Which New Testament passages connect with the cleansing theme in Ezekiel 36:25? Ezekiel’s Promise of Cleansing Ezekiel 36:25 — “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.” Jesus Announces the New Birth “of Water and Spirit” • John 3:5 — “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” • John 7:38-39 — “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit. These verses link Ezekiel’s cleansing water with the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Living Water Flowing from Christ • John 4:10-14 — Jesus offers “living water” that becomes “a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” fulfilling the promise of inner cleansing and satisfaction. The Cross Provides the True Sprinkle • Hebrews 9:13-14 — Animal blood once “sanctified” externally, “how much more will the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences.” • Hebrews 10:22 — “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” • 1 Peter 1:2 — Believers are “chosen… for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.” These passages echo Ezekiel’s “sprinkling” language and ground it in Christ’s atoning blood. Washing Applied to Believers • Acts 22:16 — “Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.” • 1 Corinthians 6:11 — “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” • Ephesians 5:25-27 — Christ “gave Himself up” for the church “to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” • Titus 3:5 — “He saved us… through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” • 1 Peter 3:21 — “Baptism… now saves you… through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” confirming the outward sign of inward cleansing. Ongoing and Final Cleansing in Revelation • Revelation 7:14 — “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” • Revelation 22:1 — The “river of the water of life, as clear as crystal,” flows from God’s throne, picturing eternal, perfected purity. These New Testament passages collectively show that Ezekiel 36:25’s promise of cleansing finds its literal fulfillment in Christ’s atoning work, the regenerating Spirit, baptism’s outward testimony, and the believer’s ultimate purification in glory. |
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