“but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Verse 18 is the negative side, and verse 19 brings us to the positive side of how Jesus purchased our salvation.
but with the precious blood of Christ
Verse 19 brings us to the culmination of the cost of redemption. The price tag for salvation is blood. How did God make possible our salvation? Not by works or religion but by the sacrifice of the life of Christ. Blood represents death by sacrifice.
Blood is an idea of life, not death. Blood poured out is to shed the energy of human life. Shed blood is sacrificial blood, “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,” (Le 17:11). As “the life of the flesh is in the blood” and was forfeited by sin, life eternal can be imparted only by the redemption made in the giving up of life by the sinless Savior.
The New Testament uses “blood” as death as the result of violence or execution. It carries the idea of violent death (Mark 27:25). This adds the additional component of sacrifice to physical death (He 9:7). Blood betokens Jesus’ death by the shedding of His blood in redeeming sacrifice.
Note that he says “blood,” not “death.” Death might occur in many ways but not necessarily by the shedding of blood. The shedding of blood points to sacrifice, sacrifice for sins.
“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood,” (Acts 20:28).
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him,” (Romans 5:9).
“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission,” (Hebrews 9:22).
Remember that Jesus did not bleed to death. Jesus voluntarily gave up His life. He “dismissed His spirit.” His death was spiritual as well as physical. When He bore the sins of the world, He experienced separation from God. At that time, God separated from Him because He bore the sins of the world.
PRINCIPLE:
God gives us life for death.
APPLICATION:
The blood of Christ is the price of redemption. The price is sufficient to purchase eternal life. If there was any other purchasing power, then Christ died for nothing,
“I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain,” (Galatians 2:21).
At the moment of conversion, God gives us new life (regenerates us). We cannot grow into this life. Birth is an event. Therefore, no one can educate us into birth.
Spiritual birth means we pass from death into eternal life (John 5:24). At that moment, we pass from spiritual death to spiritual life. Christians may not be able to pinpoint the exact moment when this happened to them. The main thing is to know that it happened.
The crisis of spiritual birth triggers the beginning of spiritual life. That process extends from spiritual birth to our death or until Christ comes again. During this period, God puts us into a sphere of development (2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Peter 2:2). This development is as fast or slow as we apply ourselves to the Word of God. When we apply divine truth to experience, the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and makes them real, plain, tangible, and useful to us.
