Spiritual Water

The Ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles held that water is one of the four classical elements along with fire, earth and air. Water is not only necessary for physical life, it is essential for our spiritual life as well. It is used for ritual cleansing or purification, healing, to infer a blessing or salvation and as a reference to the spirit of God. God used it in the Flood to cleanse the Earth of the unrighteous. Water was one of the first things God created, even before he said “Let there be Light”. And God was that light. "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. (Genesis 1:2-3 NIV)"

In almost all religions water is used for cleansing, either ritually in the physical or as a form of spiritual cleansing, such as in baptism. Baptism is a symbol of the spiritual cleansing we receive when we accept Christ. In Judaism, ritual water cleansing (mikvah) was necessary when someone was considered defiled or "unclean" due to contact with a corpse or a leper. It was required before being allowed to participate in temple rituals. Hindus must perform a morning cleansing in water before entering the temple and Muslims must wash before each of the five daily prayers (wudu).

In Christianity, Baptism is considered an outward symbol of an inward conversion or salvation as part of accepting Christ as our Savior. Catholics and others believe that baptism infers salvation but many, including evangelical churches, rightly recognize it as a symbol of our salvation. Jesus started His public ministry by being baptized in the Jordan River; "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.' Matthew 3:17 (NIV)" The Bible speaks of the Living Water, which is Jesus: "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14 NIV).

Baptism of Jesus James G. Howes

In Genesis, God selected Noah and his family as the only righteous among men and preserved them in the Ark when He sent forty days of rain upon the Earth, killing all who lived upon the land. "The LORD then said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.' (Genesis 7:1 NIV)." Prior to the Flood, a fog or mist totally covered the world and there was no rain. The Flood was caused by the raining down of this mist upon the land and after the Flood the weather patterns we know today were established with scattered clouds which can produce rain and a rainbow.

Noah in the Ark published in the US before 1923

Christianity uses water especially prepared for religious purposes (holy water) such as a blessing or in baptism. Some religions consider particular sources or bodies of water to be sacred, including Lourdes in Catholicism, the Jordan River, the Zamzam Well in Islam and the River Ganges in Hinduism. In Lourdes, people with disabilities or disease descend into the spring and hope to come up healed. Over 200 million people have visited Lourdes since 1860 and the Catholic Church as authenticated numerous miraculous healings.

"Water" or "Waters" occurs 597 times in the Bible. Water is part of many miracles of God. Besides the Flood, God turned the Nile River into blood (Exodus 7:17), parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:16), and supplied all of Israel with water from a rock in the desert (Exodus 17:6). Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1), walked on water (Matthew 14:24), was baptized in the Jordan (Matthew 3:13) and gave sight to the blind man with mud (John 9:1). He even offered living water to the woman at the well (John 4:6).

God has made water a central part of His creation and the story of His people in the Bible. "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22:17 (NIV)."