He Who Has Bathed

Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."

Scripture Focus: John 13:10; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 139:23-24

"He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean."

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)."

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24)."

In ancient times, someone would bathe in the morning and then they walk about their life and they'd pick up dirt on their feet. But they arrive at their destination—they're still relatively clean. Their body is bathed. What do they need? They just need their feet cleaned. Do they need a full bath? No. They just need their feet cleaned.

When Jesus says, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." What's He talking about?

Well when He says, "You're clean." He means "You're bathed in a perfect tense." This is complete and irrevocable. But we need our feet to be cleansed.

What is this referring to? It refers to the defilement of our world, our flesh, and our conscience. Our need to be daily cleansed.

Sin is gross. Sin corrodes. And when we come to the Savior, we come to Him not just positionally for salvation, but daily in confession to cleanse us.

You pick up the dirt of this world. You see things you don't want to see. You think about things that are wrong.

This is why the psalmist says in Psalm 139, "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me."

In Ps. 139 David is saying, "Yes, I have sin to confess I know about." But then he also says, "O Lord, search every single hidden nook and cranny of my heart. Expose...shine the light on dark things about me that I do not even know about. And Lord, lead me in the everlasting way. I want to confess those things."

Every believer has been bathed in a positional sense, but we also need our "feet" to be cleansed in a daily sense. We don't need to be "saved" all over again, we need to be forgiven - we need our feet washed. John Piper says, "This once-for-all purchase of his forgiveness needs daily application."

That's why 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us." That's a daily reality.

This is why Jesus teaches us to pray daily, "Forgive us our trespasses."

This happens every day. And it doesn't just refer to your own personal sin. It's your exposure to sin. You just feel gross. You turn on the news—this world is dark.

And you just go to the Lord Jesus Christ and say, "Cleanse my heart. Cleanse my mind."

You're bathed. You're saved. But come daily to be cleansed.

Stay dialed in