Excerpts from the CNT:

In John 13 we have Christ as the One who washes the disciples’ feet and as the glorified Son of Man.

a. The One Who Washes His Disciples’ Feet

In verses 3 through 10, we see that Christ is the One who washes His disciples’ feet.

(1) Having Come Forth from God and Going to God, and into Whose Hands God the Father Has Given All

Verse 3 indicates the reason why the Lord washed the disciples’ feet: He knew “that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God.” At that time He realized three matters: that the Father had given all into His hands, that He had come forth from God, and that He was going to God. Because of these three things He washed the feet of His disciples. The “all” that the Father had given Him was mainly the disciples, His coming forth from God had brought God into His disciples, and in His going to God He was to leave these disciples. [2906] The Father had given the disciples, and the Lord had brought God into them, but now He was going to leave them. By His coming forth from God and His bringing God into them, a relationship between the disciples and God came into existence. Now He was going to leave them. After He would leave them, how could this relationship between the disciples and God be maintained? It was to be maintained by foot-washing. Foot-washing is to wash from the feet all the dirt that frustrates the fellowship of the relationship between God and man. In doing this, the Lord showed His disciples the way for them to maintain their relationship with God in Him.

(2) Washing the Feet of the Disciples from the Dirtiness of the Earthly Touch

In verses 4 and 5, we are told that Christ laid aside His garments, girded Himself with a towel, poured water into the basin, and “began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded” (v. 5). This indicates that Christ washed the feet of the disciples from the dirtiness of the earthly touch. We need to realize that in our spirit we, the regenerated ones, are in God and in the heavenlies, but in our body we are still living in the flesh and walking on the earth. In our spirit the Lord has brought God into us and us into God, in our spirit we are one with God, and in our spirit we are in the heavenlies because we are in God. But in our body we are still on the earth. On the one hand, we are the new creation, we are in God, and we are in the heavenlies. On the other hand, we are still in the old creation, still on this earth.

Although we have the divine life and have become the church, we are still living in this fallen flesh on the earth. Through the earthly touch we are often dirty. This is inevitable, for we cannot avoid the earthly touch. Our feet are the members of our body that touch the earth. Day by day we are touching the earth with our feet, and by contacting the earth with our feet, our feet certainly become dirty. Consequently, foot-washing is a necessity for us.

Dirtiness is different from sinfulness. To be sinful is one thing and to be dirty is another. We may be absolutely sinless [2907] and yet be very dirty. Perhaps nothing is wrong, but we are dirty simply because of the earthly touch. We need to realize that we are still in the body and are still walking on this earth. As a result, much of the time we are not clean. Therefore, we need foot-washing.

(3) With the Spirit, the Word, and the Life,

The Lord Jesus washed the disciples’ feet with water (v. 5). Water here signifies the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), the Word (Eph. 5:26; John 15:3), and the life (19:34). The Lord washes us spiritually by the working of the Holy Spirit, by the enlightening of the Word, and by the operating of the inner law of life. In the Scriptures each of these three items is symbolized by water.

For things that are sinful we need the cleansing of the blood, but for things that are dirty and not sinful we need the spiritual washing. We need a washing by the Holy Spirit, the living Word, and the inner life. In our experience, the Lord Jesus Himself and saints who have much life can afford us such a washing. For us to experience this washing, we need to spend time in the Lord’s presence. If we remain in the Lord’s presence, the Lord will come to us and wash us, not with the blood, but with the Spirit, the living Word, and the inner life. It is difficult to say just when He completes this washing. Sometimes it takes only a few minutes to wash the dirt away; at other times it may take half a day. Whenever we are in need of such a washing, we just need to spend time in the Lord’s presence, opening ourselves up to Him and allowing the inner life to flow within us. Spontaneously, something living will flow, water, and wash us, and we will become clean again. Our spirit will be uplifted, and our whole being will be so pleasant in the Lord’s presence. This is the washing with the living water in the presence of the Lord.

Today the Lord always exercises the washing by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, by the Word of God in the Scriptures enlightening us, and by the inner life operating within us. The Lord may wash us many times a day. We need to allow the Spirit, the living Word, and the inner life to wash away all [2908] the dirt that we have accumulated while living in the flesh and walking on this dusty earth.

(4) To Maintain Them in the Fellowship with Him and with One Another

The Lord Jesus washed the disciples’ feet to maintain them in the fellowship with Him and with one another (13:8, 10). Thus, He said to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me” (v. 8). In ancient times the Jews wore sandals, and since their roads were dusty, their feet easily became dirty. When they came to a feast, if they sat at the table and stretched out their feet, the dirt and the smell would certainly frustrate the fellowship. The Lord washed His disciples’ feet to show them that He loved them to the uttermost (v. 1), and He charged them to do the same to one another in love (vv. 14, 34). Today the world is dirty, and we, the saints, are easily contaminated. For us to maintain pleasant fellowship with the Lord and with one another, we need spiritual foot-washing—with the washing Holy Spirit, the washing word, and the washing life—carried out both by the Lord in His love and by one another in love. This is absolutely necessary in order for us to live in the fellowship of the divine life.

b. The Glorified Son of Man

In John 13 Christ is also revealed as the glorified Son of Man going through death to terminate the old creation (12:23-24; Gal. 6:14) and entering into resurrection for His multiplication to be the new creation (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). In John 13:31 and 32, the Lord Jesus said, “Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him. If God has been glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and He will glorify Him immediately.” For Christ to be glorified was to have His divine element released from within His humanity through death and resurrection. His death not only broke the shell of His humanity and released His divine life; it also terminated the old creation (12:23-24). Paul thus declared in Galatians 6:14, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” [2909] This verse indicates that through the crucified Christ, the world—the old man of the old creation—has been crucified to us and we to the world, that is, that the Lord Jesus went through death to terminate the old creation. In the next verse, Paul said, “For neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation is what matters” (v. 15). These two verses reveal that by the cross of Christ we are separated from the world and are thus qualified to live in the new creation. According to the context of the book of Galatians, the new creation is composed of sons of God; it is a corporate, divine sonship (3:26; 4:5, 7), brought forth through Christ’s redemption, the Spirit’s regeneration, and God’s dispensing of Himself into us. In keeping with the book of Galatians, the Gospel of John unveils that as the glorified Son of Man, Christ not only passed through death to terminate the old creation but also entered into resurrection for His multiplication to be the new creation composed of the many sons of God (12:23-24; 13:31-32; 20:17).