Crystallization-Study of Exodus (1)
Drinking and Flowing the Water of Life in Resurrection
Scripture Reading: Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:8;Psa. 46:4; 1 Cor. 12:13; John 4:10, 14, 24; 7:37-39; 19:34;1 Cor. 10:4; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17
I. God's intention in His economy is to be the fountain, the source, of living waters to satisfy His chosen people for their enjoyment, with the goal of producing the church as God's increase, God's enlargement, to be God's fullness for His expression; the kernel of the divine revelation is that God created us and redeemed us for the purpose of working Himself into us to be our life and our everything— Jer. 2:13; Lam. 3:22-24; 1 Cor. 1:9:
A. John 4:14b reveals a flowing Triune God—the Father is the fountain, the Son is the spring, and the Spirit is the flowing river, issuing in the totality of the eternal life, the New Jerusalem.
B. The entire Triune God was involved in the water flowing out of the smitten rock for God's people to drink—God [the Father] was standing upon the rock, the rock was Christ [the Son], and the living water coming out of the rock signifies the drinkable and outflowing Spirit as the ultimate issue of the Triune God—Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:37-39.
C. Our drinking of the one Spirit in resurrection makes us members of the Body, builds us up as the Body, and prepares us to be the bride of Christ—1 Cor. 12:13; Rev. 22:17.
II. The striking of the rock is a clear, complete, and full picture of Christ's crucifixion—Exo. 17:6:
A. In this type, Moses signifies the law, and the staff represents the power and authority of the law.
B. Hence, the striking of the rock by Moses' staff signifies that Christ was put to death on the cross by the authority of God's law—cf. Gal. 2:19-20a; 3:13.
III. Christ as the living, spiritual rock was smitten by the authority of God's law so that the water of life in resurrection could flow out of Him and into His redeemed people for them to drink—Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4:
A. Christ is our begetting rock and the rock who is our salvation,strength, refuge, hiding place, protection, covering, and safeguard—Deut. 32:18; 2 Sam. 22:47; Psa. 95:1; 62:7; 94:22; Isa.32:2.
B. Blood and water flowed out of the Lord's pierced side on the cross; the blood for our judicial redemption saves us from the guilt of sin, and the water of life in resurrection for our organic salvation saves us from the power of sin—Gen. 2:21-22; John 19:34; Zech. 13:1; Psa. 36:8-9; Rev. 21:6; Hymns, #1058, stanza 1.
IV. The water that flowed out of the rock is the water of life in resurrection:
A. Resurrection denotes something that has been put to death and is alive again; it also denotes life that springs forth out of something that has passed through death.
B. The water that flowed out of the smitten rock sprang forth only after the major steps of incarnation, human living, and crucifixion had been accomplished; hence, Exodus 17:6 is a profound verse, implying Christ's incarnation, human living, and death.
C. The Spirit as the living water for us to drink and flow out could be received only after the Lord Jesus had been glorified, that is, only after Christ had entered into resurrection— John 7:37-39; Luke 24:26.
D. Actually, the water of life, the flowing water, is resurrection; resurrection is the Triune God—the Father as the source, the Son as the course, and the Spirit as the flow—John 5:26; 11:25.
V. The source of the water of life is the throne of God and of the Lamb—the redeeming God; hence, the water of life is the Triune God flowing out to be our life—Rev. 22:1:
A. The flow of the living water began from the throne in eternity, continued through the incarnation, human living, and crucifixion of Christ (John 4:10, 14; 19:34), and now flows on in resurrection to supply God's people with all the riches of the divine life (Rev. 22:1-2).
B. When we identify ourselves with the smitten Christ, that is, when we are one with Him as the smitten Christ, the divine life as the living water flows out of us—Exo. 17:6; John 7:38; cf. S. S. 2:8-9, 14; Phil. 3:10.
C. The flowing of the water of life in resurrection is for the building up of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) and the preparation of the bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7), both of which will consummate in the New Jerusalem (21:9-10; cf. Eph. 5:23, 28-30).
VI. As believers in Christ, we need to see the way, the "science," of drinking and flowing the water of life— John 4:10, 14; 7:37-39; cf. Prov. 11:25:
A. We have been positioned to drink one Spirit—1 Cor. 12:13.
B. To drink the water of life, there is the need of thirst—Exo. 17:3a; Psa. 42:1; John 7:37; Rev. 21:6.
C. We need to come to the Lord— John 7:37; Rev. 22:17.
D. Now that Christ as the rock has been smitten, crucified, we simply need to speak to the rock; when we speak to Him, He will give us the living water, so we need to practice speaking with the Lord constantly—Num. 20:8; Phil. 4:6-7, 12; Hymns,#255, #248.
E. We need to ask the Lord to give us the living water— John 4:10; 7:37; Rev. 22:17.
F. We need to contact God the Spirit in our human spirit and in truthfulness— John 4:23-24.
G. We need to joyously draw water from the springs of salvation by speaking to the Lord, by the Lord, for the Lord, in the Lord, and with the Lord—Psa. 46:4; Isa. 12:3-6:
1. We need to confess our sins— John 4:15-18; 1 John 1:7, 9.
2. We need to praise the Lord—Phil. 4:4; Heb. 13:15; Psa. 119:164.
3. We need to thank the Lord—Eph. 5:18, 20.
4. We need to call on the name of the Lord—Acts 2:21; 1 Cor. 12:13, 3; 1Thes. 5:17; 1Cor. 1:2; Judg. 15:18-19; Lam. 3:55-56.
5. We need to sing to the Lord—Eph. 5:18b-19; 1 Kings 6:7; 1 Chron. 6:31-32; 2 Chron. 20:21-22.
6. We need to preach the gospel, making known to others what Christ has accomplished—Rom. 1:16; John 4:32-34.
7. We need to function in the meetings of the church—1 Cor. 14:4b, 26.
H. We need to give the Lord the preeminence in our being—Rev. 22:1; Col. 1:18b.
I. We need to do everything according to the divine nature— Rev. 22:1; 2 Pet. 1:4.
VII. Since Christ has been crucified and the Spirit has been given, there is no need for Christ to be crucified again, that is, no need to strike the rock again, that the living water may flow; in God's economy Christ should be crucified only once—Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28a:
A. To receive the living water from the crucified Christ, we need only to "take the rod" and "speak to the rock"—Num. 20:8:
1. To take the rod is to identify with Christ in His death and apply the death of Christ to ourselves and to our situation.
2. To speak to the rock is to speak a direct word to Christ as the smitten rock, asking Him to give us the Spirit of life based on the fact that the Spirit has already been given— cf. John 4:10.
3. If we apply the death of Christ to ourselves and ask Christ in faith to give us the Spirit, we will receive the living Spirit as the bountiful supply of life (Phil. 1:19).
B. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses called the Lord's people rebels and struck the rock twice—Num. 20:9-11:
1. Moses condemned the people as rebels, but Moses was the one who rebelled against God's word—v. 24; 27:14.
2. In being angry with the people and in wrongly striking the rock twice, Moses failed to sanctify God—20:12:
a. In being angry when God was not angry, Moses did not represent God rightly in His holy nature, and in striking the rock twice, he did not keep God's word in His economy; thus, Moses offended both God's holy nature and His divine economy.
b. Because of this, even though he was intimate with God and may be considered a companion of God (Exo. 33:11), Moses lost the right to enter into the good land.
c. In all that we say and do concerning God's people, our attitude must be according to God's holy nature, and our actions must be according to His divine economy; this is to sanctify Him; otherwise, in our words and deeds we will rebel against Him and offend Him.
d. Moses should have simply spoken to the rock, telling it to flow forth with water (Num. 20:8); if we deal with the contending of God's people in this way today, the church life will be glorious.