The Water of the Word

“…Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27).

What would we do without water? We depend on its usefulness daily. Among other things, it refreshes us, quenches our thirst, bathes us, cleans our clothes, makes our plants grow, and takes us from one place to another. Most of the earth’s surface is covered by water and our bodies are filled with it.

Since everyone can relate to the necessity of water, Scripture has often used water as a picture of spiritual truths. In the NT, it is frequently used to describe spiritual life and spiritual cleansing. For example, the Lord once likened the abundant life produced by the Holy Spirit to “rivers of living water” (Jn. 7:38-39). We are told that we were saved by the “washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). The latter illustrates receiving God’s salvation and the transformation that results. Ephesians 5:25 speaks of this salvation by saying that Christ “gave Himself for [the Church].” However, verses 26 and onward speak of those who are presently saved. Here, living in contact with the Word is compared to being washed with water. The washing of regeneration is thorough and only needs to happen once. However, the washing of water by the Word is an ongoing process for believers.

Consider the priesthood of Aaron and his sons. One of the rituals for entering the priesthood required that the priests be completely washed once (Ex. 29:4; Lev. 8:6). However, after becoming priests they still had to wash their hands and feet with water daily from the laver before going into the tabernacle of the congregation or ministering at the altar “that they die not” (Ex. 30:17-21). The Church of Christ is a holy and royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5, 9) and, like the OT priests, we need daily cleansing.

Ephesians 5:25-27 teaches that the washing of water by the Word serves a three-fold purpose for the church.

The Consecration of the Church:

This “washing of water by the Word” first of all sanctifies us, says Paul. We can recall the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to His Father as He interceded on behalf of His disciples, “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). This sanctification is the ongoing process of living as God’s own holy people, set apart from the world and zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).

The priests were a consecrated, sanctified, and hallowed people (Ex. 28:41; 29:1). As already mentioned, one of the steps of initiating a man into the priesthood was for him to be completely washed with water. But once he became a priest, the command to continually wash his hands and feet at the laver was “a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations” (Ex. 30:21). This shows there was an initial sanctification with the full washing, but sanctification did not end there. Practical, daily cleansing was still necessary—not in order to become a priest, but in order to serve as one. Likewise, our position as God’s holy people was secured at Calvary. But the practice of holy living requires an ongoing sanctification through the Word.

A holy Church is one that has its roots in the Word of God. We often take comfort in comparing our lives to the one sitting next to us in the pew. However, it is not so much the standard of holiness set by our brother or sister that matters, but the standard that Christ Himself set, “because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). He is the standard; His very name is holy (Isa. 57:15).

We have seen the holiness and righteousness of God in the tabernacle. The priests were to die if they attempted to minister without washing at the laver (Ex. 30:20). Does today’s Church esteem God’s holiness as highly as the priests in the OT? All too often, the Church attempts to minister without the guidance of the Word of God and ends up looking and sounding like the world. Music, drama, and popular theology replace the truth of the Word of God, and in so doing we defeat the purpose of the holy priesthood, which is “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). It is the desire of our Saviour and Lord that the Church be set apart as a holy priesthood, grounded in the Word of God.

The Cleansing of the Church:

Secondly, Paul says the washing of water by the Word cleanses us. As mentioned earlier, this is not to be confused with the washing of regeneration, for we are now speaking about those who already are saved. As the Lord Jesus Himself told His disciples after washing their feet, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit” (Jn. 13:10). Therefore, as we use water daily to cleanse us, so the Word of God is the agent which cleanses us from the defilement of the world.

Consider the daily duties the priests in the tabernacle undertook. The tabernacle had a dirt floor and the priests would need to wash their hands and feet at the laver of brass fairly regularly to cleanse themselves from the dirt, sweat, and even the blood of the sacrifices. We are told to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

It would be both offensive and intolerable to go for days or weeks without washing one’s hands and feet. But what about someone going days or weeks without reading the Word? Have we become a Church that tolerates and accepts only an occasional ‘splash’ or ‘dip’ into the Word? Are the Scriptures a part of our lives only on Sunday and only in the place where we gather as a local church? Without a daily walk in the Word we open the door for the filth of the flesh to accumulate and control our comings and goings. As a result, everything we touch is defiled as well.

Not only are we responsible for keeping ourselves clean, but we influence our brothers and sisters in the Lord, and our defilement hinders their growth as well. There is simply no better way to cleanse ourselves from the defilement of the world than through the washing of water by the Word. David recognized this and wrote, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word” (Ps. 119:9).

The Completion of the Church:

In Ephesians 5:25, Paul speaks of the justification Christ supplied by loving us and giving Himself for us. In verse 26, he speaks of the sanctification (or consecration) and cleansing of the Church by the washing of water by the Word. Now, in verse 27 he speaks of the glorification of the Church as one day He will present it to Himself a glorious, spotless, unblemished, and holy bride.

By the completion, or perfection of the Church, we are speaking of a qualitative perfection. We should not strive to give the Church material wealth or numerical strength. Our character should grow to be more like that of the Lord Jesus. From 2 Corinthians 3:18 we see that being transformed into the image of Christ does not begin in heaven; it begins now. Therefore, the current process of the washing of water by the Word results in a perfect glory to come.

The OT priesthood failed to reach the impeccable character described in Ephesians 5:27; we can’t find even one priest who succeeded. The Lord accepted their offerings, but the priests who ministered were sinners themselves. Nevertheless, we have a great High Priest who displayed all of the glorious characteristics found in our passage and actually became the offering Himself: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament…” (Heb. 9:14-15).

What a hope we have in Christ Jesus! Not only did He save us, but He is sanctifying us, cleansing us, and He will one day present to Himself a Church which is as He is! And the instrument He is using to accomplish this is His own Word of truth.

Thus, the three-fold purpose of the washing of water by the Word is evident. Nevertheless, the question remains: what prompted it all? Why was all this activity necessary to begin with? Ephesians 5:25 simply tells us, “Christ also loved the Church,” setting a precedent for the love of a husband to his wife. None of the riches and blessings of the Word of God would be at our disposal had not Christ first loved the Church. That resultant question is obvious: how much do we love Him? The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come into him, and make Our abode with him” (Jn. 14:23).