Water holds a significant place within the ordinances of the Gospel, symbolizing purification, life, and the covenantal relationship between God and His people. Throughout the biblical narrative, water is a recurring element that underscores spiritual truths and divine ordinances.

Old Testament Foundations

In the Old Testament, water is often associated with purification and cleansing. The ritual washings prescribed in the Mosaic Law, such as those found in Leviticus, underscore the importance of purity before God. Water is also a symbol of life and sustenance, as seen in the provision of water from the rock in Exodus 17:6, where God miraculously provides for the Israelites in the wilderness.

Baptism: A New Testament Ordinance

In the New Testament, water takes on a profound significance in the ordinance of baptism. John the Baptist's ministry in the wilderness, calling for repentance and baptizing in the Jordan River, sets the stage for the Christian understanding of baptism. In Matthew 3:11, John declares, "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."

Jesus Himself undergoes baptism, not for repentance, but to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). This act inaugurates His public ministry and sets a pattern for His followers. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 commands the disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Symbolism and Spiritual Significance

Baptism, as an ordinance involving water, symbolizes the believer's identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:4 articulates this connection: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life."

Water baptism is an outward expression of an inward transformation, signifying the washing away of sins and the believer's new life in Christ. Acts 22:16 exhorts, "And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name."

Living Water: The Promise of Eternal Life

Beyond the ordinance of baptism, water is also a metaphor for the spiritual life and sustenance found in Christ. In John 4:14, Jesus offers the Samaritan woman "living water," promising that "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 Holy Spirit, who indwells believers and provides spiritual nourishment and eternal life. Revelation 22:17 extends this invitation: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely."

Conclusion

Water, as an ordinance of the Gospel, remains a powerful symbol of cleansing, renewal, and the life-giving presence of God. Through the waters of baptism, believers publicly declare their faith and enter into the covenant community of the Church. As a symbol of the Holy Spirit, water continues to remind Christians of the sustaining and transformative power of God's grace in their lives.Psalm 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

The Sixth Miracle in John's Gospel --The Blind Made to See, and ...
... water, it is not the Church, the ordinances, the outward ... of God, the water of life,
the water of gladness ... Then, still further, we have here our Lord suspending ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture i/the sixth miracle in johns.htm

The Lord's Day --The Worship of the Apostolic Church --Its ...
... satisfactory; and their prayers which are still extant, and ... they had of believing
that the water of baptism is ... friendship nor to the sealing ordinances of the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter i the lords daythe.htm

The Ordinances of the New Testament.
... supper was with the rest of the Jewish ordinances blotted out ... unto whom he said:
"Let a little water, I pray ... That still continues the same as eating and bathing ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter viii the ordinances of.htm

Differences in Judgment About Water Baptism, no Bar to Communion ...
... forestalled all your noise, and standeth still on its ... of so low a thing as water
baptism.' I ... them from a disorderly practice of gospel ordinances, we offer ...
/.../the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/differences in judgment about water.htm

Concerning Baptism.
... of reformation, or the dispensation of the gospel, which puts ... come, then such baptisms
and carnal ordinances are no ... appear, seeing it is but water still, and a ...
/.../proposition xii concerning baptism.htm

Mormonites, or the Church of the Latter-Day Saints.
... to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were ... the gospel, and administer in
the ordinances thereof. ... and his doctrines are warmly opposed; still, it must ...
/.../hayward/the book of religions/mormonites or the church of.htm

Union and Communion with God the End and Design of the Gospel
... The air is liker heaven than water, therefore is it ... partition wall," and "the hand
writing of ordinances that was ... soul of a believer is here still in motion ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/lecture ii union and communion.htm

Sowing and Reaping.
... It was still the law of God, but when the "handwriting of ordinances was nailed
to the ... (John 4:28). 28. And the woman left her water-pot and went her way. ...
/.../johnson/the new testament commentary vol iii john/sowing and reaping.htm

The Lord's Supper.
... but it is highly probable that they still continued to ... When, however, in the cup
water is mingled with wine, the ... than in any of His other ordinances; for He ...
/.../killen/the ancient church/chapter iii the lords supper.htm

Baptists.
... uphold the public worship of God and the ordinances of his ... and the eunuch went down
both into the water; that the ... in Rhode Island, a name which it still bears. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/baptists.htm

Did Jesus change the water into wine or grape juice? | GotQuestions.org

What was the meaning of Jesus walking on water? | GotQuestions.org

Do the news reports of rivers turning blood red have anything to do with the end times? | GotQuestions.org

Water: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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