1731. The Blood of Christ and the Church
The Blood of Christ and the Church
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own Blood" (Act_20:28).
1. The Blood of Christ purchased the Church. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own Blood" (Act_20:28).
Christ is the head of His Church by the right of purchase. The purchase price was His Blood. If the Blood is removed from the faith of the saints immediately Christ is removed from His headship, and the Church is left as a ship in the sea of the nations without a pilot, a captain, a helmsman.
2. The Blood of Christ is commemorated by the
Church. "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come" (1Co_11:26).
It seems utterly incongruous for the modernists to repudiate the Blood of Christ and retain in His Church the Lord's Supper, which it commemorates.
The commandment of God gives the Blood of Christ a commanding to the Church. It is simply impossible for the Church to follow the Scriptural ordinances and eliminate the message of the Cross.
3. The Blood of Christ and the overcomers. "And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony" (Rev_12:11).
The twelfth chapter of Revelation describes a future conflict. The conflict between satan and Michael has been won by the archangel. The accuser of the brethren has been cast down. Then a loud voice is heard in Heaven saying, "They (the brethren who have been accused) overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb."
Take away from the saint his testimony concerning the Cross and rob him of his victory over the devil. The Blood is the only "shibboleth" that can vanquish satan.
4. The Blood of Christ and approach to God. "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own Blood He entered in once into the Holy Place" (Heb_9:12).
Our Lord Jesus Christ could never have appeared in the presence of God for us had He not shed His Blood.
The Tabernacle in the wilderness had blood upon the brazen altar in the outer court; it had blood upon the horns of the altar of incense in the Holy Place; there was blood sprinkled upon the mercy-seat in the Holy of Holies once a year.
How can the radicals repudiate the Blood which God honors. They would put the Blood nowhere, God puts it everywhere; they would eliminate the Blood from the earth, the outer court; God carries it into Heaven itself, the Holiest court of all.
5. The Blood and entrance into Heaven. "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb" (Rev_7:14).
We are now entering into Heavenly realms. The rapture has taken place. Multitudes of tribulation saints are standing before God. They are there because they are Blood-washed. The Bible says, "Therefore are they before the throne of God."
What will the liberals do with a statement like this? There is absolutely no entrance to Heaven to those who deny the Blood. They shut themselves out forever from the presence of God.
6. The Blood and the Heavenly song. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy * * for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Rev_5:9).
There are none in Heaven who repudiate the Blood, for all the saints of every age and of every land gathered around the throne acclaim the Lord Jesus Christ as crucified and themselves as redeemed through His Blood.
We need not be surprised at the prominence given the Cross in the Book of Revelation among the raptured saints, these self-same saints in their earth-life, whether they lived before Christ or after Christ, all placed their faith in the Blood. The fact that in the Glory they still sound aloud their praises of Calvary's Cross vindicates their faith, and gives honor to their Saviour.
7. The Blood and the final chapter of the Bible. "Blessed are they who have washed their robes, that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and enter in by the gates into the city" (Rev_22:14, R. V.).
God pity those who try to enter Heaven by any other way than by the Blood-washed robes: they are thieves and robbers.
We have studied the Blood of the Cross from Genesis through Revelation from several distinctive viewpoints. We have sought to find out what we are to believe concerning the Blood. We come now to our final statement. It is this: "Without the shedding of Blood there is no remission."
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR