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Scripture Reading: Gen. 2:10-14; Psa. 36:8; 46:4; Ezek. 47:1-12; John 4:14; 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1-2
After God created man and placed him in the garden of Eden, the Scriptures speak of a river (Gen. 2:10). Following this, there are frequent references to a river in both the Old and the New Testaments. When the Bible refers to a river, there often is some connection with the temple of God. For example, Psalm 36:8 says, “They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures.” Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God.” Ezekiel 47:1 says, “There was water flowing out from under the threshold of the house,” and then verse 5 speaks of this flow becoming a river. Joel 3:18 speaks of a fountain that goes forth from the house of Jehovah. In John 4 the Lord spoke of living water that will flow from Himself into man (vv. 10, 14), and in chapter 7 He said that this water would become rivers of living water (v. 38). Of the four Gospels, only the Gospel of John speaks of the Lord being the temple of God (2:18-21). Hence, like the verses in the Old Testament, which speak of water flowing out of the temple, the verses in John 7 also speak about the water of life flowing out of the Lord as the temple of God. Even at the end of the Bible, there is a river of water of life that proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1). This river flows out of the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb, who are the temple of God (21:22). Referring to verse 22, some people may say that there is no temple in the New Jerusalem, but this verse clearly states that the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. Since the river of water of life is flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, it is also flowing out from the temple of God.
These verses show that a flowing stream, a river, is closely related to the temple and the city of God. This river is the lifeline of God’s temple, God’s city. If this river did not exist, God’s temple, God’s city, would not have life, and there would be no circulation of life or watering of life. The importance of a river to God’s dwelling place can be likened to the importance of a city’s water supply. The primary concern of the human population of any city is to have a supply of water. Water is more necessary and crucial than food. In human society water, which is more necessary and crucial than food, serves to water outwardly, to quench thirst inwardly, and to cleanse. To live in a city, we need water; otherwise, even the air that we breathe would be dry and unbearable. More importantly, we need water every day to quench our thirst and to live. Finally, we need to cleanse ourselves daily with water in order to wash away our filth. A city that is short of water will be dry, filled with death, and filthy.
Similarly, in God’s city, God’s temple, water is also needed. In the Bible the temple and the city both emphasize the aspect of dwelling. In the Old Testament the city refers to the outlying area of the temple, but at the end of the New Testament the city becomes the enlargement of the temple. In Jerusalem the city surrounds the temple. In the New Jerusalem God dwells directly in the city. In other words, the city has become the temple; it has become the enlargement of the temple. The New Jerusalem, either as a city or as an enlarged temple, refers to the saved ones who are gathered together to be the dwelling place of God. Since it is a city filled with people, there is the need for a flow and supply of water. This is the reason that the Bible associates God’s temple and God’s city with a flowing river.
Genesis 2:10 contains the first reference to a river in the Bible, and it speaks of the river watering the garden. Hence, according to the Bible, the first function of a river is for watering. The first function of water in God’s dwelling place is to water people. When the Bible further speaks of water, it is for the purpose of giving people a drink to quench their thirst. Although Genesis 2 does not use the word drink, the intrinsic significance of water is for man to drink. This can be seen from the context of verses 9 and 10. Since the emphasis in verse 9 is on eating the tree of life, the emphasis in verse 10 must be on drinking of the river that went forth from Eden to water the garden. Throughout the Scriptures rivers are associated with drinking. Psalm 36:8 speaks of drinking of the river of God’s pleasures, and in John 7:37-38 the Lord spoke of coming to Him and drinking so that rivers of living water would flow out of those who believe into Him. These verses emphasize drinking. At the end of the Bible, Revelation 22:1 speaks of a river of water of life, and in 21:6 the Lord spoke of giving to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely. Finally, 22:17 says, “Let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely.” All these verses clearly indicate that the river of water of life is for people to drink and to quench their thirst.
Watering relieves outward dryness, whereas drinking relieves an inward thirst. It is the function of a river to water and to quench thirst. This is the reason that the Bible speaks of a river of pleasures that gladdens the city of God and that makes God’s dwelling place joyful (Psa. 36:8; 46:4). We all know that a person who is dry outwardly and thirsty inwardly is not joyful. According to the Bible, thirst is the most severe suffering that a person can experience. In Luke 16:24 the rich man who was suffering in Hades longed to have his tongue cooled by a little water from the tip of Lazarus’s finger. It is a happy matter when a man’s thirst is quenched. In addition, Revelation 22:1 speaks of this river as being a river of water of life, a river that gives people life. Since life is always versus death, the river of water of life solves the problem of death. Thirst is the herald of death. When the problem of thirst is solved, the problem of death is solved.
If we consider all these points, we can see clearly that in God’s city, God’s temple, God’s dwelling place, the first crucial matter is the flowing of the river. When we speak of the building of the church, we must realize that the living of the dwellers and the work of building cannot be maintained without the flowing of water. If we desire to accomplish the work of building the church as God’s dwelling place, the most urgent thing is to let the water of life flow so that there will be a full supply for our spiritual life and living. When the water of life flows in God’s dwelling place, it waters the dwellers, quenches their thirst, and washes them of any filth. These functions enable every person in God’s dwelling place to be refreshed, living, and clean, without any hint of dryness, death, or filth.
In addition to watering, quenching thirst, and cleansing, the flow of the river produces gold, pearl, and precious stones. This is the picture presented in Genesis 2:10-12. The flowing of the river not only refreshes God’s people in their life and living, but it also produces materials for God’s building. Hence, when we speak of building the church, we must pay attention to the flow of living water. If living water cannot flow freely, the life and living of God’s people cannot be maintained, and there will be no producing of building materials. Instead, the only result will be death and filth. However, when the water of life flows freely, the situation in the church will be full of life, bright, and pure as crystal, and the precious materials needed for the building will be produced. If we want to maintain God’s temple and to sustain God’s city, the river of water of life is absolutely indispensable. Similarly, if we want the church to be built up as God’s dwelling place, there must be a flow of living water.
The Bible clearly associates the Holy Spirit with the flowing of living water. In John 7:37-38 the Lord said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Then the apostle John added a supplementary word in verse 39, saying, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive.” Spirit here refers to the Spirit of life, because John’s speaking is always related to the divine life. We receive the Spirit of life inwardly by drinking, whereas we receive the Spirit of power outwardly by being poured upon. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit refers to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, through which we are empowered outwardly. On the one hand, the Spirit is the Spirit of power upon us to work. On the other hand, the Spirit is the Spirit of life within us to drink. Revelation 22:1-2 ultimately speaks of the aspect of the Spirit as the river of water of life.
According to the Bible, the Spirit is God flowing into man and upon man. As the hidden source of life, God is the Father; as the manifestation and expression of life, God is the Son; and as the flowing of life into and upon man, God is the Spirit. The river is the Spirit of life, the flowing of God into and upon man, to be man’s life.
God is life, and God comes to be life. God must flow out in order to be life to us. In order to become our life, God first must flow out from Himself and then flow into us. Revelation 22:1 says that a river proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Since God and the Lamb are on the throne, the river that flows out of the throne is the flowing out of God Himself. The river of living water is the flowing out of God; it is also God coming to be man’s life.
God has flowed out as the water of life, but how can man receive Him as the water of life and let this water flow freely in him? According to the record of the Bible, man first needs to receive God as life. Genesis 2 clearly shows that God placed man in the garden of Eden so that he would eat, that is, receive, from the tree of life. This indicates that God desires to enter into man as life in the way of food. After speaking of the tree of life, the Bible speaks of a river in a wonderful way. This implies that whenever man receives God as food to be his life, this life will become a flowing river in him. The Gospel of John confirms this point. In chapter 6 the Lord spoke of Himself as being bread for man to receive as life (vv. 35, 48), and then in chapter 7 He spoke of man receiving Him as life in order to drink of Him as living water (vv. 37-38). This shows that when we receive Him as the bread of life, He becomes rivers of living water in us. Hence, in order to receive the living water, we must first receive God as food into us as life.
In order to let the water of life flow freely, we must also give God the ground to establish His throne in us and let Him have authority over everything in our living. The first reference to a river in the Bible links the river with food, indicating that man must receive God as life so that the water of life may flow. The last reference to a river in the Bible links the river of water of life with the throne of God, indicating that we must let God set up His throne within us, letting Him have His rightful place and letting Him rule over all things so that the river may flow in us without any obstruction.
Our experience confirms this matter. First, we must believe into the Lord and receive Him as life so that the river may flow into us. Second, we must submit to the Lord, consecrate ourselves to Him, and yield to Him His rightful authority so that He may have the first place in us, be enthroned, and possess all our being. If this is our situation, the river will flow in us without any obstruction.
We must also be open so that the river has an outlet in our being. In John 4:14 the Lord said that the living water would become “a fountain of water springing up into eternal life,” and in 7:38 He said that rivers of living water would flow out of the innermost being of those who believe into Him. With a fountain, the emphasis is on the source, but with a river, the emphasis is on the flow. In order for the living water to flow, there must be an outlet. If we want living water to spring up and flow out of us, we must open our being in addition to receiving the Lord as life and in addition to allowing Him to be enthroned in our living. The type of the New Jerusalem matches this requirement because the river freely flows; there is no obstruction to its flow.
In order for the living water to flow freely, there must be outlets, but God’s children have neglected this matter. Even among us, we have heard many messages on receiving God as life, on consecrating ourselves to God, and on giving God the first place and enthroning Him. However, rarely do we speak of being open so that there is an outlet in our being to let God’s life flow. Consequently, the river of life is not flowing through many saints. Without such an openness, the river cannot flow into some saints, and the river cannot flow out of other saints. If the river cannot flow out, the river cannot flow in. If we want water to flow in, we must let water flow out—the more water flows out, the more water will flow in. If we stop the water from flowing out, it will stop flowing in as well. The water reaches all four sides of the New Jerusalem, which means that the water flows freely throughout the entire city.
If we want the living water of life to flow freely, it is not enough to receive it or even to consecrate ourselves; we must open ourselves. It is not enough to receive God as life and to give God the authority to rule over us; we must open ourselves to this life. We must open ourselves to both God and to the saints so that this life can flow freely. We must be open to God as well as to the saints so that this living water in us can become a fountain and flow out of us to become a river. The river that flows out is the fellowship of God’s children, which is the fellowship of the church. This corresponds to 1 John 1:2-3, which speaks of the fellowship among God’s children in relation to God’s life. The fellowship in the New Jerusalem is based on this river; there is no other fellowship. Hence, the fellowship of the church is a flow; the testimony of the church and the building of the church are also in this flow, in this fellowship.
If we compare the scene in Revelation with the depiction of the early church in Acts, we can see a clear correspondence. In Acts the saints received God as life, let God be on the throne, and were open to God and to one another. There was a flow of life among the saints; that is, God was flowing among them as the Holy Spirit. As a result of this flow, there was fellowship among them. This fellowship involved a connection with God and with all those who had His life. This fellowship was the flow of the Holy Spirit. This flow came out of Jerusalem and spread to Antioch, to Macedonia, and even to Rome. This flow has reached us today. According to Ezekiel 47, this flow of life swallows up death wherever it goes. When the flow reaches the sea, even the water of the sea is healed (v. 8); wherever this flow goes, death is swallowed up and life richly grows.
If we consider the picture of the water of life, we will realize that being open is a matter of our spirit. This is because the living water is God, who is Spirit. When God contacts us and flows through us, our spirit is always involved. Hence, when we speak of being open and letting Him flow into and out of our spirit, our emphasis is entirely on our spirit.
Often when we speak to others, our spirit is not open. Our soul may be open to chat, to sympathize, and to agree with the thoughts and opinions of others, but our spirit is closed. Some brothers and sisters can chat with one another for hours without feeling tired, but they cannot pray together. This shows that our soul can be open to one another but that our spirit is closed because of many barriers. Being open does not depend merely upon an outward opening; it depends upon the release of the spirit so that there can be genuine fellowship in the spirit. Being open also does not mean having a “frank talk” that unleashes a stream of discontentment toward others. Such “frank talk” merely releases the flesh, not the spirit. Some brothers and sisters are very open and talkative by disposition. When they talk, they tend to have no reservations and no sense of measure. Such people seem to be very open on the surface, but their talk is nothing more than an expression of their soul. If they are not exercised in the spirit, their words will not come from the spirit, and their words will not have the flavor or sense of the spirit.
We must see that being open is a matter entirely in the spirit. When we exercise our spirit, there is an opening for the living water of life to flow. This flow of life is actually God, who is also the Spirit. Such a flow does not begin in our soul but rather in our spirit. This flow must be released through our spirit and then flow out of us through our soul. If we do not release the flow through our spirit, it will not be able to flow out of us through our soul. Hence, we must learn to be open in our spirit.
In order to be open in our spirit, we must spend time in prayer. If we desire to be open, we must exercise our spirit more. The exercise and use of our spirit mainly involve prayer. If we are short of prayer, we will have a deflated spirit. It is difficult to have an open spirit when we do not have a spirit that is strong, living, full, and uplifted. If we desire to have a strong, living, full, and uplifted spirit, we must spend time in prayer.
Our spirit is an organ to contact God, and the most crucial way to contact God is to pray. An audible prayer is prayer, and a silent prayer is also prayer. Even looking to God for a brief moment is also prayer. As long as we pray in these ways, our spirit will touch God. If we pray more, our spirit will touch God more, and our spirit will be strong, living, fresh, full, and released. With such a spirit, opening our spirit will be something that is quite spontaneous.
Our mingled spirit is a praying spirit (Rom. 8:16, 26), and the Spirit of God is even called “the Spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech. 12:10). Such a Spirit causes us to pray. If we want our spirit to be strong, we must pray; if we want the Spirit of God to increase in us, we must pray. By prayer our spirit is exercised, and by prayer our spirit is opened.
We also must learn to open our spirit to others. Some saints can open their spirit to God when they pray privately, but as soon as they pray with others, they cannot release their spirit. It is as if they can be open only before God but not before other people. As a result, God, as the flow of life, is restricted in both His flowing in and His flowing out. With a limited flowing out, the flowing in will dwindle. If we can release our spirit only when we are praying by ourselves, our opening is limited and inadequate. We must learn to exercise our spirit with others as well as before God. We should be open when we pray with others as well as when we pray by ourselves. This will let God, as the living water of life, flow in freely and flow out freely. When we are open before both God and the saints, the living water of life will flow freely without any obstruction in the church, and this flow will bring in abundant fruit.
In the past we received only a little leading in regard to opening ourselves to others. We paid attention to removing the barriers between us and God and to dealing with any problem between us and God, but we rarely considered the matter of removing the barriers between us and others and to dealing with any problem we might have with others in order to be open to them. Because we lacked the leading in this aspect, it has not been easy to open ourselves to others. Even when we come together for a meeting, it is hard to be open to one another. We might be open when we pray alone, but as soon as we are in a meeting, our spirit is closed toward others. As a result, the meeting is heavy and dead because the water of life cannot flow freely. The living water in the New Jerusalem flows throughout the city, but in our meeting this living water is blocked by walls and barriers in our being. With some saints the water cannot flow in, and with others it cannot flow out. Other brothers and sisters are closed to the saints as well as to God, and still other saints are open to God but closed to others. Hence, we rarely have a meeting that truly expresses the New Jerusalem, in which the water of life flows unhindered.
For example, in a bread-breaking meeting, the flow of the Holy Spirit may come to me and urge me to pray. However, if I am unwilling to open my mouth due to many considerations and fears, the flow of the Spirit will be obstructed. This restricts the Spirit in the meeting. Later, if the flow of the Holy Spirit comes to you, urging you to call a hymn, but you do not allow Him to flow out, the bread-breaking meeting will be dry and dead, the saints will not be supplied, and their thirst will not be quenched. We must learn to be open in every meeting. When the Holy Spirit moves in us, we should give Him the freedom to freely flow out by releasing our spirit. The extent to which we utter something of the Spirit is the extent to which the Spirit can flow out from within us. This is a crucial point related to our exercise.
We need to pray to exercise our spirit, but we also need to be exercised in regard to the thoughts and utterances of our prayers. This is because the flow of the Spirit is very much related to our thoughts and utterances. Prayer also helps us to be exercised in our thoughts and utterances. As we are exercised in prayer, our spirit is strengthened, our thoughts become richer and clearer, and our utterances become more focused and accurate. As we exercise in this way, we will increasingly express the sense in our spirit, based on rich thoughts and appropriate utterances. In the meetings some brothers and sisters are moved by the Spirit and are willing to release their spirit, but they lack the necessary thoughts and the utterances to express their inner feelings. Even if they have a little utterance, the shortage in their thoughts and utterances makes it difficult for them to express the inner sense of the Spirit in a rich and full way.
The release of the spirit is often associated with words, because the Lord’s words are spirit and are life (John 6:63). Our experience confirms this. Often we receive the flow of the Spirit through the words of the ministry or through the words in the Bible. If we do not listen to messages or read the Bible, it will be difficult for us to have a sense of the Spirit. Our sense of the Spirit can be linked with the ministry of the word and the words of the Bible. The way that we have received the Spirit, consequently, is the way for us to express the Spirit, that is, through words. As long as we can find appropriate words to express our inner sense, there is no need for shouting. Once the words are spoken, the Spirit is released through the words. Hence, we must exercise our spirit by praying, and we must be exercised in regard to the thoughts and words of our prayers so that our prayers are based on rich thoughts and fluent utterances. Then, whenever we are inspired, we will have clear thoughts and appropriate words to match and express the Spirit’s inspiration. If there is a feeling in our spirit to praise, we will have words of praise; if there is a feeling to give thanks, we will have words of thanksgiving; if there is a feeling to confess our sins, we will have words of confession; if there is a feeling to petition for something, we will have words to petition. If we are keen in our thoughts and rich in our utterance when we pray, our spirit will be released in a rich way. Once the spirit is released, the water of life will flow.
When we release our spirit by means of prayer, we will be blended into one flow, and we will become one in one spirit. This is the blending of the saints into a fellowship in spirit that flows freely and mingles us together in one spirit. If we are blended to such an extent, the Spirit as the water of life will flow unhindered in the church. In whatever meeting and whatever the occasion, there will be a free flow among the brothers and sisters. There will be no sense of dryness, and everyone will be watered. At the same time, our thirst will be quenched by the living water, and this water of life will swallow up every kind of death. This matches the vision in Ezekiel, the vision of a river that is able to heal the water of the sea and cause all creatures to live (47:8-9). The flow of this living water will solve all the problems in the church, removing all traces of filth, and deal with every factor of death. The whole church will become bright as crystal, manifesting the situation of the New Jerusalem. May we all learn to be exercised and to pray to release our spirit so that God’s life will flow unhindered among us to manifest such a glorious result!
