This life, and these blessings, are given to Christ’s people upon regeneration in this life, albeit here only in part. This is part of the “incorruptible seed” spoken of by Peter (1 Pet. 1:23), that will come to its full and perfect bloom in the next life. It is the life of Christ, lived with Christ, through union to Christ.

“And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

 Revelation 22:1, 2.

Within these two glorious verses that begin the Bible’s final chapter, we are given a picture of the future paradise upon the New Earth which awaits all of God’s children. We do need to recognise that we are dealing here primarily with metaphor – the ‘holy city, New Jerusalem’, described in Revelation 21-22, is explained to be a metaphor for the church of Jesus Christ, “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” in Rev. 21:9-10. These images, of the river of water of life and the trees of life, are described as being found “proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1) within the holy city – and as such are clearly meant to teach us something vital about the life that the people of God will enjoy upon the New Earth.

The river of water of life, seen eternally flowing through the heart of the city from the throne of the Lamb of God, and the trees of life, eternally yielding new fruit every month, depict the drinking of this water and the eating of this fruit as being a continual daily occurrence for God’s people. So, they tell of an ever-constant reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ by His people for their life, and the fulness of it – an eternal reliance upon the Lord Jesus for life, which begins for the Lord’s people in this life and continues throughout the entirety of their eternities.

Another helpful biblical picture of this eternal reliance upon the Lord Jesus is found in the Lord’s picture of the vine and the branches on John 15:1-8. Here, the Lord Jesus uses this picture for how His people are to live truly fruitful lives – by abiding in Him. Just as these branches rely on the life-supplying power of the vine, so do the Lord’s people rely on the life-supplying power of Him – and such reliance upon the Lord Jesus for life is an eternal reliance. Our need for this life from Jesus will not become redundant in glory but will continue to be both needed and satisfied forevermore.

What is this life supplied by the Lord Jesus within the New Creation?

The Lord Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman of a living water that He is able to give those that ask of Him, that “will become in [them] a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). This is the life of Jesus, who is the source of our life, being given to us through union with Him by the Holy Spirit.

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