"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
John 7:38
The Spirit of Christ is like a river flowing out of every believer. A river has a powerful current. The current of the Holy Spirit flowing through the heart of the Christian is the power of our faith (Acts 1:8). The river has the power to cleanse. So the Holy Spirit working within the believer applies the cleansing from all sin through Christ crucified. The river sustains life as we drink from the water. So the Holy Spirit secures our new life in Christ.
How can we know that the Holy Spirit is working within us? We can know through the three-fold gifts abiding in our hearts - faith, hope and love. The Holy Spirit sustains our faith in Christ. He gives us steadfast hope in Christ. Most of all, the Holy Spirit enables us to experience the love of God in Christ. These three gifts provide assurance that we are in Christ. The absence of these three gifts is the warning that the Spirit of Christ is not in us. "Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9).
How do we receive the Holy Spirit? Jesus made it clear. He promised, according to the Scripture, that the Holy Spirit would flow in the heart of every believer. It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we all receive the Holy Spirit. "In Christ Jesus . . . receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14). As we receive Christ by faith, we have the assurance that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. "Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). To all believers in Christ, there is a river that flows within your heart. It's the Spirit of the living Christ.
Prayer: Father, we praise You for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, flowing within our hearts, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
