Word
In Hebrews, we see the relationship between the cleansing power of the Word of God and the rest of the Lord.
“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “As in my anger I swore, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” Hebrews 4:1–3
Believing and uniting with other believers who listen to God’s Word, safeguards the path of Christians. It ensures we enter into the rest of the Lord.
“Though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place it says, “They shall not enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day—“today”—saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 4:3:-7
Disobedience to the Word of God disqualifies us. Disobedience hardens our hearts to the point that we are no longer served by our senses. We have eyes but we do not see, ears but we do not hear, hearts but we do not understand. When we listen to God’s Word and obey we can be assured that our hearts soften and we come to our senses… able to see, hear and understand.
“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs. Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. ” Hebrews 4:8–12
The Word of God cleanses us for sure but first it cuts. On one hand the Word of God cleanses us by informing; laying our thoughts and intentions bare. And on the other hand, it informs us about God’s plan for our lives, replacing our confused thoughts with the truth.
“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6
The Word of God cleanses us. Here we see a couple of agents of cleansing united to the common purpose; the Word of God together with the seven-fold fire. The number seven will come up many times in this writing because it is the number for perfection, the number for rest, the number for the divine. A seven-fold cleansing by fire indicates that God is at work and if we bring our trials to him, he can use them to cleanse us and prepare us to enter in.
John 15 provides Jesus’ teaching on the Vine. We learn that if we abide in Jesus, we will have a fruitful life. The best way to ensure that we are abiding in Jesus, is that we read and listen to the Word of God. The process of reading and listening to the Word of God is like a bath. Sometimes babies run from the bath and throw a temper tantrum, especially in their twos. And adults do the same because the world the flesh and the devil will do all in their power to block us from hearing and reading the Word of God.
“You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ” John 15:3
Ephesians makes the point also, mixing the washing of water and the Word. This is a clear reference to the Sacrament of Baptism by which we enter the water and die with Christ so that we may live with Christ. However, the water baptism requires a steady diet of the Word of God as we learn to follow the path of Jesus. It is about acquiring a new appetite and taste. We learn to hunger and thirst for righteousness, which is holiness. And a regular cleansing, daily, seven times a day, every hour, every minute, until we are abiding in Jesus by abiding in the Word. We memorize the word and repeat it and still and quiet our soul in the same: “Jesus, have mercy, Jesus, have mercy”. Or “Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, “There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to dwell in the House of the Lord” or “God be merciful to me a sinner”.
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25–27
The water of baptism and the Word of God combine to cleanse us of our sins and bring us into new life.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God 1 Peter 1:22–23
Blood of Jesus
There are also many references that focus on cleansing by the blood of Jesus.
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:5–10
The blood of Jesus is not just a physical cleansing but spiritual. To walk in the light means to desire to know God’s will. When God shines his light and convicts us of our sin, we confess and count it pure joy, because we love God more than sin. Also in the Lord’s Supper we learn about the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22
The cleansing we desire and receive in Jesus cleanses our whole person: our mind, heart, body, and soul.
Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach 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. Hebrews 10:19–22
Blood was a staple used in the Old Testament for cleansing. At the same time there is no cleansing without forgiveness of sins.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
While Jesus offers His Body and Blood to all it is clear that the covenant gift is poured out for many. While Jesus gift of salvation is universally available, only the many are able to repent and be forgiven. This remnant will experience the grace of the Eucharist.
“Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26–28
The book of Revelations also combines the blood of the Lamb of God which is the blood of Jesus and the Word of God.
“But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death”. Revelations 12:11
Revelations 3 makes it clear we have to participate in a transaction with God in order to be clothed in white garments. That transaction includes hearing the Word of God and obeying while fellowshipping with others who hear the Word and obey. Only if we participate with God’s invitation to grace can we hope to come to our senses, to have eyes and see, ears and hear, hearts and understand.
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. ” Revelations 3:18
Hyssop
Psalm 51 was uttered by King David when he was caught in the sins of adultery and murder. It is a prayer for all believers for all have sinned and fallen short. This is prayer to blot out the transgression and thoroughly wash us from our sins.
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin”. Psalm 51:1
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me”. Psalm 51: 7–10
Hyssop was used in ceremonial cleansing for lepers. [ See Leviticus 14:1–7 And it was also used in Exodus like a paint brush to mark the houses on the Passover, so that the Israelite first born would be spared. This signifies cleansing and in the case of Psalm 51 the cleansing is not just physical but also spiritual as a result of repentance and God’s mercy.
“Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning”. Exodus 12:22
None of these cleansing images can help us if we do not repent and pray for the grace of firm purpose of amendment.
Fire, Water, Breath and Light
Isaiah is one of the greatest books on cleansing. We have this reference of water and fire cleansing the people of God. Water is was used as a judgement in the day of Noah and we know that the fire of hell is also about judgment.
For Christians who are obedient to God’s Word, water and fire are about cleansing.
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior”. Isaiah 43:1–3
Isaiah 30 has something to say about the number seven, patience, and purification.
“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength”. Isaiah 3:15
Returning in this context is returning to the Lord and repenting. When we do so in earnest, we discover the grace of resting in the Lord which gives us the strength to face our challenges. The reference to the great and terrible day shows us that light is used to cleanse us. Not just any light, this is seven-fold light of the Son of God.
Isaiah also introduces breath and fire for cleansing and judgment.
“His breath is like an overflowing stream that reaches up to the neck—to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction”. Isaiah 30: 33
This prefigures the breath of Jesus on Pentecost.
“He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”. John 20:22
Water
Second Kings teaches on cleansing. Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army who was afflicted by leprosy. A little Israelite girl who was captured in Syrian raid told Naaman that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him. [2 Kings 5:3]. He sends a letter to the king of Israel with gifts. When the king received the letter, he tore his clothes out of fear.
“When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean”. 2 Kings 5:8–10
Elijah doesn’t even talk to him. Rather he sends a message with clear path to be cleansed of leprosy.
“But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean”. 2 Kings 5:11–14
Naaman the Syrian was cleansed of leprosy by listening to a young Jewish girl, listening to his servant, humbling himself before a prophet of Israel and obediently entering the water seven times. Why was he to wash seven times? The passage does not provide the answer; however we know God created the world in six days and on the seventh he rested. We know that Joshua marched six days around the Jericho wall and on the seventh with trumpet blast and the mighty shout, the walls came down.
Fuller’s Soap
The book of Malachi speaks about cleansing combining refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap. The fuller was the one who washed to whiten clothes using bleach if you will.
“For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years”. Malachi 3: 1–4
The descendants of Levi is a reference to priests. God has a plan to cleanse the priests, bishops, and even the pope when they stray from the path of God. Mark’s account of the transfiguration uses a similar image to reference Jesus at the Transfiguration.
“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them”. Mark 9:2–3
If we live in sin then we soil our garments. This is not about fashion clothing, rather it is about hearts. Some of us are on a path of continual cleansing and others on a path of continual contamination. The latter are blotted out from the book of Life.
Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Revelations 3:4–5
Fire of God
It is clear that the three faithful children of God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel chose the road less traveled. They avoid idolatry in all of its forms and are set on a path of fasting and prayer. This was an afront against ruling class of Babylon and as a consequence they were thrown into fire.
Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. They walked around in the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord. Daniel 3;19–24
The scripture illustrates that fire burns the hard hearted but souls that have separated themselves from the world, the flesh and the devil and committed themselves to follow God are unscathed.
There are several references from Psalms on purification and cleansing. The refiner’s fire is a good one. If we accept the trials God gives us, and are humble and obedient to him we are purified by the trial.
In the New Testament we look to John the Baptist, the doctor of cleansing. We think of his baptism in water for repentance.
“See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”. Luke 3:16
John signals that his cleansing is provisional and that Jesus would cleanse us with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” Luke 12:49
Peter, the apostle, also teaches about the cleansing properties of fire and how it is tied to the trials we face.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:3–7
Paul, the apostle agrees and shows fire on the day of judgement cleansing believers and punishing the hard of heart for eternity.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:11–15
Light of Christ
We have already seen the introduction of light as a cleaning agent.
Isaiah 30, John 20 and Acts 2 have a lot in common. They speak about breath, fire, water and light purification.
We also see light take on special significance in Isaiah.
The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow. Isaiah 30:26
This prefigures Jesus as the Light of the world. Jesus as Light helps us to see ourselves for who we are, it helps us to repent. Jesus Light also binds up and heal every manner of wound or affliction.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Cleansing is about living in the light. All of our darkness, shame secrets, must be exposed. We have an open invitation to repent and forgive ourselves and our enemies, to enter into the Light of Jesus every day, every hour and moment by moment.
Finally a word of caution about superficial cleansing. We can’t look to empty rituals to save us. Rather we must accompany our Sacraments with faith, repentance less we fall into the trap of those who clean the outside of the cup and are full of greed and wickedness.
Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. Luke 11:39
Takeaways
1) In order to enter in to the door of grace we must be cleansed of our wickedness
2) There are many images of cleansing including God’s Word, soap and bleach, Breath, Blood, Water, Fire, Light
3) Cleansing is not automatic, rather it requires repentance and a change of heart. Thus, we have to return to the cleansing gifts of God many times a day, if we are to be saved.