What is Living Water?

The term Living Water is used often enough in the scriptures for multiple very plausible meanings to sprout up. Think what pops into your mind as you ask yourself this question. Through careful study there is an exact answer according the scriptures. Not to say that any other answer does not fit the profile or may be useful in understanding the concept, but there is a very direct and straightforward path that leads us to a straightforward conclusion.

We must first go to the main source of the phrase "Living Water." This comes from the dialogue between the Savior and the woman at the well in John Ch 4.

         A little background, Ch 3 is when Nicodemus the leader of the Jews approaches the Savior by night and is taught the sermon on being born again. Verse 16 is a classic and any Christian who paid any attention to any religious event knows how it goes. With this as the backdrop Christ journeys through Samaria and meets the Woman at the Well. The timing is no mistake. St. John shows the Savior of the world speaking to the rulers of the Jews and then to a Samaritan. A woman Samaritan no less, and a harlot Samaritan woman at that (see v 18). The universality of The Gospel is so clear. The Savior himself in a very brief amount of time going from the highest of the high and lowest of the low.

The following is what I like to call "unpacking" the scriptures.

John Ch 4

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

The social chasm is clear, "why are you even talking to me?" asks the woman.


10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee livingwater.

Christ wants her to ask for exactly the right thing. Two things that we need to know in order to ask the right question. The Gift of God and "Who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink." If we had known these things we would of asked for Livingwater.

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

The woman shows her innocence, looking for literal water, and gets brave by playing the covenant card.

12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

The Savior clarifies.

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

This is tricky. First of all the water that Christ speaks of has a magical ability to quench thirst indefinitely, a trait that the Woman who has walked from town with the intent to carry back a quantity of water, would find very appealing. One less chore to cross of the list for good!!! 

But the end product does not seem to be water that will end the need to drink, but an endless supply of water. Look at the words Christ uses, "the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water." living water is not water at all, but a source of water that never ends and "springs up" to eternal life.

 Putting that into Gospel context the Savior does not give us the magic eternal life pill that we take once in our life but rather sources that we must partake of regularly to survive. Water would be the obvious choice for a metaphor in desert Palestine. We must always make the conscience effort to drink and draw from the well that the Savior provides and always draw from the well-called Living Water. 

 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

The wonderful footnotes give us this cross-reference to Doctrine and Covenants section 63, this sums it up nicely.

23 But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.

Takeaways

         We do not get all that we need from the Gospel, but an endless supply that we can draw from.

         Getting the water nessesary to survive eternally is a constant and never ending chore.

         If we know who the Savior is and the Gifts of God we will ask for this livingwater.

         Footnotes are amazing