You Are Magnificent
Answer: God created the waters in Genesis 1:1, even though the verse does not explicitly mention them.
The Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 is “shamayim,” which is a plural noun meaning “heavens” or “sky.” The KJV translators chose to render it as “heaven” in the singular, following an older English understanding where “heaven” refers to the entire expanse above, including the sky, space, and God’s dwelling place.
The creation of water is not explicitly stated between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, yet its existence is evident in verse 2, where “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
This suggests that water was part of the original creation described in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” The Hebrew word for heaven, “shamayim,” contains the root “mayim,” meaning “waters,” indicating that water was an integral part of God’s initial act of creation.
In Genesis 1:6-7, God separates the waters, creating the “firmament” to divide the waters above from the waters below. This act of separation does not signify the creation of water itself but rather its organization within the created world. The presence of water before this separation aligns with the depiction in verse 2, reinforcing the idea that water was part of the original creation in Genesis 1:1.
Thus, the waters were created when God made the heaven and the earth. The biblical text does not describe a separate moment for their creation because they were included in the creation in Genesis 1:1. The subsequent separation of the waters serves to shape and structure creation according to God’s design, preparing the world for life and order.
These Present Times
Answer: The number two represents two choices, while the waters dividing represents two births.
To reveal how one could enter the Kingdom of Light, God created the sky, separating water from water demonstrating that every sinner must be born supernaturally from above (Jn 3:3) not just in the natural way through a mothers’ womb (Jn 3:4). The Spirit gives birth through His living water (Jn 3:6; Jn 7:37-39). Jesus made this truth quite clear when he explained to the woman at the well that he could give her water that would quench her thirst forever (Jn 4:14). Interestingly, she was a Samaritan, which meant she was part Jew and part Gentile revealing the mystery that Jesus would unite these two groups into one body through his death on the cross (Eph 3:6).
The water below kills but the water from above gives life. Baptism is a picture of this truth. When we die to our independence from God and desire to allow Jesus to direct our lives, to be dependent upon him, we are born from above.