Topical Bible: Water: Fluid

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Topical Encyclopedia

Water, as a fundamental element of life, holds significant symbolic and literal importance throughout the Bible. It is frequently mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, serving as a symbol of purification, life, and divine provision.

Creation and the Natural World

In the opening verses of Genesis, water is depicted as a primordial element. Genesis 1:2 states, "Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." Here, water is part of the initial creation, signifying chaos and potential, which God orders into the cosmos.

Purification and Cleansing

Water is often associated with purification and cleansing. In the Mosaic Law, water is used for ritual purification. Leviticus 14:8 instructs, "The one to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be clean." This ritual use of water underscores its role in spiritual and physical purification.

Divine Provision and Sustenance

Water is also a symbol of God's provision. In the wilderness, God provides water for the Israelites, demonstrating His care and sustenance. Exodus 17:6 recounts, "Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink." This miraculous provision highlights God's ability to sustain His people in times of need.

Baptism and New Life

In the New Testament, water takes on a profound spiritual significance through the sacrament of baptism. John the Baptist uses water as a symbol of repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah. Matthew 3:11 records John saying, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Baptism with water signifies the washing away of sin and the beginning of a new life in Christ.

Living Water

Jesus Himself uses the metaphor of "living water" to describe the eternal life He offers. In John 4:14 , Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life." This living water represents the spiritual sustenance and eternal life found in Christ.

Judgment and Renewal

Water is also a symbol of judgment and renewal. The Great Flood in Genesis 6-9 serves as a divine judgment on a sinful world, yet it also marks a new beginning for humanity through Noah's family. Similarly, the Red Sea crossing in Exodus 14 is both a judgment on the Egyptians and a deliverance for the Israelites.

Eschatological Significance

In the eschatological visions of Revelation, water continues to play a significant role. Revelation 22:1 describes, "Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb." This imagery of the water of life emphasizes the ultimate restoration and eternal life that God promises to His people.

Throughout Scripture, water is a multifaceted symbol representing life, purification, judgment, and divine blessing. Its presence in biblical narratives underscores the essential and life-giving nature of God's provision and the transformative power of His grace.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 78:16
He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Proverbs 30:4
Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? who has gathered the wind in his fists? who has bound the waters in a garment? who has established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you can tell?
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether There are Waters Above the Firmament?
... Therefore there are not waters above the firmament. Objection 2: Further, water
is fluid by nature, and fluids cannot rest on a sphere, as experience shows. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether there are waters above.htm

Seventh Tractate. On Complete Transfusion.
... Is it possible that fluid be blended with fluid in such a way that each penetrate ...
for they do not suggest any such extension by change as that of water into air ...
/.../plotinus/the six enneads/seventh tractate on complete transfusion.htm

The Holy Nation
... deep fountains in the divine nature that 'clean water' was to flow, Ezekiel does
not know; but we have learned that a more precious fluid than water is needed ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the holy nation.htm

That There are Many Things which Reason Cannot Account For, and ...
... The following are some of the marvels men tell us:"The salt of Agrigentum in Sicily,
when thrown into the fire, becomes fluid as if it were in water, but in ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 5 that there are many.htm

What is Man?
... as soon as the fire is extracted from it, the air and water air thrown ... blood;
consequently, no motion of any of the fluids, of the nervous fluid in particular ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 109 what is man.htm

Basil -- the Creation of the World
... Only one supposition remains: that which floated on the surface of the earth was
water, the fluid essence which had not yet been confined to its own place. ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons volume i/basil the creation of.htm

Flee Away, My Beloved, and be Thou Like to a Roe or to a Young ...
... It is the same with form as with color. As water is fluid and yielding, it instantly
and exactly assumes the form of the vessel in which it is placed. ...
/.../guyon/song of songs of solomon/14 flee away my beloved.htm

"The Earth was Invisible and Unfinished. "
... Only one supposition remains; that which floated on the surface of the earth was
water"the fluid essence which had not yet been confined to its own place. ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/homily ii the earth was.htm

That the Philosophers have Attained to Some Portion of Truth.
... nor in music, which is conjectural; nor in astronomy, crammed full of physical,
fluid, and probable ... are our true views, as images are seen in the water, and as ...
/.../clement/the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xix that the philosophers have.htm

On the Physical Basis of Life.
... The fluid containing carbonic acid, water, and ammonia, which offers such a Barmecide
feast to the animal, is a table richly spread to multitudes of plants; and ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/vii on the physical basis.htm