Understanding Washing of Feet
(week 17/05)
Olubi Johnson
In our article on ‘Loving like Jesus’ and ‘Love is greater than knowledge’ we talked about loving one another as Jesus loved us by ‘washing our feet’.
What then does it mean to ‘wash one another’s feet’?
Our ‘feet’ is symbolic of our conduct. We ‘dirty’ our feet when we sin. So we wash one another’s feet when we:
1. Forgive their sins, so cleansing their sins by the blood of Jesus as Jesus gave us authority to forgive sins:
John 20:22-23 NKJV: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
1 John 1:7-10 NKJV: But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. Ask God to give life to them according to:
1 John 5:16 NIV: If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life.
3. Pray for them in tongues to edify them and keep them in the love of God:
Jude 20-21 NKJV: But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
So we see three ingredients vital to ‘washing the feet’ of the brethren:
1. The blood of Jesus which acts like a spiritual ‘soap’ that cleanses and removes the ‘dirt’ of sin.
2. The life of God or ‘living water’ which washes ‘rinses’ the feet after the ‘soap’: the blood of Jesus has been applied.
3. Praying in tongues which acts like a ‘sponge or scrubbing agent’, after the ‘soap’ (the blood of Jesus) and ‘water’ (the life of God) have been applied, to remove imbedded particles of ‘dirt'(sinful conducts and attitudes).
So anytime you see brethren sin, ‘wash their feet’ by forgiving their sins, asking life for them and then pray for them in tongues to edify and build them up to walk in righteousness.
As we do this diligently for one another, the body of Christ, like the natural physical body does using excretion and other internal biochemical and physiological mechanisms to fight diseases, will be cleansing and edifying itself in love:
Ephesians 4:14-16 NKJV: but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ– 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 5:26-27 NKJV: that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV: Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
