Excerpts from the CNT:

In John 7 we have Christ as the Feast of Tabernacles and as the Spirit.

a. The Feast of Tabernacles

Verse 2 says, “Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was near.” The Feast of the Passover is the first of the Jewish annual feasts, and the Feast of Tabernacles is the last (Lev. 23:5, 34). The Feast of the Passover, being the first feast of the year, implies the beginning of man’s life (cf. Exo. 12:2-3, 6), which involves man’s seeking for satisfaction and results in man’s hunger. The Feast of Tabernacles, being the last feast of the year, implies the completion and success of man’s life (cf. 23:16), which will end and will result in man’s thirst. In the scene of the Feast of the Passover in John 6, the Lord Jesus presented Himself as the bread of life, which satisfies man’s hunger. In the scene of the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7, the Lord Jesus promised that He would flow forth the living water, which quenches man’s thirst.

God ordained the Feast of Tabernacles so that the children of Israel would remember how their fathers, while wandering [2880] in the wilderness, had lived in tents (Lev. 23:39-43), expecting to enter into the rest of the good land. Hence, this feast is a reminder that today people are still in the wilderness and need to enter into the rest of the New Jerusalem, which is the eternal tabernacle (Rev. 21:2-3). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also lived in tents and looked forward to this eternal tabernacle (Heb. 11:9-10), in which there will be a river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb to quench man’s thirst (Rev. 22:1, 17). At the end of such a feast, which had such a background, Christ cried out the promise of the rivers of living water, which will satisfy man’s expectation for eternity (John 7:37-39).

(1) The Reaping of the Harvest of the Good Land Given by God

After the full harvest of their crops, the Jewish people observed the Feast of Tabernacles to worship God and enjoy what they had reaped (Deut. 16:13-15). The Feast of Tabernacles, therefore, was held at the time of the reaping of the harvest of the good land given by God. For us today, the reality of this good land is the Spirit (Gal. 3:14; Phil. 1:19). The physical aspect of the blessing that God promised to Abraham was the good land (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 26:3-4), which was a type of the all-inclusive Christ. Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17), the blessing of the promised Spirit corresponds to the blessing of the land promised to Abraham. Actually, the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land as the source of God’s bountiful supply for us to enjoy.

(2) For God’s People to Enjoy and Be Satisfied before God

The Feast of Tabernacles was a feast for God’s people to enjoy and be satisfied before God (Lev. 23:40b; Rom. 14:17b). As the last feast of all the feasts ordained by God for His people (Lev. 23:34, 39-43), the Feast of Tabernacles is for their enjoyment of the rich produce of the good land at its harvest time for their satisfaction. Christ as the reality of the Feast of Tabernacles is such a feast for our experience and enjoyment today. [2881]

b. The Spirit

John 7:37-39 speaks of the Spirit.

(1) Jesus Becoming the Spirit through His Glorification

Jesus became the Spirit through His glorification. Regarding this, verse 39b says, “The Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John’s word indicates an expectation—expectation that although the Spirit was “not yet,” the time was coming when the Spirit would be there. The Spirit of God was there from the beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but at the time the Lord Jesus cried out at the feast, the Spirit as the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), was not yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jesus was glorified when He was resurrected (Luke 24:26). After Jesus’ resurrection the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ, who was breathed into the disciples by Christ in the evening of the day on which He was resurrected (John 20:22). The Spirit is now the “another Comforter,” the Spirit of reality promised by Christ before His death (14:16-17). When the Spirit was the Spirit of God, He had only the divine element. After He became the Spirit of Jesus Christ through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, the Spirit had both the divine element and the human element, with all the essence and reality of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Hence, through resurrection the Spirit who was “not yet” became the Spirit who now is; such a Spirit is now the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ as the living water for us to receive.

(2) Receiving Christ as the Spirit

Everyone who thirsts and comes to Christ and believes in (drinks) Him receives Him as the Spirit for his satisfaction, and out of his inner being shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:37 says, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” The last day here signifies that all the enjoyment of any success in human life will end. There [2882] is a “last day” to every kind of material thing of the physical life. If anyone thirsts and comes to the Lord Jesus and drinks, believing into Him, “out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (v. 38). The Lord Jesus does not speak of just one flow but of rivers. The unique river of living water is the Spirit. Out of this unique river, many rivers will flow out. These “rivers of living water” are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23) of the one unique “river of water of life” (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s “Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2). One river is the river of peace, and other rivers are joy, comfort, righteousness, life, holiness, love, patience, and humility. We do not know how many rivers there are. These rivers of living water flow out from the depths of our being. This is the experience and enjoyment of Christ as the Spirit.