DRINKING
The gospel also includes this verse: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). The Lord Jesus invited all those who were thirsty to come to Him and drink (v. 37). Rivers of living water should flow from you. How many rivers do you have flowing out of your inner being? Do you have a river of peace? of love? of power? of holiness? of humility? of kindness? If you sense a lack of rivers flowing from you, it indicates that you are not drinking sufficiently. You need to drink more of Him.
CHRIST OUR HOME
Part of the gospel is also found in John 14:23: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” Do you love the Lord? Do you keep His word? Do you have Him coming to you and making His abode with you? The thought here is mutual: we become His abode and He ours. You have an abode; you are not homeless. Who is your home? Christ!
I wish I could preach the Gospel of John to you in every meeting for a year! I think I would not even be finished after a year!
ENJOYING THE RICH GOSPEL
How can we constantly enjoy this profound, rich gospel? We can find out right in this Gospel of John.
The Word and the Spirit
Notice how many times the Word is mentioned. In chapter one the Word was in the beginning and was God. In chapter fifteen the words of Christ are to abide in us; His word has cleansed us. We are to love Him and keep His word (14:23). Those who hear His word have eternal life (5:24). The Father’s word is the truth which sanctifies (17:17).
Reference is also made again and again to the Spirit. “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life” (6:63). “He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever; Even the Spirit of reality…you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you” (14:16).
The Word and the Spirit are crucial matters. For too long we have neglected them. We may come to the meetings, but we have not given our attention to the Word. We may pray, but we have not sufficiently regarded the Spirit. We must come back to care for both the Word and the Spirit.
The New Testament makes it clear that today the Lord is both the Word and the Spirit. “Now the Lord is that Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17). “His name is called The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13). The Word is also the Spirit (John 6:63). These three are one. All three are also life. The Lord, the Word, and the Spirit are all life. Thus, all these four are one.
The Word today is also the Bible in our hand. Outside us we have the Word. Within us is this Spirit. These two, the Spirit and the Word, are the two wires that transmit the heavenly electricity from the power plant into the building!
Open up the Bible. Open your eyes to read it. Understand it and love it. Combine this with praying. In this way you will be mingling the Word with the Spirit, thus transmitting Christ into you. You will be receiving of His fullness, grace upon grace.
Practice going to the Word throughout the day, snatching a few minutes here and there. It is in the Bible that you meet God, Christ, and the Spirit. Here is life, light, and love. Learn to open your whole being when you turn to the Word. Open your eyes to see, your mind to understand, your heart to love, and your spirit to pray and realize. This practice will bring you the Word with the Spirit. The result of thus sowing the seed into the soil is that life will spring up. Life will come forth from you.
(Life Messages, Vol. 2 (#42-75), Chapter 8, by Witness Lee)
