Blood and Water: January 2017
Table of Contents
Blood and Water
They drove Him outside the camp, put Him to death on the cross, and then, to make assurance doubly sure, the soldier gives Him a blow with his spear. Salvation was God’s answer to man’s insult—sin in his rejection of Him. The blood and water were the signs of it.
In John’s epistle we read, “Not by water only, but by water and blood” (1 John 5:6). The point is that eternal life is not found in the first Adam, but in the second; the witnesses to this are the water, the blood and the Spirit. You want purifying to have eternal life; you will get it nowhere but in death, and in that of Christ in grace. You want expiation, and the blood of Christ makes that; you want the Holy Spirit.
Christ is not only dead but glorified, and the Spirit is given, the witness that there is no life in the first Adam, but in the Son. His power is found in that which marks the total breach of the first man with God and of God with him, only in sovereign mercy.
In the epistle, John is showing that moral cleansing will not be enough. The Spirit is named first when God applies it. The Word is the instrument, but it is by death itself. You must have cleansing, but the cleansing is by death. The water coming forth from the side is purity, and you can have purity by death only, and by His death alone.
J. N. Darby (adapted)
Blood and Water - What Do They Mean?
It is a historic fact recorded by the Apostle John (John 19:34) that a soldier with a spear pierced the side of the dead Christ, and “forthwith came there out blood and water.” From the solemn way in which the Apostle pauses to attest to this fact as a personal eyewitness (John 19:35), we might naturally conclude that he attached some very special importance to it, even if no further reference to it were made. We are not, however, left to surmise, as in his first epistle he returns to the subject and supplements the historic record of his gospel with instruction as to the bearing of the fact. He says, “This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood” (1 John 5:6). And further, in 1 John 5:8 he speaks of the Spirit and the water and the blood as the three witnesses to the Son of God. Thus we see that both blood and water are connected with the death of Christ and that, though they are connected, they are distinct.
Guilt and Moral Defilement
Speaking in a broad sense, we may say that they connect themselves with the two great effects of sin, namely, its guilt and its defiling power. The blood sets before us the death of Christ in atonement for our sins, thus cancelling our guilt and bringing us judicial forgiveness (1 John 1:7). The water indicates the same death, but rather as that by which our sinful state has been dealt with in judgment and ended, so as to deliver us from the old condition and associations of life in which once we lived. Thereby we are cleansed morally and the power of sin over us is broken.
The virtue and power of the blood of Christ are set before us in Hebrews 9-10. We find there:
1. The blood of Christ purges, or cleanses, the sinner’s conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).
2. It has removed the transgressions of saints of old, which had been for centuries accumulating under the first covenant, that is, the law (Heb. 9:15).
3. It has ratified a new covenant of grace (Heb. 9:15-18).
4. It has removed the believer’s sins and laid the basis for the putting away of sin in its totality (Heb. 9:22,26).
5. It has so completely done so for faith that, once purged, the believer’s conscience is cleared forever as far as the judicial question of his sins is concerned (Heb. 10:2).
6. It therefore gives the believer boldness to enter into the very presence of God (Heb. 10:19).
7. It has once and forever sanctified—set apart—the believer for God (Heb. 10:10,29).
Access to God
The great subject here is the believer’s access to God in virtue of the blood of Christ. His judicial clearance is perfect by that one offering and never needs to be repeated. Hence the word which characterizes these chapters is “one,” and “once,” and it is repeated seven times over.
Judicial and Moral Cleansing
But though judicial cleansing by blood is the great theme of these chapters, the need for moral cleansing is not forgotten. We draw near to God having not only “our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,” but “our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22). This is, doubtless, an allusion to the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office recorded in Exodus 29. They were washed with water (Ex. 29:4) as well as sprinkled with blood (Ex. 29:20). They had the shadow; we have the substance —the death of Christ. In the very nature of things, this moral cleansing by water needs to be kept up; the idea of repetition is therefore appropriate enough here. We find it if we refer to the type. Aaron and his sons were bathed with water from head to foot at their consecration, as we have seen; that was not repeated, but nevertheless a laver was provided (Ex. 30:17-21), and there the priests washed their hands and feet. The instructions were most explicit: “When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not.”
Washed and Bathed
When we turn from type to antitype, the same thought appears. In the upper chamber in Jerusalem, probably just before He instituted His supper, the Lord Jesus girded Himself and, pouring water into a basin, began to wash His disciples’ feet (John 13). Peter’s reluctance brings forth the truth that such washing is necessary if communion with the Lord in His heavenly position was to be enjoyed. “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me” (John 13:8). His rapid change to enthusiastic haste leads the Lord to say, “He that is washed [bathed] needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit” (John 13:10).
Here the twofold way in which cleansing by water is presented in Scripture is very carefully distinguished. Once for all we have been “bathed.” The death of Christ has cleansed us from the old life, but for all that we need the constant application of that death to our souls day by day, moment by moment. We cannot approach the sanctuary nor enjoy “part with” Christ without it. With these thoughts before us, we may perhaps return to the words quoted at the beginning from 1 John 5 and find a greater depth of meaning in them.
By Water and Blood
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came by water and blood; by both these things was His coming characterized. The Spirit of God specially guards this point, saying, “Not by water only, but by water and blood.” Why so? Perhaps one reason is that there has always been a tendency to teach that Christ did come by water only—to cleanse man morally by setting before him the highest ideals and living out those ideals Himself as an incentive to others. Foreseeing this error, the Spirit says, “Not by water only, but by water and blood.” Not by moral cleansing only, but also by expiation for sin. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, and “the Spirit is truth.”
The Three Witnesses
And so the three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood, remain: the Spirit the living, acting, speaking witness; the water and the blood two silent witnesses, and all three agree in one. They testify that He who came in this way is the Son of God, the fountain of eternal life, and that in Him eternal life is ours, who believe on the name of the Son of God.
But if the blood cleanses us from all sin, what need is there for the water? It is needed because men need cleansing from the love of sin as much as from the condemnation of sin. There is a great need for the water, that we should hate sin as God hates it. To be bathed all over (as were the priests at the start) means that, being made possessors of a new life, we abhor and forsake the old life, seeing that Christ’s death was necessary to put away all that we were. His death was ours. Moreover, in this defiling world, we need that daily cleansing of which the laver speaks. Is there not much about us personally that needs removing, to say nothing of the subtle influences of this world which often insensibly affect us? Every Christian with a sensitive conscience will surely agree that there is.
Cleansing by Water
This daily cleansing by water is obtained by the Word. The water and the Word are clearly connected in such a passage as, “That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26). The Word of God brings home to our souls the death of Christ in its power and wealth of spiritual meaning. Sin in its true hideousness stands revealed, and our affections are cleansed thereby. We may overlook this cleansing effect of God’s Word, while eager, perhaps, for a better textual acquaintance with it. Let us dwell much upon the Word of God, for our lives and ways will be cleansed thereby.
Is it only when we sin that we need the water? We do need it when we sin, but even apart from actual sins, being in a world of defilement, we need it if we would worship, hold communion with, or serve God. In Numbers 19 we find, in type, the water as purification from sin; then in Exodus 30:17-21, in type, we have water removing every earthly defilement in view of drawing near to God in the sanctuary without reference to actual sins. In the New Testament, John 13 is more connected with the latter aspect than the former. How dependent we are upon not only the blood, but the water!
F. B. Hole (adapted)
Cleansing by Blood and Water
Many minds are in confusion with regard to cleansing by the precious blood of Christ, which often arises through not seeing nor understanding the place that the water has in the Word of God.
The Application of the Blood of Christ Never Needs to Be Repeated
We are cleansed, on believing, once for all, and forever. “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
The blood of animals brought to God by the high priest on the great day of atonement settled the question of Israel’s sins for one year. That is, they were maintained thereby in their place of privilege as God’s people on the earth. The blood of Christ purges the conscience of the believer forever (Heb. 10:1-14).
To say, as many do, that every fresh sin that the believer commits needs a fresh application of the blood of Christ is to lose sight of its infinite value and efficacy in the sight of God.
But we read that from the side of Jesus flowed forth
Blood and Water.
Hence we find the Scripture speaking both of our being cleansed by blood and of our being born of water and of the Spirit. Again, in Hebrews 10:22: “Our bodies washed with pure water.”
Water Is a Figure of the Word of God
And not only thus is there the application of the water (or Word) as well as the blood when we believe, but we further read, in Ephesians 5:26, that Christ is now sanctifying the church by cleansing it by the washing of water by the Word. Hence, though we are always before God without charge, because of the abiding value and efficacy of the precious blood, yet we need the repeated application of the Word of God to our consciences for the judgment and putting away of everything evil in our practical, daily walk and conversation.
The Young Christian
Water in the Word
Water is the symbol of the Word of God applied to the soul, in power, by the Spirit of God. Compare the expression in John 3:5, “Born of water,” with James 1:18, “Of His own will begat He us by the word of truth,” and with 1 Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” In Ephesians 5:26 we find the water definitely identified with the Word in the expression, “The washing of water by the word.”
Water purifies; hence by the use of the symbol more is conveyed than if it had been simply said, “Born of the word.” It includes the effect produced, as well as the instrumentality used of God in this, the beginning of all His ways with us in grace.
In the types, water has as large a place as the blood. Both flowed from the pierced side of the Lord Jesus in death (John 19:34). This is the historic order, and in it the blood comes first, as the basis of everything for God’s glory and our blessing. In the order of application to us, as John in his epistle (1 John 5:6) gives it, the water comes first. “This is He that came by water and blood ... and it is the Spirit that beareth witness.” The Spirit applies the Word to the conscience, by which mighty operation of sovereign grace we are born absolutely anew. The effect in us is the conviction of sins, and when faith rests on the testimony of the Spirit to the value of the blood of Christ that cleanseth from all sin, He (the Spirit) can take up His dwelling-place in us to be the power of the enjoyment of all that we have been brought into by the water and the blood, and the Christian position is then complete.
The Water
But fastening our attention on the water, it is important to see that there is a double application of what it represents, as in John 13:10: “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” There is first, as we have seen, being “born of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5); this answers to the first washing mentioned here, and, as it is the communication of a new life and nature, cannot be repeated; we are “clean every whit.” Nor is this by any change in the character of the flesh in us, for “that which is born of the flesh is flesh,” and there can be no purification of it. The Word applied by the Spirit to our souls carries with it the sentence of death upon all that is of the flesh. God could do nothing with it but end it in judgment (Gen. 6:13), a judgment He carried out for faith in the death of His Son (Rom. 8:3). Thus the water was found where the blood was in His death. It is, on the one hand, the end of the flesh in total condemnation and, on the other, the introduction of a life in which we can live to God and enjoy Him forever.
The Second Application
But we have to pass with this life through a defiling world, where all that meets the senses tends to hinder communion with Him who is our life. Hence the need of the second application of the Word, symbolized by the Lord’s touching service to His disciples in John 13. He girded Himself with the towel, and, pouring water into a basin, He began to wash their feet and wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. It was, as Jesus tells Peter, that we might have “part with Him” when He is gone, that is, as having departed out of the world to the Father (vs. 1). We have to go through the world out of which He has had to depart, and therein lies all our need. We are liable to contract defilement at every step, or at least that which would bring moral distance between our souls and Him. He knows how to apply His Word to bring back the soul to the enjoyment of His presence, in His ever faithful and unfailing love, that there may not be even a shade of reserve between us and Him. That first action of His Word by which we were clean every whit in the divine nature could never be repeated, but this is needed continually. Nor does He leave us to apply it to ourselves (“if I wash thee not”), though He may use any of us who have learned in the school of His grace, in this privileged service to others (vs. 14).
Bathed and Washed
It is of interest, as helping to bring out the distinction all the more clearly, that the Lord employs two different words in this tenth verse according to their clearly defined usage in the Greek version of the Old Testament. “He that is washed” (or “bathed”), as applicable to the whole person, is the word louo, used of the washing of the priests on the day of their consecration (Ex. 29:4). “Needeth not save to wash [nipto] his feet” is that used for the washing of their hands and their feet in the laver at the tabernacle door every time they went into the sanctuary (Ex. 30:18,21). And the words are never interchanged. But, in noting this, we must remember the difference between preparation for priestly entering into the holy places, as in the Old Testament, and this wonderful service of the Lord for us, that we may have the constant enjoyment of His presence as having gone to the Father.
May our hearts be more deeply affected by the love that would not leave a spot on our feet, and may we yield ourselves up to the searching action of His Word upon us, when it is needed that He should apply it, rather than be content to walk at a distance from Him, clinging to something that maintains that distance, to His dishonour and our own incalculable loss.
J. A. Trench (adapted)
Born of Water and of the Spirit
Moral Cleansing
Our Lord takes water in John 13 and washes the feet of the disciples, saying thereafter, “Ye are clean, but not all.” Then in John 15, when Judas had gone out, He says, “Now ye are clean”—through the water that I washed your feet with? No. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Water, in Scripture, is used as a figure of the Word of God applied by the Spirit. It brings God’s thoughts to man and morally judges all that is in him, withal purifying his heart. Again, in John 19, out of the side of the dead Savior, there comes “blood and water”—the blood for expiation from guilt and the water for purification. Water carries the sense of moral cleansing, because man’s nature is vile, whereas the truth is that what is needed for man is a nature suited to God. Therefore Jesus says, “Born of water and of the Spirit,” that is, there must be a new nature thus characterized morally—the water—and in its source—the Spirit. Water purifies that which already exists, whereas “that which is born of the Spirit” in its nature partakes of that of which it is born. It is a new nature imparted by the Spirit—a new life which is really Christ in us. Morally the soul becomes a “partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). I have no doubt, then, that the water, as a figure, is the Word of God, applied by the Holy Spirit to the soul. The Word carries with it the sense and conviction of my defilement and need of purification, which, impossible as of the flesh, is only found through the end, under God’s judgment, of all that it is, in the cross of Christ (hence the water flowed, as the blood, from His side in death) and by the communication of a new life and nature.
The Washing of Water by the Word
Turning now to Ephesians 5:25, we read distinctly what water means: “Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” Again, James 1:18 undeniably attributes new birth to the Word: “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth.” So also does the Apostle Peter: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Peter 1:22-23). Nothing could be more conclusive to any mind subject to Holy Scripture.
The Holy Spirit
We have, therefore, the Word of God the instrumental means of the new birth, but not the Word of God alone, for the Word of God must be conjoined with the living power and energy of the Holy Spirit. If I am born again, I am so by the Word, but also of the Spirit. It is God’s sovereign grace reaching the soul by His own blessed Word and producing faith in it, the Holy Spirit to this end using the Word of the Lord. The result is a new life—a new nature characterized by its source. “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Have I been born again? That is a question that every soul may well ask himself. Thank God, I know that I have been born again, and that is why I am so desirous that you should be also, because it is fundamental to the soul entering into relationship with God. Without this, there is no such relationship, nor is the soul capable of the enjoyment of God and what is of Him. Put a man into heaven, if it were possible, without the nature thus received, and he would desire to get out of it as fast as he possibly could, because he would feel he was, morally, utterly unsuited to the place.
The New Nature
The Holy Spirit, then, is the mighty agent, and the Word of God is the instrument, which being received as the result of this divine action by faith in the soul, there is the imparting of this new nature. To again quote Peter’s words, we are “made partakers of the divine nature.” The possession of this new nature does not carry with it power. Power comes in its due place by the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within the believer. But the point here is that there is imparted, by the Word and the Spirit, a new life, a new nature, a new existence before God. “Born of God” is elsewhere the way John speaks of it. Thus, in chapter 1 of his gospel we read, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power [the right] to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12). Then in his first epistle we read, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1). Again, “Whosoever is born of God sinneth not” (vs. 18), and, “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world” (vs. 4). This I call the New Testament term, in its highest development, for this blessed truth—of which the primary elements have been before us—“born of God,” which carries with it the thought of relationship.
And now, as I close, let me ask, How does it stand with you? Have you been “born of water, and of the Spirit”? Have you yet received eternal life by faith in the Son of God? If so, you will gladly follow the Spirit’s teaching in John’s gospel.
W. T. P. Wolston
Rivers of Living Water
“He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)” (John 7:37-38).
Practically, although the Holy Spirit is presented here as power acting in blessing outside the one in whom He dwells, His presence in the believer is the fruit of a personal thirst, of need felt in the soul—need for which the soul had sought an answer in Christ. He who thirsts, thirsts for himself. The Holy Spirit in us, revealing Christ, becomes, by dwelling in us when we have believed, a river in us, and thus for others.
J. N. Darby, Synopsis, John 7
Feet-Washing
Elsewhere in this issue we have spoken about feet-washing and how our Lord washed His disciples’ feet shortly before He went to the cross. We have also seen the typical meaning of His act, drawn from the phrase “the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26). Our Lord Himself did the washing on that occasion, but then He gave His disciples the exhortation, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). We have the privilege of washing one another’s feet, following the example of the blessed Master. Yet how often we fail in this important service of washing one another, either by doing it in the wrong way or, perhaps from fear of failure, not doing it at all. I would like to look at some of the reasons why we fail and to point out from Scripture the right way to wash one another’s feet.
The Low Place
First of all, we find that the Lord Jesus “laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself” (John 13:4). There is a depth of meaning in this sentence. As another has remarked, the Lord Jesus, while in this world, was always “the girded, not the arrayed one.” He was here to serve, not to be served. So also we, if we are to wash another’s feet, must be servants, not those who take a high place, expecting honor from one another. In the day in which our Lord lived on earth, it was a servant’s place to wash the feet of the guests in the home, and we too must be willing to take this low place, if we are to be any help to one another.
He laid aside His garments. Garments in Scripture sometimes speak of our rights in this world and our outward circumstances that, perhaps, distinguish us. This too must be laid aside, if we are to get down low and wash another’s feet. We cannot insist on a place that may be ours in virtue of our standing in this life; rather, we must follow our blessed Lord, who humbled Himself even to the death of the cross. Our whole desire must be the blessing and restoration to communion of the one whose feet we wash; it must not in any way be connected with accrediting ourselves.
Love
Second, we read that the Lord Jesus, “having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). The Lord’s love did not only involve His work on the cross to put away our sins, but it also involves His care of us all the way. In the same way we are to “love one another: as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Having a new life in Christ, we have the capacity to show divine love to one another, and this must be the motive for feet-washing. In the church of God, we are called from many nations, racial origins, walks of life, cultures and languages. Sometimes natural love may not be there, but divine love goes out to its object without asking for anything in return. It is this love that must be operative in our souls, if we are to wash another’s feet. And if divine love is there, it will show itself in a way that is felt and enjoyed by its object, and this prepares the way for feet-washing.
A Relationship
Third is the cultivation of a relationship with one another, so that we have confidence in each other. If our main contact with our brethren is when we approach them to wash their feet, we may well find that they do not appreciate our efforts. I would suggest that we get a good pattern and proper order in Romans 15:14: “I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” We must be full of goodness, and this should be evident by our practical love and kindness to all. We should not gravitate only to those to whom we are naturally attracted; our hearts must go out to all the saints of God. If we ourselves are walking with the Lord, we are attracted to others who are also seeking to please Him, and there is nothing wrong with this. However, this may lead to a tendency to discount and ignore those who do not, in our estimation, “measure up” to our standard. We must remember that we do not all attain the same spiritual maturity at the same time and that we are called to “lift up the hands that hang down, and the failing knees” (Heb. 12:12 JND). In the same way we are to “support the weak” (Acts 20:35). We must be ready to bear another’s burden and to share another’s sorrow. This means that we are to encourage and foster a warm relationship with all believers, even if we are concerned about some of their behavior. Most people can quickly sense those who like them, and they respond to it. We hasten to say that this does not mean condoning what is dishonoring to the Lord, but it does mean that our love goes out to all, although we may not love all their ways. Let us remember that this is what God did for us, in showing us His love when we were far from Him and in sin.
Knowledge
In addition to being full of goodness, we must be filled with all knowledge. This means, first of all, having a good understanding of the Word of God, not merely seeking to wash another’s feet because my own thoughts do not coincide with his. But I would suggest that it goes beyond this. We must have an understanding of the person whose feet we wish to wash. It helps greatly when we know their background, their difficulties, and their whole life situation, for this will temper and modify what we say. How often harm has been done by strong words, perhaps righteous, but without any consideration for the heartache and perhaps emotional fragility of the one to whom they were spoken! Our knowledge should include some understanding of the individual to whom we speak, and this comes about only by our having a relationship with them.
Admonition
If full of goodness and knowledge, we are able to “admonish one another”—to seek to help them with something that is spoiling their communion with the Lord and perhaps hindering their usefulness. Of course, even if we show love and goodness and perhaps have real knowledge, the individual may reject our feet-washing. But surely this is the right approach and will make a tremendous difference.
Finally, we ourselves must be walking in fellowship with the Lord, so that we act in His time and in His way. This is the most important ingredient of all and perhaps the most difficult to have. Some have the gift of a pastor, and this is a great help. But even if one has a pastor’s gift, the proper use of it is another thing. A brother once commented on it in this way:
“I believe a pastor is a rare gift. ... A pastor must be like a doctor: He must know the right food, the right medicine, the right diagnosis, and all the pharmacopoeia, and he must know how to apply it too. In one sense, it is a rare gift, and very precious.”
Still another has commented in a similar way:
“It seems to us that a pastor is to the soul what a doctor is to the body. He must be able to feel the spiritual pulse. He must understand disease and medicine. He must be able to tell what is the matter and what remedies to apply. Alas! How few proper doctors there are! Perhaps they are as rare as proper pastors. It is one thing to take the title, and another thing to do the work.”
The Best Gifts
Scripture tells us to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31), and perhaps this can be applied to feet-washing. We should desire to have the gift of shepherding souls, which often involves feet-washing in the right way. We may not naturally have the gift, but we can cultivate a love for souls and their welfare. Then communion with the Lord can give us the right time and place to wash their feet, even if we are not naturally gifted in that way.
Our Lord and Master
In conclusion, we must recognize that our blessed Lord and Master washes His saints’ feet the best. We may seek to do it in the right way and seek the mind of the Lord as to the right time, yet still find that the objects of our concern will not listen to us. Or perhaps they listen, but do not change their ways. In such situations our resource is prayer, for the One who first washed His disciples’ feet is still the One who always does it in the right way. In this respect, it is noteworthy how the Lord introduces His disciples into the thought of washing one another’s feet. In John 13:13 (JND), He says to them, “Ye call me the Teacher and the Lord: and ye say well, for I am so.” He was their Master (or Teacher), for they had learned Him in this character, and then they had also learned to call Him the Lord. But then, when He speaks of their washing one another’s feet, He gently reverses the order: “If I therefore, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14 JND). His love would be with them to the end, but shortly He was to be glorified and take His place on His Father’s throne. In this capacity, He must be owned as Lord of all, and His Lordship must dictate everything in their lives. He would not cease to be the Teacher, but He was now the exalted One. “God hath made that same Jesus ... both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). In this capacity, He would still undertake to wash the feet of His saints, even if the disciples failed in it.
It was His glory that He wanted them to share, and without their feet being washed, He had to say [to Peter], “Thou hast no part with Me” (John 13:8). If they were to have part with Him as a risen, glorified Christ, their feet must be washed, and they must acknowledge Him first of all as Lord. How good to anticipate the day when our feet will no longer be defiled and where we will, for all eternity, enjoy the presence of the One whose glory we will share!
W. J. Prost
What Is Regeneration?
The word “regeneration” is often used loosely when “born again” is meant, but a careful examination of the subject will show that it is an incorrect usage of the word. They are not the same words in the Greek any more than in the English.
New Birth
New birth is that sovereign act of the Spirit of God producing a new life in a soul that has been dead—dead in sins. It is obviously impossible for a dead person to do anything; if anything is done, it must be done by another. Therefore, we read in James, “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth” (Jas. 1:18). In John 3 it is spoken of as being born of water (the Word) and of the Spirit; so also in 1 Peter 1:23, we are told that we were born again by the Word of God. So then new birth is the act of the Spirit of God using the Word of God to produce an entirely new life.
Regeneration
Regeneration, however, is only mentioned twice in Scripture: in Matthew 19:28 and in Titus 3:5. In neither case is new birth the thought, but rather a complete change of condition.
In Matthew it says, “In the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory.” We might ask, “When will this be?” Matthew 25:31 will shed light on it: “When the Son of Man shall come [or, shall have come] in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations.” This is plainly an earthly scene, for there will be no nations in heaven; it is the time when the Son of Man will set up His throne on earth—the Millennium.
Thus we see that “the regeneration” is the glorious day of the Son of Man on earth—those days foretold all through the Old Testament prophecies. Satan will have been bound, the forces of evil destroyed, and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9). Our poor minds, which are so accustomed to the condition of things in this sin-defiled and suffering world, cannot comprehend the great change that will be ushered in by the Son of Man in His day; this new scene is called “the regeneration.” Truly it will be a new condition for the whole animate creation.
The Washing of Regeneration
Now let us look at the other place where the word “regeneration” is found: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6).
First we are told that He has saved us, not because of our works, but according to His mercy, and that through the washing of regeneration. The one who is saved was born a sinner and at a distance from God; then that evil nature bore its own fruit, but God has come in and brought about a complete change. He who was in the kingdom of darkness has been translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love. God is not satisfied merely to have one saved from hell; He brings such a one into a whole new sphere. He has not left us where we were, nor what we were. This is more than being “born again,” which is the communication of life; it is the whole new order of things into which we have been brought, but, of course, a new life was necessary to it.
Baptism
Of this great change baptism is the outward sign, or symbol. We have been baptized unto Christ’s death (Romans 6), and now are to walk in newness of life. Baptism is unto death, but then there is the manifestation of life—a new life. It is to be feared that the real import of baptism is often lost sight of, for it is not a meaningless sign. In order for us to be brought out of that wherein we were held, death was necessary—the death of Christ, and also resurrection—the resurrection of Christ. Christian baptism was instituted to set forth this great truth; not that baptism ever has, or ever will, save anyone, but it does have a special significance for us which should not be overlooked.
A New Position
In 1 Peter 3 we are reminded that the world in Noah’s day perished, but “eight souls were saved through [not, by] water” (vs. 20 JND). The ark was a type of that which saves the soul, even of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He bore all the storm and judgment, so that all who take refuge in Him are saved through His death and, of course, resurrection. Then the Spirit of God by Peter goes on to say that “the like figure... even baptism doth also now save us.” Baptism is a figure of that which now saves; it is the figure of the death of Christ. Baptism does not save, but it is the symbol of that which does, “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God” (vss. 21-22).
And where did the ark that saved those “eight souls” leave them? Not in the old scene of corruption and violence, but on a cleansed earth. All this was but a type, for that cleansed earth was soon spoiled, but now if any man is “in Christ,” he is a new creation where all things are of God. Blessed place into which we have been brought! We are brought there not through our works, but by the death and resurrection of Him who is now in heaven. God must have moral conformity to Himself in those brought to Him.
Practical Purity
In Titus 2:13-14 it says, “Our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” It does not say that He gave Himself for us to deliver us from the pit, but that He might have a people who are suitable to Himself. Another has said, “God has saved us by purifying us; He could not do otherwise. To be in relationship with Himself, there must be practical purity.”
This is the “washing of regeneration.” It is the cleansing that brings us into a state where everything is new, everything of God. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [creation]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
If “the regeneration” is that new state of bliss which will be ushered in by the Son of Man, the Christian of this day is in it already morally. He does not have to wait for “the regeneration” to be brought into a condition and sphere of conformity to the mind of God.
The Millennium
There is a somewhat similar thought in what is said about the day that is coming. We read that the Millennium will be the time of the shining forth of the “Sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2); it will be the glorious day for the earth. Now the earth is shrouded in moral darkness; it is night here (although “the night is far spent, the day is at hand”), but does the Christian have to wait for the day to come? No, he is already there; “we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5), for we are already of the day that is coming (vs. 8). While we are living upon the earth that is veiled by the night, we are of the light (Eph. 5:8) and belong to the day that will soon dawn.
Thus we have been saved, and washed, and are already of the regeneration, even in a better way. God has made us clean and new, before the day of the regeneration dawns upon the earth. How blessed is our place now! May we enter more into it by faith, and thus we shall manifest it more before the world which is still lying in darkness (Rom. 13:12, 13).
Renewing of the Holy Spirit
Another thing that is added in Titus 3:5 is the “renewing of the Holy Ghost.” This is different from that which is found in verse 6: “Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour”—the blessed fact of the sealing of the Spirit. Yes, everyone who is saved also has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, but there is more. That blessed heavenly Guest is not only the seal of what we have and the earnest of what we are to get, but He is the energy and power of all in the new creation. He maintains us by His power in all that into which we have been brought. There is not, and never can be, any lack, for we are maintained in all the strength of God the Holy Spirit—the “renewing of the Holy Ghost.” His work is continuous, as we read, “He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you,” “He will guide you into all truth,” “He will show you things to come,” and “He maketh intercession for us” (John 16:13-15; Rom. 8:26).
P. Wilson (adapted)
The Double Witness
Concerning the witness that eternal life is in the Son (not in Adam), in 1 John 5 there seems to be a double testimony: the water and the blood. This witness tells of death, the breach with all of the first man. It was not till Christ was dead that there was cleansing, while the Spirit is the witness of life according to the glory of the second Adam. Life is in the Son, but the Son, as man on the cross, as come in the midst of the old thing, has been rejected and died. He died for atonement and cleansing. But the Son is also glorified man, and as such Head of the new thing in power.
J. N. Darby (adapted)
A New Year?s Wish
What shall I wish you this New Year?
Health, wealth, prosperity, good cheer,
All sunshine, not a cloud or tear?
No, only this:
That God may lead you His own way,
That He may choose your path each day,
That you will feel Him near alway,
For this is bliss.
I dare not ask aught else for thee;
How could I tell what best would be?
But God, the end of all can see;
His will is best.
To know He rules, come loss or gain,
Sorrow or gladness, sun or rain,
To know He loves in ease or pain,
Is perfect rest.
Author unknown