The Blood of the Cross

       
(1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-23; 2:2-5)

          Colossians 1:20 says, “And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

          Notice the expression “the blood of His cross.” This phrase expresses the entire power and blessing of the vicarious death of our Lord Jesus used to obtain our redemption.

          The Apostle Paul demonstrates how on the one side the blood of Jesus possesses its value from the cross on which it was shed, and on the other side, it is through the blood of Jesus that the cross reveals its effects and its power (peace and redemption).

Let’s examine the phrase, “the blood of His cross.”

First, let’s examine at the nature of the cross of Jesus:

There was the outward physical suffering of our Lord Jesus (Isaiah 53:4-6).
There was the inner nature of the Lord, which led Him to the cross and inspired Him while on it (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus had to bear the cross. Jesus came to deliver man from sin and He had to die with the power of sin as well as its guilt.
Jesus had to bring to naught the power of sin (Romans 6:14). He could only do this in and through His own Person. So, He came in the likeness of man. He had to face temptations just like we do (Hebrews 4:15).

          He had to take up His cross and bear it daily. Three different times He told His disciples that they must take up their cross and follow Him.

          So, He offered up Himself and His life. He denied Himself and took up His cross. He learned obedience and became perfect (Hebrews 5:9-10). So, when the prince of the world (the devil) came to Him, He boldly declared, “He has nothing in Me” (John 14:30).

          His death on the cross was the last and most glorious achievement in His personal victory over the power of sin.

          Hebrews 9:22 says, “There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood.”

No remission—forgiveness
No justification
No redemption (Ephesians 1:7)
No cleansing (1 John 1:7)
To cleanse—Greek Aorist Tense—present-continuous action. As a believer, the blood of Jesus is continually cleansing you from sin. You can know you are forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. Get rid of sin-consciousness. Jesus’ blood offers eternal redemption and everlasting righteousness.

No sanctification
No victory to overcome Satan and His power
Jesus desired to deliver man from sin. His willing obedience to the Father, the bearing of the cross willingly bestowed on the cross its power.

          Philippians 2:8-9 says He became obedient unto death—even the death of the cross. “Yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9).

          It is because Jesus conquered sin totally in His own life that He can remove from us the guilt of sin. He went through His whole life and never sinned, not even once. That is why He can be our Redeemer.

          When He shed the blood of the cross, it brought reconciliation (peace) to us with the Father (Romans 5:1). His blood is a living, spiritual, heavenly power that can impart to a person a self-sacrificing nature. Being dead to self and alive to God. “We are crucified with Him—it is no longer I who live, but He (Jesus) lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Crucified self and the flesh.

          Secondly, the power of the cross. The cross of Jesus had the power to destroy sin and the effects and guilt of sin. This power gives to us deliverance from the power and domination of sin and acquits us from the guilt of it (Hebrews 9:14; 10:22).

          Justification by the blood of the cross. Now peace has been made through the cross of Christ Jesus. God reconciled us and has brought us to Himself.

          The power of the cross in heaven has removed everything that could bring about a separation from God. Now in Christ Jesus we have entrance into the most intimate relationship with God the Father (Romans 8:38-39). We have peace with God and have received His friendship. Like Abraham was a friend of God.

          There is now nothing to hinder the fullness of the love and power of God from coming to us and working in us, except only our doubt and unbelief and slowness of heart.

          Our union with Christ, the Crucified One, and the conformity to Him resulting from that union gives us power in our lives. This is a direct result of the blood of the cross.

          This union gives us the power to overcame. We are one in Christ Jesus (John 17:21). GLORY TO GOD FOREVER!!!!!!!!

          We can say, “I am crucified with Christ. I know my old man is crucified with Christ. I am dead to sin, and I have crucified the flesh. I am, therefore, crucified to the world” (Romans 6:11).

          In the power of this fellowship, we can live as Jesus lived. But, we must surrender our will like Jesus did. This is a cross we must bear. Not our will--  but the Father’s will.

          It is the blood of the cross of Jesus that you have been sprinkled with, under which you live daily and this blood gives you life (zoe) and power. The power of the blood of Jesus is that it was the complete sacrificeof a life turned over to God. It is Precious Blood.

          The blood that was shed was God’s own blood. The blood of Jesus and the cross are inseparable. The blood comes from the cross. It bears witness to the cross and it leads to the cross. It was a blood-stained cross.

          The power of the cross is in that blood. There is enough power in the blood and the cross of Jesus to deliver from any infirmity and the healing of any disease (Galatians 3:13).

          Thirdly, the love of the cross. The cross is the revelation of the Father’s love for us. The Father so loved us that the only way He could redeem us was by the shedding of His own blood on the cross. The cross is the triumphant symbol of His eternal love toward us. Out of perfect love, He gave Himself up to the cross to redeem a people for Himself—the blood points directly to that love (Ephesians 3:17-19). Greater love—He lays His life down for His sheep.

          To know Jesus in His love, to live in that love and to have a heart filled with that love is the greatest blessing the cross can bring to us. He is our Great High Priest, out of whose heart that blood flowed, who is Himself the end of the sprinkling of the blood. He is the High Priest Who in the tenderness of perfect love now lives to perfect everything in us. (Hebrews 10:14). “He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

          Each drop of that blood points to the surrender and death of self-will, of the “I” life. Its power can maintain the inner nature—the crucified life in you. Each drop of that blood brings Jesus and His eternal love closer to you, to work out all the blessings of the cross in you and to keep you in that love.

          As you meditate on the cross of Jesus and His shed blood for you, may it bring you into a deeper union with Him.

          Look to the cross—the blood of the cross. If you have never come to the foot of the cross of Jesus and looked up at Him, then you need to deny self and come to the cross. Allow His blood to bring you peace in your life and bring you into that perfect union with Him.

          What do you need today? There is power in the blood of the cross. Appropriate the cross of Jesus in your life—for healing, deliverance, and power. Accept the payment of His blood as the final, perfect and only sacrifice you will ever need.