Christ as the Speaking Spirit Sanctifies us by His Living Word to make us His Bride

That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word. Eph. 5:26

The divine, dispositional sanctification is carried out by Christ as the life-giving Spirit, who is the sanctifying and speaking Spirit; we are washed by the water in the Word to be sanctified in our disposition and be made holy, even as God is holy. Amen!

In Eph. 5:26-27 we are told that Christ sanctifies the church, His bride, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, so that He may present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

We can cooperate with the Lord today by being under His washing day by day.

We need to take heed to the speaking Spirit in our daily life.

Christ went through death and resurrection and became a life-giving Spirit, and as such a One, He is the speaking Spirit; He is in us speaking to us all the time and He also speaks to us through His word.

The way we can cooperate with the Lord to bring HIm back is by taking heed to the speaking Spirit in our daily life.

In Rev. 2-3 we see that the Spirit is speaking to the churches; if we give heed to the speaking Spirit in our daily life, we will hasten the Lord’s return. Amen!

Christ loved us, both individually and also corporately as the church, and He gave Himself up for us.

He gave Himself up for us so that He may sanctify us, cleansing us by the washing of the water in the word.

We are now in the process of being sanctified by the Lord through the washing of the water in the word of God.

Just as in the Old Testament there was the laver in the Tabernacle, where the priests had to wash from any earthly defilement before entering into the Holy Place, so we today have the word of God, the laver of God’s word, to be washed, cleansed, and sanctified.

The more we are washed by the water in the word, the more we are prepared as the bride of Christ and we’re being beautified to be the Lord’s bride.

Our washing of the water in the word prepares us to be the bride of Christ and it also beautifies us to be His counterpart.

When we are washed, cleansed, and sanctified by the living water in the Word, we become the Lord’s pure, spotless, bride.

In the past, the Lord gave Himself up for the church.

In the present, He is preparing us to be His bride by the washing of the water in the word to sanctify us.

In the future, when He returns, He will present the church to Himself glorious, not having any spot or wrinkle or any such thing – a holy church, without any blemish. Praise the Lord.

May we remain under the Lord’s speaking, His washing, every day.

In Song of Songs 8:13-14, we see that the loving seeker of Christ wants to hear the Lord’s voice, even as she is with her companions.

We want to hear the Lord’s voice.

When we hear His voice, we are prepared to be His bride, we are sanctified, and the Lord has a way in our being.

Christ as the Speaking Spirit Sanctifies the Church by the Washing of the Water in the Word

...Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish. Eph. 5:25-27The Lord Jesus came to the earth as God incarnated to be a man, and He spoke the word of God; He Himself was the embodiment of the word of God (John 1:1, 14).

Then, He went through death and resurrection and became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), and as such a One, He is a sanctifying, speaking Spirit.

Today Christ as the life-giving Spirit sanctifies the church by cleansing her according to the washing of the water in the word (Eph. 5:26).

According to the divine concept, the water in Eph. 5:26 is typified by the flowing water in Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:37-39; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:1, 17, and this living water sanctifies us by its washing.

We believers in Christ are now in such a washing process so that the church may be holy and without blemish.

The word that the Lord washes us in and with is not merely the logos, the written word, the word in black and white letters in the Bible, but rhema, the instant word, the word that the Lord speaks to us.

There is the objective word outside of us in the Bible; this word needs to become rhema, the living word.

On one hand, we have the word of God in our hands; on the other hand, we need the Lord’s present speaking, His washing as the speaking Spirit.

Daily, hour by hour, even moment by moment, we need to have the Lord’s speaking.

He is continually speaking, and we need to receive His speaking and be under His speaking.

The Greek word for washing in Eph. 5:26 is literally “laver”; in the Old Testament, the priests used to wash away their earthly defilement (Exo. 30:18-21) at the laver, before serving the Lord in the tabernacle.

Today we as believers in Christ need to come to the word of God day by day, morning and evening, to be cleansed by the laver of the water in the word.

We need to come to the Lord in His word and open our being to Him so that He as the speaking Spirit, the life-giving, sanctifying Spirit that speaks to us the word of life, would speak to us, wash us, sanctify us, and prepare us to be His bride.

Paul uses the Greek word “rhema” when he speaks of the word with its washing process.

Logos is God’s word objectively recorded in the Bible, while rhema is the word of God spoken to us on a specific occasion (Mark 14:72; Luke 1:35-38; 5:5; 24:1-8).

We thank the Lord for His word in the Bible; without His word, we would not know God.

But praise the Lord, we can and should have the Lord’s instant, living, personal speaking according to the specific occasion.

Christ as the life-giving Spirit is the speaking Spirit, and whatever He speaks is the word that washes us.

But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 6:63This speaking of Christ, according to the need, denotes not the logos, the constant word, but to rhema, which denotes an instant word, the word that the Lord presently speaks to us (Matt. 4:4; John 6:63; Rev. 2:7; 22:17a; cf. Isa. 6:9-10; Matt. 13:14-15; Acts 28:25-31).

It is by this word that we live; His word supplies us and causes us to go on with Him, sanctifying us and preparing us to be His bride.

We need the logos – the word of God in the Bible, but we need even more the Lord’s present speaking, His instant speaking.

What the Bible says is vitalized and made real to us within by the speaking Spirit.

We need to have a prayer and aspiration in us that the Lord would speak to us.

We need to listen to His voice, and we need to have His speaking.

May we come to the Lord daily to enjoy Him in the word and may we ask Him to speak to us so that, by His speaking as the life-giving, speaking Spirit, He would sanctify us and prepare us to be His bride.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being the life-giving, speaking Spirit to sanctify us by the washing of the water in the word. We open to You today. We come to You in Your word; speak to us today. Speak to us, wash us, cleanse us, and sanctify us. Oh Lord, may there be a rich flow of life in us by Your speaking. How much we need Your speaking. We come to You in Your word day by day, morning and evening, to the cleansed, washed, and sanctified. Thank You for being the life-giving Spirit in our spirit. Speak to us in Your word. Your speaking washes us. We want to have not only the logos – the written word of God, but even more, the rhema, the instant word of God, the word that God presently speaks to us. We fully open to You from deep within. Sanctify us dispositionally by Your speaking so that we may be the bride of Christ, holy and without blemish!

God’s Presence is one with His Speaking; we need God’s Speaking daily to be Sanctified and Prepared as His bride

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. Rev. 2:7

Today Christ is the life-giving, speaking Spirit in our spirit; we need to have His speaking day by day.

We need to have His rhema word, the word that He speaks to us personally and directly.

The laver in the Old Testament was made of bronze, being like a mirror that could reflect and expose the one who needed to be cleansed (Exo. 38:8).

When we come to the Lord in His word, He speaks to us and shows us what we need to deal with and what we need to be cleansed from.

The important thing today is that each one of us would ask the Lord to speak to us.

Is God speaking His word to us today (Rev. 2:7; 1 Sam. 3:1, 21; Amos 3:7)? We need to ask the Lord to speak to us.

Then Jehovah came and stood by and called as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for Your servant is listening. 1 Sam. 3:10 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to His word. Luke 10:39We need to have an ear to hear His speaking.

When Samuel was young, the Lord spoke to him, but he did not recognize the Lord’s voice; later Eli instructed him to tell Him, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.

There are so many voices speaking today, but we need to have the Lord’s speaking.

The Lord’s speaking is what matters.

We need to recognize His voice and listen to His speaking.

May we even ask the Lord to cause us to hear His voice, to hear His speaking.

We should never be too busy to hear the Lord’s voice.

We may serve the Lord and do many things for Him and in His name, but what about our listening to His voice?

We need to come to the Lord daily in His word, especially in the morning, to enjoy and receive His riches for us every day.

Day by day He speaks to us as the speaking Spirit.

We need to have times in the morning with the Lord in which we open to Him and just listen to His voice.

Our Christian life depends on His speaking. We treasure His speaking.

We need to be like Mary, sitting at the Lord’s feet and absorbing His words.

Everything and everyone else might be busy and distracting, but we spend time with the Lord, enjoying Him, and listening to His word.

We should not stop our service or activities outwardly, but inwardly we should always be open to the Lord to receive His speaking.

Like Mary, we sit at His feet to listen to Him. God speaks in the Bible, but when He speaks to us, in a personal way directly, that is different.

Many times Lord’s speaking exposes us of our lack of love for Him or of our zeal for Him that burned others and caused them to close up to the Lord. Oh Lord Jesus!

Most times after hearing the Lord’s speaking, we repent and confess, agreeing with the Lord’s speaking.

It is important to ask ourselves, Did the Lord speak to me today? Is God speaking His word to me today?

He comes to us in the morning and throughout the day to speak to us, but do we listen to His word?

We need to stay with joy in His presence, and He will saturate and supply our soul with all His presence essence.

One thing that we always treasure is that the Lord still speaks to us personally and directly today (Heb. 3:7-11, 15; 4:7; Psa. 95:7-8).

True growth in life depends upon our receiving the word directly from God, for only His speaking in us has true spiritual value.

Today we need to hear His voice and not harden our hearts but rather, say Amen to His speaking.

We want to hear the Lord’s voice every day. We tell the Lord, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. I don’t want to be too busy for Your speaking.

God’s way in His economy is not to change us outwardly. His way is for Christ to give Himself up for us and then to come into us as the life-giving Spirit. In a very practical sense, the Lord’s presence is one with His speaking. Whenever He speaks, we realize His presence within us. This speaking of the life-giving Spirit within is the water that cleanses our inner being. This cleansing water deposits a new element into us to replace the old element in our nature and disposition. This metabolic cleansing causes a genuine change in life. This change is what we mean by transformation. Outward correction has no value. What the church needs is the inward metabolic cleansing that comes from allowing Christ as the life-giving Spirit to be our life and our person. Life-study of Ephesians, second edition, pp. 453-455, by Witness LeeThe central point of our prayers should be our longing for the Lord’s speaking; this enables us to fulfil the goal of God’s eternal economy according to His heart’s desire to have His divine sonship (Luke 1:38; 10:38-42; Eph. 1:5).

We need to long for the Lord’s speaking, for His speaking enables us to fulfil God’s economy.

When we have His speaking, everything will be out from Him and unto Him.

Our life as believers totally hinges upon the Lord’s speaking.

In a very practical sense, the Lord’s presence is one with His speaking; when the Lord speaks to us as the speaking Spirit, we realize His presence within.

Christ’s speaking is the very presence of the life-giving Spirit (see Exo. 32:12-17; Heb. 11:8).

We need the Lord’s speaking. When He speaks to us, we sense His presence. When we have the Lord’s presence, we have His speaking.

The speaking of the indwelling Christ as the life-giving Spirit within us is the cleansing water that deposits a new element, the element of God, to replace the old element in our nature and disposition.

This metabolic cleansing causes a genuine and inward change in life, which is the reality of dispositional sanctification and transformation.

Lord Jesus, speak to us. We open to You. Our Christian life depends on Your speaking. We are never too busy for Your speaking: speak to us today. We want to have true growth in life by our receiving the word directly from You. Oh Lord, only Your speaking in us has true spiritual value. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening! Amen, Lord, Your speaking enables us to fulfil the goal of Your economy according to Your heart’s desire to have the divine sonship. We want to have Your speaking so that we may have Your presence. Amen, Lord, when You speak to us, Your presence is with us. We cannot go on without Your speaking. May there be an addition of the divine element into our being and a discharge of our old element so that we may have an inward change in life to be dispositionally sanctified and prepared to be the bride of Christ!

References and Hymns on this Topic
  • Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 54-55, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living and Serving According to God’s Economy Concerning the Church (2023 fall ITERO), week 1, entitled, Living and Serving According to the Heavenly Vision of God’s Economy.
  • Similar articles on this topic:
    The washing of the water in the Word, a portion from, The Revelation of the Mystery, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee.
    7 Compelling Reasons to Read the Bible, via, Bibles for America blog.
    God’s organic salvation is the ultimate solution to all the intrinsic problems introduced into man’s being—spirit, soul, and body (1 Thes. 5:23)—through the fall. This organic salvation begins with the regeneration of our spirit by the Spirit (John 3:6); proceeds through the spreading of the Spirit into our soul, thereby accomplishing dispositional sanctification (Rom. 6:19-22), renewing (Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23), transformation (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18), and conformation (Rom. 8:29); and ultimately consummates in the glorification of our body (v. 30). Read more via, Shepherding Words.
    Preparing Christ’s Bride – The Living of His Overcomers, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
    Transformation, Renewing, Sanctification, Washing for New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
    From glory to glory, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
    The Lord’s Need for Strong Young Men, article via, Living to Him.
    Longing for the Lord’s Speaking – Ministry Excerpts from Recent Conferences and Trainings, via, LSM.
    – “The Experts Speak”—John Gordon Melton, Ph.D., via Contending for the Faith.
  • Hymns on this topic:
    – I come to His presence afresh / Ere the night has passed into morning; / And His face I see as it shines on me— / The Lord within is dawning. / And He speaks to me and reveals to me / All His riches for me today; / And with sweet delight I partake of Him, / My hunger has passed away. (Hymns #554 stanza 1)
    – Oh, purify us, Lord, by speaking in our heart; / Thy living, spoken word this washing will impart. / Increase Thy speaking, Lord, and cleanse our every part. / Oh, purify us, Lord, we pray. / Oh, purify us, Lord, today; / Wash all our natural life away. / Speak now Thy words in us, / And make us glorious. / O Lord, do speak in us today. (Hymns #1135 stanza 2 and chorus)
    – Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / Speaking nothing in pretense; / Ask according to the spirit, / Praying by the inner sense. / Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / List’ning earnestly to Him; / Be impressed with His intentions, / Yielding to Him from within. (Hymns #784 stanzas 4-5)
About aGodMan

A God-man is a normal believer in Christ; the author of this article is one who is learning to be a normal Christian, a daily enjoyer of Christ, a living and functioning member in the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, make us such ones for the building up of the Body of Christ!

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brother L.
10 months ago

Christ gave Himself up for the church so that “He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word” (Eph. 5:26). After the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us in the flesh, He was resurrected and in resurrection became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). As the life-giving Spirit, He is the speaking Spirit. Whatever He speaks is the word that washes us. The Greek word rendered “word” in Ephesians 5:26 is not logos, the constant word, but rhema, which denotes the instant word, the word the Lord presently speaks to us. As the life-giving Spirit, the Lord is not silent; He is constantly speaking. If you take Him as your person, you will discover how much He desires to speak within you…No one who takes Christ as his life and his person can remain silent. On the contrary, he will be constrained by Christ to speak. Because such an inward transformation is taking place within us, there is no need for outward correction in the church life. God’s way in His economy is not to change us outwardly. His way is for Christ to give Himself up for us and then to come into us as the life-giving Spirit. In a very practical sense, the Lord’s presence is one with His speaking. Whenever He speaks, we realize His presence within us. This speaking of the life-giving Spirit within is the water that cleanses our inner being. This cleansing water deposits a new element into us to replace the old element in our nature and disposition. This metabolic cleansing causes a genuine change in life. This change is what we mean by transformation. Outward correction has no value. What the church needs is the inward metabolic cleansing that comes from allowing Christ as the life-giving Spirit to be our life and our person.

Life-study of Ephesians, second edition, pp. 453-455, by Witness Lee

Stefan M.
10 months ago

Christ today is sanctifying us by His speaking as the life-giving, speaking Spirit.

We need to come to the Lord in His word and have His instant, living, present speaking, His rhema word, to be washed by the living water in the Word.

Lord Jesus, speak to us today. Speak to us Your living word. Our life depends on Your speaking. Wash us, cleanse us, and sanctify us to prepare us as Your bride, the spotless, perfect, beautiful bride of Christ!

Pak
Pak
10 months ago

Amen. Lord speak to us today! We want Your instant living word, Your rhema word.

Lord give us more experiences of the rhema word.

As we come to the logos word, Lord we want your speaking Spirit to speak to us!

Do this so You can carry out Your divine, dispositional sanctification!

Jon H.
Jon H.
10 months ago

Amennnnnnnn

Yes Lord wash us in your speaking and make us glorious today! Keep us coming back to your word constantly 🙏

His washing is the water of life flowing from the throne, it takes away our natural element, spot, wrinkle and adds his divine element…

This was the laver in the old testament and anyone who had been in touch with the world needed to wash before going into the tarbenacle…

The cleansing is the sanctifying.

The cleansing by the washing of the water of life is in the word!!!

Moh S.
Moh S.
10 months ago

Hallelujah! Christ today!!

Claude Y.
Claude Y.
10 months ago

Amen Lord for keeping us in the process of Your sanctification through the constant washing of Your speaking!

Keep us enjoying You and Your speaking through Your word and the ministry!

S. A.
S. A.
10 months ago

Lord Jesus, wash and cleanse us from within, amen. 

Thank you for sharing

His word is the water of life that will cleanse us inwardly. There is no need for outward work

M. M.
M. M.
10 months ago

Amen! brother.

As long as we are living in this dirty world, we need the outward washing of our body by the water in the laver.

The flowing water for us is also needed for the slow transformation of our life.

The washing of the water here is different from the washing of the redeeming blood of Christ.

The redeeming blood washes away our sins, whereas the water life washes away the blemishes of the natural life of our old man.

Praise the Lord!

Christian A.
Christian A.
10 months ago

Amen brother. We need to see the way the Lord sanctifies us.

First, we come to the cross to be saved, redeemed & justified.

Then, we come to the Word to be cleansed. The Word needs to become life & spirit to us in order for our inner being to be cleansed of all earthly defilement.

Day by day, morning & evening, we need to come to the Word and be cleansed.

Our Jesus gave Himself up for the church so that He might sanctify her by the washing of the water in the Word.

May we not come to the Word in deadness.

By the exercise of our spirit through prayer, we can allow Christ as the Life-giving Spirit to be our life & our person.

agodman youtube
10 months ago

Listen to the audio version of this article via, 

https://youtu.be/7YMZswiuirY

Alex
Alex
10 months ago

We thank God for our precious bridegroom who speaks to us today and is very living, and therefore we speak His beautiful words today.

Mario V.
Mario V.
10 months ago

The divine, dispositional sanctification is carried out by Christ as the Spirit. The Spirit is life – giving, sanctifying, and speaking Spirit. 

Praise the Lord that the Spirit is supplying us and nourishing us with life. He is the Spirit who gives life!

The Spirit also sanctifies us by cleansing us according to the washing of the water in the word. Day by day, morning and evening; we need to come to the Bible and be cleansed by the laver of the water in the word.

Also we always treasure what the Spirit speaks to us personally and directly today; true growth in life depends upon our receiving the word directly from God; only His speaking in us has true spiritual value. 

Lord in a very practical sense, the Your presence is one with Your speaking and Your speaking is through the word. 

Oh Lord we You. We love and treasure Your presence, Your word, Your speaking. It is by these that we are sanctified that enables us to fulfill the goal of His eternal economy according to His heart’s desire to have His divine sonship. Amen.

Richard C.
Richard C.
10 months ago

Dear brother, the divine, dispositional sanctificatipn takes place through the process of the washing of the water in the rhema word – the present and instant speaking of the indwelling Christ, the indwelling speaking Spirit.

It is through the blood of Jesus that we, as redeemed ones, are separated and sanctified and it is through the washing of the water in the word, that we are cleansed from the spots and blemishes of our natural, old man.

Praise the Lord!

God’s speaking is not rare in these days but we do need to come to His word to receive His direct, personal speaking so that the church may be holy and without blemish!

K. P.
K. P.
10 months ago

Eph. 5:26-27 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

Praise the Lord! 🙋🏽😊 Amen!🙏

kp4jan
Daniel A.
Daniel A.
10 months ago

Amen brother!

We need to be sanctified by the washing of the water in the word!

The word does not only wash us from the wordly defilements but also speaks to us and flows the life of God into.

May we be those who come to word be open to the word – the flowing, speaking and washing!

Oh Lord, make us open to your word and to your speaking!

RcV Bible
10 months ago

Christ’s purpose in giving Himself up for the church is to sanctify her, not only separating her to Himself from everything common but also saturating her with His element that she may be His counterpart. He accomplishes this by cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word. Eph. 5:26, footnote 1 on “sanctify”, RcV Bible

Lit., laver. In Greek the definite article is used before this word, causing it to refer to the laver, the laver that was known to all the Jews. In the Old Testament the priests used the laver to wash away their earthly defilement (Exo. 30:18-21). Now the laver, the washing of the water, washes us from defilement. Eph. 5:26, footnote 2 on “washing”, RcV Bible

According to the divine concept, water here refers to the flowing life of God, which is typified by flowing water (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:38-39; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17). The washing of the water here is different from the washing of the redeeming blood of Christ. The redeeming blood washes away our sins (1 John 1:7; Rev. 7:14), whereas the water of life washes away the blemishes of the natural life of our old man, such as the “spot or wrinkle or any such things” mentioned in v. 27. In separating and sanctifying the church, the Lord first washes away our sins with His blood (Heb. 13:12) and then washes away our natural blemishes with His life. We are now in such a washing process, that the church may be holy and without blemish (v. 27). Eph. 5:26, footnote 3 on “water”, RcV Bible

The Greek word denotes an instant word. The indwelling Christ as the life-giving Spirit is always speaking an instant, present, living word to metabolically cleanse away the old and replace it with the new, causing an inward transformation. The cleansing by the washing of the water of life is in the word of Christ. This indicates that in the word of Christ there is the water of life. This is typified by the laver situated between the altar and the tabernacle (Exo. 38:8; 40:7). Eph. 5:26, footnote 4 on “word”, RcV Bible