Eph 5:26 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, (27) That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.
The washing of such water is different from the washing of the redeeming blood of Christ. The redeeming blood washes away our sins (1 John 1:7), whereas the water of life washes away the blemishes of the natural life of our old man, such as "spot or wrinkle or any such things." In sanctifying the church, the Lord firstly washes away our sins with His blood and then washes away our natural blemishes with His life. We are now in such a washing process in order that the church may be holy and without blemish. With Eve in Genesis 2 there was no need of cleansing because in that chapter she had not fallen. Rather, she was pure and without mixture. But because we are fallen, contaminated, and defiled, we today need to be cleansed.... If we had the nourishing and the cherishing [verse 29] without the cleansing, our problems would remain with us. The Lord's nourishing and cherishing always issue in His cleansing. In the process of spiritual metabolism brought about by the cleansing, the germs in our being are killed and the negative things are discharged. Through the nourishing and the cherishing with the cleansing, we become healthy and strong.... If the nourishment ceases, the cleansing will cease also. But if we continually take in the spiritual supply, the elements [of Christ] we absorb into our being will cleanse us inwardly and carry away the old, dead, and unclean things. This metabolic process is taking place day by day in the church life.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 457-458. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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