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THE LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD
Lev. 17:11-12
For the life of a
creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for
yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's
life. Therefore, I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood,
nor may an alien living among you eat blood."
We have received new life
– eternal life – through Jesus Christ because of the Blood that
he shed for us. Jesus’ blood brings us atonement and cleansing from
sin (see 1 John 1:7). Most Christians understand this; in fact, we should
understand something about Christ’s sacrifice for our sins at the
time we convert and receive salvation. From God’s perspective, it
was very important to teach us about his project of salvation and
illustrate the sacrifice of Jesus through all the animal sacrifices
described in the Old Testament. All of these sacrifices pointed forward to
Christ’s death on the cross, and that is why no animal sacrifices are
necessary since Jesus died for us; as God’s Son, he is the perfect
sacrifice, the Lamb of God. Today, we can study the sacrifices and
requirements in the Old Testament to gain a deeper understanding of the
blood of Jesus.
There is more to the blood of Jesus than the simple concept of substitution – that is, the idea that God accepted his
suffering and death in place of the punishment each of us deserves for our
own sin. This idea of substitution is biblical, but is only one aspect of
the blessings we receive through Jesus’ blood. Another aspect of the
blood in the Old Testament was that the “life of every creature”
was in its blood, according to Lev. 17:10-14. For this reason, God forbid
the Israelites to cook and eat blood as food. This is, in fact, why blood
was efficacious for atoning sacrifices. The life inside Jesus was the Holy Spirit Himself (see Matt. 1:18), and the life in Jesus’ blood is thus
the Holy Spirit. When we plead the blood, we circulate this life through
His Body, and in our own lives, bringing us all the blessings from
eternity. We notice in the New Testament that once Jesus’ blood
poured forth on Calvary, the promised Holy Spirit could pour forth on
Pentecost. The blood of Jesus brought the outpouring of the Spirit to us.
(Acts 2:33).
When we talk about the blood of
Jesus today, we are not talking about the physical liquid or hemoglobin
that was in his physical body while he was on earth, the liquid blood that
dried on the wooden cross that day. Instead, we focus now on the life
in Jesus’ blood, the spiritual essence, which is the Holy
Spirit. This spiritual essence is what made his blood efficacious
as atonement for our sins – otherwise, we would not have received
salvation through the shedding of Jesus’ blood. This is why it says
in Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of every creature is in its
blood, and I have given it to you (the life in the blood) to make atonement
for yourselves on the altar.” Apart from the life that is in the
blood, there is no atonement, no spiritual value. The red blood cells, the
liquid plasma, etc. – the physical components that make up blood,
according to scientists – these things are not related to atonement.
Atonement comes from the life that is in the blood, the
spirit. In Jesus’ case, the life is the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said that the work of atonement was truly “finished” (i.e., “It
is finished”) the instant he gave up his Spirit, despite the fact
that he had been bleeding for a few hours on the cross (John 19:30).
The Holy Spirit was the
effective agent in Jesus’ blood that produced its atoning effect. “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse
our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the
living God!” (Hebrews 9:4) First, notice that Jesus offered himself (the sacrifice of his blood) through the Holy Spirit. Second, it
says his blood today produces sanctification within us, and sanctification
is something the Holy Spirit alone produces in us. (See Gal. 5:22-25).
The internal operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer overlaps
perfectly with the operation of the blood of Jesus. Functionally, the two
are the same.
We can see the same overlap
between the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the symbolism of the cup
of wine. The Bible uses wine interchangeably as a symbol for the Holy
Spirit and for Jesus’ blood (please see, for example, Matt 26:27, John 6:53-56, 1 Cor. 10:16). The Bible says we “drink of the same
Spirit” (1 Cor 12:13). In Psalm 23:5, it says, “My cup
overflows,” referring to the blessings of the Holy Spirit. (See also
Ps 16:5 & Ps 116:3). The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25 – 37) speaks of the sinful man, saved only by the Samaritan, who represents
our Savior Jesus. The Samaritan pours oil and wine on his wounds.
The two flow together as one. When we receive one (the wine, the blood) we
also receive the other (the oil of the Spirit). As Paul exhorts us in
Ephesians 5:18, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to
debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” The Holy
Spirit, poured out for us through Jesus’ blood, is the
“wine” that we want to partake.
Just as we die with Christ through participation in
his blood, we also have new life through this process, which is an
operation of the Holy Spirit. (See Romans 6:3-11). In fact, every
operation of the Holy Spirit that we need today is accessible to us through
pleading the blood of Jesus. Do we need spiritual gifts? Greater
conviction of sin? More frequent conversions or salvations? More
sanctification? More protection from spiritual attacks? All these things
are operations of the Spirit – but many fail to connect these
operations with the blood of Jesus, which brings us the Spirit. The New
Testament even says that Jesus’ blood speaks today (Heb. 12:24), that is, as the Holy Spirit brings us revelation and prophecy. There is life in
the blood, eternal life, which He gives us today as we continuously ask for
it.
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