through the washing: The verb “you have
been washed” (apelousasthe) at 1 Cor
6:11 describes the process of cleansing from 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
refers to the initial, 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 of renewal by the Holy Spirit” (loutron
palingenesias kai anakainōseōs pneumatos hagiou). (Benjamin Fiore, The
Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus [Sacra Pagina
Series 12; Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2007], 219–220)
