“And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:1, 2.
Within these two glorious verses that begin the Bible’s final chapter, we are given a picture of the future paradise upon the New Earth which awaits all of God’s children. We do need to recognise that we are dealing here primarily with metaphor – the ‘holy city, New Jerusalem’, described in Revelation 21-22, is explained to be a metaphor for the church of Jesus Christ, “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” in Rev. 21:9-10. These images, of the river of water of life and the trees of life, are described as being found “proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1) within the holy city – and as such are clearly meant to teach us something vital about the life that the people of God will enjoy upon the New Earth.
The river of water of life, seen eternally flowing through the heart of the city from the throne of the Lamb of God, and the trees of life, eternally yielding new fruit every month, depict the drinking of this water and the eating of this fruit as being a continual daily occurrence for God’s people. So, they tell of an ever-constant reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ by His people for their life, and the fulness of it – an eternal reliance upon the Lord Jesus for life, which begins for the Lord’s people in this life and continues throughout the entirety of their eternities.
Another helpful biblical picture of this eternal reliance upon the Lord Jesus is found in the Lord’s picture of the vine and the branches on John 15:1-8. Here, the Lord Jesus uses this picture for how His people are to live truly fruitful lives – by abiding in Him. Just as these branches rely on the life-supplying power of the vine, so do the Lord’s people rely on the life-supplying power of Him – and such reliance upon the Lord Jesus for life is an eternal reliance. Our need for this life from Jesus will not become redundant in glory but will continue to be both needed and satisfied forevermore.
What is this life supplied by the Lord Jesus within the New Creation?
The Lord Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman of a living water that He is able to give those that ask of Him, that “will become in [them] a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). This is the life of Jesus, who is the source of our life, being given to us through union with Him by the Holy Spirit. This is how we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), by being infused and enlivened by Jesus’ life imparted to us.
This life is full of the love God (Rom. 8:39) and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit, including joy, hope, peace, faith, and comfort (Gal. 5:22-23; 1 Cor. 13:13, et al), indeed all that is truly good, right, and true (Eph. 5:9).
This life, and these blessings, are given to Christ’s people upon regeneration in this life, albeit here only in part. This is part of the “incorruptible seed” spoken of by Peter (1 Pet. 1:23), that will come to its full and perfect bloom in the next life. It is the life of Christ, lived with Christ, through union to Christ.
Why this is further ‘Good News’
Having preached on the eternal reliance of Christ’s people on Christ as one part of a three-point sermon – thus not delving into the topic with any great depth – at a historically well-taught Evangelical Reformed church, I was taken aback somewhat by the response of an Elder there. He felt that the idea of ‘eternal reliance on Christ’ took away from the certainty of the eternal salvation and security of Christ’s people – our salvation having been won, we will be given the prize (1 Cor. 9:24), and thus we will be found in His presence forever. I was then asked if I denied this!
My answer was to say, “Our salvation has indeed been run. We will be given the prize and will be found in the presence of Jesus forever, but this prize is the life of Christ lived with Christ, through union to Christ, and our eternal reliance upon Jesus Christ for this life is thoroughly biblical, and is good news!”
“Union with Christ is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation”[1] writes John Murray, and isn’t this what is offered to us in the gospel – the life of Christ, lived with Christ, through union to Christ? Far from taking anything away from our relationship with Christ (or of the salvation that He won for His people), our ‘eternal reliance upon Christ’ deepens our union to Him, and further enriches our fellowship with Him.
That this life of Christ and life lived with Christ by union to Christ affirms the certain security of His people forever ought to be clear by the stated eternal nature of this reliance. What Jesus Christ won for His people in His work of salvation will never be lost and as such His people need never fear losing any of the life, fellowship or union given to them by Jesus.
We can also ask the question: why is it we will be continually supplied with this life for all of eternity, and this healing? The answer is because we will have a continual need of it. Furthermore, what was it that made the eternal supplies of these possible? Christ’s saving work on Calvary. Hence, why the Lord Jesus was described in Revelation 22:1 as being ‘the Lamb of God’. The usage of that specific term is not accidental and points to Jesus Christ in His role as Saviour. Christ’s saving work is what made of all the blessings of the New Earth and our life upon it possible. This will remain the case for all eternity.
We will never be deserving of this life of Christ, life with Christ, union to Christ, or any of its wondrous blessings, ever. Thus, this life can only ever be given to us through the Lord Jesus as a result of His sacrifice. We receive this life, not because we are deserving of it, but because Jesus is. We will be no more deserving of it in glory than we are in this life – it is still based on the life and death of Jesus Christ. His role of Mediator between God and us, and as the source of all the divine blessings and benefits not only will remain forever but must remain forever – for our sakes!
Bless God for the presence of the river of water of life and tree of life within the New Jerusalem, for truly they tell of Jesus Christ – of His role as Saviour, Mediator and source of our eternal life – and so to bless God for them is to bless God for Him.
[1] John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) p.170.
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