When Water Does God’s Work

A Biblical Exploration of Baptism Series (Pt. 3): Creation, Exodus, and the Jordan

Throughout this series, my hope is that I’ve been asking questions that take Scripture seriously. We’ve seen how John’s baptism confronts Israel’s assumptions. We’ve seen how repentance and water belong together in his ministry. Now I want us to ask another question: Why water? Why does God repeatedly place water at the heart of His story with His people?

When we look at Scripture as a whole, we begin to notice that water is not random and it is not incidental. Water recurs at turning points — at beginnings, judgments, transitions, and renewals (Waller, A Biblical Theology of Water).

Eric R. Waller’s, Ph.D recent biblical theology of water dissertation observes that God uses water in at least three interconnected ways: to initiate life, to cleanse, and to sustain life. These patterns aren’t isolated moments. They’re woven into the narrative arc of Scripture and help us see how God works through water — including in baptism (Waller, A Biblical Theology of Water).

Let’s think through a few key moments.

Water is part of how God brings life into existence right from the beginning. In Genesis, creation opens with water before life emerges.

“And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.”

Genesis 1:6-7 ESV

Then in Exodus, when Israel is delivered from Egypt, God again uses water in order to save His people in the Red Sea. Instead of walking around or avoiding the water altogether, God’s people walk through water into new life.

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.”

Exodus 14:21-22 ESV

That pattern of passing through water into something new anticipates John’s call and baptism in an even deeper way (Waller, A Biblical Theology of Water).

Water also carries judgment. The Flood in Noah’s day brought death to a world steeped in violence, but it also preserved a remnant of life amidst judgment (Waller, A Biblical Theology of Water).

“For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.”

Genesis 7:17-18,22-24 ESV

Later prophets remind Israel that God will cleanse His people with water (Ezekiel 36:25), and that is a spiritual cleansing. The point here is not that water just symbolizes cleansing. The point is that God repeatedly uses water as part of real transformation in His story, even when that transformation comes through judgment first and mercy after.

So when John appears at the Jordan, this is not just a convenient backdrop. It is a theologically charged setting. Israel once crossed the Jordan to enter the land God promised. Now Israel is called again to cross waters, not to claim territory, but to align their lives with the coming kingdom. That alignment, Scripture tells us, involves repentance shaped by water. Confession leads into immersion, and through water the people are repositioned before God. In John’s baptism, water is part of God’s method of preparing His people (Waller, A Biblical Theology of Water).

Waller’s study I referenced also shows how water is connected to spiritual life throughout Scripture. More than just physically, God uses water to sustain life spiritually across the grand sweep of the biblical narrative. Later in the New Testament, John’s own witness points to Jesus as the one who will give “living water” that truly satisfies (Waller, A Biblical Theology of Water).

Peep the connection here: water, life, and the Spirit cannot be separated in God’s economy.

That doesn’t mean every instance of water means the same thing, but it does mean Scripture treats water as more than simply symbolic. It carries meaning because God uses it again and again as part of His redemptive action.

So in John’s baptism we see a deep continuity with God’s purposes. John calls for repentance. The people respond. And God places water right in the midst of it as part of His pattern of life, cleansing, and transition.

Water was active in Genesis. It was active in the story of Israel. And I am willing to bet it is active in baptism.

Scripture shows us that neither water nor baptism is incidental. God uses water as part of His work in life, cleansing, and renewal.