Living Water

God frequently uses the human body to explain spiritual truths. Since he was the one who designed the body, His analogies are great! In Ephesians 4:16 one such analogy leaps off the page regarding growth:

Ephesians 4:15-16 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. NIV

The human body requires food for nourishment and water that facilitates nourishment for growth. Water is a key factor in the synthesis of large compounds. Water is need to build and repair tissue. It is a necessary  nutrient for ligaments and joints. Water is necessary for breaking down and carrying away the by-products not necessary for growth.

In John 4:13-14 Jesus Christ uses water as an analogy to teach the woman at the well, the important concept of worshipping God 'in spirit and in truth'.

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this 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 water welling up to eternal life.”

The truth of God provides nourishment to our hearts. In addition to the truth God provides  His very own nature:

I Corinthians 6:17 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The Word of God is a fountain for living waters for us because of all that was accomplished through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. God's spirit is given to every man who recognizes the Lordship of Jesus Christ and acknowledges the power of the resurrection. 'Captivity has been led captive' (Ephesians 4:8) and we are free to bubble over in the sparkling uncontaminated joy of spiritual living.

The analogy of the importance of water can be carried individually or collectively. In a body or group of believers who are united on the living truth, the spirit of God has unlimited avenues to promote growth as each individual lives in vibrant communication with God through His spirit. It is God's spirit and only God's spirit, through Jesus Christ that brings individuals together in any meaningful organic community.