And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come; he that will, let him take [the] water of life freely.
Read Full Chapter →Commentary for this Verse
The Bible's last book is full of judgment, yet it ends with an open invitation. In one verse the church calls up to Christ and out to the world. Who is speaking here, and to whom?
The cry belongs to the Spirit
The longing in this cry has a source outside the church herself.
Edward DennettIt is however the Spirit and the bride who say, Come; that is, the Spirit produces the cry in the church. She raises it, but it is He who has called it forth. So here we are allowed to see the church as the vessel, the willing vessel of the Holy Spirit. It is He who directs her gaze upward to the bright morning Star, and draws out the expression of the desire for His coming. It follows that this is the normal attitude of the assembly.
An answer to what Christ has just called Himself
The cry does not rise out of nowhere. It follows the verse before it, where Jesus names Himself. That changes the whole tone of the response.
J. N. DarbySo "the Spirit and the bride say, Come." This is not a warning from one coming as a judge and a rewarder. It is the revelation of Himself, and that revelation awakens the desire of the bride, according to the relationship in which grace has set her. It is not a mere sentiment or wish: the Spirit who dwells in the assembly leads and suggests her thought. "Let the one who hears" means the one who hears the voice of the Spirit in the assembly. Let him join in the cry, and say, Come.
A widening circle
Love awakened by the Spirit does not stop with Christ. It moves in a set order.
J. N. Darby"The Spirit and the bride say, Come." We get the whole circle of the church's affections. When the Spirit of God is working in the saints, what will be the first affection? Christ… What is the next affection? It is the saints. So it turns and calls on the one who hears to say, Come… And what next? We turn round to those who may be thirsty, telling them to come, and whoever desires, let him take the water of life without price. The believer who knows the blessedness of having drunk the living water Christ gives wants others to have it too.
The word "Come" turns around
One word, "Come," runs in two opposite directions here.
L. M. Grant"And let the one who hears say Come." Everyone with open ears, every believer, is urged to join in this genuine desire for His coming. Then, suddenly, the word "come" is used in a different way. It becomes a sweet message of gospel grace, showing the great heart of the Lord Jesus: "Let the one who is thirsty come." Has reading God's words awakened thirst in some man or woman? Then let him or her come to Christ, and he will find a wonderful welcome.
Nothing in the Bible is more open
The same words serve two very different readers.
William KellyIt presents the brightest hope of the church, it encourages the simplest believer, and it also holds the fullest expression of sovereign grace to the neediest of sinners, in whatever state he may be found. What can be more open than saying, "Let the one who desires take the water of life without price"? There is no more unrestricted invitation to perishing souls in any part of the Bible.
Taking, not buying
Some hesitate because they doubt they are thirsty enough. The answer splits the verse into God's side and yours. The writer quotes an older translation, which says "freely" where the ESV says "without price."
W. T. P. WolstonThe point is not the measure of your anxiety, but the fact that you are thirsty or willing at all… "I will give to the one who is thirsty from the fountain of the water of life freely… Let the one who is thirsty come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 21:6, 22:17). What charming words! "I will give … freely." That is God's side. "Let him take … freely." That is your side. God gives; all you have to do is to take what He gives.
Grace has the last word
The book ends by turning to the world outside.
Hamilton SmithHow touching it is that the last appeal from Christ in the glory is a gospel appeal to a needy world, and let us mark well how full and how wide is the appeal. As one has said, "There is no man in the world to whom Jesus does not appeal. He gave Himself a ransom for all, and so He has the right to appeal to every man, whoever he may be: 'Let him take the water of life without price.' Whoever wants it may come and drink of living water without money and without price."
Summary
- Source — The cry starts with the Spirit. The church is His willing vessel, not the source of the longing.
- Cause — Christ shows Himself as the bright morning Star. That sight, not a threat of judgment, awakens the answer.
- Circle — Love moves outward in order: Christ first, then fellow believers, then the thirsty, then anyone at all.
- Turn — The word "Come" changes direction mid-verse. First the church calls Christ down; then Christ calls sinners in.
- Terms — God gives freely; the sinner only takes. The Bible's last invitation is also its widest. The only condition is willingness.