He is ...our wisdom from God, our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption.
Sanctification: to consecrate, to make holy; to purify or free from sin, to cleanse.
He came to give Himself up for the Church that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the Church glorious, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.
He came to purify a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Now He is cleansing His people, His Church, by the washing of water in the Word...
And what is cleansing?
"Cleansing is subtracting. It is Christ dealing with every part of the Church that is not out of Him. The natural life and all that is not out of Christ must be purged away. Sanctification can only come after cleansing, and the basis of cleansing is the Lord's word, the 'rhema.' If we do not know the Lord's voice and hear Him speaking to us personally and specifically through Scripture, there is no way for us to be cleansed and sanctified; for we do not know in which aspect we need to be cleansed. And if we consider that we do not need cleansing, we are deceiving ourselves."
Wathcman Nee