Rivers of Living Water

God intends for this initial experience of divine love, received at the new birth, to be immeasurably increased and expanded through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. For this reason, Paul says:

“The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom. 5:5)

Once again, it is the word for divine love – agape – which Paul uses. The verb which he joins with it – “has been poured out” – is in the perfect tense. The use of the perfect tense indicates, as usual in Greek, finality and completeness. The meaning is that in this one act of baptising the believer in the Holy Spirit, God has emptied out into the believer’s heart all the fullness of the divine love. Nothing has been reserved or held back; all has been poured out.

Thereafter the believer does not need to seek more of God’s love; he needs only to accept, to enjoy and to manifest that which he has already received within.

For the Spirit-baptised believer to ask God for more of His love is like a man who lives on the bank of the Mississippi River to seek for some other supply of water. Such a person already has at his disposal infinitely more than he can ever need to use. All that he needs is to utilise the supply already made available to him.

In like manner, Jesus says, in John 7:38-39, that the Spirit-baptised believer already has within himself not merely one river, but “rivers of living water” – rivers of divine grace and love – infinitely in excess of any need that can ever arise in that believer’s life.