(Exodus 12:13) “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
(Revelation 12:11) “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
Introduction:
There was a very thick darkness over the Land of Egypt when the destroying angel went throughout the length and breadth of Egypt to strike down the firstborn of all the Egyptians including Pharaoh and his whole household. The wailing in Egypt that night must have been a terrifying sound throughout the whole land. However there was light in the houses of the Israelites as they sheltered by faith under the lamb’s blood that had been splashed on the door frames of their houses that protected them.
The lamb without spot of blemish had been sacrificed and its blood carefully drained into the basin in each household. It was only when the blood was taken out of the basin and by faith applied to the door frames at the top and on the sides forming the pattern of a cross that it became a shield of protection for those sheltering by faith under it. It was never splattered on the doorstep. The sacrificial blood was never to be trodden on. Outside of the houses there was only death and darkness and despair. Inside the houses the Israelites were all protected by the blood. In their houses there was security and light and the joy of the anticipation of the deliverance from Egypt that would come in the early morning after the plague had passed.
It is one thing to know about the blood of Jesus and what the Bible says it has provided for our salvation and for our protection against spiritual attack and victory over the world, the flesh and the devil, and this is the blood in the basin. Having said this it is something much deeper when we appropriate the power of the blood that brings salvation and protection and spiritual victory in our lives as New Covenant believers. This is when we take the blood out of the basin and apply it to the door frames of our hearts by faith and confess what the blood does for us. Confession is also part of the salvation process (Romans 10:8-13) (Matthew 10:32).
In the Jewish Temple once a year the High Priest would enter through the thick veil into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant stood carrying with him a censer full of burning incense that created a fragrant cloud that covered the mercy seat of the Ark. This was a fragrant and pleasing smell to God and an act of worship. The High Priest would also take with him the sacrificed animal’s blood in a basin and sprinkle it seven times between the veil and the Mercy Seat and then smear it on the eastside and the front side of the Mercy Seat. In this way the sins of the people of Israel were atoned for but it was a sacrifice of atonement needed to be repeated year by year until the ultimate Lamb of God, our great and faithful High Priest would shed His blood once and for all time to atone for sin, a sacrifice never to be repeated (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12, 25-28; 10:10-12, 18).
In the Bible the number seven represents a finished and complete work that God does such as we see in the seven days of creation. Now the High Priest as we have stated would sprinkle the animal’s blood seven times signifying that the sacrifice was a work of God that would be fully completed when the Lamb of God Himself would, through His own pure and untainted blood, provide a sacrifice for sin once and for all of eternity and never to be repeated as the Book of Hebrews tells us.
In this study we will look at the seven things the Bible tells us about what the blood of Jesus provides for us and does in us as New Covenant believers in Him. Let’s now look at these.
1. The Blood of Jesus brings redemption:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
There is a story told of as little boy that had made a little sailing boat and went down to the river to sail it, being the purpose for which he had built it in the first place and that for his own pleasure. He put it into the water and it started to sail and he walked along the bank watching it sail and he was very happy with what he had made. However, a strong and rather violent wind suddenly blew up and it swiftly carried away the little boat and the boy was unable to retrieve it. He was very sad indeed at losing what he had created for his own pleasure. Sometime later he was walking through the local shopping centre as was his custom and happened to look in the window of a second hand dealer’s shop. Lo and behold he saw the little sailing boat in the window of the store and it was for sale. Immediately he went into the shop and paid the shop keeper the price required to sell it and the boy purchased it and it became his again.
The blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus was the purchase price God required to buy us back to Himself and to rescue us out of the hands of the devil (1 Peter 2:9-10). When we repent and by faith call on Jesus to save us and to forgive us all of our sins He does it freely and it is a free gift which we have not deserved or earned (Ephesians 2:8-10) (Romans 3:19-26) (Isaiah 55:6-8).
The apostle Peter also wrote; “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of the Messiah” (1Peter 1:18-19).
On the night of the Passover the lamb sacrificed had to be without any spot or blemish. This pointed to the Lamb of God Himself, who was without original sin, who would take away the sin of the world and provide the atoning sacrifice for sin that would turn aside the wrath of God upon all who repent and believe in Him who shed His blood to redeem men (John 1:29) (1 John 2:2).
In Psalm 107:2 we read; “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.” The adversary is Satan. If we have been redeemed then let us with childlike trust in the Lord Jesus say so! When we declare to the fallen spiritual realm and to those who are as yet not saved, what we have from God and by this confession we shut the devil’s mouth and nullify his accusations against us (Psalm 8:2).
It is our confession with our mouth by faith in the fact that we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus that releases the power of the Holy Spirit to stand against the accusations of the devil who delights in dragging up our past sins and failures. He is called in the Bible “the accuser of the brethren who accuses them day and night before our God” (Revelation 12:10). He was cast down by the cross and ultimately will be cast into the eternal lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
Our confession: “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus I have been redeemed and my sins forgiven according to your unearned, unmerited favour and that Satan doesn’t have any more claims upon my life.”
2. The Blood of Jesus brings cleansing:
(1 John 1:7) “…but if we walk in the Light as He (God) Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
To walk in God’s light is to live our daily lives moment by moment by His Word because it is “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). The Lord Jesus Himself said; “It is written man shall not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God“ (Matthew 4:4). (Deuteronomy 6:16). Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can anyone walk in obedience to God’s Word. Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit it is impossible. As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God… “(Romans 8:12-14). In His love the Lord Jesus by His blood has set us free from the power of sin over our lives (Revelation 1:5).
Now in 1 John 1:7 all of the verbs used in the text in the original Greek language are rendered in the present continuous tense. It can be rendered in this way; “but if we are walking continuously in the Light as He (God) Himself is continuously in the Light, we are having continuous fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son is continuously cleansing us from all sin.”
This cleansing work of the blood of Jesus also purges our conscience of the dead works generated from our fallen human nature that God has not approved of or sanctioned so that the way is cleared for us to serve our Living Triune God that will produce works that are acceptable to Him (Hebrews 9:14). We are not saved by works of course but if we are saved by faith then there will be a right confession of it Biblically, accompanied by works along the line of the faith we are professing to have. A clean heart and a clear conscience is an absolute necessity for progressing in our spiritual life and walk with God We are to fight the good fight of that Biblical faith once delivered to the saints accompanied by a clear conscience (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
Walking in the light of God’s Word will also see a continuous walking in fellowship with our blood redeemed brothers and sisters in the Messiah. Fellowship in this way will be transparent in that as we confess our faults and even our sins one to one another we will be receiving spiritual healing as we do this and pray for each other. As we read; “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16).
This is why fellowship is important because it enables us to encourage each other to keep walking in the light of God’s Word by seeking to obey what it says. If you have coals burning together in the fireplace they keep each other warm but take a coal out from the fire place and and put it away from the other burning coals it will soon lose its warmth and become cold. In these last days fellowship around the Lord’s Table and around the Word of God with our brothers and sisters in the Messiah our Lord Jesus is absolutely vital to our spiritual survival. If we cannot stand together in a time of relative peace what will happen when persecution comes?
As we read in the Book of Hebrews; “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-27).
No matter what situation or circumstances we may find ourselves in or be facing, as we keep walking by faith the blood of Jesus the Messiah keeps continuously cleansing us from all sin. Now if we do commit a sin, and we all do at times, then once we confess it and agree with what God says about it without any excuse for it, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all of it so that we can continue walking in the Spirit and under the continuous cleansing of the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9). He is our advocate with the Father and the one who defends us in God’s court of law when we mess things up (1 John 2:1-2).
He is our great High Priest, who having made purification for our sins once and for all time, now sits at God’s right hand, the majesty on High, and ever lives to continuously intercede on our behalf before the throne of God (Hebrews 1:3). As it is written; “But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25).
Our confession: “Thank you LORD that if I keep walking in the light as you are in the light I can have continuous fellowship with my brothers and sisters and by this be continuously cleansed and kept and my conscience continuously purged from sin and dead works of the flesh by the blood of Jesus.”
3. The Blood of Jesus brings Justification:
(Romans 5:9) “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
To be justified in Biblical terminology is to be acquitted, declared righteous or to make righteous. It has several shades of meaning. It is a legal term used in relation to a court of law. It is to be guilty of a capital crime but to receive the verdict “not guilty,” acquitted, to be reckoned to be righteous with the righteousness of Jesus the Messiah.
It is His righteousness bestowed upon us by faith in Him to save us, and having His righteousness or righteous nature infused into our spirit man on the inside of us, and by this we are put into a right standing with God and into a right relationship with Him. We are justified by faith and God can justify us because the shed blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus has paid our debt in full having nailed the sentence of our death and the list of our offenses to the cross
As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with the Messiah. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). To be justified is to be treated by God “Just as if I’d never sinned.”
Isaiah the prophet proclaims this spiritual blessing when he writes; “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).
When we were saved we were clothed with the garment of salvation from head to foot and wrapped around with the robe of Jesus’ righteousness (righteousness and sinless nature). It is a past spiritual transaction that has taken place. The moment we trusted in the Lord Jesus to save us from the power and penalty of our sins and laid them all out before Him with a repentant heart, He rescued us out of the miry clay and put our feet upon the rock our Lord Jesus and clothed us with His salvation as a pure white and clean garment and wrapped around us Jesus’ righteousness (Philippians 3:9).
We are His bride and He is the groom who has clothed us with His righteousness. It is a fact despite how we might be feeling. It is cemented forever in His Word and regardless of whether we feel spiritual or not His Word will say the same thing tomorrow as it does today. His Word does not change because it has been settled for time and for eternity in the heavens (Psalm 119:89) (Isaiah 40:6-8) (1 Peter 1:24-25). God Himself does not change (Malachi 3:6) (James 1:17) The Messiah our Lord Jesus does not change (Hebrews 13:8).
The New Covenant sealed with the blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus is an everlasting covenant guaranteeing all who trust in Jesus to save them and continue to trust Him to keep them, to be saved for time and for eternity. Through the blood of Jesus we are not only cleansed from the power of sin and from the grip of Satan but also from the wrath of God to come. It is the blood of Jesus applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit that protects us. It is the work of the blessed Holy Spirit to sprinkle the blood of Jesus upon the door posts of our heart and soul. He is “the hyssop” who goes into action on our behalf when we make our confession concerning the power of Jesus blood!
As the author of Hebrews writes; “But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely (to the uttermost) those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede (continuously) for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25). If our Great High Priest upholds all things in the universe by His powerful Word then He most certainly can uphold us up by that same powerful word! (Hebrews 1:3). His is the Living and abiding eternal Word of God who was made flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). His Priesthood is eternal and on the basis of an indestructible eternal life (Hebrews 7:16).
Our confession: “Thank you LORD that through the blood of Jesus I am justified, acquitted, not guilty, reckoned as righteous with the righteousness of Jesus the Messiah, made righteous in God’s sight and protected from the wrath to come.”
4. The Blood of Jesus brings Sanctification:
(Hebrews 13:12) “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
To be sanctified is to be made holy or to be set apart to God for His exclusive use and to be infused with His eternal life and power through the indwelling Spirit who is the one who works the experiential work of holiness in our inner spirit man (2 Thessalonians 2:13). There are two aspects of sanctification. Firstly, we are set apart from sin and from all that defiles us spiritually. Secondly, we are made holy with God’s holiness. We become partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).
Without His holiness working in our lives we will never see God or live in His presence. Sanctification is also a process. As far as God is concerned we are already sanctified by the blood of Jesus and sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption when we will be completely free from the very presence of sin itself at the rapture and resurrection (Ephesians 1:13). Having said this, experientially this sanctification is a spiritual process that keeps working throughout our life down here on earth.
Our confession: “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus I am being sanctified, set apart to you, separated from all spiritual defilement and a partaker of your holiness.”
5. The Blood of Jesus brings Spiritual Life to the Soul:
(Leviticus 17:11) “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.’”
It is the blood of Jesus that makes atonement for the soul, being our mind, our emotions and our will. It is who we really are on the inside. We also have a spirit which is where God fuses His Spirit with our spirit when we are spiritually reborn from above and the Spirit of God comes to dwell in us (1 Corinthians 6:17). The life of God is in the blood of Jesus which is pure and untainted by sin. It is the eternal and spiritual life of our creator Himself. It is a life beyond human comprehension. There is more spiritual life and power in one small drop of Jesus’ blood than there is in the whole kingdom of Satan.
As born again, blood washed blood sanctified and blood redeemed New Covenant believers we have the eternal uncreated measureless life of God Himself, a life that existed in His pre-incarnate Son before anything else was created (1 John 1:1-2). The blood of Jesus is eternal as in eternity, where time as we know it down here on earth does not exist, the Lamb of God was slain according to God’s foreordained purpose because there is no past, present or future in eternity. It was God’s eternal will to sacrifice His son and in the incarnation the human body God had prepared for his Son from all of eternity became a physical reality in the womb of Mary (Acts 2:23). As the author of Hebrews writes; “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when the Messiah came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me” (Hebrews 10:4-5).
Just as physical blood sustains and maintains our physical life in the human body so the blood of Jesus sustains and maintains the spiritual life of our soul. The Lord Jesus Himself is that eternal life which was with the Father from all of eternity and God Himself was fully manifested in His eternal uncreated Son our Lord Jesus. The eternal Son of God took upon Himself a fully human and perfect body that was without original sin and the only one, who as the spotless Lamb of God, would shed His pure untainted blood at the cross to atone for our sins and for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29) (1 John 2:1-2).
The life is in His blood and when we avail ourselves by faith of its power through confession God’s supernatural power is released in and through us. There is power in the blood of Jesus to destroy all the works of the devil being the power of sin. As the apostle John writes; “The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
In John 6:53-57 we read what the Lord Jesus said; “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me” (John 6:53-57).
The Lord Jesus is the living Word of God and when we feed our inner spirit and our soul life with the Bible we are feeding on Him. It is a spiritual relationship He is speaking about and the main theme of John Chapter Six is eternal spiritual life which the Lord Jesus breathes into the human soul and inner spirit of a man causing new spiritual life to spring up deep down on the inside of him (John 1:12-13; 20:22).
In the Bible we see that God showed some of His servants a scroll with writing upon it in a vision being His Word and told them to eat it. Of course it was a spiritual experience and encounter with God and not a physical scroll they would literally eat and digest physically, even though it appeared to be like that. (Ezekiel 3:1-5) (Psalm 119:103) (Jeremiah 15:16) (Revelation 10:9-10).
When we come to partake of the bread and the wine it does not become Jesus’ literal physical body and blood, it remains physical bread and wine. It is a meal of remembrance in which the Lord Jesus by His Spirit is present in a very special and intimate way among those worshipping together (Matthew 18:20). There is also a special spiritual interaction that occurs between the Lord Jesus with His Body of believers gathered corporately to meet with Him and to remember His atoning sacrifice for their sin.
It is also an individual interaction and these things are mentioned when Rabbi the Apostle Paul gives instructions and insight concerning the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-33). It was in fact a meal the local assembly of believers had together, not a religious ceremony as such. It was in fact a memorial meal as we see enacted in the Passover in Exodus and in the last meal the Messiah our Lord Jesus had with His disciples before His crucifixion. He took the cup of wine and the bread and said this was His body and blood. Once again it needs to be looked at in light of other scriptures.
Now it is interesting what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:16. “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of the Messiah? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of the Messiah? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”
Paul was not teaching the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation which teaches that the bread and the wine become the literal flesh and blood of Jesus to be consumed. However, the Greek word used for “a participation” does carry a deeper spiritual meaning for the local Body of Messiah when they come together to celebrate the Passover meal which we call Communion or the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist in orthodox circles.
The Greek word does imply a sharing in the spiritual benefits of the offering of Jesus body and blood procured for us at the cross. When we participate in this meal we are experiencing a special time of intimacy with the Lord Jesus in a special way and uniting ourselves personally with Him in His crucifixion and a partaker of His resurrection life and power (Romans 6:4-6). He is present in a special way and nearer and closer to us than at any other time. It is a special time of spiritual and intimate fellowship with Him. The physical bread and wine is also a visible reminder to us of the deeper spiritual meaning of the cross and its power to keep us to the end of this life when we will go to be with The LORD forever.
This is why we must not come to the meal with unconfessed sin or lightly or flippantly and not discerning what the meal is really about. Having said this the Lord’s supper is a very special and intimate time with Him and He values it beyond human comprehension as He did when He broke bread and drank the wine with His disciples whom He loved deeply on the night he was betrayed.
Our confession: “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus my soul and spirit are renewed spiritually because the Holy Spirit applies the blood to the doorposts of my heart and soul life. In partaking of the bread and wine I am identifying with and partaking of the spiritual benefits of His death and resurrection.”
6. The Blood of Jesus brings Intercession:
(Hebrews 12:22-24) “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church 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, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”
Notice that the writer of Hebrews says “We have already come.” Even though we do not see this in the visible and physical world, in eternity it is already a reality and established forever and we spiritually are already present there.
We have already come to the city of the living God, the New Jerusalem and to the unnumbered myriad of angels in festive apparel celebrating over all of the those down through the ages since the time of Abel who have been saved and redeemed by the Messiah’s blood (Luke 15:7, 10). The Body of Messiah is on earth but also in heaven where their names are recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13: 8b).
We have come to God and are united in one spirit with Him, the judge of all both the living and the dead and are one in spirit with the spirits of just men and women made perfect, being those who have gone before who lived by faith and were saved by faith and are now absent from the body but present with the Lord in their eternal dwelling (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Most of all we have come to the mediator of the New Covenant cut in His blood at the cross and to the sprinkling of that blood over our lives by the Lord Jesus just like the High Priest under the Old Covenant sprinkled the blood of the animals over the people of Israel pronouncing them clean in God’s sight and cleansed from their sins. Abel’s shed blood testifies and points to the Messiah who would shed His own blood.
Abel’s shed blood foreshadowed and pointed to the blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus whose shed blood can cleanse us from all sin deep down on the inside. Jesus’ blood speaks a better thing than the blood of Abel. Abel’s blood was shed unwillingly. The Messiah’s blood was shed willingly. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance, whereas the shed blood of the Lord Jesus calls out for mercy.
Even when we cannot pray or we are passing through the valley of deepest darkness experientially, under the influence of depression, fear and anxiety or under heaviness through manifold temptations and attacks from the evil one without letup, the shed blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus is on the mercy seat in heaven before God and it is continuously pleading for us in God’s presence before His throne. The blood of Jesus does not have an audible voice of course, but the sight of it before the throne of God is an eternal reminder, a voice as it were, that we are accepted in the beloved Jesus because of the total and complete efficacy of His blood to fully and forever atone for our sins, to cleanse us from them, and that has turned aside God’s wrath upon our sin (Romans 5:9).
Our confession: “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus sprinkled on the mercy seat in heaven before your throne that the blood is continuously interceding for me on my behalf guaranteeing my place in your heavenly courts.”
7. The Blood of Jesus brings Access to the Throne of God:
(Hebrews 10:19-25) “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
As blood redeemed, blood sanctified, blood cleansed children of the Living God we have boldness to enter into the very throne room of God by the blood of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. In the Greek text “confidence” or ‘boldness” literally translated also means “freedom of speech.” Notice again that we are to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” as this is our faith at work, also having our motives and desires sprinkled with the cleansing purifying blood of the Messiah, our conscience clear and our outward actions sanctified by the Spirit of God.
We also have the assurance that He who has sealed His covenant promises with the blood of His Son is faithful and totally dependable for everything we need for eternal life and godliness in this present evil age and will bring us into the age to come to co-reign with our Messiah the Lord Jesus in His Messianic kingdom, and after that to enjoy Him forever in the final eternal state in the New Jerusalem. Added to this, fellowship is a must for us in these last days as the local assemblies that make up the Body of the Messiah corporately stimulate each other spiritually to keep on loving each other and in doing good works that please God.
Holding fast or steadfastly to our confession means fixing our thoughts on Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1). It means holding firmly onto the faith we are confessing before men (Hebrews 4:14). It means holding unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
It can be likened to sitting in an aeroplane heading for your intended destination when the announcement comes over the loudspeaker to buckle up your seat belt indicating that turbulence is coming. The last thing you would want to do in the turbulence is to unbuckle your seat belt!
Now is not the time for having no corporate fellowship with other believers. This is a subject in itself and yet there are multitudes of New Covenant believers who cannot find a fellowship where they teach the whole Word of God and are totally open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In these cases God will lead them to find fellowship if they persist in trusting Him no matter how long it takes. House fellowships will in fact be the future of the Body of Messiah in the western democracies that are now post Christian and neo-pagan. It also needs to be said that there are no perfect churches but there are still many Biblically sound fellowships within wider Christendom but they are in the minority in these last of the last days.
We all need to be encouraged in our walk with the LORD and transparency in fellowship in the Holy Spirit around the Word of God and through participating in the Lord’s Passover Supper with our fellow brothers and sisters in the Messiah provides this fellowship in the Spirit for us.
Our confession: 7. “Thank you LORD that by the sprinkled blood of Jesus on heaven’s mercy seat before your throne I have freedom of speech before you, boldness and confidence to come into your presence at any time so that I might receive mercy and find your unmerited favour to help me in my time of need and to stand in your presence in the holiest place in the universe.”
To Sum up:
There are then seven things then that the Bible tells us about what the blood of Jesus does for us. 1. Redemption. 2. Cleansing. 3. Justification. 4. Sanctification. 5. Life in the soul. 6. Intercession. 7. Access.
Knowing these great truths from God’s Word is like having the blood in the basin, however, when we confess these promises we are taking the blood out of the basin and applying it to our lives and in doing this protecting ourselves spiritually having the boldness to confront and overcome the devil, his machinations, his plots and his devious works, and that of his cronies in the fallen unseen spiritual realm.
When we confess what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does for us we will have the victory over the world, the flesh and the devil and in whatever circumstance of situation we will face! Satan hates the blood and when he sees a New Covenant believer confessing what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does he trembles along with all of his cronies and that in stark terror! Satan knows the power of the blood of Jesus and what it can do to him and his kingdom. This is why those in the occult in the witch’s covens spend their time in denigrating and mocking the blood of Jesus. In their twisted and perverse thinking they know that it is the blood of Jesus that has devastated their domain and consigned them to the lake of fire for all eternity!
Every day we need to put on the whole armour of God but also avail ourselves of the power of Jesus blood. One way we can do this is by having communion and confessing what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does for us. As we take the bread and the wine daily and confess the promises concerning the blood of Jesus it will be a reminder of what He obtained for us with so great a salvation. It will also bring us into that time of special communion with the Lord Jesus one on one when He will be present with us by His Spirit, the spirit of Jesus.
One thing that needs to be added is that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). As Rabbi the Apostle Paul also writes; “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (1 Corinthians 4:17-18).
Our feelings are fickle, changeable, affected by circumstances or physical
weakness and even at the best of times can be absent but they are no barometer for our spiritual standing before the LORD. Whether we feel spiritual or not is not important at all, but taking the bread and the wine every day in faith will keep us focused on the one who is bringing us to heaven and who will ultimately deliver us out of this present evil age according to the will of God our Heavenly Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen! (Galatians 1:4).
Our Seven Fold Confession:
1. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus I have been redeemed and my sins forgiven according to your unearned, unmerited favour and that Satan doesn’t have any more claims upon my life.”
2. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus if I keep walking in the light as you are in the light I can have continuous fellowship with my brothers and sisters and by this be continuously cleansed and kept and my conscience continuously purged from sin and dead works of the flesh.”
3. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus I am justified, acquitted, made to be righteous with His righteousness and the debts owing to you for my sins cancelled, having been nailed to the cross and written across the list of these offenses “paid in full” signed with the blood of Jesus”
4. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus I am being sanctified, set apart to you, separated from all spiritual defilement and a partaker of your holiness.”
5. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus my soul and spirit are renewed spiritually because the Holy Spirit applies the blood to the doorposts of my heart and soul life. In partaking of the bread and wine I am identifying with and partaking of the spiritual benefits of His death and resurrection.”
6. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus sprinkled on the mercy seat in heaven before your throne that the blood is continuously interceding for me on my behalf guaranteeing my place in your heavenly courts.”
7. “Thank you LORD that by the blood of Jesus sprinkled on the mercy seat before your throne in heaven I have freedom of speech before you, boldness and confidence to come into your presence at any time so that I might receive mercy and find your unmerited favour to help me in my time of need and to stand in your presence in the holiest place in the universe.”
This is the way we apply the blood of Jesus. This is taking the blood out of the basin and applying it to the door posts of our soul and having the assurance that when the wrath of God comes we will be sheltered under the Messiah’s blood when the destroying angel is unleashed on the Egypt of this world at the end of this present age. As we read; “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Revelation 12:11).
May the Messiah our Lord Jesus grant us the grace to be regularly led by the Spirit every day, moment by moment by faith, to be continuously cleansed and kept by His blood with a clean heart and a clear conscience, to boldly confess what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does for us and that by His grace not to love our lives in this world even when facing death knowing “that to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Selah.
