In order to make her holy by cleansing her
with the washing of water (τω λουτρω
του υδατος) by the word. (Eph 5:26 NRSV)
Commenting
on Eph 5:26 and the author’s affirmation of the salvific efficacy of water
baptism, Anglican John Muddiman wrote:
Through the cleansing
bath of water. (lit.
‘having cleansed by the bath of water’). The aorist participle can indicate an
action prior to that of the main verb ‘purify’ or coincident with it. In favour
of the latter, Paul refers to Christians as already washed and already
sanctified at 1 Cor. 6.11, implying that these are simultaneous past events.
But it is also possible, both at the level of symbolism and at the level of the
thing symbolized, that the ‘cleansing’ is an action prior to that of
sanctification. If there is an allusion here to the bride’s prenuptial bath,
then that definitely precedes the wedding ceremony . . . But the allusion is
more likely to be the cultic ablutions that precede the offering of sacrifice.
What is referred to symbolically taken by the majority of commentators to be
the sacrament of baptism . . . One might hesitate a little in view of the choice
of the word for ‘bath’ (loutron)
instead of the usual term (baptisma).
However, Titus 3.5, the only other place in the New Testament where the word
occurs, clearly means baptism when it speaks of the ‘bath of regeneration’ and
the choice of vocabulary here is probably due to the desire to accommodate the
additional allusions to bridal and/or cultic washings . . . An oblique
reference to baptism is therefore likely . . . (John Muddiman, The Epistle to the Ephesians [Black’s
New Testament Commentaries; London: Continuum, 2001], 265)