Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river …. too deep … could not be crossed

The context of this extract from Ezekiel 47:5 is talking about the river that flows from under the threshold of the temple. The depth is measured every thousand cubits, and goes from ankle deep, to kneed deep, to waist deep and then as in the title. And since water is symbolic of Holy Spirit, the passage has been seen (rightly in my opinion) as stages of our willingness to allow the Spirit into our lives. At each stage until the last one, we are still in control, but if we plunge into the river at the last stage, we are not. At that stage the river can take us where it wants to go. But it is worth noting that there is healing in the direction the river takes us (verse 12).

The thought of giving up control to a Spirit we cannot see, can be scary. And perhaps that is why it is spoken of in stages, where we progressively learn that He is trustworthy. And thinking along these lines it is worthy of note that Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the Scriptures (the whole Bible - 2 Timothy 3:16), that He will not contradict His Word, and He is therefore the One who tells us “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). So then to be immersed in Holy Spirit, the true Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 16:13), is to also to be immersed in, and abiding in His Word (John 15:7).

The Church has often divided along the lines of the Word and the Spirit, and there have certainly been abuses on both sides of this divide. There is much truth in the saying “The Word without the Spirit we dry up, the Spirit without the Word we blow up, but the Spirit and the Word together, we grow up.” We were talking the last couple of days about quenching the Spirit, and the discipline of the Lord. And for me, these things relate to this mornings post. My point is that when I am immersed in both His Word and His Spirit, seeking to follow Him with all my heart, then I can trust Him by these means, to keep me within the boundaries of Kingdom living. Not saying it might not look a little strange!

Father, someone has said “faith” is spelt r-i-s-k, and certainly, if I am to walk by faith and not by sight, I do have to give up control. I do believe Lord that You can be trusted to not guide me in to anything that is not of You. And I thank You this morning again for the assurance of Your Word that both Your Word and Your Spirit are involved in this guidance. Lord if there’s any part of me that is still hanging on to control, I want You to show me, so that I can repent and yield myself totally to You to be used for Your honour and glory and praise in Jesus Name Amen