“WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD”

Teaching given by Billie Johnson

At Dominion Living Training Center

March 28, 2009         

The title is taken from our main scripture.  The washing of the water by the word: w and w w.  It’s a little hard to say but the scripture is Eph 5:26 where Jesus makes a comparison between Christ and the church and the place of a husband and his wife.   Christ made the church holy by the washing of his Word, he cleansed it from sin.  The most usual way of talking about getting rid of sin is to be cleansed from it; to be washed.           

Eph 5:23-27, NKJ   “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and he is the savior of the body.  Therefore just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  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, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word," - Eph 5:26 KJV

The New Living Translation says “to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word.”

The NIV says “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, “       

Let’s read the whole section in the New Living Translation:  Eph 5:25-27 “And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church.  He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, instead, she will be holy and without fault.”  Sometimes we use physical things to show spiritual truths.  

  We’ll look at water first.  Water is important.  We know that it is a beginning part of creation. Gen 1:1-2 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  Water sustains life.             We like to go and sit by a stream of running water and listen to the sound of it.  There is something soothing about the sound of running water.  Running water is sometimes called living water.  Jesus said his words were life and spirit. John 6:63 says “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and [they] are life.” They move and keep things going.           

 In some places of the world water is stored in cisterns – a place for the water to be kept. I remember the rain barrels from growing up in West Texas.  They caught the water and stored it for later use.  Rain water is usually very soft and good.  In Guam in the ranches in the boonies – these were just small patches of cleared land in the jungle away from the towns.   Some of the houses would have a large used oil barrel which was cleaned and then placed under the run off from the eves where water would collect. Some would have a piece of screen over the top to keep out debris.  This is a picture of our storing the water of the word in our hearts.  It is a place to store those things from God.   We sometimes need to screen out things that are not holy and keep them out of our hearts!         

The lack of water can be disastrous to us. In a drought the vegetation dies and man suffers because he has no water in a dry and weary land. Isa 32:2 “And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”           

 But conversely too much water also can be a hardship.  We hear of how the people in North Dakota are preparing for the flood if the Red River rises more.  There is fear there for the water will have strength and take away many places and things.  For days after the typhoon that we lived through while on Guam there was no water in the pipes because the electricity was off. It looked like a war zone.  There were twisted steel posts, houses were demolished. It looks like a war zone. There were no leaves on the trees.  It looked like fall but fall but fall doesn’t come on Guam because it is so close to the equator where the weather is usually warm.   We were fortunate because we were only without water for a few days.  Some people on the island had more like weeks with no water.  I remember a few days after the typhoon my daughter and I putting on our swim suits, taking our shampoo and going outside in the warm rain to wash our hair.  It sure felt good because we couldn’t wash it the usual way. I don’t know what our neighbors thought!  But I didn’t care it was great to have clean hair again. The rain there is usually warm and the trade winds are warm so it was a delightful way to get our hair clean.           

I also remember distinctly the first day after the typhoon toward evening we heard large trucks coming around the neighborhood with water to dispense. These were gasoline trucks which had been cleaned and filled with fresh water.  They came with horns blaring and the growling of their engines.  No one could miss that something was going on.  In the gathering darkness people streamed out of their houses carrying any container they had whether it was a plastic jug, a wash basin, a gallon container or just some large pots and pans they came to receive the precious water that the trucks had been loaded with.  When you have to make do with what you have it helps to have others there too.           

We know the human body is made up of a large percentage of water.  The body can go without food for 40 days before it starts to starve.  But usually when a person is without sufficient water for three days they are close to death.  I have heard of some instances where people have survived but 3 days is the usual time that a person can be without liquid.  Our bodies need water which is the beginning building block that the Lord used to make the earth.          

EX 30:18-20 tells us that washing was an important part of the temple ceremony.  “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die.”         

This signified that they were clean before God, able to do his ministry.  Water was used for Purification in cases of ceremonial cleansings at the consecration of the Levites. Num 8:5-7says “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:  Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them (ceremonially).  Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purification of on them and let them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.”  In this case water was only sprinkled on them; they were not immersed in it.  It is curious that they also had to shave all the hair from their bodies.  I guess hair carries more dirt than smooth skin.  Anyway this washing of purification signified, figuratively, the purifying of the heart which must characterize the servants of God. The sacrifices of meat from bulls and goats were also washed with water before they were placed on the altar.           

 In our travels to different parts of the world we have seen how a bowl or container of water is used ceremonially in other religions also.  In Japan there were containers made of stone so that before you go into the temples a person had to wash his hands and sometimes his face before entering.  In Israel at the Dome of the Rock, which is the sacred place for Muslims, there is a place for washing of the feet and hands before entering into the mosque. I understand that the Muslim religion has many ceremonial washings of their hands all the way up their forearms before eating. In one book which I read about them this washing was done several times before they were free to eat. The Islamic religion uses a lot of the things from the Old Testament which are mixed with the Koran, their Holy book.          

 In the New Testament we have Jesus calling people to come to him in the temple where he used a verse from Isa 55:1:  "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” KJV.  Let’s read that verse in the NKJV John 7:37-39 “On the last day, that great [day] of the feast, (Passover) Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet [given], because Jesus was not yet glorified.”  Here we have the Holy Spirit being prophesied as the water that will flow from us after we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  We are to drink of Jesus because he has the water of life.   You notice that this scripture talks about rivers of living water – it is moving—it is not stagnate or still, it does something in us and in others as we allow the Spirit to move.

          Let’s read the rest of that chapter in Isaiah as there are many parallels that we can see.  Isa 55:2-12 “Why do you spend money for

[what is] not bread, And your wages for [what] does not satisfy? Listen

carefully to Me, and eat [what is] good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. ³ Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your sou

l shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- The suremercies of David.⁴ Indeed I have given him [as] a witness to the

people, A leader and commander for the people. ⁵ Surely you shall

 call a nation you do not know, And nations [who] do not know you shall

run to you, because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of

Israel; For He has glorified you." ⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be

found, Call upon Him while He is near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his

way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the

LORD, And He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will

abundantly pardon. ⁸ "For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor

 [are] your ways My ways," says the LORD. ⁹ For [as] the heavens are

higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My

 thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ "For as the rain comes down, and the

snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And

 make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And

 bread to the eater, ¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My

mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper [in the thing] for which I sent it. ¹²"For you

shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; The mountains and

the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of

the field shall clap [their] hands.”  This scripture connects God’s word

with water for us.  The snow which we had this past week turns into

water to fortify the trees.  We have dwarf apple and peach trees.  Don

had planned to have our son, David, come with his chain saw and help

 him prune the fruit trees.  Well, they waited a week too long because

as I was doing the dished one evening I looked out and saw that the

apple trees had buds on them.  Once the buds come on it is too late

to prune the trees.  They needed water and we had watered them

some since we’ve not had much rain or snow this winter.  So the snow

 was needed and we are thankful for it but we hope that the

temperature didn’t get too cold for the new little buds or we won’t have

many apples this summer.  We depend upon water for so many

things. 

Other scriptures that talk of the Word of God:          1 Cor 2:12 tells us “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” It is by God’s grace that we know spiritual things.  We don’t learn them from man.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher and he reveals spirit-taught words that are spiritual truths. So we can understand and compare spiritual things with other spiritual things not just the philosophies of man.  Our God is so good!         

1 Peter 1:22- 25   “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.”    That first sentence talks about obeying the truth which purifies our souls.  So that is another reason to obey what the Word tells us.  Then the verse goes on to tell us we are born from above and from seed that is never corrupted – never goes bad.  That seed comes from the word of God which lives forever.  Our lives are compared to the flower which fades and falls away and grass which is even quicker to whither.  But we have the promise that God’s word is forever.         

 As I meditated on these scriptures there were many pictures that the Lord gave me.
          When your spirit awakens it is like when a flower opens.  The flower needs water to grow and to open.  The spirit needs the water of the word.  Sometimes we give it a deluge – too much too soon.  The water washes over it, takes the dirt and gives breath or life.  It is clean but maybe too clean.  The water comes so fast much like a flood that moves everything in its path. Too much too quickly may not be healthy.  It sweeps the good away as well as the bad.  Sometimes that is when we speed read the scripture.  We cover the ground but it doesn’t have time to really soak in.  There is some good done but the ground needs to be able to hold the water.  The scripture just goes by fast but much doesn’t stay there.It is better to have a gentle drizzle so that the earth is able to open up and soak in the water.  Water is life giving when the ground is ready to receive.  It is not hard, cracked, parched and unable to retain the water.  Our spirits are open and able to receive the water of the word.  We have made them ready by focusing or concentrating on a small portion at a time.  Then the mind (the soul) can receive what the sprit gives and it needs.          So we take a small portion – a verse or two and really let it sink in.  We may go back a bit to the verses above and below the one we zero in on.  This gives us a fuller picture.  So we have an anchor, a background to put the one we’re focusing on in context.  We need to see it as a whole but let it percolate down into our spirits so that it touches the pictures in our mind.  We see the picture and our soul is open to remember scenes we’ve seen before or to let the spirit bring up new connections with meaning to our minds.         

A soft gentle rain gives life better than a quick hard deluge.  It is able to penetrate to the joints and marrow to get in the cracks, to soften up the hard places. Hebrews 4:12 tells us “For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  The Kenneth Wuest translation says it this way in verses 10-13: “Let us give diligence, therefore, to enter that rest, lest anyone fall in the same example of disobedience; for actively alive is the word of God, and energetic, and sharper than any two-edged sword, going through even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and (it) is a sifter and analyzer of the reflections and conceptions of the heart.  And there is not a thing created which is hidden from His sight.  But all things are naked and laid bare to His eyes, to whom we must give account.”  The word of God is actively alive, it is energetic and sharp.  It goes even through the dividing of soul and spirit.  It sifts and analyzes the reflections and what the heart conceives.  God knows us better than we know ourselves!           

Our nourishment is there in the word. The water of the Word causes the mind to open up and receive what the spirit is showing it.  It is able to contain the wisdom from above.          

The washing of the water of the word causes many things to be awakened and we are aware of new insights when we really concentrate.  We meditate and then the knowledge is greater because we allow those pictures that the spirit brings, to come to the front of our minds.  We grab and hold them, store them, if you will, turn it from side to side, take it apart piece by piece until we see the fullness of what we need to know.         

We need to allow our minds to be still and concentrate, hold that one verse or thought – hold it still and let it sink into the soft receiving ground.  It becomes more a part of us when we really hold it in our mind.  When it’s really a part of our mind then light bulbs come on!  Darkness recedes and light allows us to see that which we couldn’t or didn’t see before.         

There is no longer a fog or a mist before our eyes.  Our mind has been illuminated with light from the SON the S O N  not just the SUN   S U N.  We see more clearly and the knowledge, the thought becomes a part of the geography, the topography of our mind.  It is part of the structure.  It belongs there.  It doesn’t just visit.  It is there, able to surface when needed.  We don’t have to search the scriptures or to say I now it’s in the Bible but I don’t know where!  It pops up when needed.  The mind has it at the ready.  We don’t need to seek it out.         

 The renewed mind is able to think the thoughts of the Spirit.  It lets those good, gracious and life giving thoughts take prominence in our mind.  It allows the Spirit of Christ to shine.  It is like the sunrise that touches the mountains and brings distinct patterns and shapes out of the dimness and shadows into clarity and sharpness.  It is like the “aha” moment. Yes, I see it now!  I’ve got it.  I receive it.  It is a part of me now not just a distant visiting thought but one that lives and is stored in the recesses of my mind and heart.  It is ever ready to come to the fore, to the front to be used when needed.  Alleluia!  It is growth-- it is knowing; it is wisdom from above – pure and peaceable as James tells us.   It doesn’t need to wallow to stay in the darkness but comes into the light.         

When we were coming home to Fort Collins from Greeley one Saturday evening we encountered fog.  The highway was clear one moment and the next we were enveloped in a cloud. It seemed there was no moisture just a fog that allowed you to see only a short distance.  The rest of the road that we usually see was shrouded with a thickness, a density that we couldn’t see through.  It seemed like a mist and yet there was not wetness on the windshield or on the road.  It deafened the sound.  We moved in a muffled quietness almost like we were packed in cotton – not like the artificial plastic peanuts that are used as packing material but a natural substance like cotton that held us close and yet kept us away from our usual environment.  We couldn’t see; we were hindered from knowing what was further ahead of us.  Our sight was shortened.  We felt stifled and unable to progress very quickly.         

Perhaps that is a word picture of where we are sometimes in the soul.  We are muffled from hearing what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.  Things seem to be blocked, fogged up.  We are short sighted, unable to reach what we are searching for.  That is when we need the washing of the water of the Word.  It clears out the fog.          As we continued on off I-25 and into Fort Collins we just seemed to roll out of the fog.  It got less and less.  We were able to see further, our sight was cleared and we recognized where we were.  Before the fog so shrouded things that they looked unfamiliar. We couldn’t identify things. The places looked so unfamiliar but then they became clear.         

When the Holy Spirit clears away the fog and we immerge on the other side we see things as they really are.  Alleluia!  We see things as God sees them!  It is clear.  The scripture – the truth reverberates in our heart.  It stays in our mind.  It resonates within us. We have been washed with the water of the Word.   That is truth recognized!