The Washing Of Water By The Word
by Mark Aites
“Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word”
(Ephesians
This latter portion of vs. 26 is closely linked to that of Titus 3:5 where Paul wrote of the washing of regeneration. Both passages are clear references to baptism. But even so, there has been considerable difficulty in achieving a correct interpretation.
The phrase “washing of water by the word” has caused considerable difficulty. Some have mistakenly believed that when you read and receive the word of God that you are symbolically cleansed. But to draw that conclusion Paul would have said, “The washing of the word.” But the text clearly states, “the washing of water by the word.”
What we need to do here is to focus
on that qualifying part of the phrase, “by
the word.” Look closely at the
preposition. It can either mean by the
agency of, or it can refer to location.
Here is a question; if it’s agency, then the passage is symbolic, as how
can a person literally be washed by the Word of God? If the author intended agency, it would have
to be symbolic, but that doesn’t harmonize with other passages which teach that
we are baptized or immersed in water for the remission of sins (Acts
“He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned” (Mark
The washing of water by the word,
or washing of regeneration, without doubt, is referring to the baptism of the
new birth, the same which saves us today.
It is not a symbolic cleansing, but an actual washing away of one’s sins
(cf. Acts.