“WASHING BY WATER”

W. Dickson

Leviticus 1: 9 (to “in water”)

One has been engaged a little in one’s thoughts with what it says in John’s epistle as to Jesus Christ who came by water and blood, not by water only, it says, “but by water and blood”, 1

John 5: 6. As the brethren know, in the gospel, the historical record, it is “blood and water”, John 19: 34. From the divine side, the blood comes first, expressing the fulness of God’s heart as a result of the work of Christ; then the water follows as a necessary sequence in regard to the subjective application of the death of Christ. When it comes to the epistle, the order is reversed, and it says, “He ... came by water and blood”, which immediately raises the truth in its application to believers. In other words, it is the understanding and taking on of the truth by those who know God; thus it says, “not by water only, but by water and blood”.

It is a very touching consideration, dear brethren, and should raise our hearts in thanksgiving that it was “not by water only”. If the Lord had come by water only, it would have meant judgment. You will recall that in Genesis, when God came in in judgment, the earth was judged by water. But John says, “not by water only”—if the Lord had come in by water only, the whole race of mankind would have been judged without hope. The nation also, Israel, would have been judged without hope of recovery; but “not by water only, but by water and blood” would remind us that while we have to see to what is judicial, in the blood of Christ there is what is effective for blessing, for

recovery, for restoration, enabling us to walk together in the light as God is in the light. So, brethren, we have to exercise judgment, but always to keep in our mind “not by water only”

but “by water and blood”.

So one turned to this scripture in Leviticus in thinking of this matter of the water. The whole chapter is one of the most appealing scriptures in the Bible as a type of the Lord calculated to draw out our hearts to Him. It is a wonderful thing, beloved brethren, to have your affections touched by the presentation of Christ; it is a wonderful experience. I would say to you, young brethren, covet that experience; covet the experience of what a presentation of Christ can mean to you so that your heart warms and responds to that Person. It evidences the existence of that link with Christ that He values so much. The burnt-offering is one of these blessed types of Christ as peculiarly delightful to the Father’s heart, so pleasing to the Father, and note, beloved brethren, that the Lord did not have to endeavour to please the Father. We have constantly to seek the help of the Spirit that we please the Father, but Jesus, in the perfection of His blessed manhood, His every act, His every thought, His every movement in grace was pleasing to the Father and that life went up in death as the burnt-offering.

Now it says, “but its inwards and its legs shall he wash in water”. As the brethren know, we must immediately exclude from our minds any suggestion that there was about Christ anything which needed washing with water. We must, in the place we give to that blessed Person, keep clear in our minds that there could be no suggestion in regard to the Lord Jesus personally that washing with water was required. It comes into the passage in order to make the sacrifice typically what Christ

was essentially in the purity and blessedness of His own Person (see J. N. Darby’s ‘Synopsis’

on Leviticus 1). It comes in to make the type answer to Christ, to show that that blessed Person was spotless inwardly, and in His walk, His legs speaking of that. Now that being so, beloved brethren, what comes to us is, Are our inwards and our legs washed with water? The inwards being washed with water is the word of God applying by the Spirit the death of Christ to our inwards and brings up the whole question of the purity of our inwards. What we are in the eyes of the brethren is one thing; what we say amongst the brethren is one thing; but are our inwards and our legs washed with water?

The matter of the inwards raises the whole question of motives, motives. In these days in which we live, with matters at times arising locally and generally which can be testing to us, the Spirit of God would say. Are your inwards washed with water? Is there a proper cleansing in regard to your motives? In wisdom it is said you cannot judge motives, you must judge actions; that may be so in regard to other persons, but a believer is responsible to examine his own motives; by the Spirit he is required to apply the water, the word of God, the death of Christ, to his inwards, and be challenged in all things as to the purity of his motives. Well, I confess, brethren, I find that one of the greatest tests one can face. Assembly matters come up; we form a certain judgment and we have a certain outlook. If we are governed by natural considerations, our inwards have not been washed with water. We may be governed by personal considerations, showing that our inwards have not been washed with water. It means, beloved brethren, that we should keep near to Christ and see Him as the perfect divine standard. Each one is to purify himself (1 John 3: 3) even as He is pure.

Then the legs are washed with water. This is a very important matter, beloved brethren, as to our walk. The walk of a Christian should be unquestionably righteous; the legs, to be like Christ, must be washed with water. So we must have regard to our associations, our ecclesiastical associations, our public associations, that they have the character of the burnt-offering and what goes up as a pleasing fragrance to God. We are to see that the legs are washed with water. So the psalmist says, “Thou wilt have truth in the inward parts”, Psalm 51: 6, leading on to sacrifices of righteousness (Psalm 51: 19).

I trust, beloved brethren, I have not been too negative. I value the occasion of prophetic ministry to draw our hearts to Christ, but we should think of this, the great gain of having

“truth in the inward parts”, that we are like Jesus in that way. Inwardly there is transparency, there is purity, there is all that denotes that we are with God in regard to all our relationships, and so in the hidden parts we know wisdom (see Psalm 51: 6). As the inwards and the legs are constantly washed by the Spirit of God by His word, there is that which corresponds to Christ. He alone, blessed be His name, could say in reply to the question, “Who art thou?”—

“Altogether that which I also say to you”, John 8: 25 (see note ‘f’ in New Translation).

Word in meeting for ministry, Glasgow,
29 December 1981