As believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ, we all need to learn to love the brothers and sisters by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to them to cleanse them from the earthly touch; though this means we are being limited, we need to practice this in mutuality.
The Lord Jesus washes our feet daily; whenever we come to Him to contact Him and fellowship with Him, He sees that our feet are dirty by our contact with the world, and He simply ministers the foot-washing to us.
If someone comes to your house and he did not wash his feet or he comes over after a long day at work outside, the feet might be smelly; this may hinder the fellowship.
In the old days, there was the custom of washing your own feet before you feast with others.
In the case of the disciples in John 13, it seems that they might have skipped this step; they reclined at the table with the Lord, the Lord’s last supper with them, with feet that were not washed.
The Lord did not rebuke them, and neither did He send them to wash their feet.
Rather, He took the lead to put aside His outer garment, girded Himself with a towel, and washed His disciples’ feet.
Then, He told them that they ought to do the same to one another, even as He did to them.
This does not necessarily means that we should have a physical basin or laver ready by the door and physically was the saints’ feet as they enter our house for the home meeting.
Rather, this means that we need to be those ministering the spiritual foot-washing to one another in love.
We all can testify that we have experienced being washed by being with certain saints.
Brother Watchman Nee testified that, when he went to visit sister M. E. Barber, though she may not say anything, he felt he was in the Lord’s presence, he was exposed, he confessed, and he was being washed.
We may visit a sister or a brother in the hospital sick with a terminal disease and we may not know what to say to them to comfort them; however, they themselves wash our feet, for they live in the Lord’s presence, and they minister something of the life supply into us.
We may be troubled and loaded with many problems, and we may be gloomy as we come to meet with the saints; however, when we hear the sharing or praises from a young believer who is freshly enjoying the Lord, we feel we are being washed.
May we learn to come to the Lord personally to let Him wash our feet, and may we also practice bringing our “water basin” to the meeting to wash others’ feet in love so that our fellowship with the Lord and with one another may not be hindered.
May we learn to refresh the saints and allow them to refresh us, renew us, and wash our feet as we meet together to enjoy the Lord.
Even though this means that we need to put aside our attainments and spirituality, humbling ourselves to be at the level of others yet with the ministry of life, we all need to learn to do this.
This will keep the church life going on with the Lord, and this will keep us advancing with the Lord in the sweet fellowship in the Body of Christ, in the pure flow of life.
Being Willing to Lose our Liberty for the Purpose of Ministering Life to our dear Brothers and Sisters
![[Jesus,] knowing that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God, Rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself; Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe [them] with the towel with which He was girded. John 13:3-5](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Jesus-knowing-that-the-Father-had-given-all-into-His-hands-and-that-He-had-come-forth-from-God-683x1024.webp?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "[Jesus,] knowing that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God, Rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself; Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe [them] with the towel with which He was girded. John 13:3-5")
The Lord Jesus washed His disciples’ feet not in a way that demanded them to do anything but in a way of Him laying aside His outer garment, being girded with a towel, and going to each and every one of them to wash their feet one by one.
To be girded with a towel means that we are bound and are willing to lose our liberty for the sake of ministering the spiritual foot-washing to the dear brothers and sisters (John 13:1-5).
We should not enthrone ourselves and think that others need to minister to us, while we sit there on our throne.
Rather, we need to allow ourselves to be limited, to lose our liberty, for the purpose of ministering life to the saints.
As we are learning to serve in the church life by helping with outward things and with shepherding the new ones, we need to allow the Lord to limit us and even lose our liberty to minister life to others.
The elders are, in the eyes of God, the slaves of all the saints; they need to learn to shepherd all the saints by visiting them, exhorting them, and teaching them from house to house.
Being an elder is not a position but a function in life, and an elder serves the saints as a slave.
We may not be an elder in the church life, but we as members of the Body need to serve one another with Christ.
Only Christ is on the throne, and even though He is the Lord and King, He still humbles Himself every day to come to us in our situations to minister life to us.
He refreshes us, He nourishes us, and He ministers life to us. And He in us is the One who is willing and eager to lose our liberty for the purpose of ministering life to our dear brothers and sisters.
As we are learning to minister life to others, we need to realize that our liberty and freedom will be limited in our serving others.
We need to gird ourselves with humility, being willing to serve others and minister life to them. If we just want to be free and enjoy freedom, we will damage ourselves and others also.
But if we allow ourselves to be limited and give up our liberty for the purpose of ministering something of Christ to our dear brothers and sisters, life will flow from the depths of our being to the saints for the building up of the church.
We may visit someone to see how are they doing, and they may minister something of spiritual foot-washing to us.
Our fellowship is maintained, and we can go on with the Lord together.
We need to pray for the saints, both individually and corporately, and we need to consider their situation.
If we sense before the Lord that someone needs more life and life supply, we need to contact the Lord and go one with Him to visit that person to minister life to them.
As we minister life to one another in this way, by cherishing others in the humanity of Jesus and nourishing one another in the divinity of Christ, we minister the spiritual foot-washing to others to cleanse them from the earthly touch.
We need to do this in mutuality in the church life. Without such ministering of the spiritual foot-washing one to another, we cannot maintain the fellowship with one another and also the fellowship with the Lord.
Lord Jesus, we love You and we come to You, again and again, to be washed and cleansed from any dirt of the world that has defiled us. Thank You for coming to us in humility to wash our feet. We want to learn from You, dear Lord, to also wash others’ feet in love. We dethrone ourselves, Lord, and we allow You to limit our liberty as we visit others to minister life to them. Fill us with Your life. Fill us to overflowing. May there be a ministry of life among us, one to another, to wash one another’s feet in love. Amen, Lord, make us willing to give up our liberty and be limited as we are learning to minister the spiritual foot-washing to one another in the church life!
Loving the Saints by Ministering the Spiritual Foot-washing to them in the Church Life
Each one of us needs to learn how to love the saints by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to them.
Each one of us needs to learn how to love the brothers and sisters by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to them to cleanse them from the earthly touch (John 13:34-35).
The Lord’s new commandment is that we love one another and, even as He did, that we wash one another’s feet in love.
As we are ministering the spiritual foot-washing to the saints in the church life, they are kept new, fresh, and living, and the Lord’s love will be displayed among us.
It is such a love for the Lord and for one another that is a testimony and a sign that we belong to Christ.
Having dirty feet means that we are stale in our fellowship with the Lord; defiled feet show the staleness in our fellowship with the Lord. Clean feet, however, denote fresh fellowship with the Lord.
If we look at ourselves and check with our experience, we will realize that we may not be able to say that we love and treasure the Lord as much as we did five or ten years ago.
Many saints have to admit that they don’t have the same feeling toward the Lord as they had a year ago, or maybe two and a half years ago, just before the pandemic started.
Our feet are defiled. Though we may not have sinned, we may have become weary; we may have spiritual weariness, which is the loss of spiritual freshness and vitality.
On His side, the Lord is always fresh, living, and new; He flows as living water, bright and clear, always ready to wash us and supply us with Himself.
He wants us to be fresh all the time, but we may be spiritually enervated, that is, our strength and vitality may be totally weakened and destroyed. Oh, Lord Jesus!
If we come to the Lord, He as the Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures, He leads us beside waters of res, and He restores our soul (Psa. 23:2-3).
He wants to wash our feet so that we may have a sustained intimate fellowship between us and the Lord, and He wants to rekindle our spiritual vitality and spiritual freshness.
May we come to the Lord, again and again, to be led to waters of rest, to enjoy Him as our spiritual food and supply, and to be washed and cleansed in every way.
And may we cooperate with Him by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to the saints who are weary and have lost their spiritual vitality and freshness.
Sometimes you feel that some saints are drained and the fire within them is about to be quenched; such ones need the rekindling of spiritual vitality and freshness.
2 Tim. 1:6 says that we should fan into flame the gift of God which is in us; we need to rekindle our love for the Lord and help others rekindle their spiritual life with Him.
This doesn’t mean that we have to help others be outwardly excited or shout Hallelujah; we simply need to be those ministering the spiritual foot-washing to the saints in love.
As we are learning to serve together, we need to first wash one another’s feet.
Even in such things as arranging the chairs, cooking for the home meeting, giving a ride to the saints to the airport, or serving food to the saints, we need to wash the feet of the saints.
We should not rebuke them or condemn them; we should not misrepresent the Lord by rebuking the saints who come to the meeting with dirty feet. We should never allow ourselves to become old, that is, we should never be set, settled, and occupied.
May we always keep ourselves empty, open, fresh, new, living, and young with the Lord.
May we pray that the Lord as the Spirit of reality would guide us into the reality of Psa. 110:3, that we would offer ourselves willingly in the day of the Lord’s warfare, in the splendour of our consecration, that we may water Him and refresh Him!
When we come to the Lord in the morning, in our personal touch with Him, He gives us power, joy, peace, and holiness; He flows Himself into us and washes our feet, supplies us, and fills us with Himself.
Then, as we meet with the saints, we have something of Christ to minister to them to wash their feet.
The Lord wants us to be fresh, new, young and living with Him day by day.
May we cooperate with the Lord to both enjoy Him personally and be those ministering the spiritual foot-washing to the saints in love in the church life!
Lord Jesus, save us from becoming stagnant in our spiritual growth. We come to You, dear Lord, and we allow You to wash us, cleanse us, and fill us with Your life. Grant us to be fresh in our enjoyment and experience of Christ. We do not want to become set, settled, or occupied in our Christian life. We choose to keep ourselves empty, open, fresh, new, living, and young with the Lord. Amen, Lord, we come to You as the good shepherd; make us lie down in green pastures and lead us beside waters of rest. Wash us again and again, Lord, so that we may have a sustained intimate fellowship between us and You. Amen, Lord, we want to cooperate with You by ministering the spiritual foot-washing to all the dear brothers and sisters in the church life. May our spiritual vitality and freshness be rekindled. May we all learn to wash one another’s feet in love in the church life.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by Ricky Acosta in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 42, pp. 235-237, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Loving the Lord and loving one another for the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ (2022 fall ITERO), week 5, entitled, Life’s Washing in Love to Maintain Fellowship.
- Hymns on this topic:
– I’m tired of sin and straying, Lord, / Now I’m coming home; / I’ll trust Thy love, believe Thy word; / Lord, I’m coming home. / My soul is sick, my heart is sore, / Now I’m coming home; / My strength renew, my hope restore: / Lord, I’m coming home. (Hymns #1052 stanzas 3-4)
– Each blessing Thou hast given us / Thy newness doth contain; / Thy covenant, Thy ways are new, / And ever thus remain. / Now we Thy new creation are- / New spirit and new heart; / We’re daily from the old renewed, / New life Thou dost impart. (Hymns #16 stanzas 3-4)
– Now in all the churches flowing, / Brotherly love. / Light and life and love bestowing, / Brotherly love. / In the oneness all believing, / Fellowship with all receiving, / Nevermore the Spirit grieving, / Brotherly love. (Hymns #1277 stanza 1)
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Not only do we need to lay aside the garments of our attainments, but we also need to be girded with a towel. This means that we must be bound, that we must lose our liberty. The feet were washed with water and also wiped with the towel with which the Lord was girded. In other words, the more we are willing to be bound for the sake of others, the more we shall be able to minister to others and wipe their feet. Otherwise, the more we are free, the more we shall damage others…We simply give up our liberty for the purpose of ministering something to our dear brothers and sisters. Life-study of John, p. 340, by Witness Lee
Today many believers in Christ have become stagnant in their spiritual growth. They sing, praise, and pray reluctantly. Sometimes this is the result of sin, but many times this is not the result of any sin. They simply have defiled feet, and they have become spiritually enervated. We have to realize that the Lord wants us to be fresh all the time. This is why He says that He leads us to the green pastures (Psa. 23:2)…The Lord wants us to be fresh… every day. We may have been yellow yesterday, but we can be green again today. We may have been yellow this morning, but we can be green this afternoon. The Lord is fresh running water; He does not flow for five minutes and then stop. He flows continuously, daily, monthly, and yearly. There is not a minute in which He is short. He is always fresh, and He is constantly refreshing us. This is the life that the Lord is leading us to live. Here is power, joy, peace, and holiness. Only by living this way can we express the Lord’s life. After the victory at Jericho, there is still the victory at Ai. After great victories, there are still small, daily victories. This should be our daily experience before the Lord. Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 42, pp. 235-237
May the Lord save us from losing our spiritual freshness and vitality.
May we come to Him again and again every day to be fresh, new, living, and young with Him, and may we allow the Lord to wash our feet.
Also, may we practice ministering the spiritual foot washing to one another in the church life so that our fellowship may be maintained.
Yes Lord we need the renewing of the Holy Spirit day by day so that we can be fresh and invigorating, our feet to be wash daily to maintain our fellowship with you and treasure you as our first love and enjoying you so that we can wash others feet.
Aaaaameeen!
Brother praise the Lord He washes our feet from the earthly touch! Keeping us new, fresh and living!
Dear brother, as well as laying aside our garments – our attributes and attainments, being humbled – we also must be girded with a towel so our defiled feet may be wiped.
We must be bound, not at liberty in our spiritual life so that we may each minister life to our brothers and sisters!
We may have become stale in our fellowship with the Lord, even being reluctant to sing, pray or praise but our Lord as the one who is ever fresh, who is constantly flowing can refresh us this morning! Hallelujah!
We may have been yellow but we can become green by the spiritual footwashing!
Amen Lord! Recover our spiritual freshness and vitality and guide us on the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake!
We must be willing to lose our liberty and to wash & wipe one another’s feet.
The earthly touch can make us weary and cause us to lose our freshness & vitality.
Foot-washing enables us to recover our former feelings and brings us back to the freshness of life.
We all need to have our feet washed so that we can be fresh all the time, as our Lord is.
We need to maintain the fellowship between one another by humbling ourselves to be willing to meet each other where we are and wash & wipe one another’s feet.
Psa. 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside waters of rest. He restores my soul; He guides me on the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
https://youtu.be/brqDTJMDxxM
Acts 3:20 So that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send the Christ, who has been previously appointed for you, Jesus.
We need to continuously be in the presence of the Lord to enjoy Him.
As we do this, we become empty, fresh, new, living, green and young in the Lord.
This will enable us to Love the Brothers and Sisters ministering foot washing to the saints.
Amen brother may we saved from having our fellowship with the Lord getting stale, old
may we come to the Lord as the l fresh and new one and have our fellowship become new by him washing our dirty feet,
He makes me lie down in green pastures, / He leads me beside waters of rest.
Psa. 23:2
The Lord is fresh running water; He does not flow for five minutes and then stop. He flows continuously, daily, monthly, and yearly.
There is not a minute in which He is short. He is always fresh, and He is constantly refreshing us.
This is the life that the Lord is leading us to live. Here is power, joy, peace, and holiness
Praise the Lord for His pattern! May the Lord shine on us.
May we allow Him to wash our feet, and may we let Him infuse Himself into us as the One who humbles Himself to the uttermost to wash others’ feet.
May the Lord save us from being stale in our spiritual life; may we not merely linger in the good land of the all-inclusive Christ but may we enjoy Him to the uttermost.