THE WASHING OF HIS WORD"Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." John 13: 6-8 Here we have a scenario in which Christ was washing the feet of the disciples, but upon approaching Peter, Peter denied the advances what was Christ's response? He told him that if he washed him not, he would have no part of him, why is that? You see, in this particular event, Christ was using the washing of the disciples feet to convey a spiritual truth, what we need to identify is what was this washing that Christ was speaking of. Ephesians 5: 25, 26 tells us: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the word." So we see that the washing Christ was showing in John 13: 6-8 was a spiritual washing, justification, and we know that this word is the faith of Christ, according to Romans 10: 8:"But what saith it? The WORD is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of Faith, which we preach." So faith is identified as that same word in Ephesians 5:25, 26. And it is this faith that makes us righteous, according to Romans 5: 1. But, what is it about the faith that makes us righteous? The spirit of God dwells within it, look at Galatians 3: 14, which says: "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles through Jesus Christ; that he might receive the promise of the spirit THROUGH faith". So the Spirit of God, comes on the gentiles through this faith, or rather the gentiles receive the Holy Spirit through faith, and where does the spirit dwell? In the heart: " And because you are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father." Galatians 4: 6. The spirit dwells within our heart in justification, and we become his children, hence we cry Abba, Father. Also, the faith must dwell IN us, look at Romans 3:22: "Even the righteousness of God (God himself, Jeremiah 23: 5, 6) which is by Faith, INTO all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference." So the faith must be IN your hearts, and since the Holy Spirit comes by faith, the Holy Spirit must be where? In your hearts, and if the Holy Spirit dwells within your heart, then are you a son of God, according to Romans 8: 14. But, if we have not the spirit of God in our hearts, are we his? No, Romans 8: 9 tells us: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his." You have no part of Christ if you are not washed by his word and if the Holy Spirit is not in you, thus confirming what Christ said to Peter in John 13: 8: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Thus showing that Christ was teaching Justification by faith in this particular scenario and event. Further evidence to this fact is found within the very chapter itself, look at verses 10, 11: "Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. "For he knew who should betray him, (Judas Iscariot) therefore said he, Ye are not all clean!" In other words, ye are not all washed by the word! Do you think that the mere washing of his literal feet would have made a difference in whether Judas would have betrayed Jesus or not? No, but had Judas Iscariot been washed or justified by the word, would he have betrayed and given up the Lord to be crucified? No! Thus confirming that Jesus was teaching Justification by faith! Grace and peace. By Bro. Kerron Alexander
7 Comments
Sis Karima
5/31/2016 07:50:56 pm
Thank you bro. Kerron, beautifully explained. Christ knows very well that justification is our most important need. Without justification we will be cut off. If we want to be a part of Christ, we must allow Him to do the work of removing the old man. We cannot serve two masters at once. Self must go, we must let go of self and yield our will to God alone. May God help us to love being washed each day by Him. Thank you again brother.
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Kerron Alexander
6/1/2016 12:00:35 am
Amen my dear sister, you're welcome, and thank you for the comment. :)
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Anesia Baptiste
5/31/2016 08:00:37 pm
Thank you for sharing the beautiful truth with us about Justification by faith from the account of Christ's washing of his disciples feet. Indeed Justification is everything and is what we need always. Ezekiel 36 shows he cleanses us from our idols and filthiness (of the heart not the flesh). It is always the heart that needs dealing with and Christ is capable and able to do so for he is the one who provides the water (himself-he being the divine provider) and he also creates the new man-the soft heart of flesh in place of the hard, stony carnal heart. We must all let him wash us and keep washing us always to the end that he might present us blameless and holy before His father. Thank you again Bro. Kerron. God bless you.
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Kerron Alexander
5/31/2016 11:54:10 pm
Amen, amen, you're most welcome my dear sister. And thank you for the comment. :)
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Ann-Marie
5/31/2016 09:56:24 pm
Amen, Amen br. Kerron. Wonderful share of truths well supported by the Scriptures showing the washing of the mind from sin by the revealed word of Christ, of which feet washing is a symbol. Indeed, it is only the revealed word of YHWH that can wash away all of our idols-values making us sin-free.
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Kerron Alexander
5/31/2016 11:55:22 pm
Amen, you're welcome, and thank you my dear sister for the comment. :)
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Ashaki
7/5/2016 02:58:21 pm
AMEN AMEN
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