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Pouring Out the Spirit (2)
Introduction: In our last lesson we introduced the prophecies concerning the pouring out of the Spirit. As a reminder, this phrase indicated:
- Restoring the dead nation of Israel to life and people who were dead spiritually to life. Therefore, the connection the apostles made in Acts 1 to restoring the kingdom when they heard Jesus say they would be baptized with the Spirit in a few days.
- God renewing his ownership of the nation.
- The beginning of the Messiah’s kingdom (since it is the Messiah who will bring new life and restoration – thus the purpose of the Kingdom of Christ and a Messiah in the first place.
- Mark 1:1-14 The Heavens Torn Open
- First notice the emphasis on “wilderness.” This was Isaiah’s words that described the condition of the nation. God had departed from them, which left them desolate and without God’s Spirit, thus without life.
- John baptizing in the wilderness was a picture of cleansing that was needed to prepare for the coming of the King. John was “preparing the way for the Lord.”
- When John promised that the coming King would baptize them with the Holy Spirit, he was referencing Isaiah 32:15, “the Spirit would be poured out from on high.” The King/Messiah would be the conduit through whom life from the Spirit would be poured out.
- Verses 9-11 is connected to Isaiah 63:15–64:3. Isaiah pleaded for the Lord to tear the heavens open and come down to deliver the nation as he had done at Mt. Sinai. Mark’s account is the only one of the Gospels to speak of the heavens being torn asunder and the Spirit coming down on Jesus. God was now answering the prayer of Isaiah, sending his Spirit, and delivering his people. Therefore, when the Spirit is poured out, we should think of God’s return to save his people, God deliverance.
- Again, this connects well with Mark 1:14-15 where Jesus announces that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
- The Water Metaphor
- The first thing we need to notice is the significance of water to the way the Lord operated in the OT. Genesis 2:10-14 gives us the first picture of water, the river that flowed through the Garden and then parted into four rivers. The description depicts the goodness of God’s provisions for man’s needs. From this, and many other passages, we learn that water, and especially rivers, provided life and were a symbol of life.
- When we come to the last chapter of the Bible and the pictures of heaven, we again see “the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God” and nourishing the “tree of life” (Rev. 22:1-2). When God pictures “life,” he does so through pictures of rivers.
- When Zechariah spoke of the days of the Messiah, he used the picture of cleansing water: “On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:8–9).
- Ezekiel 47:1-12 Even though this text does not mention pouring out the Spirit in those specific terms, the connection is unmistakable, especially when it is connected to what Jesus says in John 7.
- First notice that the water flows from the temple. In context, this temple is the future temple of the Messiah, which in the NT would be pictured as Jesus the cornerstone (Acts 4:11), the apostles and prophets the foundation (Eph. 2:20-22), and all Christians living stones built into the temple (1 Peter 2:4-5).
- Second, notice that the water spreads over the whole land and everywhere the water goes life is produced. The water even flows into the Dead Sea producing an abundance of fish.
- Verses 11-12 give a picture we later see in Revelation 21 where life from the water and the trees continually give life and healing.
- You will remember Jesus telling the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).
- Out of Your Heart Will Flow Rivers of Living Water (Jn. 7:37-39) – Fulfillment of the Ezekiel 47 Vision
- “The last day, the great day of the feast” – It is important we do not overlook these words. John is connecting us to the Tabernacle feast, and even more importantly, to the last day of the feast. John uses the meaning of the festivals to teach a great message about Jesus. In fact, in this incident Jesus is using the feast as a way of showing himself to be the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecies of pouring out life-giving water.
- Now we want to discuss why this figure of thirst and the living water and how that connects to the Tabernacle feast. You will remember that while Israel was in the wilderness, finding water was a constant problem that could only be solved by the Lord. Moses records at least two occasions in which God brought water out of a rock. By 200 B.C. this provision of water in the wilderness began to be commemorated at the Tabernacle feast.
- Each morning during the feast a priest drew water from the Pool of Siloam with a golden flask. This pool was located south of the temple and was fed by the fresh waters of the Gihon spring, which was a necessary water source for Jerusalem. The waters gave an adequate supply, but certainly not abundant. In other words, there was always a concern about the scarcity of the water. After drawing the water, the priest would carry it to the temple in a great procession & pour it out at the altar of burnt offering.
- This ritual was a reminder to Israel of things past and things future. Concerning things past, there was a remembrance of the many occasions in which God provided water in the wilderness and the journey toward Canaan. But there was also the hope of the future when God’s abundance would again be poured out.
- “As the scripture has said” – Jesus quotation does not fit any OT passage. Instead, there are a group of passages to which Jesus refers. We have already noticed most of these. Let’s talk about two in particular: Isa. 12:1-3 “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” You will notice that since the Lord is the source of salvation, drawing water from the wells of salvation would refer to the Lord as the well from which the salvation flowed.
- Notice also the plural “wells.” Though Jesus is the ultimate source, believers would also have his life-giving water in themselves so that a lost world would be able to draw water from many sources. The giving of the Spirit is the ushering in the waters of salvation. Jesus is using the quotation to show that each believer receives this water and then becomes himself a flowing, life-giving well of water from which others can draw and receive life.
- Inside of each of us is a well of living water that is constantly nourishing us, cleansing us, and giving us life and peace. Every time you study the word, every time you pray, every time you let the Lord change you to be more like him, you are drinking of that living water.
- God’s purpose for building us as his temple is so we can be wells of living water as a source of life for the world. If that is not what we are, then we cannot claim to be God’s temple.
Conclusion: Hopefully you are able to see more and more the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The pouring out of the Spirit has affected every part of our lives including giving us life, restoring us, healing us, and giving us the mission of bringing God’s life-giving water to the world.
On the other hand, the misuse of the work of the Holy Spirit has brought further ignorance of God’s word by expecting inward messages so that false teaching abounds and a false confidence in salvation leads people to destruction.
Berry Kercheville