A Means of Salvation
By Jonathan Mitchell
"Now, whoever may (or: would) drink from out of the Water which I, Myself, will be continuously giving to him will not repeatedly become thirsty, on into the Age [of Messiah], but further, the Water which I shall constantly give to (or: in) him will progressively come to be (or: repeatedly become; continuously birth itself) within him a spring (or: fountain) of Water, constantly bubbling up (continuously springing and leaping up) into a Life having the source, character and qualities of the Age (or: unto life of and for the ages; into the midst of eonian Life; for the Life of [the Messianic age]; or: with a view to lifelong Life)." (Jn. 4:14)
This is part of a response that Jesus gave to a Samaritan woman who had questioned why Jesus was asking her for a drink, when she had come to Jacob's well to draw water. The setting was the natural realm of everyday life for this woman. But the symbolic setting was that of a non-Jew receiving "the water of life" from the "earth realm" (the well) of the Torah (apparently the Samaritan Pentateuch). That water was not "living water," but rather was "well water" from the natural (or, carnal, flesh) realm. It did not give eonian life, and left people spiritually "thirsty."
My wife, Lynda, just added the thought, "He turns the water into wine" (Jn. 2:1-11). There, in that text, the water (not living water, but water in stone jars) was transformed into "new wine," as He took from the old and created the New. This narrative of Jesus' first "sign" provided a metaphorical abstract for the whole Gospel of John, and for the work that Jesus would do for humanity.
But, returning to Jn. 4, Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman provides us with one of the earliest presentations of "the plan of salvation." Now, we are aware of the many other presentations of the Good News, which we find in the NT. But the simplicity of Jesus' presentation to this woman is striking. It was not just a cute turn of a phrase, it was a serious reality that He was offering her. His word of knowledge about her life convinced her that He must be the awaited Messiah. In the account that follows, we see that the whole Samaritan village came to believe in Him.
This was not the only time that Jesus spoke to folks, using the same metaphor of "water." Let us consider what He said, in Jn. 7:
38. "just as the Scripture says, 'Rivers (or: Floods; Torrents) of living water will continuously flow (or: gush; flood) from out of the midst of His cavity (or: his innermost being or part; or: the hollow of his belly; [used of the womb]).'" [cf Isa. 58:11; Ezk. 47:1; Joel 3:18; Zech. 13:1; 14:8]
39. Now this He said about (or: with regard to) the Breath-effect (or: Spirit; Attitude; [other MSS: Holy, or set-apart Spirit; Sacred Wind]) of which (or: of Whom as a source; [other MSS simply read: which]) they - those trusting and believing into Him - were about to be continuously and progressively receiving. You see, the Holy Spirit (set-apart Breath-effect; Sacred Wind and Attitude) was not yet being One having been given [note: reading with B; with p66c, p75, Aleph, and others: for you see, there was not yet Spirit in existence; D* and three others: for there was not yet a Holy Spirit upon them; Textus Receptus: You see, [the] Holy Spirit was not yet being or existing], because Jesus was not yet glorified (given repute and an assumed appearance; made into a manifestation which induces praise).
Our opening verse, above, may have been an allusion to, and a fulfillment of, what we read in Isa. 12:2-3,
"Look and consider: my God [is] my Savior! I will continue being a person having been persuaded and remaining convinced, placing my confidence upon Him, and will not continue being afraid. Because of this, [the] LORD (= Yahweh) [is] my glory and my praise, and to (or: for) me, He has come to exist for salvation (or: exists with a view to deliverance). And so, with a good and healthy frame of mind, you folks at once draw Water from out of the wells of this salvation (or: deliverance)" (LXX, JM).
And then there is Isa. 55:1,
"Let the people continuing thirsty keep on journeying on to Water... without silver (money)" (ibid).
Constantly drinking the Water of Life - or, we might say, breathing in "the Breath-effect (or: Holy Spirit)," - from Jesus, which He associates with, "continuously trusting and progressively believing into Him," is the means of salvation: taking in Life from out of Him.
When we eat food, we believe that it will nourish us. We trust that drinking water will quench our thirst. But in the above verses, Jesus is speaking of spiritual water and a spiritual Life. His Water quenches our thirst for an authentic life - which starts with Him imparting Life into our dead state of being (Eph. 2:1), reviving us into the satisfaction of a Life in His realm and kingdom. In Jn. 7:39, above, John explained that Jesus' metaphor of water was speaking of God's Breath-effect - like the first Adam becoming a living soul when God breathed Life (or, Himself: remember that God IS Breath-effect, or Spirit; Jn. 4:24) into the formed, moist soil (Gen. 2).
Jesus began His encounter with the Samaritan woman by speaking to her. In the quote from John 7, above, Jesus was speaking to people. In Jn. 6:63, He explained to folks that:
"The declarations (gush-effects; spoken words; sayings; results of the Flow) which I, Myself, have spoken to you folks are (or: continue to be) Spirit (or: spirit; Breath-effect; attitude) and they are (or: continue being) Life."
God spoke through Jesus, and later, He spoke, and still speaks, through the body of Christ. The Words impart faith and trust (Rom. 10:17), and this enables us to drink in His Life. John reports to us that while on the cross, from out of Jesus' side came blood and water. The book of Revelation ends with: "And now the Spirit and the Bride are continuously saying,
'Be repeatedly coming!'
Then let the one continuing to listen and hear say,
'Be continuously coming!'
And so let the person constantly thirsting continuously come; let the one habitually willing at once receive Water of Life freely" (or: "And so the Breath-effect and the Bride are constantly laying it out: 'Be progressively going!' Also, let the person now hearing say, 'Be progressively going!' Then, let the one repeatedly being thirsty habitually come and go. The person desiring and intending must at once take the Water from, and which is, Life for a free gift [to others]"). (Rev. 22:17)
Hear His Words, and then drink them in, and you will have Life. This offers us a very simple, yet profound, means of salvation. Just drink the Water of Life.
JonathanPS: John Gavazzoni offers these seminal thoughts on this subject:
"The One who is the Word, when He speaks - there being no inconsistency between who and what He is and what He says - He imparts the Spirit of Himself into the chosen hearer. He testified that He was the life, and that His words were Spirit and life. James followed up with, '...begat He us by the word of truth/reality.' His incarnation, life, death, resurrection and glorification are within and transmitted by what Paul said was, '...not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration of spirit and power.' And Jesus said, 'When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will take that which is mine and will show/declare/transmit it unto you.'
"It seems to me that all the while Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman, He was progressively giving her 'the water of life.' Maybe, it could be said that his first remarks primed the pump within her until, by His further words, she fully came to recognize and believe in who He was. It's been my experience that it's not always by means of conceptual communication, but sometimes just a sense of a Presence within. Drinking of the living water of, and which is, Christ equates to having one's heart turned to the Lord and the veil being removed. Two different ways of expressing the same experience."
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