"To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." Speaking in tongues teaches us how to rest in the Lord—how to cease from our own works.

The life in the Spirit is a rest and refreshing for those who have become worn out trying to please God by their own fleshly methods and strength (Matthew 11:28-30). The greater part of the anointed people of God, from the time of Joshua to the present day, have not been able because of unbelief to enter the "rest" of God, into the victory and inheritance promised them by the Lord.

Therefore, there remains a rest to the people of God (Hebrews 4:9).

An allegorical portrayal of a believer entering the life in the Spirit of God can be found in the Prophet Ezekiel:

And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. (Ezekiel 47:3-5)

When we first come to Christ it is as though the waters of the Holy Spirit are "to the ankles." This is to say, we can still walk according to our own will although we have been saved from wrath and are in contact with the Life of God.

If we go a bit deeper into the things of Christ the waters of the Holy Spirit's rulership come up "to the knees." The "water" is not as easy to run or walk through. It slows us down. More of our personality is in contact with and affected by the Spirit of God. The powers of our natural self-life are diminished and the resurrection power of God is commencing to influence our thoughts, words, and deeds.

We can, at this point, turn around and walk back to dry land, back to the life lived in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Or we can choose to go yet deeper with God in the process of death to self and laying hold on resurrection life.

"Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through, the waters were to the loins [hips]." By now our walk has been influenced greatly. We are controlled in our motions by the water to a much greater extent than was true when we were splashing about in ankle-deep water.

Notice how the illustration of Ezekiel's "river" parallels the prophecy of "command upon command, rule upon rule." The Spirit of God, always with our consent and eventual cooperation, gradually extends His holy rulership over our deeds, words, and thoughts.

To be continued.