“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” – John 7:37 – 39.
Rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being is a beautiful description of the Christian life, which is a life lived from the inside out and not from the outside in.
What do I mean by that? The moment you became a Christian you became a co-heir with Jesus. Your inheritance actually is Jesus Himself and all that He is and all that He has. Colossians 3:11 says Christ is all and in all.” Ephesians 1:23 says that the church is “His body, the fullness of Him who fills all and in all,” and Colossians 2:9 – 10 says, “For in Him all the fullness of deity is embodied, and in Him you have been made full.”
Christians aren’t advancing towards fullness; we are advancing from fullness. There is always “more” to experience, but you already have the “all-ness” of Christ. It is from the fullness of Him that we live in this fallen world. We may be in the world, but we are not of the world (the way we live life here on earth is otherworldly). Jesus is the truth that we live from. In other words, as our life (the source from which we live) our eyes are His to see through; our ears are His to hear with; our mind is His to think with; our lips are His to speak through; and our heart is His to love through. We live from Christ. Christ lives through us. We are His body.
If external circumstances control how we think, feel, and make decisions, then we are living from the outside in. If everything is going well externally, then life is good. If things are not going well externally then we fall apart on the inside. On the other hand, if, moment by moment, we are abiding in the indwelling Christ, surrendering to how He sees, thinks, and feels about everything, then we are living from the inside out: Rivers of living water flowing out of us.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
If fear and anxiety rise up in me because of some unfolding situation in my life, Jesus may speak in me (to me) something like, “Chuck, I’m not afraid. I’m at peace about this.” Jesus isn’t just telling me that to inform me. As my life, Jesus is inviting me to “sink into Him,” thanking Him that “we” aren’t afraid and are at peace about the circumstance. In that moment, His peace takes over, and rivers of the faith and peace of Christ flow out of my innermost being, changing the atmosphere around me.
Recently, I saw a picture of someone who, a many years ago, had deeply wronged me as well as others. I immediately realized that something was wrong inside of me. I still had offense toward that person, and had devalued him, wondering how anybody would want anything to do with him. Immediately, the Holy Spirit gently led me into the “truth” about this, and Jesus spoke in me (to me), “Chuck, I’m not offended with him; I’m offended for him. The enemy is using his brokenness to steal from him, and I gave my life for him that he would experience freedom and wholeness. I don’t stay away from him; if I do how can I heal him.” Immediately, I was set free to repent and sink into Jesus, joining how He thinks and feels about this person. I was able, at that moment, from the inside out to participate in Jesus loving this person as the most important person I know. This is living from the inside out. Jesus’s behavior in me now dictates how I think and feel toward this person instead of that person’s behavior dictating how I think and feel. Rivers of living water of the love of Christ now flow from me toward that individual. Glorious freedom!