“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.” John 4:14
It was a French Pastor, Theodore Monod, who long ago wrote the following: “All in Christ, By the Holy Spirit, For the glory of God, All else is nothing.” Certainly the Spirit of God led Monod to compose this simple, yet profound and far reaching statement. It is remarkable for it takes the believer to heights perhaps has not yet seen, or perceived, concerning the work of salvation, especially as it pertains to the moment when at conversion, and the new birth, he was placed into Jesus Christ, into a living union with Him. Monod is taking what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian believers, not only to inform them concerning this blessed union, but going farther to make the application of it a reality in the life. Just as the Lord told Zerubbabel in the book of Zechariah, “‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts,” (Zech. 4:6) so Monod, in conformity with what the teaching of Jesus on the matter, brings all that is in Christ into practical reach, reception, and use. The issue of God providing for the believer is never a failure on His part to be willing to do so, for the Father has provided all in Christ by which the believer can live, worship, and minister. The problem comes down to the matter of the believer’s willingness, capacity, and faith to believe God to do so, according to what He has promised, and already accomplished for the believer. So, all is in Christ, but it only becomes accessible as the believer is strengthened by the Spirit to believe God for it, and this comes by prayer and faith. As on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God was poured out, there was the revelation of the power of God given to every believer to be enabled to believe God for all that is in Christ, everything that he needs and more, so that he might do the will of God. The ultimate motive and reason for such a life of believing, receiving, and obeying, is that all be for the glory of God. In short, the believer is complete in Christ, not just with regard to his standing before God, being justified by faith, but all has already been provided for the believer IN CHRIST positionally, so that by the Spirit, he can appropriate Christ for every need.
When Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well in Samaria, He spoke of water, living water. He spoke not just of this living water’s existence, but the fact that it was a gift of God, to be received. The believer was to “drink” this water, receiving it by faith. There is no mention that the Lord will not give this water to the thirsting soul, indeed, throughout Scripture we find different individuals who expressed their thirst, or of whom the Lord spoke concerning their thirst, that, when they asked of God for that thirst to be quenched, He fully responded. To the thirsting soul who turns to God, to Christ, for a cool drink from that living stream, the Lord abundantly gives. That which this water does in the soul is to quench the thirst, or conscious need of the heart for certainty, assurance, comfort, strength, or for any other need the heart may have. Jesus made it clear that this living water came from Him, given to the individual, and that the water would be in him like a well. That well speaks of a resource deep in the earth, one that will never run dry. But if one is to drink, it must be received by the one on the surface of the ground. This is by faith in God, in Christ, by the Spriit. The everlasting life of Christ would be revealed, as a spring.
Dear Father, Fill us with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.