The Law of Moses records, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’” (Leviticus 17:11)
God made it very clear in His word that the blood sacrifices made to Him had to be without spot and without blemish. In the book of Malachi, God called His people out for offering their lame and blind bulls unto Him. He never accepted anything less than purity when it came to the sacrifices offered.
When we look to the cross of Jesus, God gave us His very best. Jesus was as a Lamb without spot or blemish (1Peter 1:19). It was only His blood that could take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Only His blood can wash away our sins (Revelation 1:5). Today, we see through the word the great power that is in the blood of Christ.
Power to Cleanse. The apostle Paul later wrote about the great love Christ has for His church. He stated, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)
This power to cleanse only comes from the blood of Christ. You will note that the power of His blood cleanses us and makes us pure and holy in the sight of God. Nothing compares to this. The blessedness of being a Christian is the confidence we have to stand before God as though we had never sinned.
Power to Sanctify. The word sanctification means to be set apart. We all have special possessions that have great meaning to us. Because of this, we set these items apart from all the others. For example, special dishes are set apart in a hutch cabinet and only used on special occasions.
The blood of Jesus is what sanctifies us as Christians. We were once lost in sin and classified with the rest of the world. In Christ, we have been set apart and made new. Paul wrote, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
We never want to treat the blood of Jesus as common. Instead, we want to remember the great power that is in His blood. The power of His blood gives us life by cleansing us and setting us apart from the rest of the world.
God Bless each of you,
Eric Hicks