Man is a three part being: body, soul and spirit. A close analogy can be a tree – it has three parts, root, branches and leaves. Likewise man is a spirit, imbibed with emotions and feelings which is the soul, housed inside a tangible part called body. When we are born again, we are given a brand new spirit from Christ that is created in His righteousness. The birth of this new spirit within us is what the born again experience is all about. We were born once in the flesh into the world and when we receive Christ, we are born again into the spirit. This new born again spirit resides within our unrenewed soul and body. Since this born again spirit is created in Christ’s identity, it is as perfect as Him! Like Christ, this new born again spirit cannot sin. It possesses all the qualities of the risen Christ – i.e., His righteousness, His holiness, His life, His health, His blessings, His authority, His miracle working power.
This verse is Jesus talking to Peter in the instance of washing the feet of His disciples. I truly believe Jesus was demonstrating this feet washing act as a symbolic representation of a deeper truth. His intention behind this demonstration was not to literally follow His physical act of washing other people’s feet but to understand the truth behind it. He starts by washing each of the disciple’s feet only to be stopped by Peter. Well, Peter thought he didn’t deserve Jesus to wash his feet. Then, Jesus explains the washing. The feet of the people washed by Jesus belong to Him; in other words, He refers to all the believers. Then Peter goes to the other extreme and asks Jesus to give him a complete bath from head to toe. Little did he realise the significance behind this act.
The day we were born again, we are bathed completely clean. Since we are bathed clean, we are given the new spirit of Christ. This new spirit becomes our new identity, which is Christ Himself! This new spirit is sealed from sin and corruption and even when we sin in the flesh, this new spirit remains uncorrupted. This is why the Holy Spirit resides in our spirit forever. He doesn’t leave us when we sin. Our fleshly body and the soul realm are the only unrenewed parts and we will receive a brand new body when Jesus comes. Until then we renew our minds to this new identity we have in Christ by the grace of God.
We “bathe” only once in the spirit. In other words, we are born again only once. Even when you fall, make mistakes, commit sins, you are still born again! You cannot be born again, again! Your salvation is forever! That’s what Jesus demonstrated in this symbolic act of washing His disciples’ feet. Since we live in a corrupted world polluted by sin, doom and negativity, we wash our feet, which in essence is renew our mind to this truth, that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The water here is the Word of God. The Word of God reminds us how perfect we are in Christ and how His favour surrounds our lives in this world of negativity.
Blogs I Follow
Revelation of Grace Ministries 