Ephesians 5:26-27: The Washing of Water

In Ephesians 5, 26 and 27 that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. So this is building on an Old Testament idea about cleanliness. When you walked into sacred space, you would cleanse yourself by going to a mikvah or immersing yourself in water. That was something that everybody who had ever gone to a Jewish service was very familiar with. Here it's the word of God that's pouring forth over the church, washing us, cleansing us of our sin as we hear it and we respond to it.