The washing water of the Word is necessary for sanctification and cleansing. In Ephesians 5:26, we read about the sanctification and cleansing of the Church with the washing of water by the Word. But what does the sanctification and cleansing with the washing of water by the Word mean? Does the washing of water by the Word only refer to the water baptism or does it also refer to something else?
The Church is sanctified and cleansed by the washing of water by the Word
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 water by the Word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27)
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7)
Just like a person is cleansed from all the dirt and bad odors with the washing of water, the new man is sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the Word from all sins and iniquities and all the dirt of the flesh and the world. So that through the washing of water by the Word aka the washing of regeneration, the Church that exists of born again believers, is glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any of such thing and is holy and without blemish.
But the sanctification and cleansing don’t stop after the washing of regeneration. The sanctification process continues with the cleansing by the washing water of the Word.
The renewing of the mind with the Word
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2)
When you have become a new creation through regeneration in Christ and have been made holy and righteous, you should renew your mind with the Word of God. So that you shall no longer think and live like the world and be conformed to the world, but by the renewing of the mind with the Word of God, you shall think and live according to the will of God.
The Word of God is the Truth, the Light, and the Life and reveals the will of God and His Kingdom and the works of the Spirit and the lies of the devil and the works of the flesh.
The cleansing power of the Word
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word (Psalms 119:9)
You shall read the words of God and take the words of God and renew your mind with the Word of God. During the process of renewing your mind with the Word of God, you shall be confronted by the Word with the works of the flesh, which are not according to the will of God.
When you are confronted by the Word you have a choice to either obey the Word and put off the works of the flesh, whereby you will be cleansed through your obedience to the Word and by putting off the works of the flesh, or to rebel against the Word and disobey the Word and reject the Word and obey the will of the flesh and keep doing the works of the flesh.
The decision you make depends upon whether you love God or you love yourself.
The Word of God is no respecter of persons and possesses the same power for everyone
God’s Word is no respecter of persons and is the same for everyone and possesses the same power, however, the outcome aka the result of God’s Word shall be different in everyone’s life. Since every person chooses to either believe and obey the words of God or to not believe the words of God and reject the words of God, by not doing the words of God.
We read this also in the parable of the sower. The seed was the same, however, the grounds where the seed was sown were different and therefore the outcome was different (Matthew 13:3-23, Mark 4:2-20, Luke 8:5-15 (Read also: ‘The four kinds of believers’)).
God’s Word is life and is so powerful that the lives of everyone, who yield to God’s Word and obeys and does God’s Word will change and will not remain the same.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (John 15:3)
Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth (John 17:17)
Just like the earth that is not filled with water, but always needs water and never be satisfied and can’t live without water, you shall also need the Word every day and can’t live without the Word and never be satisfied and therefore you shall never say, “yeah yeah, I know that already’ or ‘I have enough’. But you shall spend time in the Word of God every day (Proverbs 30:16).
The Word of God is like water and the words of God shall give you life, and shall refresh you and cleanse you from all the lies and dirt of the flesh and the world.
The more you abide in the Word and follow up the words, the more the Word shall possess you and you shall be fully consumed by the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Just like in the vision of Ezekiel, where Ezekiel was brought by the man through the waters and the water was first to his ankles, then to his knees, then to his loins and eventually had to swim because the waters were risen and had become a river.
And that is the will of Jesus for His Church, Jesus wants everyone, who belongs to His Church through regeneration in Him, to be fully consumed by Him; consumed by His words.
Jesus wants His Church to be washed in the water, not only by the baptism in water, which is a one-time event, but that the Church is constantly cleansed by the washing water of the Word of God. It is the will of Jesus that the Church is consumed by His words and remains in Him; in the Word and stays holy and without blemish and the Church will be a Spring of water, whose waters fail not.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
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| The water in the word, the water in the word, Washing by the water, the water in the word, That He might sanctify her, cleansing her, Cleansing by the washing of the water in the word. |
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| Husbands, love your wives Even as Christ loved the church And gave Himself up for her, Gave Himself up for her. |
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| The water in the word, the water in the word, Washing by the water, the water in the word, That He might sanctify her, cleansing her, Cleansing by the washing of the water in the word, |
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| That He might present The church to Himself glorious, Not having spot or wrinkle Or any such things, any such things. |
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| The water in the word, the water in the word, Washing by the water, the water in the word, That He might sanctify her, cleansing her, Cleansing by the washing of the water in the word. |
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Washing by the Water of the Word — Sermons, Bible Studies, Articles, and Essays
Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Six)
Sermon by Martin G. Collins
Husbands must be humble (willing to sacrifice), imitating the behavior of Christ, striving to attain reconciliation and atonement with their wives.
Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Nine)
Sermon by Martin G. Collins
The marriage relationship and the family structure provide a workshop to learn the intricacies of the God-plane relationship between Christ and the church.
Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Seven)
Sermon by Martin G. Collins
Christians must address marriage problems from God’s perspective. Stress can cause people to lay aside their values in favor of humanly reasoned solutions.
Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Ten)
Sermon by Martin G. Collins
Many have carried the baggage of the world into God’s Church. We need to gain an appreciation of the privileges Christ has bestowed on His Church.
Approaching God Through Christ (Part Three)
Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The one who comes before God must be pure in body and mind. The priests had to wash themselves from a bronze laver, midway between the altar and the entrance.
The Perfect Husband
Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Husbands need to imitate God’s behavior as reflected through the life of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 54 reveals Yahweh (who became Jesus Christ) as the Husband of Israel.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eight)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh
Justification is not the end of the salvation process, but merely the opening to sanctification, where we bear fruit and give evidence of God’s Spirit in us.
Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Five)
Sermon by Martin G. Collins
Godly men, in scripture, far from the tyrannical dominance decried by feminists, demonstrate love and noble self-sacrifice and the way of outgoing concern.
Hebrews (Part Eleven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh
Hebrews emphasizes the infinite superiority of Christ’s priesthood and one-time sacrifice as contrasted to the repetitive Aaronic sacrifices.
Hebrews (Part Twelve)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh
Hebrews 11 provides examples to bolster faith. The faith described is not blind, but is carefully developed from systematic analysis of available evidence.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eighteen)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh
Paul never taught any Jew to forsake the Law of Moses, but he did warn against Pharisaical additions for the expressed purpose of attaining justification.
Psalms: Book One (Part Three)
Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The two principle themes of Book One of the Psalms are the Torah (the instruction of God) and the Messiah (or God’s Anointed).
Psalm 23 (Part Two)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh
Sheep are the most dependent on their owner for their well-being. From the viewpoint of the sheep, the quality of care of the shepherd is of utmost importance.
God’s Sea of Glass (Part 1)
Sermon by Martin G. Collins
Unlike tumultuous waves, the sea of glass before God’s throne is tranquil and serene. Before we can stand on this sea of glass, we must be set apart and cleansed.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
— Ephesians 5:25–27 —
In his commentary on Ephesians, Clinton Arnold shows how Paul takes up the imagery and language of Ezekiel to explain the work of Christ in purifying his bride, the church. As Ezekiel 16 looks forward to a day when the God of Israel will redeem and purify his covenant people, it is important to see how Ezekiel’s prophecy is fulfilled by Christ and the church. Thankfully, Paul demonstrates how Christ’s purchase and purification of his bride gives us explicit textual evidence for that fulfillment.
Arnold picks up the way Paul has made those connections and helpfully shows us how the many passages describing God’s marriage with Israel (e.g., Isaiah 54:5; 58:8; 61:10; 62:5; Jeremiah 2:2; 3:1–10; Ezekiel 16; Hosea 2:19–20; 4:12; 5:4; 14:4) are picked up and applied to the bride of Christ composed of Jews and Gentiles. Here’s what he says,
There are five distinct ways that Paul develops this theme in Ephesians in light of the advent of Christ.
(1) The covenant relationship between God and his people is still expressed in terms of a marriage bond. This marriage is now between Christ and his church (God’s Son and his new covenant people, who are comprised of Jews and Gentiles in one body in Christ).
(2) This is still a marriage initiated by God with a people who are filthy and undeserving. Just as there was nothing that Israel did to merit God’s attention and favor (in fact, Israel was like an exposed child that lay in a field kicking about in its own blood; Ezek 16:6), so also the new covenant people were once”dead in [their] transgressions and sins” (Eph 2:1).
(3) God continues a work of cleansing his dirty and unlovely bride. In fact, Ezek 16:9 explicitly says that God “bathed you with water”—an equivalent expression to what Paul says that Christ has done for the church.
(4) There is a similar two-stage cleansing and sanctifying work that God does for his people under both covenants. Under the old covenant, God initially cleanses Israel when he makes her his bride, but because of her sin and waywardness, God needs to perform an additional cleansing and atoning work on his bride in the future. This corresponds to the new covenant relationship between Christ and the church insofar as Christ sanctifies and cleanses his bride when he initially makes her his own, but this is a process that will ultimately be completed only in the future when he restores all things (Eph 1:10; 4:30).
(5) Finally, under both covenants, God is faithful to the end and makes his bride glorious and beautiful (Ezek 16:13-14; Eph 5:27).
Eph 5:25- 27 thus becomes Paul’s christological interpretation of the prominent metaphor in the OT of the covenant between Yahweh and his people expressed through the marriage relationship. (Clinton Arnold, Ephesians, ZECNT, 386–87)
Truly, we see in these connections, Paul is doing more than finding a powerful image for marriage. He is showing how Christ’s new covenant is bringing to fruition the long-promised “marriage” between God and his people. Only, as is often the case with marriage itself, the fulfillment is so much more than could be imagined from the original promise. Truly, God is good husband and in Christ, we discover the kind of love he has for his people.
For more on the biblical theology of marriage, see
- Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel
- Geoffrey Bromiley, God and Marriage
May such love draw us closer to him, empower us to reject all idol lovers, and display his love in our own marriages.
Soli Deo Gloria, ds
Photo by Geetanjal Khanna on Unsplash
That he might sanctifie & cleanse it with the washing of water, by the word,
— King James Version (1611) — View 1611 Bible Scan
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
— New American Standard Version (1995)
that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
— American Standard Version (1901)
So that he might make it holy, having made it clean with the washing of water by the word,
— Basic English Bible
in order that he might sanctify it, purifying [it] by the washing of water by [the] word,
— Darby Bible
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
— Webster’s Bible
in order to make her holy, cleansing her with the baptismal water by the word,
— Weymouth Bible
that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
— World English Bible
and clenside it with the waisching of watir, in the word of lijf,
— Wycliffe Bible
that he might sanctify it, having cleansed [it] with the bathing of the water in the saying,
— Youngs Literal Bible
Wesley’s Notes for Ephesians 5:26
5:26 That he might sanctify it through the word — The ordinary channel of all blessings. Having cleansed it — From the guilt and power of sin. By the washing of water — In baptism; if, with the outward and visible sign, we receive the inward and spiritual grace.
People’s Bible Notes for Ephesians 5:26
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify . . . it. The great love of Christ for the church, his bride, is shown as an example to Christian husbands. Christ gave himself for the church. His object was to «sanctify it», make it holy. In order to do this it was needful to cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. All commentators of repute in all bodies refer this to baptism. All in the church pass through the waters of baptism. But the washing of the water would be of no avail without the word. The power is in the word of the Lord which offers the gospel and commands baptism.
John 4:14*ESV / 197 helpful votes
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 7:38*ESV / 32 helpful votes
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Ezekiel 36:25*ESV / 32 helpful votes
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
Revelation 22:1*ESV / 27 helpful votes
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
Isaiah 49:10*ESV / 27 helpful votes
They shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.
Isaiah 43:2*ESV / 20 helpful votes
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.
Revelation 22:17*ESV / 18 helpful votes
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Proverbs 5:15*ESV / 17 helpful votes
Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
Psalm 23:2*ESV / 15 helpful votes
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
Revelation 21:6*ESV / 12 helpful votes
And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
Isaiah 12:3*ESV / 12 helpful votes
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Psalm 63:1*ESV / 11 helpful votes
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Genesis 1:9*ESV / 11 helpful votes
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
Acts 22:16*ESV / 10 helpful votes
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
John 7:37-39*ESV / 10 helpful votes
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Acts 8:36-38*ESV / 9 helpful votes
And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Ezekiel 47:1-5*ESV / 9 helpful votes
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
Revelation 22:1-2*ESV / 8 helpful votes
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Mark 16:16*ESV / 8 helpful votes
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Matthew 3:11*ESV / 8 helpful votes
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Isaiah 44:3*ESV / 8 helpful votes
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
Psalm 42:1-11*ESV / 8 helpful votes
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation …
2 Samuel 22:17*ESV / 8 helpful votes
“He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
Genesis 1:1-31*ESV / 8 helpful votes
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …
John 7:38-39*ESV / 7 helpful votes
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:37-38*ESV / 7 helpful votes
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Matthew 14:25*ESV / 7 helpful votes
And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
Matthew 3:16*ESV / 7 helpful votes
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
Ezekiel 4:11*ESV / 7 helpful votes
And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from day to day you shall drink.
2 Kings 2:19-22*ESV / 7 helpful votes
Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the*Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
Exodus 17:1*ESV / 7 helpful votes
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the*Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
Revelation 16:4*ESV / 6 helpful votes
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.
Acts 2:38*ESV / 6 helpful votes
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 3:23*ESV / 6 helpful votes
John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized
Matthew 28:19*ESV / 6 helpful votes
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Isaiah 55:1*ESV / 6 helpful votes
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
John 2:1-15*ESV / 5 helpful votes
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” …
Mark 7:1-13*ESV / 5 helpful votes
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” …
Exodus 14:21*ESV / 5 helpful votes
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the*Lord*drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
Revelation 16:3-5*ESV / 4 helpful votes
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.
1 Peter 3:21*ESV / 4 helpful votes
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Psalm 1:1-6*ESV / 4 helpful votes
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of theLord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; …
2 Kings 3:16-20*ESV / 4 helpful votes
And he said, “Thus says the*Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ For thus says the*Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ This is a light thing in the sight of the*Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.” The next morning, about the time of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water.
Judges 15:19*ESV / 4 helpful votes
And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.
John 3:5*ESV / 3 helpful votes
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
HelpfulNot HelpfulRomans 6:4*ESV / 2 helpful votes
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.