Cleansing is the work of God by which He removes the defilement of sin and makes a person clean before Him.
In the Old Testament it was pictured through water, blood, and priestly rites;
in the New Testament it is accomplished by the blood of Jesus and the washing of the Word and the Spirit.
Scripture speaks of both a once-for-all cleansing at conversion and an ongoing cleansing in the believer’s daily walk.
Those who are washed by Christ have no need except to wash their feet, yet they are called to keep themselves unstained from the world.
From the beginning, sin defiles. The law provided washings, sacrifices, and the Day of Atonement so that a holy God might dwell among an unclean people. These rites could never perfect the conscience; they pointed forward to a better cleansing. Jesus told the disciples that they were already clean because of the word He had spoken to them, yet He still washed their feet as a picture of ongoing need. John writes that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, and that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Paul speaks of Christ sanctifying the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. The writer of Hebrews declares that the blood of Christ purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Cleansing is therefore both positional and practical: the believer is already washed, and is still being washed, until the day when the church is presented without spot or wrinkle.
- Cleansing from sin is possible only through the blood of Jesus Christ.
- Old Testament washings and sacrifices were shadows of the true cleansing to come.
- There is a once-for-all washing at conversion and a continual cleansing in daily fellowship.
- Confession of sin is the appointed means by which the already-washed believer is cleansed from unrighteousness.
- The Word of God and the Spirit of God are the instruments of ongoing cleansing.
- Those who are clean are called to keep themselves unstained from the world.
- The final goal is a people presented to Christ in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
- Blood of Christ – The fundamental means by which sin’s guilt and stain are removed.
- Washing of Water with the Word – The sanctifying and cleansing work of Scripture applied by the Spirit.
- Confession and Forgiveness – The ongoing path by which the believer is cleansed from all unrighteousness.
- Conscience Purified – The blood of Christ cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
- Positional and Progressive – Already clean through the word and the cross; still being cleansed in daily walk.
- Call to Holiness – Those who have this hope purify themselves as He is pure.
- Final Presentation – The church will be presented to Christ holy and without blemish.
- 1 John 1:7, 9 – “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin… If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- Ephesians 5:25-27 – “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
- Hebrews 9:13-14 – “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
- Hebrews 10:22 – “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
- John 13:8-10 – “Peter said to him, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.’”
- John 15:3 – “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”
- Titus 3:5 – “…he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…”
- Psalm 51:2, 7, 10 – “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin… Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow… Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
- Isaiah 1:16, 18 – “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes… Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”
- Ezekiel 36:25-26 – “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 – “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
- 2 Corinthians 7:1 – “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”
- James 4:8 – “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
- Revelation 7:14 – “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
- Revelation 22:14 – “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.”
- Leviticus 16:30 – “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.”
- Psalm 24:3-4 – “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…”
- 1 John 3:3 – “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
- Forgiveness of Sins
- Blood of Christ
- Washing of Regeneration
- Confession of Sin
- Sanctification
- Pure Heart
- Walk in the Light
- Holiness
- Conscience
- Word of God
- Without Spot or Wrinkle
- Blood of the Lamb
The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That is the foundation. The one who has bathed is already clean, yet still needs the daily washing of the feet. Confess your sins. He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse. Let the Word wash you. Draw near with a heart sprinkled clean. Keep yourself unstained from the world. The same Christ who loved the church and gave Himself up for her is still cleansing her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present her to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle. Walk in the light. Stay under the blood. The cleansing is real, it is complete in its foundation, and it will be finished when He presents His church holy and without blemish.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.