[Biblemat] B> Gospel Observer 4/13/08

[tedwards at onemain.com]

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                 THE GOSPEL OBSERVER
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"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20).
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                    April 13, 2008
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                        Water 
                   by Wayne Greeson

    Water is truly an amazing substance, yet it is so common, so 
abundant that we take it for granted. Its chemical composition is 
the bonding of two gases, hydrogen and oxygen and it is identified 
in a chemist's notation as H2O. We are familiar with its various 
forms from the gaseous, steam; to the liquid; to the solid, ice and 
snow. We drink it, bathe in it, swim in it, float over it, generate 
electricity with it, soak the grass with it, buy special clothes 
for it when it falls from the sky and on and on we could go about 
all the uses we make of the common and remarkable substance called 
water given to us by God.

    God has given us water not simply as an element of our physical 
life, but also as an object lesson to teach us spiritual truths. 
Water is so much a part of our lives and covers so much of this 
planet that it can be said that it "day unto day utters speech, and 
night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language 
where (its) voice is not heard. (Its) line has gone out through all 
the earth, and (its) words to the end of the world" (Psa. 19:2-4). 
Listen and learn the lessons water can teach us.

                     It Refreshes

    Out in the hot sun all day working hard, your throat begins to 
dry out and your tongue feels parched. You try to lick your lips 
and only end up feeling like you ran sandpaper across them. As the 
sweat drips from your brow, a picture comes to your mind of a tall 
clear glass of ice water, the ice cubes tinkling invitingly against 
the inside of the glass and beadlets of water sparkling on the 
outside of the glass. You almost tumble over your own feet in your 
rush inside for a drink of water to refresh your throat, body and 
mind from the thirst the heat and work has whipped into you.

    How refreshing water can be. David on one occasion desired to 
be refreshed with water from a certain well and said with longing, 
"Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well 
of Bethlehem, which is by the gate" (2 Sam. 23:15). Three mighty 
men broke into the camp of the Philistines just to obtain the water 
that would refresh David. Jesus praised those who refreshed little 
ones with "only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple" 
(Matt. 10:42). Jesus knew how precious it was to have a refreshing 
drink of water as in his agony on the cross he cried out, "I 
thirst" (Jn. 19:28).

    God uses our physical thirst for water, our longing for 
refreshment to teach us the need for spiritual thirst. David 
expressed the thirst of a soul longing to be refreshed in the 
presence of his God. "O God, you are my God; early will I seek you; 
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and 
thirsty land where there is no water" (Psa. 63:1). As if in 
response to David's plea for his soul to be quenched, God promised 
to provide the water that would satisfy and refresh every thirsty 
soul, "For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams 
in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the 
thirsty land springs of water" (Isa. 35:6-7).

    Jesus told the woman of Samaria that he was the source of the 
refreshing living water promised by God. "[W]hoever drinks of the 
water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I 
shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up 
into eternal life" (Jn. 4:13-14). Immediately the woman desired to 
drink of the water Jesus offered.

    The apostles of Jesus later explained how thirsty souls might 
be refreshed by God's living water. One must repent and be baptized 
for the remission of their sins, "so that times of refreshing may 
come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 2:38; 3:19). Souls that 
are as eager as David to be refreshed in the presence of God will 
submit to the command of baptism in water and they will indeed 
receive the forgiveness of their sins and the refreshing living 
water of God.

                       Cleanses

    After a hard day of backbreaking work, nothing feels quite as 
good as a long hot shower or bath. To soak up the water and scrub 
off the sweat and grime not only cleans the body, but makes one 
feel like a new person. We use gallons of water every day to clean 
our bodies, our clothes, our dishes, our cars, our pets, and 
anything else that we can reach with a bucket and a scrub brush.

    Under the Law of Moses, cleansing with water was a frequent 
requirement. The frequency of cleansing with water for the priests 
required a bronze laver of water to be placed in the tabernacle 
courtyard between the altar and the door of the tabernacle. Moses 
was commanded concerning the laver, "You shall put water in it, for 
Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water 
from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they 
come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire 
to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die" (Exod. 
30:19-20).

    Again the Lord has given us the physical quality of water and 
its use in cleansing to teach us a lesson concerning spiritual 
cleansing. Just as dirt will make our body filthy and require water 
for cleansing, so also sin will make our soul filthy and require 
water for cleansing. David frequently prayed to be cleansed of his 
sins, "Wash me throughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my 
sin... Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me, and I 
shall be whiter than snow" (Psa. 51:2,7). The Lord promised in the 
Old Testament a means of cleansing, "In that day a fountain shall 
be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness" (Zech. 13:1).

    Under the New Testament, the Lord kept his promise and sent his 
son, Jesus Christ, to open up the way to the fountain whereby those 
who love God might be washed, cleansed, purified, and purged of 
their sins. God has ordained that, for one to be cleansed of his 
sins, he must in faith submit to baptism in water, "the washing of 
regeneration" (Tit. 3:5). Saul was commanded by God through 
Ananias, "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling 
on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). One must be baptized not to 
remove the filth of the flesh, but to give the answer of a good 
conscience toward God (1 Pet. 3:21). Only those who have had their 
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and their "bodies washed 
with pure water" can "draw near (to God) with a true heart and in 
full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10:22).

                   Essential to Life

    Water is essential for life to exist on this planet. All 
creatures require water to live. The human body is three quarters 
water and uses water for digestion, circulation, respiration, 
temperature control, waste removal and many more functions. While 
one can live without food for three weeks, one cannot live more 
than three days without water. Hagar and Ishmael would have died in 
the wilderness without water when their skin of water was used up, 
if the Lord had not opened Hagar's eyes to find a well of water 
(Gen. 21:14-15).

    Throughout the ages God has made water not only a requirement 
for physical life but also for spiritual life. During the 
Patriarchal age, water became the means through which God saved 
Noah and his family. "God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark 
was being prepared, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved 
through water" (1 Pet. 3:20). Later, God saved the nation of Israel 
from the slavery of Egypt through the water of the Red Sea. Under 
the Law of Moses, God required that the priests wash themselves 
with water before entering the tabernacle in service to God and 
failure to do so meant death (Exod. 30:18-20).

    Just as God requires water for our physical life and as he used 
water as a means to save those under the Patriarchal and Mosaical 
dispensations, God now requires water as an essential element for 
salvation under the dispensation of his dear Son. Jesus laid down 
the need of water for spiritual life to Nicodemus, "Most assuredly, 
I say unto you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he 
cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Jn. 3:5). Before Jesus ascended 
into heaven he told his apostles, "He who believes and is baptized 
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk. 
16:16). Because of God's requirement of baptism in water and its 
essentiality to our spiritual life, Peter wrote that as Noah and 
his family were saved through water, "There is an antitype which 
now saves us, namely baptism" (1 Pet. 3:21).

    What is truly amazing about water is that the very element 
which we desperately need and use so much, God has blessed us with 
in exceeding abundance in the form of dew, rain, ponds, lakes, 
creeks, streams, rivers, seas and oceans. Just as so very few need 
to die physically for lack of water, no one needs to continue in 
spiritual death for lack of baptism in water in obedience to Jesus. 
"See here is water, what hinders me from being baptized?" (Acts 
8:36)

    -- Via Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 14, pp. 426-427, July 20, 1989
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          MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
                 1022 Myrtle Street
              Denham Springs, LA  70726
                   (225) 664-8208
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    evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
            e-mail: tedwards at onemain.com      
    web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go
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