In biblical literature, the concept of ablution, or washing, extends beyond its literal sense of physical cleansing to encompass a rich tapestry of figurative meanings. These symbolic interpretations often relate to spiritual purification, moral renewal, and the sanctification of individuals or communities.

1. Spiritual Cleansing and Renewal: The act of washing is frequently used as a metaphor for spiritual cleansing and renewal. In the Psalms, David cries out for such purification: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:2). Here, the plea for washing signifies a deep desire for forgiveness and the removal of sin's stain, highlighting the transformative power of divine grace.

2. Moral and Ethical Purity: The prophets often employed the imagery of washing to call the people of Israel to repentance and ethical purity. Isaiah exhorts, "Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil" (Isaiah 1:16). This figurative use of ablution underscores the necessity of moral rectitude and the rejection of sinful behavior as prerequisites for a right relationship with God.

3. Sanctification and Consecration: In the New Testament, the concept of washing is linked to sanctification and consecration. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, reminds believers of their transformation: "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). This passage illustrates how ablution symbolizes the believer's transition from a state of sin to one of holiness through the redemptive work of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

4. Baptism as a Symbolic Washing: Baptism, a central rite in Christian practice, is often viewed as a symbolic act of washing that represents the believer's identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter writes, "And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3:21). Here, the act of baptism is not merely a physical cleansing but a profound spiritual commitment and renewal.

5. Purification of the Church: The imagery of washing is also applied to the collective body of believers, the Church. In Ephesians, Paul describes Christ's love for the Church, "to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word" (Ephesians 5:26). This metaphorical washing signifies the ongoing process of purification and sanctification of the Church through the Word of God.

6. Eschatological Purity: The Book of Revelation uses the imagery of washing to depict the ultimate purification and victory of the saints. "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14). This paradoxical image of washing robes in blood to achieve whiteness symbolizes the redemptive power of Christ's sacrifice and the eschatological purity of the redeemed.

In these various figurative uses, ablution serves as a powerful symbol of the transformative and purifying work of God in the lives of individuals and communities, pointing to the ultimate goal of holiness and communion with the divine.Psalm 51:2,7
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
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Psalm 65:3
Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, you shall purge them away.
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Psalm 73:13
Truly I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.
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Psalm 79:9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for your name's sake.
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Proverbs 16:6
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
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Proverbs 20:9
Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
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Isaiah 1:16,18
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;
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Isaiah 4:3,4
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
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Daniel 12:10
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
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Zechariah 13:1
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
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John 13:8
Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash you not, you have no part with me.
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Acts 22:16
And now why tarry you? arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
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1 Corinthians 5:7
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
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1 Corinthians 6:11
And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
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2 Corinthians 7:1
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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Ephesians 5:26
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
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Titus 3:5,6
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
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Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
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Hebrews 9:14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
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Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
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James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.
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2 Peter 1:9
But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
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1 John 1:7,9
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin.
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Revelation 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
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Revelation 7:14
And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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Revelation 22:14
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
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Use Made of Water by the Heathen Type of the Angel at the Pool of ...
... to the rule by which things carnal are always antecedent [8578] as figurative of
things ... in a body [8583] daily, death being done away through ablution of sins. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/tertullian/on baptism/chapter v use made of water.htm

Articuli visitatorii.
... I. That there is but one Baptism, and one Ablution: not that which is used to take
away the ... I. That God is man, and man God, is a figurative mode of speech. ...
/.../the creeds of the evangelical protestant churches/articuli visitatorii.htm

Of the Lord's Supper, and the Benefits Conferred by It.
... (1:Cor.10:16.) There is no ground to object that the expression is figurative, and
gives ... the eye, it would not be to us a sure pledge of our ablution; nay, the ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 17 of the lords.htm

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