<p>1:9 <i>If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness</i>- Repentance needs to be verbalized- it must be &ldquo;confessed&rdquo;, which implies a verbal or written statement of the issues. It&rsquo;s like praying or Bible reading out loud; it makes our minds think not quite so fast. We need to get to grips with all the aspects of our sin. We must face it, in all the ugliness of what we have done. The idea of cleansing from sin differs slightly from forgiveness; we need to be not only forgiven but cleansed so that we do not repeat them. This is the work of the Spirit, which is what sanctifies or cleanses us; there is a major connection between sanctification cleansing and the work of the Holy Spirit given to each believer (Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2). And yet we are cleansed by the Lord's blood (:7), and by His <i>logos</i> or word (Jn. 15:3). Our sanctification is by both &quot;the blood of the covenant&quot; and &quot;the spirit of grace&quot; (Heb. 10:29). These are all terms referring to the same thing. The Lord Jesus, as the sum of His personality, was His word made flesh; His blood, His Spirit, the light of His life, personality, spoken words and actions, His biography... all these things are summarized in His Spirit, which is given to us. As noted on :8, it is the Spirit of truth which abides in us and convicts of sin, and yet also sanctifies.&nbsp;</p>