What the scriptures teach about the blood I

• Abel, the first mentioned to please God in the Bible offered blood to the Lord. He brought of “the firstlings of his flock” to the Lord as a sacrifice, and there, in connection with the first act of worship recorded in the Bible, blood was shed. We learn from Hebrews 11: 4 that it […]

• Abel, the first mentioned to please God in the Bible offered blood to the Lord. He brought of “the firstlings of his flock” to the Lord as a sacrifice, and there, in connection with the first act of worship recorded in the Bible, blood was shed. We learn from Hebrews 11: 4 that it was “by faith” Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice, and his name stands first in the record of those whom the Bible calls “believers.” He had this witness borne to him “that he pleased God.” His faith, and God’s good pleasure in him, are closely connected with the sacrificial blood. In the light of later revelation, this testimony, given at the very beginning of human history, is of deep significance. It shows that there can be no approach to God; no fellowship with Him by faith; no enjoyment of His favour, apart from the blood.

• The first recorded act of Noah, after he had left the ark, was the offering of a burnt sacrifice to God. As with Abel, so with Noah at a new beginning, it was not without blood.

• Abraham was asked to offer Isaac to seal his covenant relationship with God. The blood of his only son was required but the great lesson of substitution is here clearly taught as God had to provide a lamb thus sparing the life of Isaac. Death would have held Isaac so he had to be substituted. Not without blood.

• Four hundred years passed, and Isaac has become, in Egypt, the people of Israel. Through her deliverance from Egyptian bondage Israel was to be recognized as God’s first-born among the nations. Here, also, it is not without blood. Neither the electing grace of God, nor His covenant with Abraham, nor the exercise of His omnipotence, which could so easily have destroyed their oppressors, could dispense with the necessity of the blood.

• When Israel reached Sinai, God gave them His law as the foundation of His covenant. That covenant must now be established, but as it is expressly stated in Hebrews 9:7, not without blood.

• Immediately after the establishment of the covenant the command was given, “Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8). They were to enjoy the full blessedness of having the God of the covenant abiding among them. Through His grace they may find Him, and serve Him in His house.

• If you inquire further, you will be told that always, and for everything, the blood is the one thing needful. At the consecration of the house, or of the priests; at the birth of a child; in the deepest penitence on account of sin; in the highest festival; always, and in everything, the way to fellowship with God is through the blood alone.

What our Lord Jesus himself teaches about the blood

With His coming old things passed away, and all things became new.

He came from the Father in heaven, and can tell us in divine words the way to the Father.

It is sometimes said that the words “not without blood” belong to the Old Testament. But what does our Lord Jesus Christ say?

• Notice, first, that when John the Baptist announced His coming, he spoke of Him as filling a dual office, as “the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world”; and then as “the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.” The outpouring of the blood of the Lamb of God must take place, before the outpouring of the Spirit could be bestowed. Only when all that the Old Testament taught about the blood has been fulfilled, can the Dispensation of the Spirit begin.

• The Lord Jesus Christ Himself plainly declared that his death on the cross was the purpose for which He came into the world; that it was the necessary condition of the redemption and life which He came to bring. He clearly states that in connection with His death the shedding of His blood was necessary.

• In the Synagogue at Capernaum He spoke of Himself as “the Bread of Life”; of His flesh, “that He would give it for the life of the world.”

• Four times over He said most emphatically, “Except ye . . . drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” “He that drinketh my blood hath everlasting life.” “My blood is drink indeed.” “He that drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him” (John 6.). Our Lord thus declared the fundamental fact that He Himself, as the Son of the Father, who came to restore to us our lost life, can do this in no other way than by dying for us; by shedding His blood for us; and then making us partakers of its power.

Our Lord confirmed the teaching of the Old Testament Offerings – that man can live only through the death of another, and thus obtain a life that through resurrection has become eternal.

But Christ Himself cannot make us partakers of that eternal life which He has procured for us, save by the shedding of His blood, and causing us to drink it. Marvelous fact! “not without blood “ can eternal life be ours.

The natural blood

The life of the flesh is in the blood. The natural blood keeps us alive by doing 5 things: transportation, cleansing, defense, protection and sustenance.

(a)     Carries 02 necessary to sustain life.

(b)     Carries food to where it’s needed.

(c) White blood cells destroy invading foreign germs.

(d)    Produces antibodies that neutralize dangerous foreign bodies. It  is the power house of our immunity.

(e)    Cleanses the body of toxins and waste out of the tissues to where they are removed from the body. You cannot be healthy without a healthy blood.

Rev (Dr) Olowojoba is Snr. Pastor of Dayspring Bible Church, Sabon-Lugbe, Abuja & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l. e.mail: [email protected]