“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you [21] who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:18-20
The power of Christ's blood enables God to redeem us from ruin, deliver us from death, and save us from sin. Through Christ's blood, God restores and reconciles us to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19). The power of Christ's blood reaches out to us in our helpless, bereft, miserable condition to save us from sin and to ransom us from the curse of sin.
The Apostle Paul joyfully proclaimed the great power of the Gospel when he said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16 ).
Now, let us look at the word blood. The importance of blood in our body is seen from Moses’s statement in Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
It is medically correct, scientifically sound, and theologically true that “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” The blood in the body sustains it moment by moment. There is no workable substitute for the body's blood. Let one foolishly substitute strawberry Kool-Aid for the body's blood, and he will not linger long enough to relate the story.
Blood is essential to human life; it is the life-stream of the body. The blood labors faithfully carrying oxygen and food to every part of the body. The body's blood undauntedly fights germs. The blood also helps the body to get rid of harmful wastes. The heart untiringly pumps the blood throughout the body, enabling the lungs to supply oxygen for the body, assisting the kidneys in keeping the body free of poison.
As blood is so important to human life, so it is also needful for spiritual life. We read, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Rom 5:9)
The word blood is one of the sweetest words in all the vocabulary of Scripture, it is one of the greatest terms in all the scope of theology. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky of doctrine. The mere mention of Christ's blood causes earth to rejoice and Heaven to stir about with wonder and amazement. The blood of Christ effectively pleads our redemption at the bar of God's justice.
The blood of Christ is one of the biggest and most far-reaching subjects ever to enter the heart of man. The cleansing blood of Christ delights the heart of God because it alone brings salvation full and free to the believing sinner. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Heb 9:22) The glorious, eternal reality of Christ's blood brings peace of mind, assurance of soul, worship of spirit, stability of life, and motivation of purpose to the servant of the Lord.
The blood of Christ always faithfully lavishes profusely thrilling joy upon holy angels—as well as striking terror, dread and fear of coming judgment upon devil and demons alike. God has decreed that Christ's blood shall be vindicated upon Satan and his nefarious cohorts.
The blood of Christ enables God judicially to bestow His love upon us in redemptive grace. “In whom (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). Such wonderful love, given freely to us from the Lord, we cannot ever fathom. It is without measure, like an ocean in abundance. We cannot fully comprehend God's love toward us as He comes with open arms to receive us to Himself.
God's mystery of love, secured by Christ's shed blood, we cannot fully understand, but we rejoice in its fact and place our God-given faith steadfastly upon its truth, for we read, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1) In reflecting upon the love of God, our hearts respond with gratitude and praise to the Christ of Calvary.
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