The phrase “Jesus as Living Water” resonates deeply with many people. It’s a way of describing Jesus Christ as more than just water, but rather as living water that can quench the thirst of our souls. Just like we need water to satisfy our physical thirst, we need this Living Water to satisfy our spiritual thirst[1].
Jesus satisfies our need for love, meaning, purpose, support, and hope. He invites us to come to Him and drink Him, as this living, pure water will fill us with the overflowing joy and faith we need to continue our journey here on earth. The Lord Jesus Christ offers salvation to those who receive Him wholeheartedly. As we drink Christ as the living water, His life-giving power will bring us into eternal life, and we will never thirst anymore.
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What Did Jesus Mean When He Spoke Of Living Water?
In John chapter 4, Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well in the town of Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. The woman had come to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. The woman was surprised as to why Jesus spoke to her when Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other during that time.
Jesus responded to her by saying that if she knew who He really was, she would ask Him for living water instead. Jesus explains that the water in the well will only quench her physical thirst, but that the living water that He offers will satisfy her spiritual thirst and become a source of eternal life. John 4:10 says, “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'”
The Samaritan woman was left confused, asking the Lord where she could get this living water and if He was greater than their father Jacob. Jesus explains that the living water He offers comes from God and that anyone who drinks it will never be thirsty again. He goes on to say that this living water will become a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
— John 4:13–14
Jesus uses the metaphor of water to illustrate the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the living water of which Jesus speaks refers to the Holy Spirit, which we must drink and absorb into our innermost being.
What Did Jesus Mean By The Gift Of Living Water?
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
— John 7:37–39
This passage of John 7:37–39 supports the fact that the Holy Spirit is the living water as referred to by Jesus. By accepting, drinking, and glorifying Jesus, we are able to receive the Holy Spirit, the gift of living water.
Jesus says that by drinking the water that comes from Him, that person will never be thirsty again, and that from the innermost being of that person will flow rivers of living water springing unto everlasting life. As Jesus became the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45), we shall also be given life as we drink Him and receive the Holy Spirit.
The living water has a life-giving power, and by always drinking Him, we shall receive the gift of living water. With this, we are able to enjoy an abundant life and experience a fulfilling and meaningful relationship with God. We shall never thirst again.
What Does Living Water Mean In The Bible?
In the scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, the phrase “living water” has been mentioned. In the Bible, we define living water as a gift of God that can be obtained by accepting and believing in Jesus who provides us with an endless fountain of His life, giving us love, joy, and peace. The living water is also a symbol of salvation and full devotion to God.
5 Bible Verses About Jesus’ Living Water
Zechariah 14:8–9
“On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.”
Jeremiah 2:13
“My people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Jeremiah 17:13
“O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”
Revelation 21:6–8
“Then He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'”
Joel 3:18
“And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim.”
Conclusion
The Holy Spirit becomes the spring of living water within us, giving us His life when we accept Jesus. This is an unending and overflowing source of spiritual nourishment that we must always seek.
Throughout the Bible, living water is mentioned until the very last chapter. We must receive and drink this living water, seek the Lord your God, and accept Him wholeheartedly. Let us be overwhelmed by His endless grace and love as we continue to pray and worship Him.