Life In The Spirit “Spring Up Oh Well”

Opening Passage

John 4:13-14      Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

I will never forget reading this passage and starting to receive an introductory amount of inspiration about it. It was early on, in the development of my friendship with Holy Spirit, that I used this verse several times a day as I was talking with Holy Spirit about knowing Him more. I was stunned that Jesus not only gave the answer for the internal longing to be free from sin, but that He also opened up new understanding both for the woman at the well, and for me, concerning Who was truly living inside me now that I was born again.

Firstly, Jesus here looks at this woman who has been totally neglected by several men, and He asks her for a drink of water. She responds with some simple phrases about the two of them being together alone at the well. When the woman finishes talking, Jesus says to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. (John 4:10).” This really throws the lady off, because she’s in literal mode and notices that Jesus has no pitcher and is unable to draw any water.

When the woman asks Jesus if He’s greater than Jacob who drew water from that well, He is now poised to respond and talk about this living water. This is where Jesus addresses her internal longing to be free from sin and life in this age. He says to her, “Whoever drinks of this water (Jesus pointing at the well) will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst again (John 4:13-14).”

Jesus obviously wasn’t talking about the literal water that was in front of them, but rather, if she didn’t connect her heart to that which was living (Jesus), she would continue to struggle with sin and compromise. As long as she lived according to the water of this age she would be thirsty, but when she started to drink living water it would change her appetite, thus empowering her to no longer live for this age, but for the age which is to come. The water of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives us is the answer to our life of sin. You can’t quit sinning until you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to drink from a different well.

Secondly, Jesus lets this woman in, on how deep this new well is. He says to her “But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).” The key word in this simple phrase from Jesus is …become in him… Jesus is here alerting us to the eternal nature of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. He is a well that literally, is eternally deep. This means that there’s no bottom, no ending, and no lack with the Person of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. When we learn to connect with the Holy Spirit who lives in us, we are actually connecting to an eternal fountain that never runs dry, which has no beginning or ending, no start and no finish. This well will begin to spring up into everlasting life.

Closing Prayer

Holy Spirit, You dwell in me through salvation. I ask that you would quench my appetite for sin and compromise and awaken a new longing for living water. And I thank You that You live in me and are helping me encounter the beauty of Jesus. I ask today that You would arise mightily within me, springing up into everlasting life and let that fresh, eternal water wash over me in Jesus name.