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"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He
shed (poured out) upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour" (5).
Not only do we experience God's kindness and His rich love, but His pity as well,
which realized the depth of our need.
What does the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Ghost mean? The
word washing is loutron and many commentaries refer this to water baptism and see in it
a reference to baptismal regeneration. If this is true, then it means that all who have not
been immersed in water are unsaved. The general teaching regarding salvation by grace
is perfectly clear in Paul's epistles and is completely divorced from good works, merit, or
participation in any sort of ritual. The very context we are considering has just insisted
that no righteous deed on our part can save us. One would have thought that this very
fact would have prevented expositors from reading any act of water baptism into verse 5.
When the N.T. wishes to teach the type or shadow, it uses the word baptism. Paul did not
say the `baptism of regeneration'. Had he meant this, he would have surely said so.
Loutron only occurs once more and that by the Apostle, so we have guidance in the
way he uses it. This is found in Eph. 5: 26 `the loutron washing of water by the Word'.
The last phrase `by the Word' shows us that literal water cannot be meant, but a figure is
being employed. We are cleansed by the Word and the Lord Jesus taught the same truth
in John 15: 3:
"Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you."
Likewise in Titus 3: 5. In a dispensation where all the shadows are gone and each
member of the Body is filled to the full in Christ (Col. 2: 10, 16, 17) and therefore has the
complete and lasting spiritual reality, water baptism is not only unnecessary, it would be
an intrusion. The Apostle is teaching the cleansing that accompanies regeneration, and
he follows it with the renewing of the Holy Spirit. The genitive here is subjective and is
better rendered `renewal by the Holy Spirit'. Anakainosis is used only elsewhere in
Rom. 12: 2 `be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind' and the verb anakainoo
also occurs only twice in the New Testament, "the inward man is renewed day by day"
(II Cor. 4: 16), and `ye have . . . . . put on the new man, which is being renewed unto
knowledge after the image of Him that created him' (Col. 3: 10 R.V.). In each
occurrence it is the work of the Holy Spirit in connection with the mind and its constant
renewing. In this way it is also used in Titus 3: 5. This vital and necessary work of the
Holy Spirit is no mere trickle. It has been `poured out upon us richly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour'. The glorious redemptive work of the Lord Jesus is the basis upon
which this rich ministry of the Holy Spirit operates, putting each member of the Body
into the position of being cleansed, and given a constantly renewed mind, which is then
capable of receiving Truth and growing thereby.