47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me round on the outside to the outer gate that faces towards the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
3 Going on eastwards with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. 9 And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
A word must now be said about the 'degrees' of water spoken of in the vision. The first thing this teaches us is that the Lord means His power in us to increase until it becomes 'waters to swim in'. The history of the Church has shown that there have been lives from which there has flowed such tremendous streams of blessing that multitudes have been engulfed in them. We must, however, beware of misconceptions here: in one sense, when we have the Spirit we have all that there is of Him; He is not divided, and He is not to be quantified. But at the same time we can say that the Spirit can assume more and more control of our lives. One commentator, referring to 5, in the phrase 'it was a river that I could not pass over', underlines the 'I', as if to suggest that self is lost in the fullness of the Spirit. A river in which that capital 'I' is overwhelmed, is not this a wonderful thought? Let us ask ourselves where we are in God's river. Are we at all, or are we simply spectating? Are we in up to the ankles, paddling only in the shallows of divine blessing? Are we in up to the knees, or up to the loins, or out of our depth and swept off our feet? Theodore Monod's hymn, 'O the bitter shame and sorrow' represents the possibilities very graphically: 'All of self, and none of Thee'; 'Some of self, and some of Thee'; 'Less of self, and more of Thee'; 'None of self, and all of Thee'. There can come a time when we are completely in the power of the Spirit, and carried on irresistibly by the glorious river of God. Yet, paradoxically, it is when we are more truly overwhelmed and controlled in this way that we become ourselves most truly. This is the miracle of divine grace.