Jesus then becomes a supreme secondary cause. Paradoxically, though, Jesus is both primary and secondary cause because of His divine nature. Jesus asks the servants to fill up the jars with water, which they do "to the brim," (John 2:7). Then the servants do Jesus's bidding by delivering some of the water to the banquet. Upon serving, the water has been turned into wine. The servants "knew" how the water had turned into wine; they ascribed the miracle to Christ and therefore to divine power.
The water into wine miracle also illustrates the way God acts in the world as a "master builder," (McGrath 116). As a master builder, God works with whatever construction materials are available at the moment of creation. If Jesus is viewed a divine, then His actions during the water into wine miracle perfectly explain the role of God as carpenter to the world. Jesus transforms one substance into another. The one substance is readily available and occurs throughout the world. Water is God's creation. Wine, on the other hand, is the creation of human actors. If human beings did not mash grapes and allow them to ferment in a controlled manner, then wine would not be produced. The creation of wine by human beings can be considered to be another proof of God's action in the world via secondary causes. In the case of the miracle of water into wine, the creation of wine more aptly demonstrates God's ability to construct and reconstruct the world.
When water becomes wine via human intervention and the process of fermenting mashed grapes, God acts in the world via secondary causes. Before the discovery of yeast, fermentation must have seemed like the direct intervention of God via secondary causes. In the miracle of water into wine, God acts in the world as a creator. The manner of this creation is best described as construction. God, as Christ, is working with the building block of life (water) and turning...
The character of God is visible in the end product, the wine. The appreciation of wine vs. water allows Jesus to prove the glory of God.
The miracle of water into wine is similar to most of the other New Testament miracles in that they can be used to illustrate deism. Deism suggests that God acts in the world by not acting in the world. As God's Son, Jesus performs a miracle whereby he transforms water into wine. God the Father does not turn water into wine; God's Son does.
While the deistic interpretation of the miracle of water into wine would seem to contradict the inherent divinity of Christ, the deist view can also serve as a way to highlight the paradox of Creation. That is, God creates the world and instates natural laws. The natural laws take over and God is no longer an active participant in the universe. God's Son acts on His behalf. In other words, God as demiurge takes a back seat and allows creation to unfold according to the laws of nature. Those laws of nature happen to include the messiah.
Deism suggests that God created the world in a manner that is rational and precludes further involvement. Although Jesus is that further involvement, once Christ is born, God the Father speaks to and through Jesus. Jesus is now the new covenant with God, allowing God to once again take a back seat and allow life to unfold. Of course, deism cannot completely explain how God acts in the world. Jesus's divinity itself means that God is acting as Jesus in the transformation of water into wine. God's actions in the world through the miracle of water into wine can much better be explained via God as Creator-Constructor; God acting through Persuasion; and God acting through Secondary Causes.
Work Cited
McGrath, Alister E. Science and Religion: A New Introduction. Blackwell, 1999.
