Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

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The Shedding of Jesus' Blood and What This Does To Power You Up Now

In this chapter I want to address what the shedding of Jesus' blood does to power you up today. To begin let's look at a portion of Hebrews chapter 9.

Hebrews 9:19-26

19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Verse 22 says apart from the shedding of blood, individuals had no way to get out from under the curse or the penalty of sin. Without the shedding of the blood of animals under the law there was no remission for the sins of the people.

In verse 23 substitute the word copy for the word patterns in this verse. That will help you to understand what the verse is saying more easily. What he is saying is that it was necessary that the copy of things in heaven should be purified with these, that is with the blood of bulls and goats.

When Moses built the tabernacle upon which was based the structure of the temple, God actually showed Moses the interior of heaven, and Moses was instructed to make a copy of what he saw in the form of a portable structure. That portable structure was called the tabernacle. It could be moved anywhere the Spirit led the children of Israel to move it. For the sake of simplicity I'm going to deal with just that part of the tabernacle that is divided into two parts.

The part we will talk about is called the Holy of Holies. It was into the Holy of Holies that the high priest went once each year on the Day of Atonement. Inside this structure Moses had set up in the same order the same things he saw in heaven - an alter, tables, instruments of various kinds, and candlesticks. He copied things at the express command of God. He made a portable copy of what he saw in heaven.

The writer of the book of Hebrews said that it was necessary that these copies be purified with these, or the blood of animals. But he goes on to say that the heavenly things themselves had to be purified with better sacrifices than these. The blood of bulls and goats dealt with the sin problem on the earth, and they could sprinkle the copies of those instruments with the blood of bulls and goats. But it would have been a blaspheme to enter into heaven and sprinkle the blood of bulls and goats there. So he said that the things in heaven had to be purified with a better sacrifice - a more powerful, more potent, more eternal, more deified blood than the blood of bulls and goats.

Then he says

Hebrews 9:24

24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Now notice, there is the Holy of Holies in heaven. Moses copied it and made it in the form of a portable tent. Later, what he saw and copied was turned into the pattern for the stationary temple in Jerusalem. But all of it was a copy of what Moses saw in heaven. There is the earthly Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and later in the temple, and there is also the one in heaven which Moses copied. The high priest on earth during that time would go into the earthly Holy of Holies once a year, and the blood that he would sprinkle would be good for the passing over of the sins of the people for a space of one year. Every April the Day of Atonement occurred, the earthly high priest would go into the portable tent, and later the temple, and he would sprinkle the interior of the Holy of Holies with the blood of bulls and goats. This sprinkling took care of the sins of those people for one full year.

Verse 24 says that Christ did not enter that earthly Holy of Holies. But it says that He entered into the holy place, or into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for us. The Jewish high priest would go into the earthly Holy of Holies and appear in the presence of God once a year. Christ never entered into that place a time in His life. Instead, He entered into that part of heaven from which that earthly copy was derived. And there he entered into the presence of God for us.

Hebrews 9:25-26

25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Those high priests in the Jewish religious system had to go into the earthly Holy of Holies once a year, and they always entered with the blood of others - bulls and goats, but not their own blood. Christ did not have to offer Himself often, He had to do it only one time. I want you to see the power, potency, and duration of the blood of Christ compared with the blood of an animal.

The blood of bulls and goats when used by the high priest going into the earthly Holy of Holies was good enough to care for the sin problem of an entire nation for twelve solid months. But every twelve months they had to repeat the process. This meant that every twelve months there was a slaughter of animals. Verse 24 says that Christ never entered that Holy of Holies but He entered the one in heaven. And notice in verse 25 that He did not have to offer Himself often. In other words, Christ had to be slain only one time for the sin problem. Since He had to be slain only one time His blood has the power to care for the sin problem for how long - for eternity.

What I want you to see is this. If, in fact, the power of the blood of Christ runs out in a given time span - if it runs out in less than a year, that means the blood of a bull and goat had more power to it in the mind of God than the blood of His own Son. I'm talking about the blood of Jesus compared to the blood of bulls and goats. The blood of these animals when handled properly in the Old Testament lasted a year. But the blood of Jesus Christ lasts beyond a year. Otherwise, once a year Jesus would have to come back down from heaven and be slain again. Then He would have had to suffer since the foundation of the world. But verse 26 says that once, or one time in the end of the world, he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Are you aware of the fact that if a Jew sinned under the Old Testament law and he had participated in that national Day of Atonement that the sin that he committed was covered by the blood of that Atonement for a twelve month period. And yet a lot of Christians do great insult to the blood of Jesus because they maintain that if they sin they instantly lose whatever it was they had from God, that is, their salvation. They don't recognize the fact that this is an insult to the blood of Jesus Christ, because they are saying that the blood of Christ did not have the staying power of even the blood of a goat! That's an insult. What else could you call it, but an insult. Even the blood of a bull and goat lasted a year, and yet some people want to maintain the blood of Christ doesn't even last ten seconds. He appeared once, and He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And that sacrifice does not need to be repeated every twelve months. It was a one time thing.

Hebrews 9:27-28

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Verse 27 is one of those verses which we often take out of context and preach evangelistic sermons. We can preach a practical evangelistic message with this passage, but let me show you how it fits contextually with what we are talking about. This verse is talking about Jesus Christ. God became a man. He took the Name of Jesus Christ when He walked on this earth. Since it is appointed unto man once to die, and Jesus became a man, He died. But He died in our place. He died my death. He died your death. He died because of my sins. He died because of your sins. After the appointment that man has with death there is also an appointment with judgment. Christ became a man, Christ died in my place, and Christ took the judgment for my sin.

How can God judge Jesus for my sin and still hold my sin against me? How can Jesus' blood be more powerful than the blood of bulls and goats if I can lose what I have in Christ in ten seconds. Even the Jew in the Old Covenant couldn't do that. The blood of those animals on the Day of Atonement covered their sin for the space of twelve long months. It was not necessary for the high priest to go into the Holy of Holies every twelve seconds or every twelve days. Can the blood of Christ last any less?

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness! This is where we need to learn to stand, and when we learn to stand there we will have the key to reigning in life as kings. Until we understand the power in the blood of Jesus we will not reign with power.

Now let's look further at Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10:1-4

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

The law that he is speaking of in verse 1, Moses' law of sacrificing once a year on the Day of Atonement, was never designed to make the people perfect. The word "perfect" is derived from a Greek word which means to come to the end of a process. The end of the process that was being spoken of in this case was a place in their lives where there would be no more necessity for more sacrifices for their sin. The law could never do that. For every year under Moses' law the high priest had to take the blood of others, go behind the veil that shut out the common man, and enter into the place where only he was authorized to go. Every year he had to do it, and he could never, never, never bring the people to a state of completion where, under the law, those sacrifices could be terminated. That process was never fulfilled under the law.

But Jesus Christ came and became the final sacrifice for sin under Moses' law. So what the law could not do, He did. The law could never, with those sacrifices which they offered year after year continually, make those who participated come to the end of the sacrificial process. That is what the word perfect in that context means.

Verse 2 is a key verse IF you want to have power for reigning in life as a king. It's an extremely important key verse! If, in fact, the act of slaughtering bulls and goats and the high priest going behind the veil in the earthly tabernacle, could have brought the people to the end of the process of needing sacrifices, then they would have ceased making sacrifices because once they made the sacrifices they would have had no more conscience of the guilt of their sins. Because the sacrificing would have done the job.

Let's compare that to the blood of Christ. First of all, look at Hebrews 10:3. Suppose someone had a full life; he lived in the fast food lane of life, so busy that all he had time to do was drive through the drive through lane and eat on the run. He was so busy that he never had time to think about his sins. But once a year he would have to think about them. Once a year he would participate in the Day of Atonement. Once a year he would go back to Jerusalem and would be absolved of his sins by the blood of bulls and goats. But each year at that time, no matter how busy he was, he would be reminded in his conscience, "I have a sin problem." The fact that it was yearly, year after year, reminded him of who he was, what he had done, and the consequences of it. Now, if the blood of bulls and goats had been the answer, he would not have had to be reminded once a year of who he was and what he had done, and what the logical outcome was of the fact that he had committed sins and he was a sinner.

This is to be contrasted with the blood of Jesus Christ which does not have to be shed every twelve months. This means that I can lose myself in doing God's business and living my life for Him. And I don't have to be reminded and have my conscience pricked, week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out about my sin problem because Jesus Christ was offered ONCE to take away sin. And His blood is more powerful than the blood of a bull or a goat.

Therefore, since His blood is more powerful, and their blood lasted a full year, how long does the blood of Jesus Christ last? Now when you get a revelation of this, you can begin to get the Devil out of your face so that you have power to reign in life.

As long as the Devil backs you in a corner and makes you accept a lesser view of the blood of Christ and what that blood does, he will rob you of your power and you will never reign in life as a king. We read the books, we make the confessions, we talk the talk. But if we have a defective view of the blood of Christ, we will always be backed into a corner, and our reigning will go down the tube.

How long did the blood of Christ last? These scriptures say that He appeared once in the end of the age and He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself - ONCE. There is no place in Scripture that puts a time limit on the efficacy, the power, and the cleansing ability of the blood of Jesus. NO! I challenge you to find it, but until you do, don't let the Devil deceive you by making you think less of the blood of Christ than what God says about it.

Once a year the Old Testament people were reminded that they had a sin problem, but if all the sacrificing that they were doing had worked, they would not have been reminded of it over and over again. Well, the blood of Jesus does work, so why should I be reminded EVER? I am free from that problem because the blood of Jesus Christ is strong enough to deal with it.

When someone challenges me on this, I know that I am talking to someone who believes that the blood of Jesus doesn't have the power that the blood of a bull or goat has. How powerful IS the blood of Christ? What is it's duration? The power of the blood of bulls and goats lasted twelve months, but every twelve months the high priest had to kill more to get more blood because it ran out. But the Bible says that Jesus Christ was offered ONCE. Now if they did not have a conscience of their sin problem except once a year, why is it that we do? In Hebrews 10:4 it says:

Hebrews 10:4

4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Look at the words "not possible." That means there is no power in the blood of a bull or a goat to take away sin. There is no capability in it. So all that happened is that the sin was just covered up for a year. But 1 John 1:7 says that the blood of His Son Jesus Christ cleanseth us. And in the Greek present tense that means continuous action in present time. It means that it cleanses and keeps on keeping on cleansing me from all sin; not for only twelve months, but a keeping on keeping on. It means you are in a continual wash cycle. Continually being washed by the blood of the Lamb. When you understand the "once for all sacrifice", when you understand that Christ's blood had more power than the blood of bulls and goats, you will begin to concentrate on what the Bible says belongs to you rather than letting the Devil back you in a corner over something you did or did not do. As long as the Devil has you on the defense you will never have power for reigning.

In the eighth chapter of the book of Romans Paul talked about us reigning in life as kings. But there are keys to that. One key is that we have to accept the free gift of being cleared of all the guilt of all our sins. Another key is that we have to accept the fact that Jesus Christ's blood has more duration, more power to it than the blood of bulls and goats which lasted twelve months. They had to be slaughtered every year, but Jesus was offered up at the end of this age ONE TIME.

What we fail to recognize is that if that one sacrifice of Jesus didn't work and Jesus is still claiming to be the Savior, then He has to move Himself out of heaven once a year, come back down here, and be nailed to the cross all over again and again and again - every time we commit a sin. If His blood didn't have power enough to cover the sin problem throughout all eternity, it would require Him to come back, die again, be resurrected again - come back, die again, be resurrected again - over and over again. That's the logical conclusion if His blood is not eternal and does not extend beyond the twelve month duration of the blood of bulls and goats.

When you get a handle on this you will have power to look the Devil, the accuser of the brethren, right in the eyeballs and say, "Get out of my way, you dirty Devil!"

Jesus Christ died once, because that's all it took. And the blood that He shed is lasting until this hour. Many people think that when Jesus was crucified and His blood was shed that it just soaked into the ground and was washed away with the elements. But the Bible teaches in the book of Hebrews that Jesus took His blood into heaven, and it is now sprinkled on the mercy seat - the same mercy seat that Moses saw and built a copy of. That blood is on the original mercy seat of heaven right now - still alive, still powerful, still fresh, and still working. The only way that Jesus' blood would lose it's power is if someone could go into heaven with some powerhouse form of cleanser, pour it on top of the blood sprinkled over the mercy seat of heaven, and dilute it down to where it has less power than the blood of a bull or a goat. But until someone is capable of doing that, mark my word, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin and keeps on keeping on cleansing us from all sin!

There is one thing that I will not allow. I will not allow the Devil to dictate my theology. Stop letting the Devil tell you what the Bible says. You tell him what the Bible says. He tried doing that to Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus turned it on him and said, "It is written...." And when the Devil comes after you with a guilt trip, you tell him about the blood of Jesus Christ. That is one weapon that he cannot tangle with and win. When he sees that you know what you're talking about, guess what he will do? He's going to flee! He'll be in the next county before you can bat your eyes. Because the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth and keeps on cleansing us from all sin. Hallelujah!

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Date Last Updated: February 27, 2008
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