The Rock of Living Water

I. Introduction
   A. 1 Corinthians 10:4
   B. Situation in Corinth
      1. Christians acting sinfully
      2. Needed understanding of consequences of sin
      3. Paul uses story of Israel's exodus and wandering in Christian 
         terms to explain God's reactions to sin
   C. Provides excellent means of understanding
      1. We can understand Israel's exodus/wanderings in Christian 
         terms
      2. We can also understand our walk with God through the 
         experiences of Israel in the exodus/wanderings!
   D. One such aspect illustrated in 1 Corinthians 10:4
      1. Israel as drinking "spiritual water"
      2. Comes from the "Rock" following them
      3. Christ as that "Rock"!
   E. Paul provides much that requires spiritual insight and 
      understanding

II. Israel and the Rock
   A. Paul refers to Exodus 17:1-7
      1. Starting the wilderness journey
      2. No water!
      3. Complaints to God and Moses
      4. Moses is told to strike a rock, water comes forth
   B. Moses strikes another rock in Numbers 20:2-12, act of 
      disobedience
   C. Israel's need
      1. In the wilderness-- not like our wilderness!
      2. Inhospitable desert, not able to sustain Israel on its own
      3. God must provide food and water for Israel in the  
         wilderness
      4. He always provided for them
   D. Rock?  Christ?
      1. Manna comes from Heaven (Exodus 16:2-5)
      2. Why does water come from the rock, not known for its water 
         retention?
      3. Why does Paul equate the rock of water with Christ?
   E. Understanding of type and substance
      1. Rock of water a type of which Christ is the substance
      2. Understood in the Gospel of John

III. Jesus and Living Water
   A. Jesus and the Samaritan woman, John 4:4-26
      1. Jesus sits at well, requests water from woman
      2. Woman wonders why He, a Jew, wants water from a Samaritan
      3. He indicates that if she knew who He was, she would ask for 
         living water
      4. In discussion, clear that Jesus speaks spiritually, woman 
         physically
      5. She would love to no longer need water from the well
      6. Jesus is not speaking of that-- the water He speaks of 
         becomes a fountain of eternal life within a man 
         (John 4:14)!
      7. Does the Samaritan woman ever understand?
   B. Similar message in Temple-- John 7:37-38
      1. Key to understanding
      2. Those who believe receive this "living water"
      3. The Word, the way of salvation, manifest in the Word 
         (John 1:1, 14)
      4. Also attested in Revelation 22:17
   C. Christ as Rock
      1. Chief cornerstone, rejected by builders, accepted by God 
         (Psalm 118:22-23, Matthew 21:42)
      2. Foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11)
      3. Confession of Jesus as Christ the "rock" upon which Christ 
         builds the church (Matthew 16:18)

IV. Understanding 1 Corinthians 10:4
   A. We may understand 1 Corinthians 10:4 by conflating all the 
      images above
      1. The NT speaks of Jesus as Rock and source of living water
      2. The OT speaks of Israel sustained by water coming from a 
         rock having been struck
   B. We understand Jesus, therefore, as the Rock struck for us that 
      provides living water
   C. Powerful imagery
      1. Jesus as struck for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-5, 
         1 Peter 2:21-25)
      2. Water and blood come out when Jesus is pierced (John 19:34)
   D. John 6:53-56
      1. While Jesus does not speak directly of the Lord's Supper, 
         His words evoke it
      2. Indicates how we must remember His memorial

V. Conclusion
   A. Jesus indeed is the Rock struck so that we could have the 
      living water of eternal life
   B. This is remembered in the Lord's Supper
   C. More than this-- represents the consumption of God's Word, the 
      bread of life and living water, that teaches us of God, Jesus, 
      and eternal life!
   D. Let us always seek after this water!
   E. Invitation/songbook