1 Corinthians 6:11

but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified The past tense is employed in the original -ye werewashed, sanctified, justified." The allusion is to baptism, where by a solemn profession the disciple entered into covenant with and so put on(see Galatians 3:27) Christ. The meaning of ye were washedin the Greek is either ye washed these things from you, or ye washed yourselves clean from them, cf. Acts 22:16. There has been much controversy as to the meaning of the words sanctifiedand justifiedhere, as their position is inverted from the usual order in which they stand. It is best to take sanctifiedin the sense of dedicated to a holy life(halowed, Wiclif), see note on ch. 1 Corinthians 1:2, and justifiedas referring to the actual moral righteousness of life which is brought about by union with Christ through the operation of the Spirit. See also Romans 1:17.

in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God The name of Christ stands for His power, almost, we might say, for Himself. The original has - inthe Spirit" not bythe Spirit of our God. Therefore something more is probably conveyed than a mere instrumental agency, though the Greek ἐν is often used in this way (as in 1 Corinthians 6:2 of this very chapter). A comparison of this passage with others in which the indwelling of the Spirit is implied, as in 1 Corinthians 6:19 and Romans 8:11, teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the instrument of our sanctification and justification by virtue of our dwelling in Him and He in us, making Christ's death to sin, and His life in righteousness an accomplished fact in our hearts and lives. See also St John 3:6.