Date: October 15, 1936, eveningPlace: AmoyScripture Reading: John 13:1-17
In the Bible, foot-washing does not just refer to humility or to the washing away of our ordinary sins. It mainly refers to maintaining a fresh relationship between us and the Lord. There should be no barrier between us and the Lord. We cannot always practice the prayer of Matthew 6, shutting ourselves in our private room and praying with our doors shut. We need to go out and contact the things and people of this world. Therefore, it is inevitable that we will defile our feet. Our feet are defiled through our contact with the world, and this defilement becomes a barrier between us and God. This is why foot-washing is necessary. Foot-washing has nothing to do with our conscience. The conscience is related to sin, and when there is sin, there is the need of the washing of the blood. Foot-washing has to do with our spiritual vitality; it is for rekindling our spiritual vitality. Believers do not sin all the time. Yet every believer has times when he or she is spiritually enervated. This is why we all need foot- washing for the recovery of our spiritual energy.
In order to wash our feet, we must take off our shoes. In the Bible removing the shoes signifies one's contact with God's holiness. On Mount Horeb, Moses wanted to see the vision of the burning bush, but God said to him, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exo. 3:5). Why did God ask Moses to take off his shoes? It was because he could not touch God's holiness directly unless he took off his shoes. Hence, removing the shoes signifies one's contact with God's holiness.
There are two things that separate us from God. The first is sin, which is taken care of by the Lord's blood in washing us of our sins. The second are the things of this world, which are taken care of by the foot-washing. Today many people do not know how precious it is to have the Lord's presence all the time. These people must have the blood-washing in their conscience before they are qualified to speak about the foot-washing. My word tonight is for those whose conscience have been washed. Many times our conscience has been cleared, yet we still feel a separation between us and God. At such times there is the need of foot-washing. Foot-washing sustains an intimate fellowship between us and the Lord. The Lord loves us, and He loves us to the uttermost. He gave Himself and shed His precious blood to redeem us from sin. But this is not all. His great love also constrains Him to wash our feet so that there will be no barrier between us and Him, and we can continually draw nigh to such a holy God and enjoy His fellowship.
I have observed that many brothers have similar experiences. In the morning they draw near to God and enjoy a sweet fellowship with Him. Heaven is so near to them that they can almost touch it. However, they lose this inner taste by the time they go to work, especially in the afternoon. Even though they are able to repeat the same intimate words of fellowship which they uttered in the morning to the Lord, the taste is gone. Those who have been through this experience know the pain that it brings. Those who have never been through this experience do not know what we are talking about. If one sins, there are ways to deal with it. But if one falls into this condition, it is very difficult to deal with it. The defilement of the feet is not a sin. The Lord never said that our feet cannot be defiled. He only said that those who have bathed have no need except to wash their feet, but are wholly clean (John 13:10). For a Christian to sin is abnormal, but for him to have feet that are defiled is normal. No one can avoid having his feet defiled. The barrier that comes from defiled feet is not a matter of sin, but the result of our normal contact with this world. In order to remove such a barrier, there is the need of foot-washing.
The Lord was determined to wash the disciples' feet because He wanted the disciples to be in His presence all the time. Peter was not without shortcomings, but he also had his good side. He would not do what he did not know. He asked questions whenever he did not understand. When it was Peter's turn, he refused to be washed and asked the Lord, "Do You wash my feet?" The Lord answered, "What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know after these things" (vv. 6-7). This is a helpful word for us. Today there are many things which we do not understand, but we still have to do them. Later, we may understand. We should not just do things that we understand and ignore the things that we do not understand. We must be humble, pliable, and willing to accept the Lord's work on us. It is a blessing to allow the Lord to work on us without understanding what it means. Peter said that the Lord should by no means wash his feet. Whether or not he understood what the Lord was doing, he thought in his heart that he could never allow the Lord to wash his feet. John purposely recorded the incident of foot-washing to show its spiritual significance. We can learn many precious lessons from this. Many times, we are like Peter. We do not allow the Lord to do anything that we do not understand. If we are willing to obey and to allow the Lord to work on us even when we do not fully understand, we will eventually understand what He is doing. We should be humble and pliable. We should not argue like Peter, saying, "You shall by no means wash my feet."
After Peter said this, the Lord said, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me" (v. 8). The Lord said "Unless I wash you"; He did not say, "Unless I wash your feet." Everyone who has a part with the Lord has been washed in His blood. Of course, the washing in this verse also includes the washing of the feet, because it was the Lord's answer to Peter's question. This word of the Lord means two things: on the one hand, it means that those who have not been washed by His blood have no part with Him. On the other hand, it means that those whose feet have not been washed by Him cannot maintain a fellowship with Him. When a light bulb does not shine, it can either mean that something is wrong with the bulb or something is wrong with the light switch. One must first examine the bulb to see if it has burned out. If there is nothing wrong with the bulb, he must examine the switch. He may find that grease and dirt have gathered around the metal connectors and have prevented electricity from passing through which, in turn, causes the bulb to not shine. This is a picture of our relationship with the Lord. We think that if we are separated from the Lord, it means that we have committed some gross sins. Actually, a little separation is enough to separate us from God. Do we have a part in the Lord today? I am not asking if we are saved; I am asking if we have maintained our fellowship with the Lord. We might have said to the Lord in the past that Christ is ours. But can we say the same thing today? For example, last year we had a glorious time praying, praising, and thanking the Lord at the Lord's table in Chuenchow. But last week at the Lord's table meeting, was our prayer, praise, and thanksgiving as glorious as before? I believe many people would say that the taste was gone. If we cannot maintain a constant, fresh fellowship with the Lord, it proves that we need the foot-washing. Foot-washing is not for outward appearance, morality, or godliness; it is for maintaining the sweetness and freshness of our fellowship with God.
When Peter heard the Lord's declaration that he would have no part with Him unless he was washed, he changed his tone, saying, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head" (v. 9). Peter's refusal and his consent were both marks of a novice. He agreed to be washed, but he wanted not only his feet to be washed, but also his head and hands. However, the Lord had washed his head and hands already. There is no need to wash the head and hands again; once is enough. The feet, however, are different. They touch the earth every day. They are in contact with the earth and are defiled by the world every day. The Lord could not grant Peter's request. Hallelujah! Crucifixion is once for all. The shedding of the blood is once for all. Many people want to be saved once more. Like those in Hebrews 6, they want to renew their repentance, but this is crucifying the Son of God afresh.
Many times I have considered the matter of salvation. A few months ago, a preacher came and spoke with me. He asked, "Is salvation once for all or does it come to us many times?" I asked, "Have you received the grace of God?" He said, "Yes." I then asked, "Is the grace of God free or does it come with a price?" He answered, "It is free." Then I asked him to remember two things. First, something that is free does not require a price. It does not require a price now and does not require a price later. Once a price is involved, it becomes a loan. Today grace is free, but if grace asks for a price tomorrow, it is a loan and no longer free. Second, grace is given as a gift. The Jews think that they must have good works before they can be saved. This is like a cash transaction. But for Christians, we first receive grace and then have good works. Our salvation and forgiveness are free grace; they have nothing to do with our works. Once we are saved, we are saved forever. Once the Lord washes away our sins, we are washed forever. If we want the Lord to wash our sins a second time like Peter, He will not do it.
There is only one baptism. In typology this means that there is only one washing of our sins. But foot-washing goes on continuously. Our feet walk in the wilderness of this world daily, and it is inevitable for our feet to be defiled. Foot-washing allows us to have a sustained joy of salvation. Do we want to be as joyful as the day that we were saved? Many people think that this is impossible. However, the Lord wants us to have such a joy. This is why He washed the disciples' feet. Foot-washing returns to us the joy of the bath. The joy of the bath can be lost through the defilement of the feet. Only foot-washing can recover for us this joy of the bath.
In verse 14 the Lord said, "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." The Lord washed the disciples' feet. Today He wants us to do the same thing. The washing of sins by the blood is God's work, whereas the washing of feet by the water is man's work. God has not charged us to wash the whole body; He only charges us to wash the feet. We cannot give others a bath, because we cannot redeem them from their sins; we cannot save anyone or cause anyone to perish. The work of salvation is God's work alone. Our only responsibility is to preach the gospel. At the same time, the Lord wants to wash man's feet today. This washing is an indirect washing. He washes us through the brothers and sisters. With what does He apply the washing? We have mentioned previously that the Lord washed by pouring water into the basin. What does water signify? When the Lord died, blood and water flowed out of His side. The blood signifies the redemptive aspect of His death, whereas the water signifies the non-redemptive aspect of His death. The blood washes away our sins, whereas the water becomes the source of our new life. In the Bible water sometimes denotes death and sometimes denotes life in the Holy Spirit. This life is the new life that we received at the time of our salvation. This life comes out of death. The water in the basin signifies that the life is in the Holy Spirit. When we sin, we need to go to the Lord for our washing. But when our feet are defiled, we need to go to the brothers for our washing. The Lord said, "You also ought to wash one another's feet." This shows that the foot-washing is carried out by the brothers and sisters, that is, by the church. No one can say that he does not need his feet washed. "One another" includes all the believers in Christ. Not only you and I need the washing, Paul and John needed the washing also. Every believer, as long as he lives on this earth, will find his feet defiled. It is different in the case of sin. Many believers can completely overcome sin. But no one in this world can avoid having his feet defiled.
How can we wash one another's feet? Suppose you have completed your day's work and feel tired. You cannot utter any praises from your mouth. In the evening when you come to the meeting, someone asks you to pray. Halfway through your prayer, you cannot go on, and you stop. You feel as if your prayer is nothing more than a composition. However, perhaps one brother in the meeting has a fresh spirit, and his prayer refreshes your spirit. Your spiritual energy is renewed. This is washing one another's feet. Many times when we come to the meeting, we find the saints' spirit weak and downtrodden. We pray and read the Word, but nothing seems to work. The reason for this is that everyone's feet are defiled, and there is no basin to wash the feet. It is as if something is quenching our spirits. If someone would stand up at this point and wash everyone's feet by offering a prayer or saying a few words, the whole meeting will be refreshed. Without the basin and without the foot-washing, everyone's spirit is bound. The same is true in our family life. A brother or sister may unexpectedly drop by your home and fellowship a short while or give a testimony, and everyone in the family is brought into the presence of God. Before that time there was a separation between them and God, but after such a simple conversation, all the separation is gone. This is washing one another's feet. Those who do this are precious in the Lord's eyes.
We should have an ambition before the Lord to wash others' feet. In order to wash others' feet, we must have the water, that is, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and be in constant fellowship with the Lord. For this cause we must live in the Holy Spirit daily. Only then will we have the living water to wash others' feet. Every time we come to the meeting, we must have the living water to wash others' feet. We should never try to wash others' feet without water; that will only defile their feet even more. Those who cannot wash others' feet may still fellowship and communicate with God, but their spirits are definitely cold. Today the Lord does not wash anyone's feet directly. Instead, He charges us to wash one another's feet. We must all learn to be those who can wash one another's feet.
In verse 15 the Lord said, "For I have given you an example so that you also may do even as I have done to you." The words "even as" mean to do exactly the same thing. Whatever the Lord did, we should do in exactly the same way. If we do this we will be blessed. Foot-washing is not only a thing in the spirit, but also an actual, outward practice. When the Lord washed the disciples' feet, He used a basin. We also must have our basin. If the Lord washed in a literal way, we should also wash in a literal way. The Lord was not merely performing a sign. He was actually washing with water. Since He washed literally, we should do the same; otherwise, we cannot express the spiritual reality behind it. When we are baptized, not only do we remember the spiritual significance, we also go into the water literally. The outward practice helps us to remember the inward, spiritual significance. Hence, on the one hand, we need to remember the inward, spiritual significance, and on the other hand, we need the outward practice. Foot-washing is a practice carried out in the family, not in the church. For example, 1 Timothy 5:10 mentions the widow receiving hospitality and washing the saints' feet. This, of course, was conducted in the home. We have to follow the Lord's example. We have to wash the feet of the saints physically with water and a basin on the one hand, and wash their feet spiritually for their renewal on the other hand.
There is one further point. We should note the time the Lord washed the disciples' feet. He washed their feet before the Feast of the Passover. We know that the Passover signifies our bread-breaking meeting. Why are we not fresh in our table meeting? It is because we have not washed our feet before coming to the Passover feast. If some can bring freshness to a bread-breaking meeting, they are remembering the Lord in a real way. What is the result of such foot-washing? "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." The Lord blesses the foot-washing. This is something that is acceptable to the Lord and well pleasing to Him. If we do this, we will be blessed. May we all do what the Lord has done.
