And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that goes around the whole land of Cush
— Gensis 2:13
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
— Jeremiah 13:23
The second branch of this river is called “Gihon,” which means “overflowing.” The Bible tells us that Gihon encompassed the whole land of Cush, or Ethiopia, which signifies the unchangeable, evil nature of sinners (cf. Jeremiah 13:23).
The river Gihon is now overflowing, but the problem is that it encounters a dark and unchangeable nature. Many of us were saved many years ago. When we were young, we assumed that our evil nature would gradually disappear over time. What we have found, however, is that our evil nature is still very much with us, even after years of the Lord’s transforming work. Therefore, although we might say that we are in the flow, we should realize that we are still fallen.
The flow we are enjoying is something marvelous, but we must acknowledge that we still possess something that is terrible. As we are enjoying the flow with others in the church life, we should be aware that our evil nature can jump out at any time, regardless of how long we have been enjoying the flow of the divine stream. We must never delude ourselves into thinking that we have somehow become sinless. Our fallen nature will be with us until we experience the transfiguration of our body at the Lord’s return.
Adapted from The Reality of the Divine Stream, pages 14-15.
Tomorrow: “God Wants to Give Us Christ”