The all-inclusive Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit is a land of water brooks, of springs and of fountains, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains; the Triune God as the flowing Spirit is the living water for us to drink and be satisfied, and this living water flows to us wherever we are! Amen!
In Deut. 8 we are told of how rich and all-inclusive the good land is to the people of Israel.
The good land – the land of Canaan – is a full type of the all-inclusive Christ for us as the believers in Christ to enjoy and possess.
The good land is a complete and consummate type of the all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9) realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) for our enjoyment.
The history of the children of Israel is a type of our history in the spiritual realm as believers in Christ.
Their entrance into the good land is a type of our need to enter into the enjoyment and experience of the all-inclusive Christ as the good land in our spirit.
God wants to be our inheritance, our portion of enjoyment, for eternity.
So He came through incarnation to become a man, Jesus Christ, and He lived a perfect human life, died an all-inclusive and all-terminating death on the cross, resurrected, and now is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit for us to receive, enjoy, and partake of.
The blessing of Abraham, which is to come to all the nations, is the all-inclusive Christ as the life-giving Spirit; it is the promise of the Spirit.
In Deut. 8:7-9 we see many riches of the good land being listed; all these are a type of the unsearchable riches of Christ in different aspects (Eph. 3:8).
Our Christ is all-inclusive and full of unsearchable riches, and we as believers in Christ can enjoy Him as the Spirit to be our bountiful supply in our spirit (Phil. 1:19).
We have seen that we can experience and enjoy Christ as the wheat (the incarnated and limited Christ who is willing to die and be buried) and as the barley (the resurrected Christ who is unlimited and powerful).
Now we want to see further that the all-inclusive Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit is a land of water brooks, of springs and of fountains, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains (Deut. 8:7; 11:11-12).
Christ as the Flowing Spirit Reaches us in our Environment to Flow into us
The water books, springs, and fountains in the good land signify Christ as the flowing Spirit (John 4:10, 14; 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1).
The Bible uses three designations – three kinds of waterways: the water books, which are smaller streams, the springs, the emergence of water, and the fountain, referring to the storage, the source.
We could say that these three kinds of waterways correspond to the Triune God – the Father is the source as the fountain, the Son is the expression as the spring, and the Spirit is the coming and flowing forth, the stream, the water brooks.
The water brooks, springs, and fountains in the land of Canaan, the good land, signify Christ as the flowing Spirit reaching us wherever we are to quench our thirst.
Praise the Lord for the water brooks, the springs, and the fountains, the Triune God consummated as the Spirit reaching us as the living water!
The Spirit is the reality and consummation of the Triune God.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are consummated and realized as the Spirit, who is symbolized by the waters here.
This water flows in valleys and in mountains.
These valleys and mountains signify the different kinds of environments in which we may experience Christ as the flowing Spirit (2 Cor. 6:8-10).
There’s no way for the Spirit to flow if there are no valleys or mountains.
There is the need for different kinds of environments so that the Triune God would flow as the Spirit into us and through us.
Sometimes a particular place is quite flat, and it is so flat that you can see in front for miles; driving in such a place can be quite boring, for you don’t see mountains or hills.
Water cannot easily flow in such a place. If the land is flat, there’s stagnant water but no flowing water.
There has to be some mountains and some depression. God puts all kinds of environments in our life, some are positive while others are not so positive, but it is in these that He has a way to flow.
Some situations are high while others are low; some circumstances we feel excited about, while others make us sad and sorry.
God uses all these environments to cause the river of water of life to flow.
This is our situation today. Even though we have failures and make mistakes, when we open to the Lord and repent, we sense the flow of the water of life.
When we are happy and enjoying the Lord, the living water flows, and when we are low yet contact the Lord, the living water flows also.
We all have a lot of failures; however, if we come to the Lord after our failure and repent, and deal with the Lord, we sense that the living water flows, and it flows in a deeper way.
It is not when we’re elevated and high, strong, and prevailing that we sense the living water flowing deeper, but it is in the low situations, in our failures, when we repent and turn to the Lord.
When we’re in the valley, we sense the deep, sweet flow of life. This is very precious.
May we not reject or run from circumstances and situations that are not according to our liking.
May we not stay away from things that we have to go through but we know are painful.
May we come to the Lord to drink of Him, no matter whether we’re high or low, so that the flowing Spirit may reach every part of our inner being and the flow of life may increase and deepen.
Lord Jesus, we praise You for bringing us into a good land, a land of water brooks, springs, and fountains! Hallelujah, the Triune God in Christ is the flowing Spirit reaching us wherever we are to give us living water! Amen, Lord, we open to You. We open to drink of You. Whether we are high or low, whether we are up or down, we just come to You to drink the flowing Spirit. Flow into us. Even in our low situation, in circumstances, we’re not excited about, and in our failures, we come to You as we are, open to You, just to drink the living water. Praise the Lord, the flowing Spirit reaches us in valleys and in mountains! Flow in, dear Lord! Keep us drinking of You and flowing You out! Remind us to repent and return to You after we fail, so that we may keep drinking the living water! Increase the flow of life in us. Deepen the flow of life!
The Line Concerning the Triune God as Water in the Bible – God in Christ as the Flowing Spirit Reaching us!
If we look deeper into the matter of water and God in the Bible, we will see that throughout the Bible there’s a line concerning the Triune God as water – God in Christ as the flowing Spirit reaching us (see Gen. 2:10-14; Exo. 17:5-6; Psa. 36:8-9; 46:4; John 4:10, 14; 7:37-39; 1 Cor. 10:4; Rev. 7:17; 22:1).
From Genesis all the way to Revelation we see many verses where God is the living water to His people.
In Genesis 2:10-14, for example, we see that in the garden of Eden, there was a river that went out of the garden to water the earth, and this river split into four branches to reach all the four directions of the earth.
The river in Gen. 2:10 signifies the river of water of life, along which the tree of life grows; this river quenches man’s thirst.
![Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for [the] Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Now-on-the-last-day-the-great-day-of-the-feast-Jesus-stood-and-cried-out-saying-If-anyone-thirsts-let-him-come-to-Me-and-drink.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for [the] Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39")
On one hand, God is the tree of life for us to partake of and enjoy so that we may live because of Him and fulfill His purpose.
On the other hand, God in Christ as the flowing Spirit reaches us wherever we are on the earth as the river of water of life for us to drink and have our thirst quenched.
In Exo. 17:5-6 we see that in the wilderness the people of God were thirsty, and God told Moses to strike the rock, and lots of water flowed to quench their thirst.
This is a type of God’s redemption and His salvation; Christ as the rock was smitten on the cross and living water flowed out of Him for all the thirsty sinners to drink.
In Psa. 36:8-9 we see that God is the fountain of life, and He wants us to drink of Him as the river of pleasures.
We can be saturated with the fatness of God’s house, and we can drink of the river of God’s pleasures.
In this psalm, the fountain refers to the Father as the source of life, and the river refers to the Spirit as the river of water of life (John 1:3; 7:37-39).
In Psa. 46:4 we further see that there’s a river whose streams gladdens the city of God.
The river in this psalm signifies the flow of the Triune God in Christ through the Spirit as life to God’s people.
We who dwell in the city of God can and should drink of the river – the flowing Triune God – and be gladdened and strengthened inwardly.
The water of life is a symbol of God in Christ as the Spirit flows Himself into His redeemed people to be their life and life supply.
This water of life is typified by the water that flowed out of the riven rock (Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:11) and is symbolized by the water that flowed out of the pierced side of the Lord Jesus on the cross (John 19:34).
In the New Testament in John 4:10 and 14 we see that the Lord Jesus gave the Samaritan woman a drink, Himself as the Spirit to be the living water.
She needed salvation and she needed to drink; she did not know that, but the Lord knew.
So He confessed her sins for her, and He gave her to drink the living water.
In v. 13 we are told that whoever drinks of the water that the Lord gives us will never thirst forever, but this water will become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life. Wow!
The living water is the Triune God in Christ as the flowing Spirit reaches us, flows into us, and gushes out of us to water others also.
John 7:37 and 39 further show us that the Lord Jesus wants to give all those who are thirsty and dissatisfied, even after a seven-day-long feast, to drink the living water.
This living water is the Spirit, who was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
May we come to the Lord to drink today.
The Lord has been glorified, and the living water is flowing; we can come to Him and drink!
If we believe into Him, as the Scripture says, out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water.
The one river of water of life coming into us becomes many rivers of living water flowing out of us and into others.
1 Cor. 10:4 tells us that the Israelites all drank of the same spiritual drink, and in 12:13 we are told that we all were given to drink one Spirit.
We are drinking people, and God helps us and even makes us drink of the living water.
![And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed [them,] and the rock was Christ. 1 Cor. 10:4 For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:13 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. Rev. 22:1](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/And-all-drank-the-same-spiritual-drink-for-they-drank-of-a-spiritual-rock-which-followed-them-and-the-rock-was-Christ.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed [them,] and the rock was Christ. 1 Cor. 10:4 For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:13 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. Rev. 22:1")
The more we drink of the One Spirit, the more we become the Body of Christ in reality.
Finally, in Rev. 22:1 we see the river of water of life flowing in the middle of the city of New Jerusalem, watering everyone in the city and proceeding out of the throne of God to flow out through the gates and reach all men.
The river of water of life in Rev. 22:1 and the rivers in Gen. 2:10-14, Psa. 46:4, and Ezek. 47:5-9 signify the abundance of life in its flow.
As indicated in John 7:38, the one river of water of life with its riches becomes many rivers in our experience of the different aspects of the riches of God’s Spirit of life, the flowing Spirit (Rom. 8:2; 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2: 13; Gal. 5:22-23).
As we come to the Lord day by day, in all our situations, we can drink the Spirit to partake of the flowing Spirit, experience the Spirit, and be filled with the Spirit.
This Spirit is one, but it becomes many rivers in our experience.
We drink the flowing Spirit as the one river of water of life and He becomes in us the river of joy, the river of life, the river of love, the river of peace, the river of sanctification, and many rivers! Praise the Lord!
May we drink of the river of water of life today in all our situations so that we may flow Him out to others also!
Lord Jesus, we exercise our spirit to contact You and drink of You as the flowing Spirit. Hallelujah, the Triune God flows out in Christ as the Spirit into us to quench our thirst, fill our inner being, and flow out of us into many others! Amen, Lord, we are thirsty, and we come to You to drink the river of water of life. Cause us to drink of the river of Your pleasures, for with You is the fountain of life, and in Your light we see light. Amen, Lord, May we all drink of the river that flows in the city of God so that we may be inwardly strengthened and gladdened. We confess our sins, we repent, and we come to You to drink. Amen, Lord, we want to drink the water that really quenches our thirst! Flow into us as the water of life to be our life and life supply. May there be many rivers of living water flowing out of our inner being as we drink the one river of living water! Amen, Lord, thank You for giving us to drink of the one Spirit! Keep us drinking the flowing Spirit until rivers of living waters flow out of our innermost being and we become the New Jerusalem!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Revelation, pp. 722-823 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good land for the Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride to make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming (2023 Winter Training), week 4, entitled, The All-inclusive Christ as the Good Land—a Land of Waterbrooks, of Springs and of Fountains, Flowing Forth in Valleys and in Mountains.
- Hymns on this topic:
– The river does the Spirit show, / Coming man’s spirit to supply, / That with God’s riches he be filled, / Holy to be thereby. / God is in Christ to be my supply, / God as the Spirit nourisheth me; / If upon Christ in spirit I feed, / Filled with His life I’ll be. (Hymns #509 stanza 3 and chorus)
– The Spirit of life is within us today, / Who’s likened to water our thirst to allay; / Of Him we may drink and be filled thus with Him, / Until as a river He flows from within. (Hymns #278 stanza 1)
– O Lord, fill now with Thy Spirit / Hearts that full surrender know; / That the streams of living water / From our inner man may flow. (Hymns #268 stanza 5)
About aGodMan
Deut. 8:7, footnote 1, Recovery Version Bible
Life-study of Revelation, 2nd edition, pp. 722-723, by Witness Lee
Amen brother. The killing of the cross results in the manifestation of resurrection life.
Like Jesus when He was on Earth, we must go through the sufferings of “valleys” and the glory of “mountains.”
The experience of the cross must come first, because all the mountains are the experiences of resurrection.
God is burdened that we would drink Him to become His fullness and His expression.
May we never forsake our God and turn to idols.
Apart from God as the fountain of living waters, nothing can quench our thirst, and nothing can satisfy us/make us His increase for His expression.
Amen. Thank the Lord, we have the all-inclusive Spirit in us.
He went through the process of human living. crucifixion and resurrection so that he can become the Spirit for us to enjoy Him as everything to us.
Amen may we enjoy more of this all-inclusive Christ that is the good land; and also the rivers of living water to quench our thirst
Hallelujah, the good land is a land of waters, signifying the flowing Spirit, and the valleys and mountains signify the different environments in which we may experience Christ as the flowing Spirit! Hallelujah!
4/16/24 The All-inclusive Christ as the Good Land – a Land of Waterbrooks, of Springs, and of Fountains, Flowing Forth in Valleys and Mountains (Week 4, Day 2)
“The All-inclusive Riches of Christ as the All-inclusive Spirit is a Land of Waterbrooks, of Springs, and of Fountains, Flowing Forth in Valleys and Mountains”
Deuteronomy 8:7 speaks of the good land as “a land of waterbrooks, of springs and of fountains, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains.” These three kinds of water supply typify the Triune God (fountain), being embodied in the All-inclusive Christ (spring), and flowing as the Spirit of life (waterbrooks) into the believers. God the Father as the fountain is the source, God the Son as the spring is the issue of the source, and God the Spirit as the waterbrook, or the river, is the flow.
All throughout the Bible, there is a line concerning the Triune God as water:
A. In the Old Testament:
a.) Genesis 2:10 ~ “The land is good in the riches of water: in waterbrooks, in springs, and in deep waters, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains.”
b.) Exodus 17:5-6 ~ “”And Jehovah said to Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the River, and go. I will be standing before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”
c.) Psalm 36:8-9 ~ “They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light.”
d.) Psalm 46:4 ~ “There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, / The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.”
B. In the New Testament:
a.) John 4:14 ~ “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.”
b.) John 7:38 ~ “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”
c.) 1 Corinthians 10:4 ~ “And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.”
d.) Revelation 22:1 ~ “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.”
According to John 4:14, the flowing Triune God is “into eternal life.” The Greek preposition translated as into is rich in meaning. Into here means issuing in, or to be, to become; thus, it speaks of destination. The eternal life is the destination of the flowing Triune God. A fountain is in us springing up as a river into a destination. This destination is the eternal life as the totality of the divine life.
Just as our human life has its totality and a living person is the totality of the human life, so also the eternal life has its totality and the totality of the divine life is the New Jerusalem. The eternal life eventually will be the New Jerusalem. Thus, into eternal life means into the New Jerusalem.
We must have something flowing into the divine New Jerusalem in order for us to arrive there. When God in Christ as the Spirit flows into us, He flows with us. He will flow us into the New Jerusalem to be the New Jerusalem. Thus, the New Jerusalem is the issue of God’s flowing in three stages.
All three stages are in us; we have the fountain, the spring, and the river within us at the same time. The Father is the fountain as the source, Christ the Son is the spring, and the Spirit is the flowing river, and this flowing issues in the eternal life, which is the New Jerusalem as the destination of the flowing Triune God.
In this passage, the Bible is describing a good land that God is bringing his people to. This land has waterbrooks, springs, and fountains that flow in valleys and mountains. The Bible also mentions a river of pleasures and a river whose streams gladden the city of God.
According to the interpretation given in this text, the good land represents Christ who is considered to be an embodiment of the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). In other words, Christ represents everything that God wants for his people. The riches of this good land are compared to unsearchable riches found in different aspects of Christ as well as His bountiful supply through His Spirit.
The waterbrooks, springs, and fountains mentioned represent Christ as the flowing Spirit which believers can experience in different environments such as valleys and mountains. These experiences with Christ are said to provide joy like rivers gladdening cities.
Overall, this passage emphasizes how much God desires for his people to have access to all they need through their relationship with Jesus Christ – from spiritual nourishment on earth now until eternal life after death.
(HWMRW4D2) Enjoyment 😊