Blood Series

So far we have studied the life carrying and cleansing power of the blood. Today we will look at the 3rd quality of the Blood.


3. It Has Great Value
The Bible states that man was ‘bought’ at a price as seen in Acts 20:28, 1Cor 6:20, 7:23, 1Pt 1:18-19, 2Pt 2:1 and Rev 5:9. These verses specifically speak of the Blood of Christ being used to get back mankind.          

                    Why did He need to pay a price to get mankind back? When man sinned, he became its prisoner. The Bible states that sin became our master! Rom 6:16-17, 20. Sin being our master, mankind was obligated to obey it without actually being aware of it. Sin became interwoven into our flesh Eph 2:2-3. The verse says that we were by nature the children of wrath. Rom 8:3 shows the term ‘sinful flesh’. Flesh and sin became synonymous, on the day man sinned by disobeying God. There was a union that took place. Death became the product of this unholy union Rom 5:14. Until then death was not part of creation. This is why the Bible says that the wages/penalty of sin is death Rom 6:23. A slave can only be freed if someone gives the price of that slave to the master. Likewise, sin became our master; the only way to free us was by paying the price for our freedom. So what was the price? The answer lies in Rom 6:23 itself. The wages of sin is Death. The price is Death. If man was to be free then someone would have to take his place at death. This is called the Law Of Substitution, which was seen in the offering made during the Sin, Peace and the Burnt Offering in the book of Leviticus, where the person offering the animal would lay his hand on the its head before sacrificing it Lev 1:4, 3:2, 4:4, 16:1. It was considered that the sins of the man were transferred to the animal that would die in his place as a price for sins committed. This is where the term scapegoat originates, in ceremonies on the Day of Atonement, where one of the goat is sent away into the wilderness as a sign of sin being separated from the sinner.

                 God accomplished this task of freeing mankind from the power of death by the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. Jesus became the sacrificial lamb of old, to justify those who came to Him and touched Him. When did I touch Him? The day Christ took up the flesh Jn 1:14 i.e.to be born in the flesh was the day all of mankind touched Him or rather He touched us. We could never have known God unless He revealed Himself to us, that we know God because He knew us Gal 4:9 and loved us before we loved Him 1Jn 4:19. Jesus touched us and took our sins upon Himself, because we were ignorant of Him, His ways and His love for us. The sacrificial animal if given a choice would never die in our place but the Lord was ready to die for those who did not even know Him or ever heard of Him. Jesus taking our place died the death that we were to die, thereby paying the ransom price to purchase all under the power of death because of sin Mat 20:28, Mk 10:45 and 1Tim 2:6. Thus, today we are the purchase of God; bought by the precious Blood of Christ.

                How did the Blood of Christ gain such a value that it alone was sufficient to redeem all of mankind with one just act? I’ll explain this like a mathematical formula: If sin=death then conversely holiness=life. Therefore to counter death one must be holy in the flesh, which has been known to sin. It is here where people get confused. How did Jesus take our sins upon Himself? As we talked about it earlier in the Law of Substitution, the laying on of the hand transferred the sin upon the sacrificial animal thereby freeing the man. Likewise, Jesus lived a holy life without spot or blemish and the sin of man was transferred upon Him by God into His flesh Rom 8:3, thereby condemning it in the flesh, and sacrificed it upon the cross. Jesus became sin in the flesh 2Cor 5:21….like a container into which the sin of mankind was trapped or put into, and then destroyed by death. Thereby, removing sin from this world and destroying its power over creation. This accomplishment is seen in 1Cor 15:56-7.   When did the sin of the world come upon Jesus? It came upon Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, the weight of the sin was the reason why blood poured out of Him like sweat. It is this pain that caused Him to pray to the Father about passing the cup of suffering. Take a moment to take in how it must have felt to take the pain for something you did not do.       

                Therefore, anyone rejecting Christ after having received Him will become guilty of the Blood. This is as serious as Blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This is another sin that does not have forgiveness as stated in Heb10:26-31. To forgive these would be to crucify Christ a second time and that is blasphemous of the grace of God. The Blood of Christ is not to be taken lightly for it this Blood that was used to pay the ransom for the freedom of every human born from the time of Adam’s fall. I have personally known of people who became believers only to go back to their old faith within a few years of coming to the Lord. The reason given for this drastic turnaround has been blamed on the believers themselves who did not portray Christ. This too is another sad example of a sin that God does not tolerate as cited in  Mat 18:6-7 /MK 9:42/ Lk 17:1-2. Either way the turning back from the faith still does not have a valid reason, simply because the person has as the verse in Heb 10 states “…having received the knowledge of the truth…”

               To a born again believer the Blood of Christ is what he or she is worth and that in itself should pick us up from every pit (depression, lack of self-esteem, rejection etc.) that we may fall into. It is this vey Blood that today gives me my worth regardless what I may be valued in this world. If this was applied to the parable of the pearl of great price or the field of great treasure mentioned in Mt 13: 44-45, the merchant and the man who sells all to buy what was of value would be God Himself, who so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son... Jn 3:16. My worth is set by God not by man. Praise His Great Name. Amen.

The Blood Series

Picking up from where we left off; here is the second quality of the Blood as we study the scriptures.

2. It Cleans:

With the entry on sin into this world through the disobedience of man, sin permeated throughout this world taking grip of all things living. It brought with it the penalty of sin, which is death Rom 6:23. 

So what is the importance of Blood throughout scripture? In Heb 9:22 we see that Blood cleanses sin and that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. This means that forgiveness of sins is by the shedding of blood. This is the one of the reasons why Jesus had come in the flesh to die. Then one might ask why kill animals if Jesus would in the end come to die on the cross. Why subject such cruelty to animals (in today's scenario) and financial strain upon the people of Israel to provide themselves with the sacrificial animal during the feasts and the daily offerings in the Temple.

                      In the Old Testament, animals were used for various ceremonial offerings that were instituted as a bridge between God and man relationally. Sin made man an enemy of God Rom 5:10! Animal sacrifice was used as a temporary solution for sin. Why? because it could not take away sins completely as seen in Heb 10:11. It is my  scripturally construed reasoning  that the blood of the sacrifices used to cover sins rather than cleanse them. You know like sweeping things under a rug so that it is not seen. We can see this in Rom 4:7, which actually is a quote from one of the Psalms of David (Ps 32:1). Another similar quotation can be found in Ps 85:2. The Hebrew word for ‘cover’ here is Kasah, which means to conceal or hide. I therefore believe that it is safe to say that the blood of the animal sacrifices concealed our sins from God. There is a big difference between covering and remission of sins. One hides it from sight while the other completely does away with it, leaving no remainder of sin. This is why the Bible states in Heb 10:1-4 that a remainder of sin remained after an animal sacrifice was made.

                    Sin remained because the blood of animals only covered it, and so with sin still intact within humanity, the Bible points to the need of a more perfect sacrifice to do away with sin once and for all. This perfect sacrifice was Jesus, who offered up Himself for the redemption of mankind.

                    I would like to ponder on a question at this time. Does sin exist anymore, since we are talking about the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus. What do you think?

                 

                  

                      

The Blood Series

This is a study that has long been pending, and for reasons unknown I never really got around to doing it. The Lord reminded me of this a few weeks ago and so I set to work and I believe I should have studied this much earlier. The Blood of Christ is foundational to the Christian faith, for it is on which the New Testament stands.  Majority of us know that the Blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, but most do not know how it all works. What was the function of the Blood, in its role for the redemption of man? To understand the dynamics we need to look at the qualities the Blood possessed and what functional role it played in God's plan. The Blood of Christ is pivotal to the Christian faith for it is the wellspring of eternal life. The first few parts of this series will deal with the qualities of the Blood then later we will discuss its function.

The Qualities of the Blood

1. It Carries Life:

 In Lev 17:11-14 God says to Moses that the life of the flesh is in the blood; therefore it must not be consumed. Anyone who consumes blood is to be cut off (killed) from Israel. It is from this law that we today do not eat blood, as instructed by the Apostles in Acts 15:29 when they debated on what part of the Mosaic Law should the new Gentile believers follow or should not follow.

How did the blood come to carry the life of the animal or why is the blood the carrier of life?

 To answer this question we must go to the origin of life as recorded in the Book of Genesis. Let`s look at Gen 1:20-21. God first ordered the waters to bring forth life in it and then the air to bring forth the birds and finally the ground to bring forth life in verse 24 of the same chapter. Nothing specific has been said further regarding life except that those which were brought forth were made according to species and kinds. However when we read Gen 6:17 and 7:15 and 22, we see the term Breath of Life being used to denote living creatures. So, as per the Bible all living creatures possess the breath of life! We are most often told that only man possessed the breath of life. However, there is a huge difference in the breath that the beasts possess from us. The difference between the two breaths is that man received his breath by God blowing directly into man after forming him in His image/likeness. Animal never received their breaths from the very mouth of God. This is what differentiates us from animals. Thus we possess a soul while they do not.

                      So far we have seen that all flesh has the breath of life, we have also seen that the life of the flesh is in the blood. This leads me to believe that there is something within the blood that enables it to be the carrier of life. I believe it is the oxygen carrying capacity of blood that makes it the carrier of life, and that it was designed in such a way so as to facilitate it to carry life.

               To further reinforce this let’s look at the word Adam. In Hebrew, the word Adam is represented in 3 different forms as opposed to the single one seen in the English language. The word Adam has always been used to identify a man; however there are three versions of it. The question one needs to ask is why God gave the name ADAM. Looking through the Bible we come across names aplenty but none are without meaning or significance. The word Adam has the following meanings depending on usage:

1. Man, Mankind (aw-dawm’-H120)

2.  Red (aw-dawm’-H121)

Both the above meaning are derived from the root word (aw-dam-H119) meaning to be red or dyed red! The name itself suggests that the dust the God used to make man was not red but made red by the addition of a secret ingredient -Blood. We all know that all of God’s creation is purposeful. Therefore it is evident that the blood was added to serve its ultimate purpose. I believe its function to exist in creation was to pave the way for the sacrifice that Jesus would ultimately make. Such is the planning of God. He sees the end and so calls the beginning in accordance Isaiah 46:10. Imagine we are in the hands of such a great God. My life cannot go wrong so long as I stay with Him. Hallelujah.

Times and Seasons: a walk through the life of Moses

The Jonah Series

The Jonah Series

It's time that the Chruch woke up! Part 2

When we read the book of Acts we come across various works of the Apostles and some of the early Church believers. It amazes me how things used to be. People used to gather everyday and break bread!

"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart..." Acts 2:46

Let's look at this verse very closely. The people gathered daily at the Temple with one accord, meaning they had a oneness to start with. Believe me, getting people to agree is one thing and having them to continue in agreement is another. Everyone has got their own ideas and opinions, all of which may not necessarily be correct but they have it anyway. People view things differently and therefore understand things diversely, resulting in a vision that could be poles apart from yours. To me the only way to truly get oneness is by the Holy Spirit working through us. The disciples while they were with Jesus weren't exactly in agreement with one another. They constantly bickered on who was the greatest among them. It was like a Mr. Universe contest only the title here was who the greatest follower/disciple of Christ was. 

                    You see this problem exists in the Church even today. People vie for the attention to such an extent they would be willing to do anything to gain favour. Had people sought the Lord's favour, things would have been wonderful. People have huge complexes in the Church, they start comparing themselves to one another. Paul commented on this matter:

"For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. " 2Cor 10:12

Paul says those indulgent in such habits are not wise! Another colorful illustration of this is given in:

"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?" 1Cor 12:14-17

Here we see that the foot is comparing itself to the hand while the eye is comparing itself with the ear. Paul sees the absurdity of the idea right from the start; however the foot and the eye is obviously unaware of their real problem. Why are comparisons being made in the Church? For whatever the reasons I do not think it is appropriate since Jesus never compared anyone to anyone. We find this even happening in home where parents begin to compare between their own children and even with other children. When we resort to this tactic, we rather sap the self confidence of an individual than build them up. There is much we can learn from Jesus in this area. Paul here is trying to tell the Church that each person/member is unique, having their own position and function within the body. No one is greater and none the lesser, rather all are equals working together to achieve the goal by allowing each member to use their abilities and gifts from there set positions. One of the keys to understanding this is to know your position first. Imagine this, if the eye were placed where the ear is would it be helpful to the body probably yes, if the body were that of a chameleon. How about, if the feet exchanged places with the hand? How would that look and how would it work? 

              People must realize their position first in order to be able to function. Brothers and sisters you are where you are for a function that God wants you to do. satan uses this ploy of comparison to bring disunity in the Body of Christ and unless we realize this, you and I may become victims of it. We can get hurt and do things rashly but that's not going to solve the problem. We need to recognize and approach this disease using spiritual weapons and not carnal ones:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..." 2Co 10: 4-5 

Never get provoked if someone is comparing you to someone else. You were made unique by the hands of God Himself

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."  Psa 139:14

The psalmist knew this and that brought out the best in him. You must realize that no one is better than you, neither are you better than anyone. We stand accountable to Him alone, so let's not get into satan's trap.

Getting back to Acts 2:46, we see that the people not only met regularly at the Temple but they would come together to share meals at different homes. Truly, this is something that is missed today. Today we have no time to visit people, forget about sharing a meal with them. People need to be taught or told to visit people; they will not do it otherwise. What a sad state of affairs. We have hit rock bottom people! There seems to be a desire to fellowship but nothing really materializes. You might say, sure I do make visits and yes I do share meals with others. Good if you do. But how often does it happen? Does it happen with the same people or are many included? I came to a committed life in Christ seeing fellowship. In those days of my early believerhood, we met daily even if it was for a cup of tea, there were no prior appointments. I used to experience a love that I’d never seen or heard before. I praise God for giving me such an experience. This is why I am here today still in Christ. I therefore, have an example to follow and impart.

               I believe emphasis must be given to getting together regularly. Sometimes we forget the little things and emphasize the big ones. We forget to meet regularly but give more importance to an annual get-together. A Church that gathers regularly is far healthier than those who gather annually. When I say gathering I do not include Bible studies or prayer meetings. I truly believe if we can tap into this something really wonderful will happen in the Church; something not limited by our selfish natures. I am absolutely certain that God will work wonders if we only give Him freedom to.Be blessed everyone.