The Essential Element

By J.L. Weaversmith

God has a plan for everything and everyone, and it’s revealed by Holy Spirit-inspired writers through the sacred words of the Bible. That plan contains one essential element—water. In The Essential Element, author J.L. Weaversmith shows how this plan is revealed in the second verse in Genesis to the end of Revelation.

Weaversmith discusses how all living things must have water to survive. Humans drink water, cook with water, grow things with water, clean with water, get electricity from water, and transport people and things with water, to name a few. In the Old Testament, people were saved by water. Noah and his family were saved by the flood; the Israelite nation were saved by going into the Red Sea; and Naaman was cleansed by dipping into the Jordan River seven times. People perished by water; the wicked people were killed by the flood; and the Egyptian army was destroyed by the Red Sea.

The Essential Element tells how the New Testament produces a new use for water called baptism or immersion into water through the example of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is also referred to as living water. Through scriptural examples, Weaversmith invites everyone into the word so they can understand God’s cleansing plan for salvation and freely drink of Christ’s living water.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973646808

J.L. Weaversmith

J.L. Weaversmith was born and raised in Northwest Georgia. Now retired, the author has two grown children and four grandchildren. This is Weaversmith’s third book.

Book preview

Introduction

God Has a Plan!

Y es, it is true—God has a plan. The Almighty has always had the perfect plan right from the beginning of humankind’s existence. Our heavenly Father has a plan for each of us right now. But the very best news of all is that God will always have a plan. He told us in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus was the same yesterday and today and will be the same in the future. God will never change, Jesus will never change, and God’s plan will never change. No matter how much humankind thinks it is advancing, no matter how much people think they are becoming superior in knowledge, technology, and in living, God’s plan for us and for salvation will never change.

When I hear folks say we need God more today than ever, I agree, but I also disagree. We have always needed God. We need God right now and very much so, but we will always need God. He is our only hope for existence. He is our very existence. Only through Him and because of Him do we exist at all. Colossians 1:16–17 tells us,

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Also in Revelation 4:11, we read,

Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.

Without the Almighty, it is simple—we would not be. That is the long and the short of it.

God knows our hearts and minds even when we do not. Our heavenly Father knows all our hopes, dreams, and mistakes. Nothing is hidden from Him. We are only fooling ourselves if we think He does not know. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (NKJV),

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Did you get that? Every deed will be judged. There is no escaping what we do. But we have a way out … God has a plan.

As we embark on this journey, always remember that all praise, honor, and reverence belongs to our Lord God almighty!

All Scripture reference are from ESV unless otherwise stated.

Chapter 1

It’s All Part of the Plan

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

—Jeremiah 29:11

I have always questioned things. That’s just me. I ask myself, Why do you do it this way? What’s wrong with that? Where did that go? Who came up with that idea? I love to get answers, and in most cases, I adore researching to find out for myself. My favorite question far above all others is, What does God say on the subject?

A question that has plagued me for a long time is, why do Baptists go by that name if they don’t believe baptism is essential for salvation? I have had this discussion with friends and coworkers, but I still don’t have an answer to that. I have been assured time and again that we can be saved with or without baptism, it is really not necessary, it’s just a ceremony, and so on. I have even had this discussion with fellow Christians who eventually left the church and joined the community church movement. They believe we can work up our own way to being saved—whatever suits us is fine. Theirs is a do-your-own-thing kind of religion.

This is where I ask my favorite question, What does God say on the subject? I have researched and studied. The discussions, my study, and my research have prompted this manuscript, so here goes.

Chapter 2

Let’s Start at the Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

—Genesis 1:1

T his is where it all began—in the beginning. Scientists say it takes five ways for anything to exist: time, force, action, space, and matter. Well, in that first sentence of God’s plan, you have all five. In the beginning is time. God is force. Created is action. The heavens is space. And the earth is matter.

I found something very interesting in verse 2 that I had never noticed before; it tells us that the earth was dark and without form, but I had never paid much attention to the rest of that verse, which reads, And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Water. Water was mentioned before anything else. I find that to be very significant, and I hope you will also as we journey through this endeavor of putting words and thoughts to paper. Water is mentioned before anything—light, land, plants, or humans. Water is and always has been very significant in God’s plan.

In Genesis 1:3, God said, Let there be light; and there was light. The light is what separates day from total darkness. Light was created the first day. In the case of salvation, Jesus is known as the light of the world. In John 1:1–14, we are told that in Jesus, we have life because He is life and that the life is the light of humankind. Verse 9 calls Him the true light that gives life to every person. Light was created on day one, and Jesus is our light. Without light and water, nothing can grow, live, or even survive. Likewise, without Jesus, who is our light and our living water, Christians cannot grow, live, or survive. There is no question about it—light and water are and always have been part of God’s plan. Also, there isn’t any question that Jesus is and always has been the Christians’ light. Christians must drink of His Living Water to survive. Only Jesus can quench our thirst, guide our paths, and light our way on our journeys through the darkness of the world.

In John 1, we are told that from the very beginning, Jesus was the light of the world.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of the men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it … The true Light which gives light to everyone. (John 1:1–5, 1:9)

Now back to the path we are going to travel down together. Genesis 1:6–8 reads,

And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of 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. And God called the expanse Heaven.

Verses 9–10 read,

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place and let dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together He called seas.

Water is a major and very essential part of God’s plan. Every living thing depends on water to live. Our bodies are made up of 50–70 percent water. Water is not an option or a suggestion; it is a vital element of life, an essential, a necessity. We cannot do without it.

There is nothing magical about water, H20, hydrogen and oxygen combined in only the way God could imagine and devise to give us life. That right there should blow evolution clean out of the water so to speak (maybe just a little pun intended there). Seriously, how could those two elements come together in just the right way to sustain all life? How could those two elements come together in just the right way from a single cell? By the way, no one has ever come up with the answer to where that single cell came from anyway.

All living things need light and water to exist. We have to have light to see our way, and we need water to keep hydrated. We need both to grow, mature, and live. Christians have to have the true light to show the way, and we need Living Water to keep us hydrated. Those two elements are key to a home in heaven with the Almighty.

In Genesis 2:5–6, we are told it had not rained. God watered everything with a mist that came up from the ground. Wouldn’t you love to have seen that? I am fascinated with growing vegetation. I cannot bear to see anything die due to a lack of care or water. In November 2016, here in northern Georgia, we were in a terrible drought. Rivers were low, lakes and ponds were dry, and grass as well as trees were dead or dying. The slightest spark or lightning strike started wildfires that quickly got out of control. It broke my heart to see all these things dying around me knowing there was nothing I could do to stop it. We had a huge weeping Japanese cherry tree that died. We had to have it removed. Our animals were suffering. With no rain, there was no hay for winter. It was a terrible, vicious cycle. One thing always affects another and so on.

In