The revelation that Christ Himself is our satisfaction is not a side note—it is the very heart of the Christian life. Scripture does not present Christ as merely a helper or a supplement to our efforts. He is our food, our drink, our bread from heaven, our living water, our oil and wine, the riches of the good land, the milk, the honey, the fat—He is everything. God has provided Christ to be your satisfaction. If you drink of Him, you will not thirst. This is not a metaphorical flourish; it is a divine guarantee.
The Only Response to Spiritual Thirst
When you sense spiritual thirst—when you feel the ache of lack, the gnawing of dissatisfaction—there is only one God-ordained response: come to Christ and drink. This is not a one-time act at conversion, but a continual coming, a daily drinking. Christ stands, even now, as the fountain for every believer.
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 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 7:37-39
This is the promise: come to Christ, and not only will your thirst be quenched, but you will be filled with the Spirit—living water flowing from within. This is the ongoing, positive outcome God intends for His children.
Walking in the Spirit: The Only Way to Be Satisfied
To walk according to the Spirit is not to strive, but to be filled—to drink of Christ and be satisfied with the living water He supplies. This is not a mystical ideal but a daily necessity. Every day, I need to drink of Jesus. God, in His faithfulness, continually draws my attention back to Christ. He has given me a High Priest who intercedes for me in my weakness, reminding me that my access to satisfaction is never cut off.
This is the only path to true sanctification and freedom. The Spirit’s work is not to help you keep the Law, but to fill you with Christ Himself. As you walk according to the Spirit, you experience the ongoing satisfaction and quenching of spiritual thirst that no other source can provide.
The Flesh and the Fatal Error of Law-Righteousness
But the flesh resists this. The flesh does not want living water; it craves “leeks and onions”—the old comforts of law-righteousness and self-effort. The flesh wants to believe that satisfaction can be found in performance, in keeping commandments, in outward conformity. This is not a neutral mistake; it is a fatal error.
The Law can describe your problem, but it cannot fix it. No commandment—not even the strictest—can remove the inward desire for sin or the condemnation that follows. You might abstain outwardly, but inwardly you remain unsatisfied and accused. The Law exposes sin and leaves you condemned; it cannot remove the thirst or transform the heart. If you turn back to the Law or to self-effort, you forfeit the satisfaction and sanctification that are only found in Christ.
What Is Lost If You Accept the Error
If you accept the lie that sanctification or satisfaction can be achieved by your own effort, you lose everything that Christ has secured for you. You lose the rivers of living water, the daily supply of the Spirit, and the freedom from condemnation. You trade the riches of the good land for the barrenness of self-reliance. Worse, you undermine the very foundation of justification and sonship—because if satisfaction and transformation are not found in Christ alone, then the finished work is not enough, and your inheritance is nullified. This is not a secondary issue; it is salvific.
Christ Alone Is the Reality
God’s way is clear: Christ is your satisfaction, your sanctification, your everything. The Spirit is given not as a reward for your striving, but as the living water that flows from faith in Christ. Your High Priest intercedes for you, ensuring that you are never cut off from this supply. The Law exposes your need, but only Christ meets it.
Come to Him. Drink deeply. Be filled. Anything less is to return to death and condemnation. Anything less is to reject the very heart of the gospel.
For a deeper exploration of this reality, I recommend the book Christ as Satisfaction. It will show you how sanctification is not your work for God, but God’s supply in Christ for you.
