Side by side with the Word, we must also set the other great agent of spiritual cleansing referred to by the apostle John.
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Here John speaks of the cleansing power of Christ’s blood, shed upon the cross, to redeem us from sin.
God’s provision for spiritual cleansing always includes these two divine agents – the blood of Christ shed upon the cross and the washing with water by His Word. Neither is complete without the other. Christ redeemed us by His blood so that He might cleanse and sanctify us by His Word.
John places these two great operations of Christ in the closest possible connection with each other. Speaking of Christ, he says:
“This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:6)
John declares that Christ is not only the great Teacher who came to expound God’s truth to men; He is also the great Saviour who came to shed His blood to redeem men from their sin. In each case it is the Holy Spirit who bears testimony to Christ’s work – to the truth and authority of His Word and to the merits and power of His blood.
John teaches us, therefore, that we must never separate these two aspects of Christ’s work. We must never separate the Teacher from the Saviour, nor the Saviour from the Teacher.
Thank You Jesus, that You are my constant Saviour and that Your work of redemption continues continuously in my life. But You also made Your own Spirit to dwell in me, so that in Him I have a continuing inner Teacher in truth, so that my spiritual growth never stands still. I am so grateful to You for that! Amen.
