Our Lord uses symbols all through scripture to represent the spiritual to us who live in the flesh. We are told that we need not use certain symbols to lead us to the spiritual any longer such as fleshly circumcision and diet restrictions, but we are still to follow with other symbols and using water to represent purification is one of them.
Currently, our churches have abused the freedom we have from such as fleshly circumcision by using this freedom where it does not apply. What we do physically does reflect our spirit.
People abused that God gave fleshly rituals to help them understand the spiritual by obeying the rituals without using them to guide them to the spiritual. They understood the fleshly orders, but not the spiritual so God took them away. Now, people are going too far the other way, saying all the symbols we are still to use have no meaning, so they refuse to obey the Lord when we are told to use symbols such as water to symbolize cleaning.
Currently, our churches have abused the freedom we have from such as fleshly circumcision by using this freedom where it does not apply. What we do physically does reflect our spirit.
People abused that God gave fleshly rituals to help them understand the spiritual by obeying the rituals without using them to guide them to the spiritual. They understood the fleshly orders, but not the spiritual so God took them away. Now, people are going too far the other way, saying all the symbols we are still to use have no meaning, so they refuse to obey the Lord when we are told to use symbols such as water to symbolize cleaning.