2 Peter 1:9

‘For he who lacks these things is blind, seeing only what is near (shortsighted or blinking), having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.'

In contrast those who neglect these things are short-sighted, they are ‘blinking'. They are virtually blind. The idea is of limited vision. They see only dimly what is in front of their eyes. They have lost sight of the deeper things of life. They have lost sight of the things that are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18). They have lost sight of Him. And they have especially lost sight of the fact that they have experienced spiritual cleansing through the blood of Christ (compare 1 Peter 1:2), and the resultant new birth. And this is proved by the fact that they have at least partially fallen back into their old ways, and have lost sight of the awfulness of sin and ungodliness. They need therefore to repent and do the first works lest they come under His judgment (Revelation 2:5).

It is important to note that in relation to Christian ‘cleansing' this noun for cleansing from sin (katharismos) only occurs elsewhere in Hebrews 1:3, where it says, ‘when He had  made purification for sins He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High'. There it refers to the cleansing resulting from the shedding of His blood as presented before God. Its related verb katharizo occurs in Acts 15:9 (in words of Peter); 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 9:22; James 4:8; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 1:9.

· In Acts 15:9 Peter refers back to the incident of Cornelius in Acts 10 and declares, ‘He made no distinction between us and them,  cleansing  their hearts by faith.' In the background is the vision that he had received which had declared ritually clean what God had cleansed.

· In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul declares, ‘having therefore these promises beloved, let us  cleanse  ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God'. This was in the context of avoiding what was ritually ‘unclean' (2 Corinthians 6:17).

· In Ephesians 5:26 we read, ‘even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for it, that He might sanctify it, having  cleansed  it by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.' The picture here is of Christ having offered Himself as a sacrifice by the shedding of blood, so that the church itself might also become ‘clean' and thus suitable to be a whole offering to God. Note the sacrificial language, no spot or wrinkle but holy and without blemish. Thus the washing which cleanses possibly has in mind the washing of parts of the Old Testament sacrifice preparatory to being offered (Leviticus 1:9; Leviticus 1:13; Leviticus 8:21; Leviticus 9:14, indicating that this is a ‘whole or burnt offering'). However, it is accomplished not by water but through the word. (To make this a word spoken at baptism is purely arbitrary. Baptism nowhere signifies ‘cleansing').

· In Titus 2:14 Paul says, ‘He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and  purify  to Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works'. Here the cleansing is through the redeeming, sacrificial offering of Christ.

· In Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 9:22 the idea is of  cleansing  through the blood of Christ, offered up on our behalf.

· In James 4:8 we have, ‘ cleanse  your hands you sinners, and purify your heart you doubleminded'. Here Isaiah 1:16 is presumably directly in mind, where Isaiah is specifically speaking not of ritual cleansing, but of cleansing by turning to live a life of good works.

· In 1 John 1:7; 1 John 1:9 the cleansing is specifically by the blood of Jesus.

In this regard we should note that Old Testament ‘cleansing' was never by washing with water. Of the one who initially bathed in water it was always said, ‘he will not be clean until the evening'. Thus it was not the washing that cleansed, it was the period of waiting for God. The bathing was merely preliminary. The only water that was ever said to ‘cleanse' was the water of purification which was mixed with the ashes of the heifer.

Furthermore katharismos is never connected in LXX with bathing in water. Where a medium of cleansing is mentioned the purifying is always with the blood of sacrifice (see Exodus 29:36; Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 14:32; Leviticus 15:13; Numbers 14:18; 1 Chronicles 23:28; Nehemiah 12:45; Job 1:5; Job 7:21; Psalm 88:45 (MT 89:44); Proverbs 14:9).

So what Peter has in mind here is not baptism, but cleansing in the blood of Jesus as a result of coming to God through His shed blood. It is through ‘sprinkling with His blood' (1 Peter 1:2).

(The emphasis in baptism is not that of cleansing but of forgiveness and renewal of life. It is of a restoration. John's baptism pictured the coming of the One Who would drench men in Holy Spirit based on Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:1; Isaiah 55:10; Ezekiel 36:25. Thus he spoke of fruitbearing and harvest. Christian baptism pictures dying with Christ and rising to newness of life (Romans 6:4). Its emphasis is on the coming of the Holy Spirit).

Brief note on any connection with baptism.

Many commentators do seek to connect ‘cleansing' here with baptism. But it should be noted, as we have seen above, that there is no clear example in the New Testament which connects cleansing with baptism. In Paul cleansing is connected with the ‘purifying by (of the) water with the word' (Ephesians 5:26), but Paul never speaks of baptism as washing or as cleansing or as purifying. The idea in Ephesians is rather that it is God's word that cleanses preparatory to their being offered up with Christ. In Titus 3:5 it is probably rain that is in mind, washing the earth and bringing about regeneration. In John cleansing is through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7).

The example that comes closest to representing baptism as cleansing is Acts 22:16 (by Ananias), but that does not mention ‘cleansing', and it is even questionable whether the washing there refers to baptism, or indeed to Old Testament ritual bathing at all, for it is apolouow, not louow. In LXX apolouow occurs only in Job 9:30, ‘if I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean' where the washing away of dirt from the daily grind of life is in mind. Ritual washing is louow. In Acts 22:16 it is also ‘wash yourself'. Thus we may see this ‘washing' here as being the ‘washing of ourselves' described in Isiah 2 Peter 1:16. And it is brought about by ‘calling on the name of the Lord'. This ties in with the only other use in the New Testament where again it (apolouow) results from calling on the Name of the Lord. ‘you have been washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified, in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God' (1 Corinthians 1:11), the idea being that of being purified by the Spirit because we have become His. In 1 Corinthians this is immediately followed by Paul's contrast of baptism with the means of being saved. ‘For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the Gospel, not in wisdom of words lest the cross of Christ be made of no effect. For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God' (1 Corinthians 1:17). As in Ephesians 5:26 purifying is through the preaching of the word.

It is possible that it also contains a reference to Isaiah 1:16, although in LXX that is also louow. But however that may be, ‘Having arisen be baptised, and wash yourself calling on the name of the Lord', makes clear that the sentence divides up into two parts, the first half referring to the initial physical activity required, the second having in mind the subsequent behaviour of repentance and true calling on God which should follow in terms of Isaiah 1:16; 1 Peter 1:22; Genesis 4:26; Genesis 12:8; Psalms 116:17, in all of which the ideas are specifically linked with sacrifice. In baptism people did not ‘wash themselves'. The baptising was by others.

But whatever the case the idea of ‘cleansing' is absent. This is especially significant in view of the fact that in the Old Testament bathing with water never cleanses. It is merely a preparing of the body for the period of waiting that results in cleansing. The only water that cleanses in the Old Testament is the water of purification which is mixed with the ashes of a heifer. That represents the blood of sacrifice in convenient form. So Ananias might have seen baptism as a preliminary washing prior to the calling on the name of the Lord which would cleanse, or he may simply have seen it as a preliminary before the commencement of a life of repentance and true worship. Either way it was not baptism that was seen as cleansing.

It does not appear to us therefore that baptism can specifically be in mind herein 2 Peter. In 1 Peter 1:2 the sprinkling for cleansing is by the blood of Jesus.

End of note.