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 Scripture, Application, and Meditation 1: And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). Paul was very concerned about the Christians in Corinth. He wanted them to understand the dangers of idolatry. He spoke of what happened with Israel in the Wilderness in terms of their experiences as Christians. He spoke of the rock as Christ. How could Paul speak of Christ as the rock? 2: "I will be standing before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink." And Moses did so in plain view of the elders of Israel (Exodus 17:6). In 1 Corinthians 10:4 Paul made reference to the events which took place in the Wilderness in Exodus 17:1-7. The Israelites had tested YHWH again and complained against Him. They were convinced they would die of thirst. God made provision: Moses would strike the rock, and water would come from it. How did Paul interpret the rock in Christological ways? 3: On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, 'From within him will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38). Jesus exhorted the Israelites to come to Him and drink from rivers of living water. This river, or fountain, of living water was the Spirit whom Jesus would give to those who believed in Him. As water provides refreshment and life, so the Spirit of God in Christ provides refreshment and life. How can we obtain living water? 4: Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? (Matthew 21:42) Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22-23 before the Jewish people and authorities and associated it with Himself. The Apostles would further understand Jesus as the cornerstone, a rock, which many would reject. Thus Jesus can be understood as a Rock and as the source of living water; we can therefore understand Paul's image in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Jesus is the Rock which was struck for our sins and from whom we now can receive living water, salvation and the Spirit, and obtain eternal life. How can we glorify Jesus as the rock of living water?