I had been thinking about the matter of Jesus teaching the disciples that Holy Spirit dwells in the Saints; Holy Spirit reveals and glorifies Christ, and I wanted to understand more of what the result of this is, in the individual Christian.

The reference passage I was considering, is John 14:16-17

And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth,
who the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him,
for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The Spirit of Truth

A portion of the answer to the question, is given in verse 17, where Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth;

In John 18:38, Pilate, who was a Godless man at the time of judging Jesus, asked Him

What is truth?

but in John 8:31-32, when Jesus spoke to the Jews who had believed Him, He said

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Abiding in His Word and being set free through this, is enabled by the indwelling Spirit of truth. His counsel benefits those who apply it. 

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3
  • When there’s a statement made by someone who claims to be teaching the truth of God; through God’s Word, the Spirit of truth confirms or rejects their claim.
  • When there are moral decisions to be made, the Spirit brings appropriate scripture to the mind of the new man, guiding the reasoning by the truth.
  • When the flesh desires to take control of the thoughts and subsequent actions of a Christian, Holy Spirit warns of the outcome, and/or directs in the way of Christ, by recalling God’s Word to guide in the way of truth, righteousness and peace.

Those who aren’t eternally saved, don’t have the Spirit of truth guiding them;
Through Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the knowledge of God and evil, all people have the law written in our hearts, but those who don’t have the Spirit of truth, also have demonic and/or worldly influences, and their own will governing their words and actions (The will of man is opposed to God, ref. Romans 8:7-8).

But thanks be to God through Christ Jesus, that many have been, and many more will be, freed from Godless lives, free from being opposed to God, and free from being slaves to various negative influences; to having the mind of Christ, being servants of God, and being guided by the indwelling Spirit of truth; knowing the truth through Holy Spirit revealing it; not being reliant on men’s “learned wisdom”, as we’re told in 1st Corinthians 2:12.

Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

So we find in John 16:13, that Jesus said:

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you into all the truth;
for He will not speak from Himself,
but whatever He hears, He will speak;
and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Holy Spirit’s application of the Word in the believer, is essential, otherwise, as Pilate blindly believed, truth is subjective; but to those who have come to understand, acknowledge and appropriate the truth, it leads to, and maintains righteousness and peace:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

God the Father, has blessed us through Jesus Christ, with knowledge and the power of the truth, through Holy Spirit indwelling.

Rivers of Living Water.

Then in John 7:38, we’re told of another aspect of Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer: in this chapter, Jesus had gone up to the temple where the Jews were celebrating the week long annual blessing of the harvest, which begins “on the 15th day of the 7th Jewish month, this is around late September to early October”, it’s known as sook-kaw (sûkkâh), meaning “feast of tabernacles,or booths”, (Ref. Lev 23:34, Exo 23:15, Num 29:12, Deu 16:15). 

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried out, saying,

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said,

‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

But this He spoke of the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were going to receive;
for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 7:37-39

So here was Jesus at the Jewish temple, a place built to His own Fathers honour, where a large crowd had gathered, mostly to celebrate the blessing of their harvest, but some were there for evil purpose:

The crowd understandably consisted of both non-ruling Jewish persons, as well as Jewish rulers, we’re told in verses 12 & 13, that although the crowd held a variety of opinions of Jesus, no one spoke openly of their thoughts of Him, for fear of the Jewish rulers and their officers, who would severely judge anyone who spoke favourably of Jesus. These rulers were at the feast, looking for an opportunity to apprehend, remove and murder Jesus (7:v1,19,25).

So, here in the temple, sitting at a table prepared for Him by His Father, in the presence of His enemies, but knowing that they wouldn’t take Him, because His hour hadn’t yet come (v30), during the feast, Jesus stood up, and cried out (as if His cup was overflowing) saying…

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said,
‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.‘”

These rivers of living water that overflowed from Jesus throughout His life, and even there in the presence of His enemies, weren’t words composed by common man, only Jesus Christ, the perfect sinless man, could consistently deliver living waters which had come from His Father. But according to His Father’s will through Jesus’ prayer, Holy Spirit had been sent to dwell in the Father’s children, so that when we walk in obedience to Him, Holy Spirit pours out living Words of Christ from us, from our innermost being; that is, the new creation in Christ, not from the man of flesh.

When men’s words are of any value, it’s usually only earthly relevance, unless God chooses to glorify Himself through them, but otherwise, men’s words are often spoken in pride, selfish desire, worldly wisdom, foolishness or fear, but Jesus’ Words are life, which result in present and eternal value;
In John 6, we read of Peter saying this:

Simon Peter answered him,
“Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life,
and we have believed,
and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

John 6:68-69

In John 4, I understand Jesus’ metaphorical use of the phrase “living water“, to be expressive of His own Words which are delivered from Holy Spirit within the Christian. These Words are at times ministered to others, or are expressed in open prayer; but they are also often brought to the mind of the person themselves, to answer internal questions, or to sustain or restore peace, or to express praise to God in personal prayer.

Holy Spirit is the gift of God who delivers “living water”, which are Jesus’ Words, including all the promises of God the Father. It’s through these words that God’s children are directed, reassured, and corrected. To God’s children, they’re not just words on a page, Holy Spirit delivers them with authority from the Father, with the result to eternal life. This is what Jesus spoke of in John 4, when He said to the woman at the well:

If you knew the gift of God,
and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’
you would have asked him,
and he would have given you living water.

… whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:10 &14

God the Father, has blessed us through Jesus Christ, with rivers of living water springing up to eternal life, through Holy Spirit indwelling.

What is “the sound of many waters”

Jesus’ authoritative Words from His Father, are described as being like the sound of many waters.
We can read of this metaphorical phrase in the following verses:

Ezekiel 43:2
and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

Revelation 1:15
His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters,

Revelation 14:2
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

These verses speak of the awesome voice of God the Son; the sound of many waters include:

  • Infinite Creative power,
  • Words revealing the glory of God the Father,
  • Life giving Words,
  • Words of unchallengeable authority,
  • Convicting Words,
  • Words of infinite condemning power to those who have rejected God and are to be eternally separated from Him;
  • Words of infinite saving power to those who repent and are reconciled to God.
  • Purifying Words,
  • Healing Words,
  • Words of hope,
  • Words of truth,
  • Words that guide in the way of righteousness,
  • Words of peace.

It’s no wonder that the men on the road to Emmaus, said of Jesus in
Luke 24:32

…Weren’t our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?

And because the Spirit of truth, is in God’s children, we will also speak a portion of the living waters of life. Words pleasing to God, Jesus’s Words that encourage us and those we fellowship with, Words that can console and give peace and hope, in place of grief and sadness, bringing light in place of darkness.

So, we are told in Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16

God the Father, has blessed us through Jesus Christ, with present and eternal security and provision, through Holy Spirit indwelling.

The guarantee of eternal salvation.

We’re told in Ecclesiastes 9:4

For him that is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

, but Christians don’t need to live with uncertainty of future salvation, Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us of eternal security through indwelling Holy Spirit:

… you also, when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, 
were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,
to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14

Sometimes, a Christian might feel like they’re distant from God, out of fellowship with Him, or may question if God is still with them, this is a disciplinary result of sin; Holy Spirit works in us by revealing a small portion of the emptiness and suffering which would be our eternal condition if we were not saved. This fatherly discipline directs us to repentance and restoration. King David expressed this experience when he said in Psalm 51:10-12:

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

God the Father, has blessed His children through Jesus Christ, with present realisation of eternal security through Holy Spirit.

Listening to the Spirit of Truth

The beauty of fellowship, includes building up each other with Words from Holy Spirit, Christ’s Words, the sounds of many waters, pure waters that glorify God and encourage the Saints, Words which develop Christians in spiritual maturity to be more like Christ, and less of what we were before salvation!

But we all,
with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 3:18

A.P.Overton 06-Apr-2026