Washing With The Word: Ephesians 5:25-27
“25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26) so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27) that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭
This context is about marriage. Within it, Paul uses the relationship of Jesus to the church as an illustration of love.
I want to focus on verse 26. Jesus wants to sanctify and cleanse His church “by the washing of water with the word.” What an amazing phrase!
This word picture is also used in Titus 3:5-6. Let me quote; “5) He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6) whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
When these two texts are compared, we discover that the washing, regenerating and renewing are active ministries of the Holy Spirit. He uses the Word of God as His cleansing agent. In Ephesians 6:17, the word of God is called the sword of the Spirit.
Let me be transparent. I aggressively pursue the washing of the Word in my life. I read Scripture, listen to Scripture, memorize Scripture and meditate on Scripture. As Psalm 1:2 says, I do this both day and night.
Most mornings, Debby and I read around ten chapters together and then pray. As I go through the day, I listen to Scripture or great sermons through my hearing aids or a headset. I don’t listen to secular radio and we don’t own a TV.
Most nights when I lay down to sleep, I listen to audio Scripture. My favorite is the book of Psalms. As I sleep, the Spirit of God washes, cleanses and regenerates me. Many times it includes physical healing and restoration.
Any fear, anxiety or tension is literally washed away by this process. Often as I rest, I find my spirit praying along with the Scriptures. Most nights I listen through the whole book of Psalms.
This amount of washing in the Word has been a growing delight in my life. I cannot remember the last time I watched a movie, TV program or secular radio.
It used to consume much of my time and frankly caused turmoil in my soul. They fed lust, fantasy, tension and ungodly passion. I constantly felt filthy, dirty and double minded. I was ashamed of myself and living under condemnation.
By Gods grace that’s all gone. I now feel so clean, in constant fellowship with God and live with a clear conscience. I honestly don’t miss the garbage in my soul. The inner battle is over. Jesus won and my flesh lost!
I share these things to encourage you to lay aside the old self, renew your mind and put on the new self. (Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:1-11) This is a process that we are responsible to pursue in our own lives. God does not force it on us.
I’m not sure I’ve got it right, but the inner fruit of this abiding in the Word is amazing. In the process, I sense I am gaining a genuine biblical world view that is not tainted by theological bias or loyalty to one camp or the other.
This constant washing with the Word and regenerating with the Holy Spirit has become normal for me. I encourage you to enjoy more and more times of washing with the Word in your own life.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone