AN OFFERING OF BLOOD

The offering that pleases God is one that is sealed by the blood of Jesus. Solely and exclusively through Jesus’ sacrifice can the rebellious become righteous. The grace of God goes far beyond anything we could ever imagine, given that His Son decided to take our place and pay for our trespasses. Through the blood He shed, He reconciled us to God. During the Last Supper, once Jesus “…had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood”” (Luke 22:19-20). Jesus spoke these words just hours before His suffering began. The cup represents His blood – the price that the Lord had to pay for our redemption.

The heavenly Father’s most private dwelling place is known as the Most Holy Place. When Jesus died, the first thing He did was enter the Most Holy Place with His blood. The Father was satisfied with the success of His Son’s mission because, by living in complete holiness, He had preserved the purity of His blood (Hebrews 9:12). Jesus opened the way so that all could enter into the Father’s presence. “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…” (Hebrews 10:19 NIV).

A Pleasing Offering

The first two offerings that were ever presented before God came from Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3-5). God was pleased with Abel’s offering because it was an offering of blood, representing the sacrifice that God’s own Son would one day make, offering His own life in exchange for the redemption of humanity. While the blood of bulls and goats temporarily held a certain amount of power, we can compare that kind of sacrifice to an unfinished bridge – one that does not reach far enough to fully connect man to God.

Jesus gave His life to redeem mankind. If He had not offered Himself as a sacrifice, nobody would be able to receive salvation. This is why the Scriptures say, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). The writer to the Hebrews said:

“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:12-14 NKJV).

The Lord Jesus invites those who find themselves lost in the labyrinth of life to come to Him, saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

For those who are disoriented, Jesus is the way; for those who are confused, He is the truth; and for those who are dead in their own sins, He is the life. Jesus paid the price for us, because we are the ones who deserved to die. He took the place of each one of us that day, offering Himself to God without blemish, “That whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16b).

The Voice Of The Blood

“But you have come to Mount Zion […], and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).

What must the cry of Abel’s blood have sounded like when his brother Cain forcefully took his life from him? This was the first criminal act in the history of mankind. Abel was a man with an innocent heart, and he trusted his brother completely. He had not realized that Cain’s heart toward him had changed since they had presented their offerings before God.

Cain was unable to recover from the blow he received when God cast aside the offering he had presented; he concluded that he was also being disqualified because his offering was an external representation of what was in his heart. As a result, envy grew within him until his eyes were clouded with evil every time he looked at his brother. He decided that it would be best to get rid of him once and for all. And so, Abel unwittingly fell into the hands of the one his soul trusted.

Cain thought that nobody would realize what had happened. Nevertheless, much to his surprise, the blood he had unjustly shed became a powerful voice, reaching up to heaven, crying out for justice for what had just taken place.

Cain wanted to avoid the issue when the Lord asked him about his brother. That is why he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” [God] said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:9-10).

Think for a moment: What kind of cry must the sprinkled blood of Jesus make, given that the wrath of hell beat against His body, causing Him to shed blood seven times, even to the point that His heart exploded?

If God cursed Cain, saying, “Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand” (Genesis 4:11), imagine the consequences the adversary must have faced and must be yet to face because of what he did to Jesus, the Father’s only begotten Son.

Everyone’s blood has a voice. Yet, how can this be? We need to remind ourselves of what happened when God created man if we want to understand the significance behind this.

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). God created man in three parts: spirit, soul and body. When a person dies, their spirit leaves and they stop breathing. Their soul also leaves their body, causing their blood to stop flowing. The Lord warned the people of Israel that none of them should eat the blood of any animal, explaining that “…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” (Leviticus 17:11 NKJV). On this subject, Derek Prince said, “…one soul has to make atonement for another soul. Since the soul resides in the blood, blood must be shed in an atonement – the giving of one life for another.”[2]

The Price Was Paid

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV).

The idea behind sacrificing animals was that an innocent life would pay the price for the offenses of a sinful life. Nonetheless, all of this was simply a prototype for the blood of Jesus – the Lamb of God who would come to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Isaiah expressed the same idea when he said, “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).

Jesus took the place of every one of Adam’s descendants and offered His own life in exchange for our redemption, just as God had established in the Law: “…you shall give life for life” (Exodus 21:23 NKJV).

God placed everything He created under man’s dominion. However, when the first couple sinned, mankind effectively ended up in captivity. The adversary assigned his guardians to watch us, demanding diligence so that they could give an account for all that they had been assigned. In a hostage situation, a high price is always demanded for the person’s release. The enemy had taken all of humanity hostage and the price for our rescue was incredibly high. Through the psalmist, the Lord said, “No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them - the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough” (Psalm 49:7-8 NIV).

If God was going to rescue humanity, there was only one option available. “…without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22b). When the enemy took mankind captive, he imposed his price: blood - and not just any kind of blood - the blood of somebody who had never been contaminated by sin.

God gave a decree when man sinned. He told the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Our Redeemer would be born of a woman. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The apostle Paul said, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

Jesus’ goal was to redeem humanity. Only through His blood, which had never been contaminated by sin, could He pay the price. Because of His holiness, He was victorious in defeating the tyrant who had been merciless toward us. Moreover, Jesus also recovered the plunder that the enemy had taken from Adam.

Jesus defeated the merciless tyrant and recovered the plunder taken from Adam.

THE BLOOD: A SPIRITUAL WEAPON

“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” (Revelations 12:11).

Many believers, leaders included, are failing in this spiritual war because they do not know how to use the weapons the Lord has made available to them. It is a warrior’s responsibility to know their weapons well and to become an expert at wielding them. The apostle mentions three weapons that evicted the adversary from his place of authority in the spiritual realm. The first is connected to the blood Jesus shed for our redemption, the second to the confession we make about what the blood of Jesus has done for us, and the third is living a life completely surrendered to the Lord.

The following five confessions, once taken and used, can become powerful weapons in our favor against the enemy.