We have seen that the river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of the Lamb-God. This river is nothing less than the flowing Spirit of God as the life-giving Spirit. In 22:1 we see the Triune God—God, the Lamb, and the river. God, the Father, is the source; the Lamb, the Son, is the Redeemer; and the river is the Spirit. Hence, we have the Father as the source, the Son as the course, and the Spirit as the flow. Therefore, in 22:1 we see the flow of the Triune God. This is a picture of the Triune God dispensing Himself into us. He is flowing Himself out of Himself into His redeemed ones. This dispensing of the Triune God into us comes out of God’s administrating throne. This means that God’s dispensation depends on His administration. This is true in the church life today. The dispensing of the life supply and of God’s all-sufficient grace issues out of the throne of God’s administration. Eventually, in the New Jerusalem this dispensing will reach every part of the city, and the entire city will be filled, saturated, and permeated with the Triune God. In this way the city will express God.
When I was young, I could not understand Revelation 22:1. I read about a throne and a river, but I had no idea what these things meant. At that time I did not even realize that the river was a spiral. Because I did not see anything, I could not understand anything. Gradually, through the experiences of more than forty years, I have come to understand the meaning of the river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of the redeeming God. Through my experience I saw that whenever I submitted to my redeeming God, willing to take Him as my head, I immediately sensed something living flowing within me. This was not a teaching or an interpretation; it was altogether an experience. One day I could say, “Now I understand Revelation 22:1. I do have a throne within me. Because I submit myself to the authority and headship of this throne, I have something flowing within.” This picture of the river of water of life flowing out of the throne of the redeeming God shows us that we must take our redeeming God as our head and as our authority and submit to His headship. If we do this, His throne is established in our spirit and even throughout our entire being. Out of this established throne, the life-giving Spirit flows within us. This throne is the center of God’s administration with His headship for the dispensing of Himself into all His redeemed that we may be saturated and permeated with Himself to be His very expression.
This river of water of life flows in the middle of the street of New Jerusalem. The street of the holy city is gold (21:21), which symbolizes the divine nature. The river of water of life proceeding in the middle of the street signifies that the divine life flows in the divine nature as the unique way for the daily life of God’s redeemed people. Where the divine life flows, there is the divine nature as the holy way by which His people walk; and where the holy way of the divine nature is, there the divine life is flowing. The divine life and the divine nature as the holy way always go together. Thus, the river of water of life is available along this divine way, and we enjoy it by walking in the divine way.
Verse 1 also says that the river of water of life is bright as crystal. The fact that the water of life is bright as crystal means that it has no dimness or opaqueness. When this water of life flows in us, it purifies us and makes us transparent. Nothing is more clear than the flow of life within us. Suppose you are shopping in a department store. Whenever you say “Amen” to the inner regulation of the divine life, you will not only be strengthened, watered, and refreshed; you will also become crystal clear. You will be clear not only about one item, but about virtually everything.
The more the water of life flows within us, the more it carries away those things that veil our sight. It gives us clear insight, and it makes our being, our situation, and everything related to us crystal clear. Many Christians have been told that they can know God’s will by reading the Scriptures. In the past I tried to know God’s will in this way. But the more of the Scriptures I read, the more blind I became, because in my reading of the Bible I exercised my mentality to analyze what the Scriptures were saying or what they were telling me to do. A great many of us have had the same kind of experience. The more we analyzed the Bible, the more blind we were. Instead of trying to know God’s will by analyzing the Scriptures, we should say, “Lord Jesus, I love You and I submit myself to Your headship and authority. Lord, establish Your throne in my entire being.” If you do this, you will immediately enjoy the inner flow, and this flow will make you crystal clear in the divine life. Everything related to you, your situation, and your condition will become transparent. Our experience testifies that this is true.
Many young people are very concerned about the matter of marriage and want to know the Lord’s will regarding this matter. Firstly, they pray about it, asking the Lord to show them the one He has prepared for them. Then they come to the elders for fellowship. The elders may give them a number of principles regarding age, education, race, family background, disposition, and spirituality. More than forty years ago, I was an expert in giving out principles such as these. Whenever a young person consulted me about marriage, I always pointed out these matters for his consideration. If he were from the north, I would even advise him not to marry a person from the south because of the differences between them. Furthermore, I would encourage him to marry a person with a similar disposition. If he had a quick disposition, I would tell him not to marry a sister with a slow disposition. In the past, I was rather persuasive, and the young people agreed with me. However, when we were in the actual situation, we found that analyzing merely according to the principles did not work. The more we analyzed merely according to age, education, race, disposition, and spirituality, the more veiled we were. After a number of years, the Lord showed me that the way to know His will concerning marriage is not to analyze in this way. Rather, it is simply to submit yourself to His headship and let His flow move within you. The more His flow moves within you, the more crystal clear you will become. We all must submit ourselves to the Lord and walk the golden way of the divine nature. There is only one way—the golden way. We must submit to the headship of Christ and say, “Lord Jesus, You are my head and my sovereign Lord. I submit myself to You.” What an inner flow there is when we do this! And what an inner supply! Immediately, the flow makes us clear, and we are assured of the Lord’s will. When we do this, we shall be able to say, “There is no veil upon my eyes. Every veil has been taken away, and I am clear. The whole situation is crystal clear to my sight.” This is not a teaching; it is an experience. Only by experience can you understand this.