Then Jesus uses the phrase, "Spirit gives birth to spirit" to illustrate being born again. This birth is when a person comes alive to God by having the Spirit of God restored to them at salvation. Christians are born once physically and born again spiritually when they accept Jesus Christ as their savior.

This brings us full circle to the water flowing from the throne of God. Revelation 7:17 says, "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water." Who is the Lamb at the center of the throne? It is Jesus Christ. "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)!" We also know Jesus is our Shepherd. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me (John 10:14)." And because of what we have already discussed about the Holy Spirit and what Jesus offers as a free gift, we know that the living waters He leads us to is the "breath of life," the Holy Spirit, the very life of God that has been restored to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since God is infinite and we are finite, He uses analogies and metaphors in order to explain to us that which He has come to give all who accept Jesus Christ by faith. The equating of water to His Spirit is just one of the ways He does this for us. It is also how He shows His love for us. Just like an earthly father tries to explain difficult subjects to his children by using examples, so it is with our Heavenly Father. The fact you are able to discern this truth to the point you asked a question about it, is proof He is speaking to you. Grace and Peace.