Baptismal Regeneration in Ephesians 5:26

The definite article (lit. ‘the washing in [the] water’) may well indicate a specific event, and the readers are scarcely likely to have taken this as anything other than a reference to their experience of baptism. In 1 Cor 6:11 washing and sanctifying occur together as metaphors of salvation, with an allusion to baptism highly probable. But here, the explicit mention o water suggests not simply an extended metaphor for salvation but a direct reference to water baptism, not to baptism by the Spirit . . . the language of ‘the washing with water’ is likely to have a secondary connotation the notion of the bridal bath. This would reflect both Jewish marital customs with their prenuptial bath and the marital imagery of Ezek 16:8-14 which stands behind this passage. In Ezek 16:9 Yahweh, in entering his marriage covenant with Jerusalem, is said to have bathed her with water and washed off the blood from her. (Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians [Word Biblical Commentary; Dallas: Thomas Nelson, 1990], 375)