The Power of the Blood of Jesus. Andrew Murray
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(I Cor. x. I6).In the Epistle to the Galatians he uses the word “cross” to convey the same meaning, while in Colossians he united the two words and speaks of “The Blood of his Cross” (Gal. vi. 14; Col. I. 20).He reminds the Ephesians that “We have redemption through his blood” and that we “are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. I. 7 and ii. I3).Peter reminds his readers that they were “Elect . . . unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus” (I Pet. I. 2), that they were redeemed by “the precious blood of Christ” (ver. 19).See how John assures his “little children” that “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John I. 7). The Son is He “who came not by water only but by water and blood” (v. 6).All of them agree together in mentioning the blood, and in glorying in it, as the power by which eternal redemption through Christ, is fully accomplished, and is then applied by the Holy Spirit.
4 But Perhaps this Is Merely Earthly Language. What Has Heaven to Say? What Do We Learn from the Book of Revelation Concerning the Future Glory and the Blood?It is of the greatest importance to notice, that in the revelation which God has given in this book, of the glory of His throne, and the blessedness of those who surround it, the blood still retains its remarkably prominent place.On the throne John saw “A Lamb as it had been slain” (Rev. v. 6). As the Elders fell down before the Lamb they sang a new song saying, “Thou art worthy . . . for thou vast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood” (vers. 8 and 9).Later on when he saw the great company which no man could number, he was told in reply to his question as to who they were, “They have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”Then again, when he heard the song of victory over the defeat of Satan, its strain was, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” (xii. 11).In the glory of heaven, as seen by John, there was no phrase by which the great purposes of God; the wondrous love of the Son of God; the power of His redemption; and the joy and thanksgiving of the redeemed; can be gathered up and expressed save this—“The Blood of the Lamb.” From the beginning to the end of Scripture; from the closing of the gates of Eden, to the opening of the gates of the Heavenly Zion, there runs through Scripture a golden thread. It is “The Blood” that unites the beginning and the end; that gloriously restores what sin had destroyed.It is not difficult to see what lessons the Lord wishes us to learn from the fact that the blood occupies such a prominent place in Scripture.God has no other way of dealing with sin, or the sinner, save through the blood.For victory over sin and the deliverance of the sinner God has no other means or thought than “The Blood of Christ.” Yes, it is indeed something that surpasses all understanding.All the wonders of grace are focused here—the Incarnation, by which He took upon Himself our flesh and blood; the love, that spared not itself but surrendered itself to death; the righteousness, which could not forgive sin till the penalty was borne; the substitution, by which He the Righteous One, atoned for us the unrighteous; the atonement for sin, and the justification of the sinner, thus made possible; renewed fellowship with God; together with the cleansing, and sanctification, to fit us for the enjoyment of that fellowship; the true oneness in life with the Lord Jesus, as He gives us His blood to drink; the eternal joy of the hymn of praise, “Thou hast redeemed us to God”; all these are but rays of the wonderous light which are reflected upon us from “The Precious Blood of Jesus.”The blood must have the same place in our hearts which it has with God.From the beginning of God’s dealings with man, yes, from before the foundation of the world, the heart of God has rejoiced in that blood. Our heart will never rest, nor find salvation, till we too learn to walk, and glory in the power of that blood.It is not only the penitent sinner, longing for pardon, who must thus value it. No—the redeemed will experience that just as God in His temple sits upon a throne of grace, where the blood is ever in evidence, so there is nothing that draws our hearts nearer to God, filling them with God’s love, and joy, and glory, as living in constant, spiritual view of that blood.Let us take time and trouble to learn the, full blessing and power of that blood.The blood of Jesus is the greatest mystery of eternity, the deepest mystery of the divine wisdom. Let us not imagine that we can easily grasp its meaning. God thought 4,000 years necessary to prepare men for it, and we also must take time, if we are to gain a knowledge of the power of the blood.Even taking time is of no avail, unless there is definite taking of sacrificial trouble. Sacrificial blood always meant the offering of a life. The Israelite could not obtain blood for the pardon of his sin, unless the life of something that belonged to him was offered in sacrifice. The Lord Jesus did not offer up His own life, and shed His blood to spare us from the sacrifice of our lives. No, indeed 1 but to make the sacrifice of our lives possible and desirable.The hidden value of His blood is the spirit of self-sacrifice, and where the blood really touches the heart, it works out in that heart, a like spirit of self-sacrifice. We learn to give up ourselves and our lives, so as to press into the full power of that new life, which the blood. has provided.We give our time in order that we may become acquainted with these things by God’s Word. We separate ourselves from sin and worldly—mindedness, and self-will, that the power of the blood may not be hindered, for it is just these things that the blood seeks to remove.We surrender ourselves wholly to God in prayer and faith, so as not to think our own thoughts, and not to hold our own lives as a prize, but as possessing nothing save what He bestows. Then He reveals to us the glorious and blessed life which has been prepared for us by the blood.We can rely upon the Lord Jesus to reveal to us the power of His blood. It is by this confident trust in Him that the blessing obtained by the blood becomes ours. We must never, in thought, separate the blood from the High Priest who shed it, and ever lives to apply it.He who once gave His blood for us, will, oh I so surely, every moment, impart its efficacy. Trust Him to do this. Trust Him to open your eyes, and to give you a deeper spiritual insight. Trust Him to teach you to think about the blood as God thinks about it. Trust Him to impart to you, and to make effective in you, all that He enables you to see.Trust Him above all, in the power of His eternal High Priesthood, to work out in you, unceasingly, the full merits of His blood, so that your whole life may be an uninterrupted abiding in the sanctuary of God’s presence.Believer, you who have come to the knowledge of the precious blood, hearken to the invitation of your Lord. Come nearer. Let Him teach you; let Him bless you. Let Him cause His blood to become to you spirit, and life, and power, and truth.Begin now, at once, to open your soul in faith, to receive the full, mighty, heavenly effects of the precious blood, in a more glorious manner than you have ever experienced. He Himself will work these things out in your life.
II. Redemption by Blood
“Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things . . . but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”—Pet. I. 18, 79.
The shedding of His blood was the culmination of the sufferings of our Lord. The atoning efficacy of those sufferings was in that shed blood. It is therefore of great importance that the believer should not rest satisfied with the mere acceptance of the blessed truth that he is redeemed by that blood, but should press on to a fuller knowledge of what is meant by that statement, and to learn what that blood is intended to do in a surrendered soul.
Its effects are manifold, for we read in Scripture of reconciliation through the blood; cleansing through the blood; sanctification through the blood; union with God through the blood; victory over Satan through the blood; life through the blood.
These are separate blessings but are all included in one sentence: redemption by The Blood.
It is only when the believer understands what these blessings are, and by what means they may become his, that he can experience the full power of redemption. Before passing on to consider in detail these several blessings let us first inquire, in a more general way, concerning the Power of The Blood of Jesus.
1st. Wherein Does the Power of That Blood Lie?
2nd. What Has That Power Accomplished?
3rd. How Can We Experience its Effects?
1 Wherein does the power of that Blood LIE? or what is it that gives to the blood of Jesus such power? How is it that in the blood, alone, there is power possessed by nothing else?The answer to this question is found in Leviticus xvii. 11. “The life of the flesh is in the blood” and “I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for