◄ What Does Ephesians 5:26 Mean? ►

Paul used the special relationships between a husband and wife to exemplify the intimate communion there is between Christ and the Church. The marriage relationship is patterned on Christ's sacrificial love for His Church; for Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. But the sacrificial love that Christ has for His Church also has a cleansing element, as well as a sanctifying effect upon Her.

The Church is cleansed and purified by the washing of the water with the Word of God, for the Word of God is truth and light, alive and powerful. The Word of God exposes our innermost thoughts and desires, and the one who trusts in Christ as their Saviour has had their scarlet sins forgiven forever and has been covered in Christ's robe of righteousness. They have been washed white as snow, cleansed, purified, and positionally sanctified in Him. Christ's love for His Church is both a sacrificial and a sanctifying love.

May we who are the Body of Christ be washed, cleansed, and daily immerse ourselves in the pure water of the Word of God. May we who are positionally sanctified in Christ, so submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we may also be practically sanctified as we mature in the faith, grow in grace, and come to know the Lord Jesus more and more with each passing day.

Thank You, Father, that I am positioned in Christ and being conformed, day by day, into the likeness of the Lord Jesus, through the power of Your Holy Spirit. I pray that You would work deeply in my life, and that I may be practically sanctified, daily cleansed, and purified with the washing of the water of the Word of God so that I may stand before You without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.