 |  |
Then in John 17 we read:
'I have given unto them the words (rhema) which Thou gavest Me' (8).
'I have given them Thy word (logos)' (14).
'Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word (logos) is truth' (17).
En rhemati, 'by the Word' (Eph. 5:26), indicates the instrument whereby
the washing is accomplished, that is, by the Word that lays hold of and
applies the sacrificial Work of Christ. Had baptism been in the apostle's
mind, he could easily have used the word en hudati, 'in water', as in Mark
1:8.
We cannot read the Scriptures prayerfully without their sanctifying and
cleansing effect taking place. They are given not only for doctrine, but for
reproof and correction, so that the man of God, already blessedly saved,
shall be made 'perfect' (2 Tim. 3:16,17). We shall have to return to this
figure of 'washing' later, but our better plan at the moment is to complete
the examination of Ephesians 5:26,27. We trust that the reader is already
experiencing something of the deep joy that comes with the realization that
we are indeed 'accepted in the Beloved'.
Two passages demand a more detailed examination, namely Hebrews 9:14
and John 13:10. Hebrews 9:14 is the outcome of the teaching of earlier
verses, which may be exhibited thus:
Hebrews 9:7 -12
A
9:7,8. once every year 'not without blood'.
hapax
B
9:9. The present season.
kairos
C
9:9. a Gifts and Sacrifices.
b No perfection.
Conscience untouched.
C
9:10. a
Meats. Drinks.
Baptisms.
b Carnal ordinances.
B
9:10. The season of reformation.
kairos
A
9:11,12.once, holy place, with 'His own blood'
ephapax.
A Blessed Change
The new section is introduced with verse 11, opening with the words,
'But Christ'. Dispensational and doctrinal changes are introduced by some
such expression in other places. For example, in Acts 17:30:
'And the times of this ignorance God winked at; But Now commandeth all
men every where to repent'.
So, in Romans 3:21, when the apostle had brought in the whole world
guilty before God with no hope of righteousness in themselves, he then
introduces the wondrous provision of grace with the words:
'But Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested'.
Both the doctrinal and dispensational portions of Ephesians 2 are
marked in the same way: