“…and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2, Young’s Literal Translation)
Many would agree that water is a symbol for life.
Life, however, is a tricky thing to define. A quick search of the dictionary reminds us of its many different definitions and uses, such as: “You only get one life,” “Life is funny,” “She’s my life,” and “Life on Earth is biologically diverse,” etc.
We will define life as being that active, energetic, transforming force of God at work in the world.
Before God ever said “Let there be light,” Genesis 1:2 says the Spirit of God “fluttered” over the waters. The Hebrew word translated in English as flutter means to “set in motion” or “to vibrate.” The idea presented in Genesis 1:2 seems to be that before anything else, the Spirit of God set matter (the waters) into motion, maybe even starting the flow of electrons that makes life possible.
A shorter way of saying water symbolizes the active, energetic, transforming force of God at work in the world is to say it symbolizes God’s power. Stepping back, we can see this interpretation for water makes much more sense.
Take Noah’s flood, for example. If water is just a symbol for life, then how do we understand the symbolism of that global catastrophe? Did God drown the world through a flood of life?
Instead, if we translate water as a symbol for God’s power, then all of God’s uses of water in nature make much more sense. When God’s power flows in great torrents, it is in judgment like a flood, but when He applies His power gently like a summer rain to cracked soil, it produces life.
Understanding this, the interpretation of floods becomes a lot easier. It explains why water was the method of judgment in the days of Noah.
God destroyed the world through an immense release of His power (Great Flood).
This also adds depth to the symbolism of baptism. We’ve always understood baptism as being symbolic of being buried with Christ and resurrected into Life as a new creation. Through this deeper under-standing of the symbolism of water, we could say that baptism was more specifically symbolic of being buried into God’s power, which is the same power that regenerates the new man into life in Christ.
This giving of life should not be confused with God’s Spirit, His breathing of spirit into man. The spirit, or breath, that God breathed into Adam was distinct from the “life” that transformed Adam’s body from inanimate matter into animate flesh. Animals are alive, bacteria are alive, but God does not breathe spirit into them as He did man and woman.
All biological life on earth needs water to live, and it needs it regularly.
Even the most desert-adept creatures must have water or they perish. When searching out the possibility of life existing somewhere else in the universe, water is the very first item scientists look for on a potential planet. No matter how creative Sci-Fi writers want to be, there’s never been a scientifically observed organism that did not require water to exist. Where there’s no water, there can be no life.
Jesus Himself alluded to water being symbolically tied to life. “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)
Man is very keenly aware of his desperate need for, and dependence on, water. Within mere hours of being denied it, a person can become desperately thirsty. Go without it for two to three days, and you die.
This means that we cannot go very long without being exposed to God’s power, the Life that He gives, before we die spiritually.
Water refreshes us.
Close your eyes.
Imagine turning up a glass filled with clinking ice and taking a deep drink of the cold water inside. Can you feel the cool liquid filling your mouth, trickling down your parched throat? There is nothing more refreshing than that sensation, especially after a long, hot, dry day.
True Life in God is like that refreshing glass of water. So many of us are bored stiff with our daily routines. The ennui drives us to seek thrills and new experiences in an attempt to fill our lives with something exciting and interesting. We believe “life” lies within such things. Yet, they give us nothing of the sort.
The latest TV shows, movies, parties, clothing styles, cars, elec-tronics, sky diving, base jumping, sex, pornography, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, name your thing here, none of it satisfies, none of it leaves us refreshed for any extended period of time after the exper-ience. In fact, all of these things are like eating spoonfuls of sugar, not water. You get an immediate “rush,” a stimulating excitement that is clearly distinct from the previous boredom, yet, you quickly crash thereafter. “Sugars” like the items in the list above may have a fasci-nating taste, but when the sugar rush has left, you lie there on the couch feeling less healthy than before you ate.
A cool glass of water is very different from sugar. The opposite in fact. Those who aren’t used to drinking water never desire it. It sounds like a boring, tasteless idea. Why drink water when there’s Cokes and Sprites and Gatorade and Sweet Tea and every other kind of sugary drink you can imagine to titillate the taste buds?
However, those who are accustomed to drinking pure water cannot do without those simple, cool glasses. There’s nothing like it. While drinking water doesn’t send you on some sugary rush, it doesn’t take but a couple of glasses before you feel cleaner, more healthy, like your body has been cleansed and weighs just a little bit less. Nothing refreshes like a glass of water.
The Life that God offers, True Life, is like that. To outsiders, those who’ve never experienced Him before, His ways sound boring, taste-less, and bland.
Yet, those of us who have partaken know differently. We know the Life that refreshes, the Life that leaves us electrified, with a sense of well-being and spiritual healthiness. It truly is an abundant spring of “water” that takes away your thirst for that something you’ve always felt was missing. It’s not some sugary drink. It’s True Life.
Water is a cleanser.
Water washes and purifies like few other cleaning agents. Bleach damages and even chemically alters objects through its cleansing. Water lifts dirt off an article, leaving behind the original, often times as good as new.
God’s power cleanses us. Sin is a powerful stain, and it requires something of power to remove it. Only God’s power is sufficient.
Water is a solvent.
It’s actually often referred to as the universal solvent. This means that just about everything, solid, liquid, and gas, will dissolve in water. Some items may take longer than others, but they all eventually break down.
God’s power is just as effective in “breaking things down.” To come in contact with Him is to be humbled by His power. Through His power, He breaks down both physical and spiritual walls and softens up people’s hearts. He dissolves the will of His enemies and disintegrates contaminating impurities.
Symbolism: God created Water to symbolize His Power.
WATER = GOD’S POWER
Lesson: Partake regularly in the Life that God offers to feel clean and healthy.
(Excerpted from The Gospel According to Nature by Zack Mason)
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