The “water of life” is a symbolic term used in the Bible to represent the life-giving blessings that come from God. It is first mentioned in Revelation 21:6, where Jesus declares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” This passage indicates that Jesus himself is the source of the water of life. Through faith in Christ, we can receive eternal life and satisfaction for our spiritual thirst.
The water of life is further described in Revelation 22:1-2: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Here, the water of life flows from God’s throne and is associated with the tree of life and the healing of nations.
Based on these passages, we can understand the water of life as having several key characteristics:
- It comes from God and Jesus himself.
- It satisfies spiritual thirst and gives eternal life.
- It flows with abundance like a river.
- It has healing and restorative properties.
- It is associated with the tree of life and eternity.
The water of life represents the generous outpouring of God’s blessings for those who trust in Him. It is linked to the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised to believers (John 4:14, 7:37-39). The Spirit satisfies our deepest needs and leads us to eternal life in God’s presence. Drinking the water of life means receiving Jesus Christ and the Spirit by faith.
Old Testament background
The water of life concept has roots in the Old Testament as well. Isaiah 55:1 invites, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” Here, God offers water to the thirsty as a symbol of spiritual nourishment and blessing. A similar invitation is given in Jeremiah 2:13, where God is described as “the spring of living water.”
In Psalm 36:8-9, David praises God’s steadfast love as “better than life” and declares that all may drink their fill at God’s “river of delights.” This river metaphor again conveys the abundant blessings God gives to His people.
Throughout the Old Testament, water is used to signify God’s provision and salvation. He split the sea to deliver Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 14). He brought forth water from a rock to satisfy the complaining Israelites (Exodus 17, Numbers 20). Passages like Isaiah 12:3 and 44:3-4 foresee a future outpouring of water as a sign of God’s redemption and the Spirit’s blessing.
So the water of life in Revelation draws upon this rich Old Testament background of water symbolizing God’s gifts of salvation, His presence with His people, and eternal life.
Jesus as the water of life
In the New Testament, Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman at a well, offering water that will permanently satisfy her thirst (John 4:1-26). The woman asks incredulously, “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself?” She cannot grasp how Jesus has access to better water than the physical well before them.
Jesus responds, “Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of gushing water welling up to eternal life.” Here Jesus claims to offer a different kind of water that permanently quenches spiritual thirst and provides eternal life.
A similar discussion occurs in John 7:37-39, where Jesus calls, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” The narrator explains, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”
In offering the “water of life,” Jesus is claiming to be the source of eternal life mediated by the Spirit. By believing in Christ, we drink from the springs of living water and receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus satisfies the deepest thirsts of our soul.
Accessing the water of life
How then do we drink from the water of life offered by Jesus? Revelation 22:17 offers this invitation: “Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” To come to the water of life is to recognize your need for Christ, receive Him by faith, and be indwelt by His Spirit. It results in a transformed heart and eternal life.
Jesus explained that we must be “born of water and the Spirit” to enter God’s kingdom (John 3:5). This happens when we are washed clean of sin by Christ and experience new life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We drink of the salvation Jesus provides.
The water of life is a free gift of God’s grace to satisfy our spiritual thirst. But we must come to Jesus in faith to receive it. Revelation 21:6 says it is for “the thirsty.” Are you thirsty for meaning, hope, and eternal life? Come to the living water found only in Christ.
The Spirit as the water of life
Once we come to faith in Christ, we continue drinking the water of life in the form of the Holy Spirit working within us. Jesus said rivers of living water would flow from the hearts of believers by the power of the Spirit (John 7:38-39). We experience the dynamic presence of the water of life at work transforming our lives.
The Spirit satisfies us and fills us with God’s love (Romans 5:5), leads us into truth (John 16:13), produces Christlike character in us (Galatians 5:22-23), comforts us in suffering (Acts 9:31), empowers us to serve God (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), and connects us with God’s personal presence (Romans 8:14-16). Drinking the water of life means experiencing the Spirit’s work in our lives.
This happens as we seek to know, love, and obey Jesus. As we spend time in God’s presence through prayer and Scripture, our thirst is quenched by the Spirit’s outpouring. The more we surrender control of our lives to Christ, the more the rivers of living water flow. Staying connected to Jesus ensures we are drinking regularly from the Spirit, the water of life within us.
The water of life satisfies
A key result of drinking the water of life is spiritual satisfaction and fulfillment. Isaiah 55:2 says, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” Only God’s blessings can truly satisfy our souls.
In Psalm 63:1, David cries, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you.” Our hearts were made to find ultimate fulfillment in an intimate relationship with our Creator. This happens as we drink from the Spirit’s resources.
Jesus spoke of a similar satisfaction in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” By faith, we can experience lasting contentment in Christ.
The water of life is not a fleeting pleasure like the satisfying of physical thirst. It is a perpetual resource for spiritual nourishment and refreshment. We can draw daily from its springs and find our deepest needs met by the power of the Spirit. Do you want to be satisfied spiritually? Keep drinking the living water found in Christ.
The healing properties
Revelation 22 highlights another key aspect of the water of life – its healing properties. The leaves of the tree of life are “for the healing of the nations” (v.2). The tree grows by the river of living water, so the water has restorative power.
This echoes prophecies of healing associated with the coming redemption in Isaiah: “The eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped…Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:5-6). The water of life brings healing and restoration.
As we drink the living water through the Holy Spirit, we experience inner healing and wholeness. The Spirit washes away sin, purifies our hearts, and renews our minds to be more like Christ. This healing transforms every part of our lives – mental, emotional, relational, and physical.
The Spirit also empowers miraculous physical healings as we pray in faith. But more universally, He brings inner cleansing from sin’s effects and reconciliation to God. Drinking the water of life heals our souls and relationships. It makes us spiritually whole.
Eternal abundance
The supply of living water never runs dry. It flows with eternal abundance. In Revelation 22, the water of life streams continually from God’s throne, never ceasing. It is always available to quench spiritual thirst.
Once we have drunk from the Spirit by coming to faith in Christ, we never need to search for another source. Isaiah 58:11 promises God “will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
The supply is endless because it flows directly from the source – God Himself. Jeremiah 2:13 calls Him “the spring of living water.” Jesus offered a spring within us “welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Drink deeply, and there will always be more to nourish your soul. You cannot exhaust God’s blessings.
This eternal supply is meant to flow outward to others as well. Whoever “believes in me,” said Jesus, “rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38). As we stay connected to the source, we have an unlimited reserve to offer others who thirst for the hope and healing that only God provides.
A future promise
The complete fulfillment of the water of life is still future for us as Christians. We taste the firstfruits now through the Spirit’s work within us. But Revelation looks forward to the day when we will drink freely of the water of life in eternity.
In the new Jerusalem, the river of life will flow directly from God’s throne (Revelation 22:1). We will no longer experience the partial satisfaction of “streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:6). Instead, we will have full access to the endless abundance that sustains eternal life.
Until then, we wait with hopeful expectation, like David longing for God in Psalm 63:1: “My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you.” Maranatha – come, Lord Jesus!
The water of life satisfies our soul’s thirst now, but one day we will drink our full from the direct presence of God. Then our thirst will be completely quenched. This certain hope gives us perseverance and perspective to keep seeking God no matter our struggles today.
How to grow in drinking the water of life
How then should we respond to grow in experiencing the water of life through the Spirit? Here are a few key ways:
- Come to Jesus. Receiving Christ by faith opens the springs of living water (John 4:14). This is the starting point to drink spiritually.
- Seek God regularly. Set aside time to pray, study Scripture, worship, and commune with God. This deepens your relationship with the source.
- Surrender control to Christ. The more we yield our lives to Jesus’ authority, the more the Spirit’s power flows.
- Ask God to satisfy you. Tell Him your deepest needs and trust Him to meet them according to His will.
- Obey God continually. Disobedience blocks the Spirit’s work. Obedience opens the way for more of His life (John 14:21).
- Offer living water to others. Share with others about finding eternal life in Jesus. Your witness can help satisfy their thirst.
- Wait hopefully. One day we will drink without limitation in God’s presence. This future prospect gives endurance and perspective today.
Drinking the water of life is not a one-time event. It is a daily process of receiving grace from the Spirit’s renewable resources. As we grow in pursuing an intimate relationship with Christ, we will experience more and more of the satisfaction, healing, and abundance the water of life provides. We get a taste now that foreshadows the eternal feast to come. Don’t settle for lesser drinks. Keep coming to Jesus for your soul’s deepest thirst to be quenched.