Genesis 2:10-13
Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

It seems to me that the rivers are not incidental scenery.

Rivers are sources for life to radiate outward. In the case of Eden, one river flows out from there, watering the garden before dividing, and then becomes four. And so, the source, the headwaters find their beginnings in Eden.

We've already established that water is foundational to creation itself. In fact, life itself is set within a world that depends on water. For instance, mankind is comprised mainly of water. And without it, the dust of the ground that was formed into man cannot remain living.

This is our created reality. life is received, not self-generated. The man is placed in a garden that is already being watered from a source outside his own making. That single headwater source is decisive. Water does not rise from the surrounding lands and then enter the garden; it issues from Eden and moves outward from there. The garden is watered first, then the flow continues and becomes the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates.

Source then distribution. Headwater then tributaries.

The man is placed in this garden that is already being watered from a source outside his own making. Life is received, not self-generated. This is complete dependence. Even though the tributaries water the ground over which they flow, they, in and of themselves, are not the source of the life they carry. The Pishon encompasses Havilah and its gold, bdellium, and onyx; the Gihon encompasses Cush; the Tigris runs east of Assyria; the Euphrates is named as the fourth. Each carries what began in the single river that issued from Eden. The lands receive the water, but the water does not originate in the lands.

Life exists on planet earth. And as far as we can tell, nowhere else in the universe. And while we can postulate about the possibility or probability of alien lifeforms existing elsewhere, one thing we can be certain of is the source of life is found within the headwaters and issues from Eden and moving outward from there.

After the fall of mankind, and after the flood that reshaped the whole of earth, the precise courses of Pishon and Gihon can no longer be recovered with any certainty. But what still remains clear is the theological order. Life-giving water has its headwaters in the place of God’s planting.

You may ask, why the focus on this source [headwater]?

The prophet Jeremiah can help us understand the importance of understanding this order. The prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:13) describes the people as having forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewing out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that hold no water.

Why? Why did they hewn out cisterns?

They wanted to create for themselves a sense of security and safety. Especially in times of drought. Storage that would not depend on the living fountain of life. But, what was meant to provide independent supply could not hold water. And in the end all their quartering left them empty.

This is a picture of the folly of idolatry. It's a turning away from the true Source to something made with human hands, something that cannot give what only the headwater fountain can supply.

In John's gospel, Jesus tells the woman at the well that whoever drinks of the water He gives will never thirst again; it becomes in Him a well of water springing up to eternal life (John 4:14). And from His innermost being will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38; Revelation 22) proceeding from the throne of the Lamb.

The moral of the story is, we do not generate the life we need, nor can our broken cisterns of religion secure it and produce it. We receive it from the One who is the fountain. We receive our baptism from Him. We receive our blessing and orders from Him. The source of our ordination is found in Him. The man in Eden does not dig this river; he is placed where the water already flows.

This same order governs the leadership and pastoral services of the church. Christ is the Head of the body (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). And from Him the life flows. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are given by Him for the equipping of the saints (Ephesians 4:11–12). They are all tributaries, not headwaters, not the source. They all carry what originates in Him. The gifts, the calling, the authority to serve, and the fruit of the ministry are received from the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1–4). Serving as examples. Setting an example of integrity for the congregation. Not serving the councils and synods who are like those broken cisterns, but building up the community of believers with truth, justice, mercy and humility.

Yet servants do not become the headwaters. The river still issues from Eden; the life still flows from Christ the Head. Councils may recognize, set apart, or order the work of the tributaries, but they cannot originate the life the body needs. When the source is relocated to the servants, the cisterns are hewn again, and what was meant to secure authority leaves the people empty. And an empty cistern becomes a storage bin for all sorts of other things that are dead and dried out.

And you can see this clearly in our religious context. The emphasis is always placed upon the human authority. The elements of our faith are stored up in their hands. We look to those hands for authenticity. No matter what the foolish mind that guides those hands is doing. The authority is granted from one cistern to another. One broken cistern authorizes another. And they all bless one another's work. Even the workers of inequity are blessed because they conformed to the authority of the cistern.

The tributaries still water the ground, but they are not the source. And many go so far as to even deny the source that gave them life and called them to flow.

Yet, the invitation that began at the headwaters of Eden remains the same. Come. Drink. Live. Don't build cisterns for your own personal Jesus.

At the end of the day, who can you trust?

You can trust the One from whom the river flows.
Not the tributaries. Not the councils. Not the hands that store the elements or authorize one another. Not the cisterns hewn for security, nor the minds that guide them. Those are servants at best, and broken storage at worst. They carry what they receive, or they store up what is dead and dried out. They cannot originate the life. The man in Eden was placed where the water already flowed. He did not dig the river. The life he needed issued from the place God planted and moved outward from there. That is where the authority comes from. That order has not changed. Christ is the Head of the body. From Him the life flows. He is the fountain of living waters.

At the end of the day, trust is not located in human authority, in mutual blessing among the cisterns, or in conformity to what the empty storage bins have approved. Trust is located in the Source. He is the One who gave the life, who caused and called the tributaries to flow, and who still invites everyone to serve with Him.