<p>7:38- see on Jn. 1:14.</p><p><i>He that believes on me, as the scripture has said: From within him shall flow rivers of living water</i>- The connection is again with the teaching to the Samaritan woman at the well. The water given was of the Spirit, and would provide springs of living water of the Spirit in an ongoing sense to the believer.</p><p>But clearly the idea is also that those who receive the Spirit become a source of Spirit life to others: &quot;He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (&quot;innermost being&quot;, NIV) shall flow rivers of living (Gk. spring) water&quot;. What &quot;scripture&quot; did the Lord have in mind? Surely Ez. 47:1,9, the prophecy of how in the Messianic Kingdom, rivers of spring water will come out from Zion and bring life to the world; and perhaps too the references to spring water being used to cleanse men from leprosy and death (Lev.&nbsp; 14:5; 15:13; Num. 19:16). Out of the innermost being of the true believer, the spring(ing) water of the Gospel will<i> naturally</i> spring up and go out to heal men, both now and more fully in the Kingdom. The believer, <i>every</i>&nbsp;believer, <i>whoever</i>&nbsp;believes, will preach the word to others <i>from his innermost being</i>, both now and in the Kingdom - without the need for preaching committees or special preaching campaigns (not that in themselves I'm decrying them). The tendency is to delegate our responsibilities for evangelism to others. But here the Lord speaks as if we have no option but to bubble out the water of the Spirit to others.</p><p>There is no essential difference between faith and works. If we believe, we will do the works of witness, quite spontaneously. And note how the water that sprung out of the Lord&rsquo;s smitten side is to be compared with the bride that came out of the smitten side of Adam. We, the bride, are the water; thanks to the inspiration of the cross, we go forth in witness, the water of life to this hard land in which we walk.</p><p>Living water was to come out of the smitten rock. When He was glorified on the cross, then the water literally flowed from His side on His death. He paralleled His &lsquo;smiting&rsquo; on the cross with His glorification (Jn. 7:38). And He elsewhere seems to link &lsquo;glory&rsquo; with His death rather than His ascension (Jn. 12:28,41; 13:32; 17:1,5 cp. 21:19). The Hebrew idea of &lsquo;glory&rsquo; means that which is lifted up; and thus His references to His death as a lifting up suggested that He saw His death as His glory. And we with Isaiah and with John and the Lord Himself should find in the glory and terror of the cross the vision which will endlessly inspire our ministry. Ps. 96:10 in some LXX versions reads: &ldquo;Say among the nations, The Lord reigned from the tree&quot;. What would have looked like the utter, pathetic humiliation of the Man from Nazareth was in fact His glorification, His moment of triumph and victory; just as the pathetic death of a poor saint may be their glorious triumph over their mortality. And He there was and is our King. And this has implications for us; we were constituted a people over whom God reigns by the cross (Rev. 1:5 Gk.). Because of His utter victory there, He becomes our all controlling Lord, King and Master. We are no longer free to do what we want. This is why baptism into His death is an acceptance of His Lordship, of His will being the command of our lives.</p>