THE RIVER FROM THE TEMPLE — EZEKIEL 47: DEEPER LEVELS OF RELIANCE, A THOUSAND CUBITS AT A TIME ============================================================ Course: The Potter’s Wheel (Wheel) Lesson: 2 Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1–12; John 7:37–39; 1 Corinthians 3:16 Language: English URL: https://kgm-school-preview.netlify.app/lessons/en/wheel/02-the-river-from-the-temple/ WhatsApp: WHEEL EN 02 LESSON TWO — THE RIVER FROM THE TEMPLE: EZEKIEL 47: DEEPER LEVELS OF RELIANCE, A THOUSAND CUBITS AT A TIME ============================================================ BIG IDEA The life of God flows out from His presence in His people like a river. The further the river flows, the deeper the water becomes. His life leads us into deeper levels of surrender and reliance. We go ankle-deep in Truth, knee-deep in Prayer, and waist-deep in the Father’s Love. Then we come to water to swim in, which is Fellowship. And the river does not stay in the temple. The river flows on to the Dead Sea, and everything lives where the river goes. This is Outreach. PART 1 — SCRIPTURE READING Ezekiel 47:1–12 • John 7:37–39 • 1 Corinthians 3:16 Open your Bible and read Ezekiel 47:1–12 slowly, all the way through. Then read John 7:37–39 and 1 Corinthians 3:16. Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet among the exiles in Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 1:1–3). The city of Jerusalem had fallen (Ezekiel 40:1). In a vision God showed him a new temple, and a man with a measuring rod in his hand led him through it (Ezekiel 40:3). Then the man brought Ezekiel back to the entrance of the temple and showed him water. In John, Jesus stands up at the feast and promises rivers of living water. In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells the church what she is: the temple of God. In Lesson One we saw the five pillars in the picture of a body that loves: heart, knees, head, arms, and legs. Today we see the same five pillars in the picture of a river. The picture is different. The pillars are the same. And we will see how depending on God grows deeper, step by step. This lesson follows Chapter 2 of The Potter’s Wheel. KEY VERSE — EZEKIEL 47:9 “Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.” PART 2 — WALKING THROUGH EZEKIEL 47 A. Water from Under the Threshold “The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar” (Ezekiel 47:1). Notice where the river begins. The river begins in the house of God, the place of His presence. (Your Kiswahili Bible says “the house” in this chapter. It is the house of God, the temple.) B. Three Truths Before We Step In Before we walk into this river, let us set three truths firmly in place. 1. The church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The water in Ezekiel’s vision no longer flows from a building in Jerusalem. The water flows from the people of God. 2. The water speaks of the Holy Spirit. “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’” (John 7:37–38). Then John explains: “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39). 3. The church is built by the great Shepherd. Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). He builds through the shepherds who serve under Him. The river is His. The temple is His. The increase is His. C. Deeper, a Thousand Cubits at a Time Now watch the man with the measuring line. “As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross” (Ezekiel 47:3–5). A cubit is the length of a man’s forearm, about half a metre. So a thousand cubits is about half a kilometre. The man measured four times, and each time the water was deeper. The further the river went from the temple, the deeper the water became. This is the heart of the vision. The life of God flows from His presence within us. His life works to gain ownership of our whole being. His life enters our nature little by little and leads us into deeper levels of surrender and reliance. And here is the wonder: each depth of the river matches one of the five pillars. D. Ankle-Deep — The Pillar of Truth We use our ankles to stand. The ankle-deep water speaks of standing in correct doctrine. This is where every believer’s journey in the river begins. Our feet are planted on the solid ground of the Word of God. We learn to stand, so that we are not tossed back and forth by the waves or blown here and there by every wind of teaching (Ephesians 4:14). E. Knee-Deep — The Pillar of Prayer and Worship We use our knees to pray. The knee-deep water speaks of the power of the Holy Spirit through worship and prayer (John 4:24). The river is rising now. First we stand. Then we kneel. Doctrine that we have learned becomes communion with God that we enjoy. F. Waist-Deep — The Pillar of the Father’s Love Through Serving At the waist we fasten a belt. Fastened firmly in the love of the Father, we discover our gifts and begin to minister to others (Romans 12:6–8). At the waist the river begins to carry some of our weight. Service is no longer a duty. Service becomes an overflow. G. Water to Swim In — The Pillar of Fellowship A swimmer cannot touch the bottom. He is fully committed to the water, as we are fully committed to one another (John 13:35). At this level of maturity we build meaningful relationships on purpose. No one is left behind, and no one swims alone. H. The Question — “Son of man, do you see this?” Then comes the question that every church must answer: “He asked me, ‘Son of man, do you see this?’ Then he led me back to the bank of the river” (Ezekiel 47:6). Every member of a church on the potter’s wheel needs to see what God intends to do. A church must see the vision together. If she does not, she will drift apart and follow five different visions. I. The River Flows On — The Pillar of Outreach “He said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh’” (Ezekiel 47:8). The Arabah is the dry valley that leads down to the sea. (Your Kiswahili Bible says only “the sea”, and says that its waters will be healed. This is the Salt Sea, which we also call the Dead Sea.) This sea is so full of salt that no fish can live in it. It is the deadest place on the face of the earth. But the river was never meant to stay in the temple. The river flows to that dead place, and everything lives where the river goes. Notice the direction of growth. The river does not grow deeper by flowing back toward the temple. The river grows deeper as the water flows away from the temple, out toward the world that needs this water. So it is with the church. We do not go deeper in God by withdrawing further from the world. We go deeper in God as His life carries us further out: deeper in Truth, deeper in Prayer, deeper in Love, deeper in Fellowship. Then the life we carry empties into the dead places around us, and they begin to live. The river was never meant to stay in the temple. The River and the Five Pillars at a Glance - The river: Ankle-deep · The picture: We use our ankles to stand · The pillar: Truth · What it means: We stand in correct doctrine - The river: Knee-deep · The picture: We use our knees to pray · The pillar: Prayer and worship · What it means: What we have learned becomes communion with God - The river: Waist-deep · The picture: We fasten a belt at the waist · The pillar: Love · What it means: Held firmly in the Father’s love, we discover our gifts and serve - The river: Water to swim in · The picture: The whole body is in the water · The pillar: Fellowship · What it means: No one is left behind, and no one swims alone - The river: The river flows on · The picture: The river reaches the Dead Sea · The pillar: Outreach · What it means: Everything lives where the river goes J. Ezekiel 47 in One Sentence The river begins in the presence of God, grows deeper on the way, and brings life wherever the water goes. In Lesson Three we begin to walk through the five relationships, one by one. We begin with the Father, the Source and Planter of the church. PART 3 — KNOW THE WORD: TEACHING FOCUS #### 1. The Church Is the Temple Paul asks the church a question: do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16)? In Ezekiel’s vision the temple was a building. Today the temple is a people. So the river of Ezekiel 47 is not far away from us. The water flows from the people of God. #### 2. We Begin at the Ankles No one begins in deep water. Every believer begins ankle-deep, with feet planted on the Word of God. A church stands ankle-deep in Truth before she can go deeper, and everything we do must be tested by what God has said. The believers in Berea examined the Scriptures every day to see if what they were taught was true (Acts 17:11). First we learn to stand. #### 3. The Pillars Must Never Be Separated Truth without Prayer dries up. Prayer without Love turns inward. Love without Fellowship has no body to live in. Fellowship without Outreach becomes a closed group beside a dying sea. But where all five flow together, the promise of the key verse is ours: where the river flows, everything will live (Ezekiel 47:9). PART 4 — TRUST THE SPIRIT: TEACHING FOCUS #### 1. The Spirit Gives Life Jesus spoke of rivers of living water, and He meant the Spirit (John 7:38–39). Jesus has now been glorified, and He has poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). The Spirit gives life (John 6:63). So the river that flows from the temple is not a river of information but of living water. When we have the Word without the Spirit, our faith dries into empty religion. When we claim the Spirit without the Word, we drift into confusion. But where the Word is known and the Spirit is trusted, the church walks in both truth and power. #### 2. The Spirit Leads Us Deeper, Little by Little The life of God in us leads us into deeper levels of surrender and reliance, little by little. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, for those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God (Romans 8:14). Look at how Ezekiel was led. The man with the measuring line did not scold him at the ankle-deep water. The man simply kept leading him deeper, a thousand cubits at a time. The only real danger in this river is to refuse to go further in. #### 3. The Spirit Sends Us Outward The river grows deeper in one direction only: outward, toward the dead places. The Holy Spirit moves His people in the same direction. When He came on the disciples, they became witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). He does not fill a church so that she may stay inside the temple. He fills her so that His life may reach the dead places around her. Word and Spirit in Ezekiel 47 — Side by Side - Know the Word: The church is God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). · Trust the Spirit: God’s Spirit dwells in the midst of His people (1 Corinthians 3:16). - Know the Word: Jesus calls everyone who is thirsty to come to Him and drink (John 7:37). · Trust the Spirit: Rivers of living water flow from within the one who believes. By this He meant the Spirit (John 7:38–39). - Know the Word: The man with the measuring line led Ezekiel deeper, a thousand cubits at a time (Ezekiel 47:3–5). · Trust the Spirit: Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God (Romans 8:14). - Know the Word: Where the river flows, everything will live (Ezekiel 47:9). · Trust the Spirit: When the Holy Spirit comes, His people receive power and become witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). PART 5 — FORMING CHRIST IN THE BELIEVER Ezekiel 47 forms Christ in us in three ways: 1. Christ is formed in us when we are honest about where we stand. Ankles, knees, waist, or swimming? Do not be ashamed of the answer. Be honest about it. 2. Christ is formed in us when we keep going deeper. The man with the measuring line did not scold Ezekiel in the shallow water. He kept leading him on. Do not refuse to go further in. 3. Christ is formed in us when the life we carry reaches a dead place. The river grows deeper as the water flows outward. Carry His life to someone in need. PART 6 — DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Come prepared to answer. Come prepared to listen. 1. Where are you standing in the river today: at the ankles, at the knees, at the waist, or swimming? How do you know? 2. “Son of man, do you see this?” Does your church see one vision together, or are her members following different visions? 3. Is the water rising in your church year by year? Is anything around you coming to life because your church is there? 4. Truth without Prayer. Prayer without Love. Love without Fellowship. Fellowship without Outreach. Which of these is the greatest danger for your church today? 5. When a river is not growing deeper and is not bringing life anywhere, we must ask whether the river is still connected to the temple. How does a church stay connected to the presence of God? PART 7 — WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT Before next class, take time with the following: - Read John 15:1–8 and Matthew 3:13–17 in preparation for Lesson Three. - Memorize Ezekiel 47:9 or John 7:38. - Read Ezekiel 47:1–12 aloud with your family or with your church this week. - Draw the river on one page. Mark the four depths and the place where the river reaches the sea. Write the pillar beside each one. Then mark the place where you are standing. - Think of one place near you that needs the life of God: a street, a market, a school, or a village. Pray every day this week that the river will reach it. CLOSING PRAYER A PRAYER TO PRAY OUT LOUD THIS WEEK Father, thank You for the river that flows from Your presence. The river is Yours. The temple is Yours. The increase is Yours. Lead us deeper. Plant our feet in Your truth. Teach us to kneel in prayer and worship. Hold us firmly in Your love until our service overflows with joy. Then take us into water to swim in, where no one is left behind and no one swims alone. Open the eyes of our church to see what You intend to do. Let Your river flow through us to the dead places around us, in our town and across Tanzania, until everything lives where the river goes. In the Name of Jesus, amen. NEXT LESSON — Lesson Three — The Father. The Source and Planter of the Church: The Pillar of Love ---------- KGM School of Service — Knowing God Missions · Tumenyimana https://kgm-school-preview.netlify.app