Why do you seek to kill Me?

February 28, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 7:19-24,  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” ²⁰ The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” ²¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. ²² Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

What it means to me?

• David Guzik, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • Why do you seek to kill Me? Because He healed a man on the Sabbath, the rulers wanted to kill Jesus (John 5:16). The multitude didn’t know this, but the Jewish leaders did – though they denied it.
  • If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken: If it is permitted (even commanded) to do a negative work (such as cutting away the flesh in circumcision) on the Sabbath, why not a work that brings wholeness?
  • Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment: If the rulers and the people would only do this, they would embrace Jesus instead of contesting and rejecting Him.
• John McArthur, GTY.org:
  • See, He knew what their attitude was. He knew the impact He made. They were after Him. They wanted to kill Him. And here He’s talking again to these leaders, He says, “You’re the guys who are going around saying, ‘We are the followers of Mosheh…Moses. We are the ones that keep the Law. We are the ones that prescribe to the Law. We are the great obeyers of the Law. You’re the guys…He says…always bragging about the Law. Then why do you seek to kill Me?” We say, “What is that implying?” It’s implying this, do you remember that one part of the Law that says, “Thou shalt not kill?” You see, again He’s indicting them. You hypocrites, you’re the great possessors of the Mosaic Law and in your hearts you are full of murder. Don’t you know Moses said, “Don’t kill,” you phonies…you phonies?
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, BibleHub.com:
  • Judge not according to the appearance – Not as a thing first offers itself to you, without reflection or candor. In appearance, to circumcise a child on the Sabbath might be a violation of the law; yet you do it, and it is right. So, to appearance, it might be a violation of the Sabbath to heal a man, yet it is right to do works of necessity and mercy.
• Matthew Poole’s Commentary, BibleHub.com:
  • Do not judge persons, and condemn me for what I have done, merely out of your hatred, prejudice, and malice against me. Or, do not judge according to the first appearance of this fact. It looketh to you as a violation of the sabbath; it is not indeed so, but the performance of a duty greater than that of sanctifying the sabbath is. Judge righteously, and do not condemn in me what you yourselves do in other causes, because of your hatred to and prejudice against me; nor condemn an action which is in itself a righteous action, and not deserving condemnation.

What’s the application?

• Does Jesus ever offend us with the things He says and does?
• Need to check our hearts.

My doctrine is not Mine

February 27, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 7:16, Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

What it means to me?

• David Guzik, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • If the Jewish leaders listened carefully to the doctrine of Jesus, they would know that it was all rooted in the Old Testament Scriptures, and that it was from God.
  • My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me: Jesus was an eloquent, gifted teacher, but He was not self taught. He was God taught! His authority was not from any man, but from His Father.
• Matthew Henry Commentary, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • That his doctrine is divine (v. 16): My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. They were offended because he undertook to teach though he had never learned, in answer to which he tells them that his doctrine was such as was not to be learned, for it was not the product of human thought and natural powers enlarged and elevated by reading and conversation, but it was a divine revelation.
  • As God, equal with the Father, he might truly have said, My doctrine is mine, and his that sent me; but being now in his estate of humiliation, and being, as Mediator, God’s servant, it was more congruous to say, “My doctrine is not mine, not mine only, nor mine originally, as man and mediator, but his that sent me; it does not centre in myself, nor lead ultimately to myself, but to him that sent me.’
• Related scripture:
  • John 5:30, I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
  • John 6:38-40, For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
  • John 8:19, Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
  • John 12:49, For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
  • John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
  • John 14:24, He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
  • John 17:3, And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
  • John 17:14, I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
  • 2 John 1:9, Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

What’s the application?

If we don’t like what Jesus has to say, then we don’t like what God has to say.

John 7:16, Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

It hates Me

February 26, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 7:7, The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

What it means to me?

• Tyndale Life Application Study Bible:
  • Because the world hated Jesus, we who follow him can expect that many people will hate us as well. If circumstances are going too well, ask if you are following Christ as you should. We can be grateful when life goes well, but we must make sure it is not at the cost of following Jesus halfheartedly or not at all.
• Matthew Henry Commentary, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • But why did the world hate Christ? What evil had he done to it? Had he, like Alexander, under color of conquering it, laid it waste? “No, but because’ (saith he) “I testify of it, that the works of it are evil.’
    • Note, First, The works of an evil world are evil works; as the tree is, so are the fruits: it is a dark world, and an apostate world, and its works are works of darkness and rebellion.
    • Secondly, Our Lord Jesus, both by himself and by his ministers, did and will both discover and testify against the evil works of this wicked world.
    • Thirdly, It is a great uneasiness and provocation to the world to be convicted of the evil of its works. It is for the honor of virtue and piety that those who are impious and vicious do not care for hearing of it, for their own consciences make them ashamed of the turpitude [depravity; wickedness] there is in sin and afraid of the punishment that follows after
    • Fourthly, Whatever is pretended, the real cause of the world’s enmity to the gospel is the testimony it bears against sin and sinners. Christ’s witnesses by their doctrine and conversation torment those that dwell on the earth, and therefore are treated so barbarously, 11:10. But it is better to incur the world’s hatred, by testifying against its wickedness, than gain its good-will by going down the stream with it.

What’s the application?

1 John 2:15-16, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

Lord, to whom shall we go?

February 25, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 6:67-71, Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” ⁶⁸But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. ⁷⁰Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

What it means to me?

• David Guzik, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • The disciples stand as examples of willingness to follow even if they don’t understand it all.
    • Do you also want to go away? What a scene! Scores of disciples after the flesh leave Jesus, and He asks the twelve if they will go also. He searches the motives of all that follow Him, including the twelve.
    • Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life: Peter does much in the gospels to make us sigh; but here, as he speaks for the twelve, he shines brightly. His focus is where it should be – that Jesus has the words of eternal life, not “You have the bread that fills our stomachs.”
      • If we have not come to the place where we look to God and say, “Where else would I go?” even in hard or confusing times, then we have not come very far with Jesus.
      • It also reminds us that following Jesus, though at times hard, is preferred above every alternative. Following Jesus is the hardest way to live – except for all the others.
    • He spoke of Judas: The simple, spiritual devotion of the disciples to Jesus makes Judas’ apostasy that much more horrible.

What’s the application?

Lord, to whom shall we go?

Does this offend you?

February 24, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 6:60-66, Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” ⁶¹When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” ⁶⁶From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

What it means to me?

• David Guzik, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • This is a hard saying: This refers to that which is hard to accept, not to what is hard to understand. No doubt, they did find Jesus’ words somewhat mysterious, but it was the parts they did understand that were really disturbing.
    • Jesus was demanding a complete allegiance to Him, and demanding that everything else – including literal bread – be put in second place.
  • Does this offend you? Jesus didn’t preach just to please His audience. If that was His concern, He would have instantly taken back what was just said, seeing His audience was offended. Jesus didn’t take it back. He challenged and confronted them even more.
  • What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? Jesus is saying, “If all this has offended you, what will you think when you see Me in glory, and have to answer to Me in judgment?” Better to be offended now and to get over it, than to be offended then.
  • It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing: This could well be the “theme statement” for this whole discourse of Jesus. He continually calls us to put our heart and focus, on spiritual realities, not fleshly things.
  • Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father: Jesus rebuked their own, carnal, fleshly motivation in following Him. If they do not seek Him by the Spirit instead of seeking Him as a walking bakery, then they have not come to Him at all.
    • Of those who come to God in the flesh, as these came to Jesus, it can be said that they do not come to God at all. Instead, they are coming to a false god, a “gimmie” god. They do not come as it has been granted to him by My Father.
  • From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more: Once Jesus effectively discouraged every fleshly motive for following Him, many stopped following.
    • If we could do the same thing – effectively discourage every fleshly motive for following Jesus – how many would stop following Him in our churches today?

What’s the application?

Does Jesus offend us because He demands complete allegiance to Him?

My blood has eternal life

February 23, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 6:53-54, Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

What it means to me?

Still exploring the depth of this odd (seemingly) grisly metaphor, which is starting to make sense. It brings me back to two books, In His Image and The Chemistry of Blood by Brand/Yancy and MR DeHaan,MD, respectively.  Here’s a brief summary:

• With the advent of the microscope and medical technology, blood’s life sustaining role in the body is remarkable. 1) Blood is a cleanser for toxins, 2) it fights against disease, and 3) when blood loss threatens a life, it can be replenished from the blood of another.
  • Blood is a cleanser for toxins
    • Red blood cells have a two-fold purpose. They cleanse and provide fuel to our entire cellular structure. They drift inside capillaries absorbing the waste products of cells so no poisonous toxins build up and cause ill-effects while simultaneously releasing fuel in the form of fresh oxygen. Just as blood cleanses the body of harmful waste, the blood of Jesus cleanses away our sins (poisonous toxins) while simultaneously giving us life (fresh oxygen).
  • It fights against disease
    • White blood cells are our defenders against disease. There are many types of white blood cells that fight disease in a variety of ways. Some white blood cells are antibodies that are specific defenders that protect against one specific disease; for example, the measles antibody has no effect against polio. With the discovery of immunizations, doctors can inject crucial antibodies that fight crippling and deadly diseases. The immunization process requires the defensive antibodies of the blood of one who has survived a disease to fortify another’s blood who has no defense against the disease. Jesus was confronted with every sin we have been confronted with, and He has remained without sin. By His blood, we are fortified and strengthened against sin.
  • Blood transfusions
    • When blood loss threatens a life, it can be replenished from the blood of another. Blood needed for a transfusion has saved many lives. It is the gift of life from one person to another.   Jesus shed his blood on the cross as a substitution for the shedding of our own blood that we might have life (eternal).

• In physical terms, without blood there is no life. Life is in the blood. It is essential for the life of every human being. In spiritual terms without the blood of Jesus there is no eternal life, and therein lies the objective of God. Jesus died that we might live.

What’s the application? There’s life (eternal life) in the blood of Christ.

He who eats this bread – Part 2

February 22, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 6:53-54, Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

What it means to me?

• Matthew Henry Commentary, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • What is meant by eating this flesh and drinking this blood, which is so necessary and beneficial; it is certain that is means neither more nor less than believing in Christ. As we partake of meat and drink by eating and drinking, so we partake of Christ and his benefits by faith: and believing in Christ includes these four things, which eating and drinking do:
    • First, It implies an appetite to Christ. This spiritual eating and drinking begins with hungering and thirsting (5:6), earnest and importunate desires after Christ, not willing to take up with any thing short of an interest in him: “Give me Christ or else I die.’
    • Secondly, An application of Christ to ourselves. Meat looked upon will not nourish us, but meat fed upon, and so made our own, and as it were one with us. We must so accept of Christ as to appropriate him to ourselves: my Lord, and my God, 20:28.
    • Thirdly, A delight in Christ and his salvation. The doctrine of Christ crucified must be meat and drink to us, most pleasant and delightful. We must feast upon the dainties of the New Testament in the blood of Christ, taking as great a complacency in the methods which Infinite Wisdom has taken to redeem and save us as ever we did in the most needful supplies or grateful delights of nature.
    • Fourthly, A derivation of nourishment from him and a dependence upon him for the support and comfort of our spiritual life, and the strength, growth, and vigor of the new man. To feed upon Christ is to do all in his name, in union with him, and by virtue drawn from him; it is to live upon him as we do upon our meat.
  • How our bodies are nourished by our food we cannot describe, but that they are so we know and find; so it is with this spiritual nourishment. Our Savior was so well pleased with this metaphor (as very significant and expressive) that, when afterwards he would institute some outward sensible signs, by which to represent our communicating of the benefits of his death, he chose those of eating and drinking, and made them sacramental actions.

What’s the application?

Is Christ my all and all? Matthew 22:37, Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

He who eats this bread

February 21, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 6:48-58,  I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” ⁵²The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

What it means to me?

• Matthew Henry Commentary, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • What is meant by the flesh and blood of Christ? It is called (v. 53), The flesh of the Son of man, and his blood, his as Messiah and Mediator: the flesh and blood which he assumed in his incarnation (Hebrews 2:14), and which he gave up in his death and suffering: my flesh which I will give to be crucified and slain. It is said to be given for the life of the world, that is,
    • First, Instead of the life of the world, which was forfeited by sin, Christ gives his own flesh as a ransom or counterprice. Christ was our bail, bound body for body (as we say), and therefore his life must go for ours, that ours may be spared. Here am I, let these go their way.
    • Secondly, In order to the life of the world, to purchase a general offer of eternal life to all the world, and the special assurances of it to all believers. So that the flesh and blood of the Son of man denote the Redeemer incarnate and dying; Christ and him crucified, and the redemption wrought out by him, with all the precious benefits of redemption: pardon of sin, acceptance with God, the adoption of sons, access to the throne of grace, the promises of the covenant, and eternal life; these are called the flesh and blood of Christ,
      • Because they are purchased by his flesh and blood, by the breaking of his body, and shedding of his blood. Well may the purchased privileges be denominated from the price that was paid for them, for it puts a value upon them; write upon them pretium sanguines – the price of blood.
      • Because they are meat and drink to our souls. Flesh with the blood was prohibited (Genesis 9:4), but the privileges of the gospel are as flesh and blood to us, prepared for the nourishment of our souls. He had before compared himself to bread, which is necessary food; here to flesh, which is delicious. It is a feast of fat things, Isaiah 25:6. The soul is satisfied with Christ as with marrow and fatness, Psalm 63:5. It is meat indeed, and drink indeed; truly so, that is spiritually; so Dr. Whitby; as Christ is called the true vine; or truly meat, in opposition to the shows and shadows with which the world shams off those that feed upon it. In Christ and his gospel there is real supply, solid satisfaction; that is meat indeed, and drink indeed, which satiates and replenishes, Jeremiah 31:25-26.

What’s the application?

This is a very difficult passage for me to comprehend, but pushing past the literal to the metaphor has been worth the meaning that it conveys. 1) Christ satiates our souls, 2) Christ gives life (new life), 3) Christ gives eternal life.

I am the bread of life

February 20, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 6:48-58, I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” ⁵²The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
⁵³Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

What it means to me?

• Tyndale Life Application Study Bible:
  • John 6:51 – How can Jesus give us his flesh as bread to eat? To eat living bread means to accept Christ into our lives and become united with him. We are united with Christ in two ways: (1) by believing in his death (the sacrifice of his flesh) and resurrection and (2) by devoting ourselves to living as he requires, depending on his teaching for guidance and trusting in the Holy Spirit for power.
  • John 6:56 – This was a shocking message—to eat flesh and drink blood sounded cannibalistic. The idea of drinking any blood, let alone human blood, was repugnant to the religious leaders because the law forbade it (Leviticus 17:10, 11). Jesus was not talking about literal blood, of course. He was saying that his life had to become their own, but they could not accept this concept. The Gospel writers as well as the apostle Paul used the body and blood imagery in talking about Communion (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
• David Guzik, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever: Jesus spoke in a figure of speech. The metaphor of eating and drinking was common in Jesus’ day, and pointed to a taking within one’s innermost being.
  • Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead: The spiritual bread Jesus offers is even greater than the manna Israel ate in the wilderness, because “eating” the bread from heaven Jesus offers brings eternal life.
  • He who eats this bread will live forever: Jesus offers us heavenly bread for eternal life, but we must eat Faith in Jesus is not compared with tasting or admiring, but with eating. We must dig in! Jesus says that we must have Him within us, and we must partake of Him.
    • Seeing a loaf of bread on a plate will not satisfy our hunger. Knowing the ingredients in the bread will not satisfy our hunger. Taking pictures of the bread will not satisfy our hunger. Telling other people about the bread will not satisfy our hunger. Selling the bread will not satisfy our hunger. Playing catch with the bread will not satisfy our hunger. Nothing will satisfy our hunger and bring us life except actually eating the bread. He who eats this bread will live forever.

What’s the application?

Jesus is the bread of life, the living bread. I must be take Him into my life – throughout the day.

Never thirst

February 19, 2015

What’s God saying to me? John 4:11-14, The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹²Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” ¹⁵The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

What it means to me?

• Tyndale Life Application Study Bible:
  • Many spiritual functions parallel physical functions. As our bodies hunger and thirst, so do our souls. But our souls need spiritual food and water. The woman confused the two kinds of water, perhaps because no one had ever talked with her about her spiritual hunger and thirst before. We would not think of depriving our bodies of food and water when they hunger or thirst. Why then should we deprive our souls? The living Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible, can satisfy our hungry and thirsty souls.
• Chuck Smith, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • Now, the statement, “He who drinks of this water shall thirst again,” there Jesus is referring to that physical water in the well. Carrying it one step further, Jesus, in talking about thirst, spoke not of physical thirst but of spiritual thirst. Man is a threefold being: he is body, mind and spirit. And there are physical thirsts, there are emotional thirsts, and is a spiritual thirst. Jesus said to the woman, “If you’re going to drink of this water, you’re going to thirst again.” That can be said of every physical experience that you might possess or seek or find.
  • There are always those who feel, “If I could just…” and you fill in the blank. “…then I would be happy and satisfied.” What’s in your blank? “If I just had blank, I would be satisfied and happy!” It seems that man is always setting out a goal or a thing whereby he feels that, “If I could just achieve, if I could just attain, if I could just have, then I would be satisfied. I wouldn’t be thirsty any more!” Jesus said, “Not so! You drink of this water and you will thirst again.” . . . But Jesus said, “If you drink of the water that I give, you’ll never thirst again. It’ll be like a well just springing up inside of you.” The woman said, “Sir, I’ll take some of that water.”
• David Brown, BlueLetterBible.org:
  • thirst again. . . never thirst, &c.–The contrast here is fundamental and all comprehensive. “This water” plainly means “this natural water and all satisfactions of a like earthly and perishable nature.” Coming to us from without, and reaching only the superficial parts of our nature, they are soon spent, and need to be anew supplied as much as if we had never experienced them before, while the deeper wants of our being are not reached by them at all; whereas the “water” that Christ gives–spiritual life–is struck out of the very depths of our being, making the soul not a cistern, for holding water poured into it from without, but a fountain (the word had been better so rendered, to distinguish it from the word rendered “well” in John 4:11), springing, gushing, bubbling up and flowing forth within us, ever fresh, ever living. The indwelling of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Christ is the secret of this life with all its enduring energies and satisfactions, as is expressly said ( John 7:37-39). “Never thirsting,” then, means simply that such souls have the supplies at home.
  • into everlasting life–carrying the thoughts up from the eternal freshness and vitality of these waters to the great ocean in which they have their confluence. “Thither may I arrive!” [BENGEL].

What’s the application?

Know that your soul doesn’t have to be in drought.  Isaiah 58:11, The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.