and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, — Revelation 1:5

The order matters: he loved us first, then he washed us. Before we ever loved him, Christ loved us and poured out his own blood to cleanse us from sin. This isn't a cooperative effort—we don't wash ourselves and bring him the residue. He does the washing, and he does it thoroughly.