11. Rivers of Living Water Flow out from Me

Audio Only:




As I set myself to write three pages of The Jesus Secret II concerning the third ruling verse of the Bible, I find myself very much constrained by God into His purposes. And here is where I am constrained – 1 John 3:16 modified. Jesus set forth His soul for us – and we also set forth our souls for our brothers and sisters.

Although it will not be included in The Jesus Secret II pages, when we get to Chapter 19 in this study, I hope to weave together Psalm 22, David’s inward view, with John 19, John’s outward view, so that we can see the most important thing God sent Jesus to fulfill.

Constrained. Now, I find myself constrained in three ways. First, in a similar loss that Jesus knew as His own family members did not believe in Him. God always makes things personal to us. Second, I am constrained by the purpose of what I am doing, which is not a study of Jesus’ life and ministry, nor even a full study of John’s gospel, but rather the narrow purpose of filling in the boxes on The Jesus Secret pages.

And third, I am constrained by the pressing realization that the third ruling verse, rivers of Spirit flowing out from us, is placed by God out from the eighth ruling verse, specifically – AND WE ALSO – share the same task to fulfill with Jesus, as sharing all form with Him, that is, symmorphosed.

We Don’t Lose the Thread. Let’s start with the second press. In seeking to place these events John writes about, I looked through The Reese Chronological Bible to see where the other events fit. John Chapter 6 ends right after the Feast of Passover, one year before Jesus death and resurrection. Chapter 7 takes place during the Feast of Tabernacles, six months later. Chapter 8 is still in October, and Chapter 10 is clearly in December, leaving Chapter 9 anywhere in-between. But when I look at the other gospels, I see that all sorts of other things are happening through these months, and immediately the power of John’s thread of life is lost.

Sorrow and Loss. That one constraint demonstrates that John wrote with great purpose, carefully selecting only those events of Jesus’ ministry that fit his purposes of conveying LIFE to us.

Then, just before I looked at John 7 this morning, I discovered that a family member unsubscribed from my letters, likely because of something I said in the last one. In that sorrow and loss, I looked at the first verses of John 7 and realized that God was giving me to share with Jesus the same sense of loss and sorrow that He felt even from His own family, during this season of Tabernacles. Then, suddenly, many verses in John 7 that seem unrelated to “Rivers of Spirit Flowing Out” became essential.

Glory in Constraint. Because of how John thought and wrote, the context of every truth conveyed in his gospel is essential to our full understanding of that truth.

One thing from the other gospels that does apply is that, prior to John 7, Jesus had already begun speaking to His disciples about His soon-coming death. Thus we see the statements of faith for John 7 falling into two very different categories. Our main purpose is the glory of rivers of Spirit coming out from three verses. But that glory is found solidly inside the constraint we share with Jesus that are all the other statements.

The Third Ruling Verse Expanded. Now, on the last day, the great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood [in the moment of complete silence] and shouted loudly, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come towards Me and drink. The one who believes into me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Rivers of living water will overflow out from his belly [his womb, his innermost being]” (Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring). Now He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those having believed into Him were about to receive; indeed, the Spirit is given freely out from Jesus glorified.

My Ruling Ideas. I chose this verse, even in my early thirties, as one of the ruling ideas that would undergird all my seeking of God. This is the strongest statement in the Bible of God going out from us into His creation. I still don’t know what it means, but I believe it.

This truth is matched with the second ruling verse as our definition as humans, containing all of God – revealing God to all. And it is matched with the fourth ruling verse as our ministry, casting down all that opposes Christ – sending forth life and healing to all.

No Sufficiency in Ourselves. The second and third ruling verses together are our nature and design. The third and fourth ruling verses together are our authority in relation to God’s power. And “no sufficiency in ourselves” is the junction between both of those pairs.

This “no sufficiency in ourselves,” this “that the excellency of the power might be of God and not of us,” is the very place into which Jesus is constrained inside this entire chapter except for the three main verses. Even “If any man thirst” is part of that constraint.

Here is the enflowing of our confessions of constraint.

I Am Constrained. I am constrained and at times forsaken. Often those closest to me do not believe in who I am. I testify concerning the world that its works are evil. Therefore the world hates me. I withdraw from people arguing over “truth.” People hate the word of Christ I speak; some try to kill me. I go where I can be alone with my Father. I do not speak of myself, but of the Father. I desire only the Father’s desire; that’s why I know what is the truth. I seek the glory of the Father who sends me; injustice is not found in me. I live inside the presence of God; God sends me.

There is more of this constraint, but the rest comes in just a bit later.

Sharing the Same Form. Now, at this point, we have already half of the Jesus Secret page.  There is then room only for two boxes, the first of which is, “Jesus Shares with Me.”

Let’s bring in Paul’s words that rule this whole concept. – I consider my own fake rightness to be dog crap… That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, having already been symmorphosed, sharing the same form with His death (Philippians 3:8 & 10).

Now, let’s bring in what I wrote about this symmorphy.

From Philippians 3. Being already symmorphosed with Jesus’ death, however, goes way deeper into the Heart of God than the removal from me of all that offended. I share Jesus’ death together with Him, not for myself, for I am utterly inside of God, but for the sake of others, especially for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as I share with Jesus in the fellowship of His sufferings, so I share with Him in His glory, the glory of joining precious dear ones together with Father and Father with them utterly free of me. This “death,” this service, is our shared glory forever.

Something Far Deeper. Sharing the same form with Jesus’ death is not a way of dying; it is a way of living. It is a way of seeking all that is lost, of finding every soul wandering in the darkness and winning the treasure of their heart, one with one, with Father.
~~~
Being “martyrs,” that is, being outwardly persecuted because of our faith in Jesus, is certainly part of sharing His sufferings, but the fellowship of that sharing speaks of something far deeper. It speaks of – AND WE ALSO bearing sorrow for others.

Sharing Constraint. I want to talk about this sharing of constraint and sorrow with Jesus. John purposefully placed the first verses of Chapter 7, Jesus’ brothers not believing in Him, and even mocking Him, right after the end of Chapter 6, when most everyone got as far away from Jesus as they could. In between these two, Jesus told Judas that he was a devil, though Judas likely did not hear because he did not care. Jesus told Peter that Satan was speaking through his mouth, and He rebuked John and James harshly because they wanted to use God to murder innocent people.

Human Failure. The point is that it wasn’t going very well for Jesus; His ministry was not very successful. If you look carefully at Jesus’ words through all the contention in John 7 (which is what this whole chapter is mostly about), you can see that He was holding up inside of a deep sense of failure.

Now, understand, this deep sense of human failure IS essential to the Salvation and Revelation of God. This is what David discovered when God took him into Jesus’ soul upon the cross. This deep sense of human failure Jesus also shares with us.

Being Incapable. The meaning of the course of my own life continues to change dramatically in my understanding. February of 1998 continues to grow in its immense importance, that moment when I confessed to myself that I was incapable of pleasing God, that I would never be hearing and obeying, that I could not “get it right.” I did not know it then, but in that moment, Jesus was sharing with me His own sense of being incapable of doing anything of Himself. In that moment, I began to experience the sharing of being symmorphosed with His death.

As Paul said, your own rightness is your greatest enemy.

Engaging with God. May I suggest that you engage with God personally concerning the sorrows of Jesus throughout this chapter. You see, part of Jesus’ constraint was limiting even what He spoke about, limiting Himself to the Father’s glory only.

This is very much part of Hebrews 5:7 – Jesus, in the days of His flesh, offered, with loud crying and tears, both heart-felt prayers and an olive branch of peace towards the One able to save Him continuously out from death and was always heard because of His careful reverence.

Go through each statement in the enflowing of word, find the verse in Chapter 7, and then ask God to show you how Jesus has shared this same sorrow with you in your own life.

Keep on Engaging. “I am constrained” refers to the whole package. “I am sometimes forsaken” refers to the many departing from Jesus in Chapter 6. When the world hates us, there is no thought of “tough on them,” but rather, the deep sorrow of loss which they have foolishly chosen because they will not hear the truth. People arguing over “truth, truth, who’s got the truth” is repulsive to me. “People hate,” “try to kill me,” and “alone with Father" are found at the end of the chapter, after Rivers.

Then the center core is “I do not speak of myself*, but of the Father.” Engage with God concerning this constraint. ("This is not human conversation, but rather definition).

Jesus Shares with Me. Jesus shares all that He is and does with me, that I might be part of Him. Jesus shares with me His great sorrow over His Church that she might know Him. I know that my every small sorrow is an expression of His greater sorrow shared with me. I turn my own difficulties as joined with Jesus in His love for those who belong to Him.

Jesus shares with me the sense of loss when others refuse. He shares with me the abuse given by the world. Jesus shares with me the agony of His good Words being refused. He shares with me the constraints of the pressed-in way of life. Jesus shares with me the Father’s desire, that I might know Him.

A Lonely Place. Let’s bring in the next enfolding of word. God has set a time for me to complete. I go up to the Feast of Tabernacles, but in secret. I am called of God into a place where few can follow. In God’s moment, I stand and speak the truth of Christ boldly. The word of Christ that I speak penetrates deeply into the hearts of all who hear me speak. I speak concerning the Spirit.

This is a lonely place that Jesus shares with us. In fact, that moment when He speaks is the great moment of silence of enormous significance in the keeping of Tabernacles. And thus our final box is titled, “The Moment of Silence.”

Alfred Edersheim. I want to draw a picture of that moment of silence out from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim. Alfred Edersheim was a Christian Jew of the 1800’s who had known well all the traditions of the Jews and who sought to give us a full picture of the things surrounding all of Jesus’ actions in the gospels. I like the fact that he points out those things that were not from Moses, but were only out from the doctrines and arguments of the Pharisees. Nonetheless, even those added practices are part of Jesus’ moment, and so they are important to God’s setting.

The Culmination. The culmination of this final Day of Tabernacles, as practiced by the Judeans of Jesus’ day, went thus. First, the inside of the outer court of the temple was filled with the leading Judean men, all who could fit, each one with branches in their hands as prescribed by Moses. They were waiting for the high priests to arrive (remember that there were two high priests at this time, Ananias and Caiaphas), with their processions.

The first procession came in through the gate into the outer court, having come from the Pool of Siloam, with, let’s say, Ananias at its head, carrying an earthen vessel filled with water from that pool.

All Were Shouting. Then, the second procession came down the steps of the sanctuary, out through the Door of the Holy Place, with, say, Caiaphas at its head, carrying an earthen vessel filled with wine. As these two precessions were entering, all the Judean men already in the outer court were beating their branches upon the stone pavement and shouting at the top of their lungs, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

The two priests, one carrying an earthen vessel of water and the other carrying an earthen vessel of wine, met together at the Altar of Sacrifice.

Absolute Silence. As the two priests met together, having climbed the raised dais of the altar, they lifted their respective earthen vessels high for all to see. As they did so, the hundreds of Judean men filling the outer court shouted even louder, and beat their branches even harder, “Higher, higher, higher.” They must see; what happened next MUST BE visible to all.

Then, suddenly, as if on cue, every voice in that arena went SILENT. Not one sound could be heard. And in that absolute silence, the two priests poured out the water and the wine, swirling as one together, upon the Altar.

EXCEPT!!! Except! In that very moment of silence, when all Israel waited in breathless anticipation for the fulfillment of God among us, of water and wine poured out, of God dwelling among His people and His people dwelling inside of God, a man SHOUTED. And this man SHOUTED as loud as a man could shout.

“IF ANY MAN THIRST, let him come to ME and drink. The one who believes into Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Rivers of living water will overflow out from his belly.’” And in that moment of pregnant silence, as the power-filled words of Jesus pierced every ear, every man in the court knew exactly what He meant.

The River of Life. The significance of the moment is that every eye is fixed, every mouth is silent, and every ear strains to hear. In this human state alone do the words of Jesus enter – that is, those who place the Father’s desire above all wanting.

As Jesus was lifted up for all to see, the BLOOD and the WATER poured out from Jesus’ side, swirling together down upon the DIRT of the earth as the Church was drawn by God out from His Heart.

Jesus’ Words spoke the river of life, as seen by Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John, to flow out, not from Himself alone, but out from the bellies of those who are silent, those who BELIEVE His Words alone, out from Himself inside of them..

The Moment of Silence. I am utterly silent concerning myself. I will not defend or hide myself; I do not ‘save’ myself. My eyes are fixed, my attention is held by the One who speaks. I speak His same words into my silence. I speak Christ my life boldly with penetrating power into every part of my being and into all who would be silent with me about themselves. How can anyone hear Christ when they are speaking of themselves? How can anyone know the Father when they are pursuing their own pretense? I am constrained that I might know the Father. I am forsaken that I might share His desire. Jesus Himself dwells inside of me in the fulfillment of all that He speaks, though in secret. I know Him because I hear nothing else.

Defining Thirst. I think that I am finally beginning to understand, just a bit, the third ruling verse of the Bible. It is my hope that completing the next two pages/sessions will do just that. You will notice that I have realized that “they shall be broken as earthen vessels,” does not refer to what we “do” to others, but rather, what we are in ourselves, just like the Lord Jesus. And it is out from this “silence,” when no pretending voice speaks ever again, that the very Life of the Spirit flows out from our innermost beings to bring healing and life to all.

Let me define thirst. Thirst is honesty. Thirst is no more pretending. Thirst is knowing that God must be my all.

Reading for Next Time. The next lesson is “I Drink of Jesus.” I will not ask you to read John 7 again. Do so only if you wish. This entire page is an expansion of “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.”

That word “thirst” needs to grow in our understanding far larger than it has ever been. The Spirit flowing out matches the drinking of Him, and the drinking of Him matches the human thirst, and the human thirst matches the Desire of Jesus. Jesus’ words in Chapter 6, “The Father draws you,” are your affliction, causing you never to belong in this world.

Let’s Pray Together. This is a prayer of metamorphy, of sharing with Jesus that which He is sharing with us of Himself. Never again think that your sorrow is your own. All your sorrow is Jesus sharing His sorrow with you, that He might include you as part of His Salvation of others.

“Oh Lord Jesus, we ask you, even with strong crying and tears, that You would give us silence concerning ourselves, as if our lives had some sort of meaning separate from You. Lord Jesus, we know that You do not share us with any other, that if we KNOW You and the Father through You, then we have forsaken all other loves.

“And in this place of intimate and committed union, Lord Jesus, I know that You share Yourself with me in every way.

“I know, Lord Jesus, that when I am confused and lonely, when I feel forsaken by others and betrayed, You are sharing with Me Your own sense of loss just before that moment when You joined me with the Father inside Your Heart. And Lord Jesus, when I sorrow over the shortcomings of others, I know that You are sharing with me Your own sorrow and passionate longing over Your entire Church.

“Yet most of all, Lord Jesus, I know that You share the Father with me in every conceivable way. You share with me the Father’s own Desire, that I might know Him and that I might become just like You inside of Him.”

“Thank You, Lord Jesus, for You have answered all that I ask.”