Ephesians 5:26

Ephesians 5:26. That he might sanctify it. Not, ‘separate and consecrate for Himself' (Calvin), but, ‘make holy,' as appears from Ephesians 5:27. ‘Both sanctification and purification are dependent on the atoning death of Christ, the former as an act contemplated by it, the latter as an act included in it. There is thus no necessity to modify the plain and natural meaning of the verb' (Ellicott).

Cleansing it; not, ‘sanctify and cleanse it,' since the participle expresses the negative side of the sanctification. It may indicate an act preceding the latter (‘having cleansed') or one occurring at the same time. The former view is favored by the reference to baptism; but ‘cleansing' would admit of this meaning also in this connection.

With the laver of the water. The reference to baptism is unmistakable; probably there is also an allusion to the bride's oath before marriage. ‘Laver,' or, ‘font' is a more correct rendering than ‘washing.' ‘ The water' points to the well-known use of water in baptism.

In the word. It is ungrammatical to join this phrase with ‘laver of the water;' nor does it refer to the baptismal formula or to the Divine command, or promise, etc. It means, not some particular saying, but the word of God, the gospel, preached and accepted. Jerome, Meyer, and others connect it with ‘sanctify' (comp. John 17:17), as indicating the means by which the Church is made holy. But the order of the words is against this, and it is open to other objections. It seems best then to connect the phrase with ‘cleansing,' etc., and to explain: the purification of which baptism is the sign and seal has as its essential accompaniment ‘the word' of the gospel. This is substantially the view of Augustine: ‘Take away the word, and what is the water but water? The word is added to the element, and it becomes a sacrament, as it were the word made visible.' The close connection of the two phrases with the word ‘cleansing' justifies the remark of Hodge: ‘How then is it true that baptism washes away sin, unites us to Christ, and secures salvation? The answer again is, that this is true of baptism in the same sense that it is true of the word. God is pleased to connect the benefits of redemption with the believing reception of the truth. And He is pleased to connect these same benefits with the believing reception of baptism. That is, as the Spirit works with and by the truth, so He works with and by baptism, in communicating the blessings of the covenant of grace.' No mention is made of faith, because Christ's work is referred to, and moreover His Church is spoken of.