John 7:38

John 7:38-39 . He that believeth on me — With a living faith, and with his heart unto righteousness; as the Scripture hath said — As God in the Scriptures hath promised and attested in many places; out of his belly — From within him, from his mind and heart; shall flow rivers of living water — He shall receive spiritual blessings, or communications of divine grace, in so great an abundance, that he shall not only be refreshed and comforted himself, but shall be instrumental in refreshing and comforting others. The expression, Out of his belly shall flow rivers, is used with allusion to receptacles round springs, out of which great quantities of water flow by pipes: and the figure therefore signifies the plenitude of spiritual gifts and graces to be possessed by believers, and the happy effects which they should produce in the world. Thus the apostles and first messengers of Christ were both watered themselves and enabled to water others, Gentiles as well as Jews, not with small streams, but with large rivers of divine knowledge and grace, so that the countries, which till then had been barren, became exceeding fruitful in holiness and righteousness. Accordingly the evangelist adds, by way of explication, this spake he of the Spirit — Of the Holy Spirit’s gifts and graces; which they who believed on him should receive — Εμελλον λαμβανειν , were about to receive, namely, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, according to his promise, John 14:16 ; and John 16:7 .

The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit had, in a great measure, ceased since the death of Zechariah and Malachi. They had been faintly manifested in the approach of the Messiah, as to Zechariah and Elizabeth, to Simeon and Anna, and especially to John the Baptist, who is said to have been filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb; but the full effusion of these gifts, foretold by Isaiah and Joel, took not place till after the ascension of Christ, and was yet to come. On the day of pentecost, and not before, these extraordinary gifts were communicated to the apostles, evangelists, and many other believers, to fit them for converting the world. The universality, however, of the invitation and promise here given, makes it evident that, on this occasion, our Lord had the ordinary influences of the Spirit in his eye, which the evangelist’s remark, that the Holy Ghost was not yet given, will not exclude; because, even these might at that time be said not to have been given, as they had been given but sparingly, in comparison of the plentiful distribution which was to be made of them to all believers after Christ’s ascension. Accordingly, the ordinary influences of the Spirit are often in Scripture represented as the consequences and reward of faith, Galatians 3:14 ; Ephesians 1:12-14 .

John 7:38 . ὁ πιστεύων … ζῶντος . [The nominative absolute is common.] No Scripture gives the words verbatim . Isaiah 58:11 has: “The Lord shall satisfy thy soul in drought: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not”. Cf. John 4:14 . The words seem to intimate that the believer shall not only have his own thirst quenched, but shall be a source of new streams for the good of others (O. Holtzmann). A remarkably analogous saying is quoted by Schoettgen from the Talmud: “Quando homo se convertit ad Dominum suum, tanquam fons aquis vivis impletur, et fluenta ejus egrediuntur ad omnis generis homines et ad omnes tribus”. At the same time it is not easy to see the relevancy of the saying if this meaning be attached to it, and the saying of John 4:14 is so similar that it seems preferable to understand it in the same sense, of the inseparableness and inwardness of the living water. Those who advocate the other meaning can certainly find confirmation for their view in the explanation added by John.

The scripture hath said There is no exactly corresponding passage, but the quotation harmonizes with the general tenor of several passages, as Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 58:11; Zechariah 13:1; Zechariah 14:8; Ezekiel 47:1; Joel 3:18. Belly (κοιλίας) The word is often used in the Old Testament for the innermost part of a man, the soul or heart. See Job 15:35; Job 32:19; Proverbs 18:8; Proverbs 20:27, Proverbs 20:30. The rite of drawing and pouring out the water pointed back to the smitten rock in the desert. In Exodus 17:6, "there shall come water out of it," is literally, "there shall come water from within him." The word belly here means the inmost heart of the believer, which pours forth spiritual refreshment. Compare 1 Corinthians 10:4; John 4:14. Shall flow (ῥεύσουσιν) The word occurs only here in the New Testament. Rivers A type of abundance. Compare Numbers 20:11. Living water Compare John 4:10.

He that believeth on me, as the {k} scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (k) The scripture being referred to is not found anywhere word for word, but rather Christ seems to be referring to many different places where mention is made of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; see Joe 2:28-29; Isa 44:3 and especially Isa 55:1-13.

38. as the scripture hath said—These words belong to what follows, "Out of his belly, as the scripture hath said, shall flow," &c. referring not to any particular passage, but to such as Isa 58:11; Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8; Eze 47:1-12; in most of which the idea is that of waters issuing from beneath the temple, to which our Lord compares Himself and those who believe in Him. out of his belly—that is, his inner man, his soul, as in Pr 20:27. rivers of living water—(See on [1801]Joh 4:13). It refers primarily to the copiousness, but indirectly also to the diffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others.

We have had frequent occasion to open the term of believing on Christ. It may be doubted, whether those words, as the Scripture hath said, be to be referred to the first or latter part of the text. If to the former, they are words expressive of that faith to which the following promise is made, which is not any assent, or slighty credit given to the word; but such a faith as the Scripture hath spoken of, as that faith which is justifying and saving. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water; the general sense of the promises, that his soul shall abound with all saving and comfortable influences of saving grace. The belly signifieth the heart, that part of man which is called the heart being in the belly. So Job 15:35 Psalm 40:8 . The flowing of rivers of water, signifieth the plenty of spiritual influences with which believers shall be supplied; whether joy, knowledge, spiritual gifts, or graces. If any ask, where the Scripture speaketh this? I answer, in all those promises we meet with in the Old Testament, about pouring out the Spirit.

John 7:38 . Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ , He that believeth on Me ) To believe is not parallel to the verb, to thirst , but to the verb, to come ; ch. John 6:35 . To this refer the they that believe of the following verse.— καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή , as the Scripture hath said ) Scripture hath many things as to the promise of the Holy Spirit, under the figure of water: Isaiah 12:3 , “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation ;” Isaiah 55:13 , “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters —Incline your ear and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live ;” Ezekiel 47:1 , etc., “Behold waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward;” John 7:9 , “Every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live ;” Joel 2:23 , “Rejoice in the Lord your God; for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain ;” which Jesus in this passage expresses in words adapted to the present occasion. But most especially pertinent to this passage is that one of Zechariah 14:8 , ἐξελεύσεται ὕδωρ ζῶν ἐξ Ἱερουσαλήμ , κ . τ . λ ., “Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem:” for that very chapter of Zechariah had been read in public, as the Haphtara [portion selected for the Lesson], on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which Jesus, when He had come in the middle of the time of the feast, on the last day of it repeats at Jerusalem .

He had not been present at the reading on the first day: He had not been taught letters, John 7:15 , “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” therefore His quotation of the Lesson read ought to have had the more effect on His hearers.— κοιλίας , belly ) בטן , the inmost recess, most capacious and most fruitful. The allusion is to the large jars in which, on the last day of that feast, water used to be borne from the fountain Siloah through the city to the sanctuary; for they had a large belly-like interior.— αὐτοῦ , His) Messiah’s. This is the fountain out of whose abundant flow believers receive, John 7:39 .— ὕδατος ζῶντος ) ὕδωρ ζῶν , Zech. as quoted above.

38 . as the scripture hath said ] This phrase undoubtedly refers to the words that follow: but inasmuch as no such text is found in Scripture, some have tried to force the phrase into connexion with what precedes, as if the meaning were ‘He that believeth on me in the way that Scripture prescribes.’ Although the exact words are not found in Scripture there are various texts of similar import: Isaiah 44:3 ; Isaiah 58:11 ; Zechariah 13:1 ; Zechariah 14:8 , &c. But none of them contain the very remarkable expression ‘out of his belly.’ rivers of living water ] In the Greek ‘rivers’ stands first with strong emphasis; rivers out of his belly shall flow , (rivers) of living water , in marked contrast to the ewer of water poured each day during the Feast. ‘He that believeth on me’ is of course a stage far in advance of ‘if any one thirst.’ A man may thirst for spiritual satisfaction, and yet not end in believing on Christ. But the believer cannot end in satisfying his own thirst; he at once becomes a fount whence others may derive refreshment. Whether he wills to be a teacher or no, the true Christian cannot fail to impart the spirit of Christianity to others.

(38) There can be little doubt that our English version rightly gives the meaning of the original here; though representatives of both the earliest and the latest schools of interpretation have tried so to read the verse as to avoid its difficulties. Some would attach the first clause to the preceding verse, reading, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me; and let him that believeth on Me drink.” Others would have us think that the words, “as the Scripture hath said,” belong to the clause before them, and not to that which follows, making the sense, “He that believeth on Me according to the Scriptures, out of his belly (I say) shall flow rivers of living water.” The reader of the English will, it is believed, feel, and the reader of the Greek will feel still more strongly, that these are attempts to avoid what it is hard to explain, and that while they miss the difficulty they also miss the meaning. He that believeth on me . . .—We have here an advance on the thought, “If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink.” That represented the satisfaction of the individual mind. This teaches the fuller truth that every one in living communion with Christ becomes himself the centre of spiritual influence. There is in him a power of life which, when quickened by faith, flows forth as a river, carrying life and refreshment to others.

No spirit grasps a great truth which satisfies its own yearnings as the waters of the fountain slake physical thirst, without longing to send it forth to others who are seeking what he himself had sought. There is in him a river whose waters no barrier can confine. This is the spirit of the prophet and the evangelist, of the martyr and the missionary. It is the spirit of every great teacher. It is the link which binds men together and makes the life of every Christian approach the life of Christ, for he lives not for himself but for the world. The exact words “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water,” are not found in any part of the Canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament, and yet Christ Himself utters them with the formula of quotation. This will be a difficulty only to those who value letter and syllable above spirit and substance. It may be that the words which our Lord actually uttered in the current language of Jerusalem were nearer to the very words of some passage in the Old Testament than they seem to be in the Greek form in which St. John has preserved them to us. But it is instructive that the thought is that which our Lord Himself, or St. John as representing Him, considers as the essence of the quotation. The thought meets us again and again in the Old Testament. See the following passages: Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11; Psalm 114:8; Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 58:11; Joel 2:23; Joel 3:18; Ezekiel 47:1; Ezekiel 47:12; Zechariah 13:1; Zechariah 14:8