through the washing: The verb “you have
been washed” (apelousasthe) at 1 Cor 6:11 describes the process of
cleansing form immorality and being “justified” (edikaiothēte) in the
name of Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of God. Acts 22:16 identifies the
process of “washing” from sins (apolousai) with “baptism” (baptisai,
and compare Eph 5:26 and Heb 10:22).
The action of the
Holy Spirit in connection with baptism is commonplace (Eph 4:30; Acts 2:15-17;
10:47; Mark 1:8; John 3:5), although the relationship between the Spirit and
the ritual has been a subject of controversy since the Reformation.
Nonetheless, the Spirit’s action in connection with the washing here suggests
that the washing is baptismal. The same is the case with the mention of the
three divine persons, God (v. 4), Holy Spirit (v. 5), Christ Jesus (v. 6), for
baptism was done in their name (Matt 28:19). The saying here refers to the
initial, inner change in the believer inner change in the believer that baptism
symbolizes. The saying conveys fundamental beliefs in a terse formula suitable for
a liturgical acclamation. God’s pouring out the Holy Spirit is spoken of as
already done in the past (aorist verbs, and see Joel 3:1-2 and acts 2:17-18).
However, only exaggerated literalism would demand a present tense to assert the
connection of the outpouring with the ritual washing. The washing is the means of
God’s saving action, and it brings rebirth and renewal, of which the Holy
Spirit is the agent. Jesus Christ mediated the outpouring of the Spirit, and
all of this leads to the justification of the believer. The saving washing is
thus a reference to baptism and the saying fits a baptismal setting and lays
the ground for the sacramental understanding of the baptismal ritual. The
meaning of the ritual process comes to expression in the phrase “the washing of
rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit” (loutron palingenesias kai anakainōseōs
pneumatos hagiou).
rebirth and renewal
by the Holy Spirit: Only at Matt 19:28 does the word “rebirth” (palingenesia)
appear against in the NT. This is another indication that the verse belongs to
the saying. There the gospel refers to Jesus Christ’s second coming and the new
age he ushers in. Here the word describes the effects of the salvific cleansing
that is a consequence of Jesus Christ’s first coming, although it looks to
eternal life in the age to come. The words relates to similar NT expressions of
the idea of rebirth such as “to be born again” (1 Pet 1:3, anagennēsas,
23, anagegennēmenoi; John 3:3, 7, gennēthenai anothen); “to be
born from God” (John 1:13; 1 John 5:1, ek tou theou gennēthenai), Paul
at 2 Cor 5:17 speaks of the Christian believer as a “new creation.”
Matthew 19:28
reflects the Stoic use of the term, where it refers to a periodic restoration of
the world after its consumption by fire (Philo, Eternity 89; Marcus
Aurelius, Ant. 11.1). The rebirth of souls (more like the use in Titus)
is paralleled in Plutarch, De esu. 2.4 (2.998C) and Lucian, Musc.
Laud. 7. Cicero, Att. 6.6, finds his return from banishment to a “rebirth”
(palingenesia), signalling widespread use of the word. It is not used in
the LXX. A word from the Greco-Roman context thus applies to the Christian
reality of an inner transformation. Romans 12:2 marks the only other NT use of
the word “renewal” (anakainōsis). There Paul encourages an inner transformation,
away from the present age and toward doing what pleases God. That usage, like
the verbal use at 2 Cor 4:16 and Col 3:10, speaks of gradual inner renewal (and
compare Heb 6:6). Romans 12:12 and Col 3:9-10 detail both a moral and noetic
renewal. The passage in Titus contrasts the life of renewal with the foolish
and immoral life that preceded it (v. 3). The noun is parallel with “rebirth” (palingenesias)
as descriptive of the purpose of the washing (BDF 166). The absence of a
second preposition recommends this interpretation. The renewal, like the
rebirth, characterizes the initial transformation, although progressive
continuation is also implied.
A subjective genitive
indicates that the Holy Spirit effects both the renewal and the rebirth. The
Spirit’s indwelling (2 Tim 1:14 and see Acts 2:33) enables the faithful to live
pure lives as the new creation. (Benjamin Fiore, The Pastoral Epistles: First
Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus [Sacra Pagina 12; Collegeville, Minn.: The
Liturgical Press, 2007], 219-20)
Further Reading
"Born of Water and of the Spirit": The Biblical Evidence for Baptismal Regeneration (2021) (if anyone wants a free PDF copy, drop me an email at ScripturalMormonismATgmailDOTcom)