Revelation 22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.
The New Jerusalem is not merely something that God will obtain in eternity – His miraculous structure of treasure constituted of the processed and consummated Triune God united, mingled, and incorporated with the transformed and glorified humanity – but something that we can enjoy and experience today.
The many characteristics and aspects of the New Jerusalem need to be our experience today in our Christian life and church life. The center of the city is the throne of God and of the Lamb: today we need to enthrone the Redeeming God in our being, giving Him the first place, and taking Him as the Head.
From the throne flows a river of water of life which reaches out to all the corners of the city, flowing through the gates to reach everyone and bring them life (Rev. 22:1). This flowing river of water of life which proceeds from the throne is God dispensing Himself in His divine Trinity into us as the flowing water of life.
Throughout the Bible we see the river of water typifying God’s dispensing of Himself as the flowing life into man, starting from Genesis 2 with the river which flows from Eden and waters the garden, then splits into four branches to reach the whole earth – all the way to Revelation 22.
Our God is a flowing God – He flows throughout the ages and onto the bridge of time to reach man, saturate man, and fill man with life. In time, God was incarnated to become a man, the Lord Jesus; then, He passed through death and resurrection and became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
The water of life is a symbol of God in Christ as the Spirit flowing Himself into us, His redeemed people, to be our life and life-supply.
As believers in Christ we have been baptized in the Spirit and we were given to drink one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), and now we can drink of Him by calling on the name of the Lord and speaking to the Lord audibly. The more we speak to the Lord, the more we drink of Him!
We can experience the river of water of life proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb by first enthroning the Lord in our being and then speaking to the Lord, asking Him to give us a drink!
The River of Water of Life Signifies the Abundance of Life in its Flow
When we enthrone the Lord in our being and give Him the first place in all things, we will be richly supplied with the water of life proceeding from the throne of God in the center of our being (see Rev. 22:1). The redeeming God – God and the Lamb – is dispensing Himself as flowing water of life into those who enthrone Him in their being.
This river of water of life signifies the abundance of life in its flow and it is the life-giving Spirit, the consummation of the processed Triune God.
Throughout the Bible we see God’s desire to flow as a river of water of life to quench man’s thirst and supply man. In Gen. 2:10-14 there’s a river flowing from Eden, watering the garden and then splitting into four branches which reach the whole earth.
In Exo. 17:1-6 God told Moses to strike the rock and water will flow to quench the people’s thirst in the wilderness. Later in Numbers 20:11, God told Moses to speak to the rock and water will flow. In Psa. 46:4 there is a river that gladdens the city of God.
In Ezek. 47 we see a river flowing from the house of God, and as Ezekiel was measuring the depth of the river, it was increasing until there was “waters to swim in”. We need to allow the Lord to measure us, judge us, and examine us so that He may possess us, and the flow of life in us will increase and will flow for God’s glory.
In John 7:38 the Lord asked us to come to Him and drink, and rivers of living water will flow from our innermost being.
In 1 Cor. 10:4 Paul tells us that just as the people of Israel drank of the cleft rock which followed them, so Christ was cleft on the cross and we can now drink of Him, the cleft rock of ages!
In Rev. 22:1 we see that in the New Jerusalem there’s a river of water of life flowing from the throne and reaching every side of the New Jerusalem, then flowing through the gates to reach everyone to supply them with life.
From eternity God is flowing as life forever; in time God flowed into a man, the Lord Jesus, and now as the life-giving Spirit He flows freely as the abundance of life for us to receive, enjoy, drink of, and reign in life.
All we have to do is simply open to Him and drink the abundance of life in its flow, and we will experience a foretaste of the river of water of life flowing in the New Jerusalem.
Drinking the Water of Life, Having Many Rivers flowing from us, and Being Crystal Clear
Drink the River of Water of Life!
In the Gospels we see how God became a man, lived a perfect human life expressing God in every possible way, died an all-inclusive vicarious death on the cross, resurrected, and became a life-giving Spirit. Now God is a processed and consummated Triune God – He is “the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17).
On the cross, the Lord Jesus was pierced and out of His side flowed blood and water (John 19:34) – this is the fulfilment of the type of Moses striking the rock so that water would flow for the people of Israel to drink in the wilderness.
Today Christ has been smitten, cleft, and out of His side flows blood for our redemption and forgiveness of sins, and water for our regeneration and for the impartation of life. This water flowing from the Lord Jesus is the life-giving Spirit, and it becomes a river proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem.
We can drink of God as living water by calling on His name and by speaking to Him. There’s no need to “strike the rock” again; simply speak to the Lord, ask Him to give you to drink, and He will flow into you as the water of life! Speak to the Lord out loud; open to Him, call on His name, let your voice be heard before Him, and He will flow into you.
When we drink of the Lord as the living water, this water will become in us many rivers of living water gushing up into eternal life (see John 7:38). We drink the one Spirit, and this Spirit becomes in us many rivers, which are the many aspects of the Spirit of life.
As we drink of the one Spirit, we will have the law of the Spirit of life operating in us to shape us in God’s image and deliver us from the law of sin and of death (Rom. 8:2). This one Spirit in us becomes the many rivers of water of life: a river of love (Rom. 15:30), a river of joy (1 Thes. 1:6), a river of sanctification (2 Thes. 2:13), and the many fruits of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:22-23 – love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control).
Furthermore, this river of water of life makes us crystal clear, with no dimness or opaqueness. The water of life purifies us, cleanses us, washes us, and makes us transparent. As we drink the Lord and say Amen! to the inner regulation of the divine life, we will be watered, refreshed, and crystal clear concerning everything.
Thank You, Lord, for having been cleft for us on the cross so that we may drink the life-giving Spirit flowing from Your side! Lord, give us to drink! Keep us speaking to You, opening to You, and allowing You to flow in as the one river of life. Fill all our inner being and become in us the many rivers of water of life gushing up into eternal life. Lord, we want to experience the reality of the river of water of life proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem! Measure us, purify us, water us, refresh us, and make us clear by flowing in us as the river of water of life!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ed Marks’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-Study of Revelation (msg. 65), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Aspects of the Christian Life and Church Life Seen in the New Jerusalem, week 1 / msg 1, The Throne of God and of the Lamb, the River of Water of Life, and the Tree of Life.
- On this topic via the New Jerusalem blog, The River from the Throne; The River of Life Reaching Man.
- Hymns on this topic:
# River of living water, / River that flows from the throne, / Fellowship giving and making / God’s own authority known. / River of living water, / Fellowship freely bestows; / Bringing authority with it, / Through every place where it flows. (Hymns #984)
# Once I call His name there’s a flow within; / It turns me from my day, makes Him Lord again. / As my spirit burns, Satan cannot win. / Calling, “Oh Lord Jesus,” keeps the flow within. (New song on Calling on the Lord)
# The blood and water flowed from Him, / In streams of pure salvation. / The blood brings cleansing from all sin; / Water, regeneration. / And now the Spirit flows, / Brings God where’er He goes. / All he could do, the foe, / Was just release the flow. / And God just keeps on flowing. (Hymns #1198)
# Waters to swim in will meet our every need, / Water is flowing and never to recede; / Limited, restricted by living, flowing grace, / Losing all our freedom, our soul-life is replaced. / Drink the living water, (Sisters) / Rivers flowing free! (Brothers) / Water! Living waters! (Sisters) / Have Your way in me! (Brothers) / Daily increasing the growth of life in me, / For His glorious building and His recovery! (new song on, Rivers of Water Flowing)
