In the Scriptures, we see the concept of the divine stream, the flow of life, from Genesis all the way to Revelation. Everything that God does is in this living stream, which appears in the garden of Eden and also in Revelation in the New Jerusalem.
In the book of Acts we also see that the flow of the Lord’s work is one, starting from Jerusalem with Peter and the apostles, and continuing with the Apostle Paul in his travels to preach the gospel and establish churches.
This stream is actually the flowing Triune God, who flowed out of eternity and into time, flowed into man, and now out of man and with man He flows all the way into the New Jerusalem (John 4:14).
When we receive the Lord Jesus, we are plunged in the flow of life, and daily we need to take care of the sense of life within. In everything we do for the Lord, in our work for Him, we need to be in the divine stream, in the flow of life.
In every age there is only one unique flow of God, one divine stream. May we see the stream today, and may our work count in God’s eyes by being in the middle of the river of water of life flowing from the throne!
The Divine Stream in the Bible
In the entire universe there is a divine stream that starts in the beginning of the Bible and flows throughout the whole book all the way to Revelation.
In Gen. 2:10-14 we see that in the garden of Eden there was a river which watered the garden, and this river had four branches which reached out to the whole earth.
In Psa. 46:4 we see that there is a river whose streams gladdens the city of God, and in Psa. 65:9 the river of God is full of water (this river is actually God Himself flowing out).
In Ezek. 47 we see a flow of water coming out of the house of God, and the more we are measured the more the flow increases.
In the New Testament we see that whoever drinks of this water, it will become in him a river gushing up into eternal life (John 4:14).
The Lord told us to come to Him and drink of Him, all who are thirsty – come and drink of Christ as the Spirit (John 7:37-39).
Finally, in Rev. 22:1 we see that in the New Jerusalem there’s a river of water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and this river spirals down in the city, watering it.
This river of life is the flowing, moving, advancing, and always progressing Triune God! As we drink of Him, He flows within us and then flows out of us, even flowing us into the New Jerusalem (the totality of the divine life)!
The Triune God flows from eternity past into time and all the way into eternity future – and we need to be in this flow! Our living and work needs to be in the flow of the Triune God!
The Source of the Flow: the Throne of God
The flow of life comes out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The Christ who was crucified, buried, resurrected, and exalted is on the throne as the Lamb of God.
He died for us to redeem us of our sins, and He resurrected to become the flowing life-giving Spirit as the consummation of the processed God.
Now this One is on the throne. For us to have the flow of life, we need to be under His headship. We need to take Christ as our head and submit ourselves to His authority. Never do anything without checking with Christ as the Head.
We need to be right with the throne. Even a little disobedience or rebelliousness can stop the flow.
Our own preference and opinion can get us out of the flow if we insist on them. When we touch the Lord’s administration in a wrong way, we will lose the flow. This flow is the presence of God, it is God Himself.
Outside of the flow we are grinding away, working and toiling hard, doing our own thing “for God”. But in the divine stream we always feel carried by the stream, swimming in the stream.
We don’t “carry the flow”, but the flow of God carries us – and this is the right condition to work! Yes, we do labor; yes, we do work for the Lord, but there’s always something inside us carrying us on!
As long as we are right with the throne of God, there’s a flow within us.
The Flow is Into Eternal Life – Into the New Jerusalem!
In John 4:14 we see that whoever drinks of the water that the Lord gives us – the Spirit – will never thirst again forever; rather, the water He gives us will become in us a fountain gushing up into eternal life!
What does it mean, “into eternal life”? It means that the eternal life is the destination of the flow of the divine life from within us. The eternal life in us is a flowing life, and it flows into the New Jerusalem, which is the totality and consummation of the eternal life!
There’s something within us that not only flows IN US, but it also FLOWS US into the New Jerusalem!
God in Christ as the Spirit flows in our spirit and wants to flow in every part of our soul, and this divine stream will carry us, flow us, and bring us fully into the New Jerusalem!
God the Father is the source, the fountain; God the Son is the spring, the coming out of the fountain; God the Spirit is the flowing river, the stream, which issues in the eternal life. The Triune God is flowing in us and flowing us in the New Jerusalem!
Hallelujah for the flow of life within us!
There is Only One Unique Stream, One Flow
Reading the above sharing you could say that there’s the inward aspect and there’s the outward aspect of the flow of life, the divine stream.
Inwardly we need to have the flow of life by being under the throne of God, and outwardly we need to be in the divine stream by being in fellowship with the Triune God and with all the other members of the Body.
We need to see that in every age God has only one unique flow, one stream. It’s almost as if nothing else matters – you need to be in this stream!
In this divine stream we have people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the overcoming ones in the people of Israel, the prophets, John the Baptist, and the Lord Jesus. In Acts we see that this one stream, one current, started from Jerusalem (with Peter and the 11) and flowed to Antioch, and from Antioch if flowed to Asia and flowed there (with Paul and Barnabas / Silas).
After this, the divine stream had a turn toward Europe. History tells us that from Europe the divine stream went to America, then to East and to the South.
As we read church history we see that this flowing stream has never been stopped – no matter how hard people and rulers tried to persecute and kill the believers – and it has always been one!
Today there is only one divine stream, flowing on the earth, and we need to be in this one stream!
Lord Jesus, show us the unique divine stream flowing in the Bible and throughout the ages. Today, Lord, we want to be in the divine stream of the flowing Triune God. May we not miss it. Lord, keep us in the flow of life. May there be no hindrance in Your flowing within us and flowing us into the New Jerusalem. Flow in and out, Lord. We want to be in the stream, not doing anything apart from Your flow within us.
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Minoru’s sharing in the message and portions in, The Conclusion of the New Testament (msg. 278), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Unique Work in the Lord’s Recovery, week 3 (entitled, A Work in Ascension, by the Spirit, and in the Divine Stream).
- Further reading:
# The Divine Stream (by Witness Lee);
# Seeing the Divine Stream and keeping ourselves in it;
# On the New Jerusalem (newjerusalem12.wordpress.com); - Hymns on this topic:
# From my spirit within flows a fountain of life— / The Triune God flowing in me; / God the Father’s the source, Christ the Son is the course, / And the Spirit imparts life to me.
# The flowing of life divine, / In spirit so sweetly flows— / The overflowing life divine, / Nourishing my spirit so— / Bringing the Triune God’s fullness,
# In the stream! in the stream! let us work / for the Lord, / By His mind, in His way, as revealed in / His Word; / In the flow of His life let us work with His / pow’r / For His Kingdom and Church in the time of His hour. - Picture credit: Delaware River Fall (online here).
About aGodMan
In the universe there is a divine stream that starts in the beginning of the Scriptures and flows throughout the whole book. We can trace this stream from the beginning of the Bible right to the end. In many places there is reference to this flowing stream. It is still flowing today. It is flowing, flowing all the time, and will be flowing to eternity. The Lord said that the water that He gives would be a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life. This stream shall flow to eternity; it can never and will never cease. Throughout the whole history of the church there has ever been and still is such a divine stream. (The Divine Stream, pp. 7-8)
Yes! I very much enjoyed this article about the Divine flowing out and into us as a stream of life! NOTHING can stop or hinder this flowing! Matter of fact this flow will go on for eternity! "Dear Lord, we pray keep us in this wonderful flowing out of the Triume God!"
amen, for Jesus is our living water that flows into us!
Praise our Lord for this Divine Stream. Lord, we are one with You. How we desire to stay in ths stream today!