Having accomplished everything related to God's economy, Christ is now in the heavens and in us, waiting to be the supply to meet our need. To receive this supply, there is no need for us to beg or even to pray. We should simply speak a direct word to Christ as the smitten rock. We may say that this kind of speaking is actually the issuing of an order. Do you believe that you can order Christ to supply you with living water? We should all believe this, realizing that Christ is happy to hear this kind of command. As an illustration, consider once again the relationship between a mother and her small child. The child may say, "Mommy, I need water. Give me a glass of water." The mother is happy to meet the need of her children. In like manner, the Lord is happy to supply us with living water to meet our need.

In Exodus 17 Christ in crucifixion is typified by the smitten rock, and in Numbers 17 Christ in resurrection is typified by the budding rod. First, as the rock, Christ was struck by the rod in the hand of the law. Then, in resurrection, He became the budding rod, blossoming and bearing fruit. As the budding rod, He is present with us to be our supply. The main thing that now issues from Him for our supply is living water—the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit. Today we do not need to beg Him for living water or wait for Him to supply us with water. We just need to come to Him and say, "Lord, I need Your Spirit. Lord, give me the Spirit of life." We all need to know the Lord in this aspect, knowing Him according to God's economy.

The Pentecostal people do not know this aspect of the Lord Jesus. They think that to receive the Spirit we must wait on the Lord, perhaps with fasting. But according to the revelation in the Bible, such waiting is not necessary. Christ has accomplished everything for us, and, as the One who is both in the heavens and in us, He is ready to supply us. There is no need to wait on Him—He is waiting on you. He is waiting for you to speak to Him, saying, "Lord, give me Your Spirit." As soon as you speak to Him in this way, you will receive the Spirit of life.

The rock in Numbers 20 signifies the crucified and resurrected Christ. Such a Christ is the ready Christ. He is ready to give you whatever you need. You need manna, and He is the manna. You need living water, and He is the living water. Tell Him to give you what you need. He is waiting for you to do this.

Whenever we speak to Christ as the rock, telling Him to give us living water, we must have the rod in our hand. This means that as we speak to the rock, we must apply the death of Christ to ourselves and realize that we are crucified persons. Christ was crucified, and we should be identified with Him in His death. If we do not apply the death of Christ to ourselves, the supply of living water will not come. Let us take the rod and keep it in our hand and say, "Lord Jesus, I apply Your death to myself, and I ask You to give me Your Spirit."

Applying the death of Christ to ourselves as we ask Him for the Spirit of life is altogether according to God's economy. However, not many Christians, including those among us, know God's nature and economy to this extent. For this reason, most believers do not know what is revealed in chapter twenty of Numbers. May our eyes be opened to see what this chapter indicates concerning God's nature and economy! May we see that our attitude toward God's people must be according to His nature, and may we also see that, in God's economy, the way to receive the living Spirit as the supply of life is to apply the death of Christ to ourselves and then simply ask for the Spirit of life.