T. Austin-Sparks · 1 of 2

Life and Light

Reading: John 7.

We may say that verse 38 is the outstanding verse, which contains the outstanding and all governing words in this chapter: "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of him shall flow rivers of living water. This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were to receive" (v.38,39).

So far in this Gospel the matter of Life in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit has had to do with the believer himself; that is, his own personal life. There is his birth in chapter 3 and there is the well within him in chapter 4 upon which he lives, the inner spring of his own life. It is all, up to this point, a matter of the believer's own living by the Life of Christ.

Now as we come to these words in chapter 7 we see that it is not only what is in the believer, not only what the believer himself is living upon, not only his own spiritual experience in every part of his being of the Life of the Lord, but it is what is going out from him. That is the further step. It is what is going out to others. What is going to be the effect of this? How is the circle outside of himself going to be affected? So that here it is not a well of water in him, springing up unto Life eternal; it is rivers of water flowing from him and, as we shall see, the setting of these words supports that view.

Having noticed the governing words, and the step forward in the revelation and experience, we must just glance over the chapter and look at its main features, so that we are able to come more fully into its message.

We note at the outset that the occasion of what the Lord says in this chapter was the feast of tabernacles: "Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand" (verse 2). We shall have to look at the Old Testament for a moment in two places in connection with the feast of tabernacles, so as to refresh our minds.

"Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt" (Lev. 23:39-43).

"And they found written in the law, how that the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month; and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths: for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness" (Neh. 8:14-17).

Now we are able to see the Divine thought in the feast of tabernacles. It was intended to keep fresh the memory of the coming out of Egypt, a feast of remembrance of the outcoming.

Spiritually interpreted it is the coming out from the world unto God, and unto a condition which was marked by everything heavenly.