And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Ye are washed - the Greek middle voice, 'ye have had yourselves washed.' This implies admission to the benefits of salvation generally; of which the parts are
(1) Sanctification, the setting apart from the world, and numbering among the "saints" (Romans 1:7: so 1 Corinthians 7:14; John 17:19). In 1 Peter 1:2 it means the setting apart of one as consecrated by the Spirit in the eternal purpose of God.
(2) Justification from condemnation, through the righteousness of God in Christ by faith (Romans 1:17).
The order, sanctification before justification, shows that consecration is here meant, not progressive sanctification. "Washed" precedes both, and refers to the putting away of sins in repentance, of which water baptism is the sacramental seal (Acts 22:16). The Spirit, as the seed of new life, is the agent of the being "sanctified," or consecrated to God (John 3:5; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22). Paul, in charity and faith in God's promises, presumes that baptism realizes its design, and that those outwardly baptized inwardly enter into communion with Christ (Galatians 3:27). He presents the grand ideal which those alone realize in whom the inward and the outward baptism coalesce. At the same time, he recognized that this, in many cases, does not hold good (1 Corinthians 6:8-10), leaving it to God to decide who are really "washed." He warns all that, being "washed," they return not to their filth; that being "sanctified," they profane not themselves again; that being "justified," they incur no fresh guilt.
In the name of ... Jesus, and by the Spirit - Greek, 'IN the Spirit'; i:e., by His in-dwelling. Both clauses belong to the three - "washed, sanctified, justified."
Our God - "our" reminds them that amidst all his reproofs God is still the common God of himself and them.