Ephesians 5:26

“... that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.”

This verse continues the thought of the previous verse, that Christ gave himself up for the church, in order to sanctify her.

Christ is sanctifying the church, that is making it holy. The church is the ekklesia, that is the assembly of people “called out” by God. It is the elect, the chosen ones.

in that since, the church is already holy or set apart for God. This is why Paul describes it is a temple earlier in the letter .

but in another sense, the church is in a process of being sanctified. Each christian must undergo a life long process of being refined and made fit for heaven. This process only concludes when we are promoted to glory and see God for who He really is.

To be sanctified means to be cleansed of every thought and action that springs from the sinful heart of human beings. It is dying to our old nature and rising to new life in Christ.

there is a two-step process in view here.

first, He cleanses us. When we come to Christ the record of the past is wiped clean. The old is gone and the new is here. The list of all our prior sins is deleted so that every barrier between our sinful nature and the holy God is demolished.

our soul was disfigured by the marks of our sins. Jesus remove these marks and cleanses us.

having been cleansed, He sanctifies us. This is the ongoing process of becoming more like Christ in every part of our lives - individually and corporately as the church.

we are cleansed for a purpose. We are forgiven with a destination in mind. Some people think that cleansing is the end in itself. Their lives are a repeated cycle of temptation, sin, confession, forgiveness. They repeat the same sins endlessly because they fail to see that the goal is not forgiveness but holiness.

the Lord does not want us to just be cleansed today but to stay clean in a life dedicated to God’s purposes .

Paul mentions two instruments of cleansing and sanctification.

the first is water, that is baptism. Baptism marks a transition from sinner to saint. It is a public declaration that a person is dedicating themselves to following Christ .

baptism does not carry sanctifying grace in itself. There is nothing in the external element of water that carries particular grace. However, when combined with the faith of the believer and of the gathered saints, it becomes the instrument of cleansing. The Holy Spirit becomes powerfully present in the act through the faith of the church.

The second instrument mentioned here is the word. The word is the word of scripture read, proclaimed and expounded by the church.

when we first come to Christ, the promise of forgiveness contained in the Bible is what brings our spirit to life. The Bible becomes a living word which points us to salvation .

As we mature in faith, the scriptures serve to convict us of sin and point to a higher way. As we seek to follow Christ more accurately, the Holy Spirit gives us grace to do so.

We might ask how this applies to husbands. Without pressing the analogy too far, there is a sense in which the faith of a man or woman can help to draw their spouse to a deeper relationship with God.

a husband is not Christ to his wife. However, his faithfulness to Christ, his example of submitting his life to the Lord, his surrender to God’s purposes, and his tender love for his wife, all help to illustrate for her what it means to be cleansed and sanctified. Of course this is a two-way street in which both partners encourage each other to holiness.

key points in this verse:

• We are cleansed in order to be sanctified, forgiven to become holy

• the Holy Spirit uses the water of baptism and the reading of the word to make us holy

• Husbands are to help their wives become holy to the Lord