He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
—John 7:38-39
Our Lord promises that those who come unto Him and drink, who believe in Him, not only will never thirst, but also will themselves become fountains from which streams of living water will flow forth. The apostle John explained that at the time Jesus spoke these words, the promise was a prospective one that would have to wait for its fulfillment until the Spirit would be poured out. He also gave the reason for this delay: the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified.
The expression “the Spirit was not yet,” which is in the original Greek, seems awkward, and so the word given has been inserted by Bible translators. But the expression, if accepted as it stands, may guide us into the true understanding of the real significance of the Holy Spirit not coming until Jesus was glorified.
As this Spirit dwelt in Jesus in the flesh, and can also dwell in us in the flesh, it is literally true that the Holy Spirit “was not yet.” The Spirit of the glorified Jesus—the Son of Man become the Son of God—could not be until Jesus was glorified.
Having become flesh, He had to sanctify the flesh and make it a suitable receptacle for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Having done this, He had to bear the curse of sin and to give Himself as the seed to bring forth fruit in us. His nature was glorified in the resurrection, glorified into the union with the divine. By this He made us partakers of all that He had personally acquired.
In virtue of Christ’s atonement, man now had a right to the fullness of the divine Spirit as never before. In virtue of His having perfected in Himself a new holy human nature on our behalf, He could now communicate what previously had no existence—a life at once human and divine.
According to the riches of His glory, God can now work in us. We have the personal presence of the Spirit on earth within us. By faith, the glory of Jesus in heaven and the power of the Spirit in our hearts are inseparably linked. When we are in fellowship with Jesus, the stream will flow ever stronger, into us and out of us.