The Blood of Christ

[original text in italics]

The blood of Christ is a very extensive topic and, instead of breaking it out into sections, we have kept it under one module to maintain wholeness and continuity. For a well-rounded understanding, many truths must be established. These include the origin and effect of sin, the temporal sacrificial system, the unblemished blood of Christ, and more.

Nonetheless, we can only highlight some truths here. For example, although "covenant" is mentioned many times, we do not delve into its full meaning and application, though it would bring much richness to our topic. Suffice it to say that in the Old Testament, it comes from the verb "to cut."

Also, note that there are various sub-topics stated below to stir up your spirit, but for the sake of focus, are not expounded upon.

Wisdom tells us to meditate on the scriptures below, rather than read them in haste for the sake of information. Afterall, the full understanding, wisdom and knowledge of the blood of Christ is revealed by the Holy Spirit.

CONTENTS

Life Is in the Blood
Sin Leads to Death
Sin Requires the Sacrifice of Innocent Blood for Covering / Cleansing
The Blood Speaks - There Is No Mention of Pleading the Blood in Scripture
Cain’s Offering Rejected and Abel’s Sacrifice Accepted
The Ugliness of Sin and Sacrifices
Jesus’ Blood Could Not Have Been Mixed with Man’s Blood
Jesus’ Had to Be Sinless to Be Untouchable
Jesus Had to Be Sacrificed and Shed Blood for Our Cleansing
Our Advocate When We Sin and Communion

LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD

LEVITICUS 17:11 For the life [soul, living being] of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement [make propitiation, sin offering, pardon] for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

SIN LEADS TO DEATH

The mention of death in Genesis is a spiritual death in which man is cut off from the Life of God. Spiritual death leads to both physical death and death of the soul [mind, will, emotions]:

GENESIS 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

The devil never quotes scriptures, but twists them for his advantage:

GENESIS 3:4-7 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked [uncovered from the Glory of God]. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The first fallen emotions are fear and guilt, showing that spiritual death affects our soul:

GENESIS 3:8-10 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

The Lord only cursed the devil.

GENESIS 3:14-15 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring [singular seed refers to Jesus]; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

There is no propitiation [sin offering, pardon, atonement] for angels:

HEBREWS 2:16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

God did not curse man, only the ground (and the ground was only cursed until the Lord established his covenant with Noah):

GENESIS 3:17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

GENESIS 8:21 ...[after the flood] the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man..."

SIN REQUIRES THE SACRIFICE OF INNOCENT BLOOD FOR COVERING / CLEANSING

To cover the sin of Adam and Eve, so that they would not be separated from God, the Lord required innocent blood. God provided the first sacrifice and clothed Adam and Eve with it:

GENESIS 3:21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

The law established via Moses required the sacrifice of innocent blood:

LEVITICUS 16:15-16 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement [make propitiation, sin offering, pardon] for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins.

HEBREWS 9:22 According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

THE BLOOD SPEAKS - THERE IS NO MENTION OF PLEADING THE BLOOD IN SCRIPTURE

We do not "plead the blood" like it's an incantation or magic word. There is not mention pleading the blood in scripture. The blood speaks:

HEBREWS 12:22-25 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood [blood of purification] that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking.

GENESIS 4:3-12 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary toc you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength.

Innocent blood demands justice:

LUKE 11:50-51 [Jesus said] so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged [seeked out, demanded back, required] against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required [seeked out, demanded back, charged] of this generation.

Christ Jesus' blood continues to speak in heaven and provides a continual sacrifice for man:

REVELATION 5:6 I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain,

HEBREWS 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

CAIN’S OFFERING REJECTED AND ABEL’S SACRIFICE ACCEPTED

Cains religion was evil. He did not recognize his sin and refused to accept his sinfulness. He did not approach God through the blood.

Abel recognized his sin and approached God properly by presenting himself through the blood. Likewise, we have sinned and must come to God properly. We must present ourselves in the name of Jesus, by his merit - the merit of his blood.

We must watch out for bloodless religion, where the cross of Christ is not talked about. Those who preach salvation, healing, and that which is spiritual without blood encourage doctrines bordering the way of Cain and is a root of many false religions including Christian humanistic teachings. Man’s refusal to accept the blood shows his inherent refusal to accept the truth about himself that, apart from grace, he is an unclean thing.

By grace through faith, we operate as new creations because of the blood of Christ, which speaks of our new standing, righteousness, healing, and position with Christ. By faith in Christ Jesus, we are made righteous and receive all of God's blessings. It is because of his perfect blood sacrifice. For example, we receive healing by his merit:

1 PETER 2: 24 …By his [Jesus’] wounds you have been healed

We don’t offer a person’s work and effort up to God as merit to the person's healing. That person will not get healed, because we must approach God by the blood of Christ, by grace through faith in Christ's finished work (not ours).

Don’t start in the spirit and end in the flesh. Don’t come to God by grace and try to perfect yourself by works of the flesh. We don’t follow law of the flesh but law of the spirit:

GALATIANS 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

ROMANS 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

UGLINESS OF SIN AND SACRIFICES

Some people don’t want to talk about the blood and sacrifices because it is bloody and ugly. Yet it is necessary because sin is ugly and blood is required to remedy and cover it. When Christ came, the extreme suffering he endured was to deal with the extreme ugliness of our sin.

It is the trail of Christ's blood that made provision for our soul (anguish, shame, bitterness, abuse), for our body (sickness, torment), and for our spirit (separation from God). Though there are overlaps, the following reveals this provision:

In GETHSEMANE, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, his blood made provision for our soul. He bore our sorrow:

PSALM 55:12-13 For it is not an enemy who taunts me - then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me - then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.

PSALM 109:2-5 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

PSALM 41:9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

MATTHEW 26:38-39 Then he [Jesus] said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

LUKE 22:44 And being in agony he [Jesus] prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

In GABBATHA, the Stone Pavement, his blood made provision for the body:

PSALM 129:3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”

ISAIH 52:14 As many were astonished at you - his appearance was so marred beyond that of any man, and his form beyond human likeness

JOHN 19:13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Stone Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha [a sort of paved square, on which the procurator (agent representing Roman civil law) had his judgment seat].

MATTHEW 27:24-26 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged [a Roman judicial penalty consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

1 PETER 2: 24 …By his [Jesus’] wounds you have been healed

In GOLGOTHA, the Place of a Skull, his blood made provision for our spirit:

ISAIH 53:10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him, and to cause him to suffer; and when his soul is made a guilt offering, he will see his offspring, he will prolong his days, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

JOHN 19:16-17 ...So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.

JOHN 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished [completed, consummated],” and he bowed his head and gave up [released, gave over] his spirit.

Above are just a few examples as the scriptures are filled with God's provisions. For example, Jesus bore our shame, which is one of the root issues of sexual abuse. Jesus bore this public shame and humiliation and set us free from it:

JOHN 9: 23-24 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic [undergarment]. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.”

ISAIAH 53:5 ...the chastisement [discipline, correction, reproof ] of our peace [completeness] was upon him...

JESUS’ BLOOD COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MIXED WITH MAN’S BLOOD

God demands a perfect sacrifice:

DEUTERONMY 17:1“You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.

Therefore, God created Jesus and his blood:

ACTS 20:28 Be shepherds of the church of God, which he [God] purchased with his [God’s] own blood.

GALATIANS 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,

MATTHEW 1:20-21 ...do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

HEBREWS 10:3 Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He [God] said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You [God] prepared for Me [Jesus].

David's Psalms often switch focus between his life and the prophecy of the Messiah:

PSALM 139:13-16 For You formed [possessed, marked, covered, anointed] my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.

PROVERBS 8:22 “The Lord possessed [formed, marked, covered, anointed] me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:50 Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Any mixing of a person's blood with Jesus' blood would have made him blemished. Note that this is the reason Isaac's potential sacrifice in GENESIS 22 would have never been accepted. Therefore, since Mary was a sinner, her blood could not have penetrated Jesus' body.

ROMANS 3:12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

LUKE 1:46-48 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

LUKE 1:35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

LUKE 7:27-28 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Therefore, the blood of man, with its sin and sickness could not have mixed with Jesus' body to be an acceptable eternal sacrifice who purifies and cleanses.

1 PETER 1:18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious [valuable, costly, rare] blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified [cleansed] your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

JESUS HAD TO BE SINLESS TO BE UNTOUCHABLE

Jesus did not die spiritually with sin tinting his spirit. He never sinned and the devil had no power over him:

PSALM 16:10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol [underworld], or let your holy one see corruption [destruction, decay].

JOHN 14:3 Jesus said The prince of this world has nothing [holds nothing, possesses nothing] in me.

JOHN 10:18 Jesus said I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and to take it up again.

ACTS 2:24-27 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held [at all] by it. For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades [unseen world], or let your Holy One see corruption [destruction, decay].

COLOSSIANS 2:15 And having spoiled [disarmed and wholly put off to his advantage] principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

EPHESIANS 4:8 “When he ascended on high he led a host of captive.

JESUS HAD TO BE SACRIFICED AND SHED BLOOD FOR OUR CLEANSING

Note in LEVITICUS 16 that the blood sacrifice was sprinkled on the mercy seat every year. Now, Jesus is the lamb sacrifice who offered up himself and carried his blood in the Holy of Holys as high priest once for all. His blood is alive and speaks forevermore.

ZECHARIA 13:1“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

ISAIAH 53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

HEBREWS 13:12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

HEBREWS 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

EPHESIANS 1:7 In Him we have redemption [ransomed, gaining possession of us by providing full payment for our sins] through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,

REVELATION 12:10-11 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

MATTHEW 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured [shed] out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

HEBREWS 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean [cleansed] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

OUR ADVOCATE WHEN WE SIN AND COMMUNION

We often talk about wavering and doubting as our main enemies. However, sin is the chief enemy. Separation from God came When Adam and Eve sinned, and sickness followed. If we sin, and depending on the sin, it leads to the various destruction of our body and/or soul:

JAMES 1:13-15 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Therefore, from the beginning, God provided temporary covering of sins through the innocent blood sacrifice of animals. Even in the law of Moses, God had burnt offerings for sins committed against God and sin offerings for unintentional sins, weaknesses and failures of our soul. Finally, Jesus became the only final and perfect sacrifice. He redeemed us, forgave our sins, and provided an entrance in the Holy places with Christ Jesus and our Heavenly Father. We now have full assurance of faith, because his sprinkled blood has cleansed us and continues to cleanse us.

Therefore, we have an advocate:

1 JOHN 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Furthermore, this is why Jesus commanded communion. It is recognizing that his blood was shed for our righteousness and health. It cleanses our conscience from sin and heals any sickness. It is a clean slate before God - by faith!

As we eat the bread, by Jesus’ stripes we are healed; we walk in divine health; our body is physically and mentally healthy, strong, and free; all infirmity must leave; and every part of our body must manifest healing and strength. As we drink, by the shedding of Jesus’ blood, we are forgiven of sin; we are part of the new covenant and fully approved and accepted by God; we are free from the bondage of sin; and we are as close and intimate as we can be with the Lord; we are in complete union with him in spirit, soul, and body. For more on communion, select the training titled Communion.

On a final note, the blood of Christ has everything to do with his covenant and who we are as new creations. Every blessing discussed in this website and these training topics are available because of the blood sacrifice of our Christ. We need not "plead the blood" as some would say, but rather walk in full assurance with what Christ has paid for through his blood. Therefore, go in authority and in power through faith in his Name!