The Precious Blood - III
The Covenant Blood
INTRODUCTION:
· We are now going to look at the most powerful aspect of the blood - the covenant blood
· The Hebrew word "beriyth" means, "to cut, to cut asunder & pass through
· Another Hebrew word "karath" means to divide into parts
· The Greek word "daitheke" refers to a testament or a will
· A basic covenant involved a pact or promise between two parties, in which each pledged to the other all his possessions, strength, etc and was sealed by the shedding of blood
· Examples of blood covenants between men in the OT
o The first "beriyth" between men appears in Gen 14:13, where Abram was confederate with Mamre, Eschol and Aner
o The next is Abraham’s covenant with King Abimelech - Gen 26:26-33
o This was followed with the continuation of that covenant by Issac and Abimelech, Jr.
o Jacob and Laban covenanted - Gen 31
o Jonathan and David convenanted and David honored that covenant after his death on Jonathan’s only descendent, Mephibosheth
· A prize animal was halved and they passed between the parts, sealing their covenant with one another
· Gen 15 God appeared as a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces
· Covenants were permanent, binding & even generational
· They were fair as each pledged the same to one another
God’s 8 covenants with man:
1. Noah - Gen 6, Isa 54
2. Abraham - Gen 15, 17 Rom 4, Gal 3
3. Israel - Exo 24 (Law Covenant/Old Covenant)
4. David - Psa 89
5. Hezekiah - 2 Chro 29
6. Jehoida - 2 Kings
7. Josiah - 2 Chron
8. The Church: Luke 22 (Grace Covenant / New Covenant / Better Covenant)
FOUR THINGS WE SEE IN THE COVENANT BLOOD
I. We Have A New Covenant:
Luke 22:14-20
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
· The New Covenant is ratified, enacted, resident and sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ
· Without the blood, there is no possible way He could have established a New Covenant between man & God
II. The Blood Makes The Covenant:
· The Old Covenant between Yahweh and Israel was dedicated with blood
Heb 9:18-21
18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated (inaugurated) without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you."
· First, Moses sprinkled the book of the Law of God
· Second, Moses sprinkled all the people with blood
· God was joined to Israel by the blood that made the covenant
1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water (the Word), and the blood (of Jesus); and these three agree as one.
· The Holy Ghost, The Word and The Blood of Jesus give testimony to God’s will for mankind
· "these three agree in one" - they cannot be separated
· The Word provides the instruction of how to enter into these provisions
· The Holy Spirit administrates these provisions
· The Blood provides the legal grounds for us to enter into all of God’s provisions
III. The Covenant Blood Gives Access:
· As Israel was, we are sprinkled with the blood
· Peter describes the sprinkling in 1 Peter 1:2 "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:"
· Because we are sprinkled we are able to approach God - The Blood gives access
· Heb 10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
· At the crucifixion, the 60’ veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was torn top to bottom
· If men had torn the veil it would have been torn form bottom upwards
· This was an act of God showing that the partition that separated man from free access to God was now gone
· We can now approach God without intermediary
· Unrestricted access to God and unhindered fellowship with Him is available to all who come by the blood of Jesus
· Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
IV. It Is A Better Covenant:
Heb 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
· He pleads our case to the Father on the merit of His own sacrifice
· Our Priest is our Sacrifice!
· He intercedes for us on the basis of His eternal blood
· The New Covenant is better than the Old, because the blood that enacted it is better
Heb 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. 23 Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
· Our Great High Priest fulfilled the sprinkling of blood on the Mercy Seat, in the same manner that the earthly high priest annually sprinkled the blood of one sin offering in behalf of Israel (Lev 16)
24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
· Jesus entered Heaven itself, to appear before God, the Father, but not with blood of others, with His own
· He could use this blood on these heavenly things because it was a better sacrifice, better blood (vs 23)
25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
· The earthly high priests had to sprinkle the sin offering on the mercy seat annually on the day of atonement
· But the blood of Jesus is better and only had to be done once for all of mankind
12 COVENANT COMPARISONS:
1. OC - was ratified by the blood of bulls and goats (Exo 24;)
NC - is ratified by the better blood of Jesus (Luke 22:20)
2. OC - only provided an annual covering (Lev 16:12-19)
NC - provides eternal redemption (Heb 9:12)
3. OC - High Priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year and then only for a short time (Lev 16:30,34)
NC - Our High Priest entered the throne room of Heaven and ministers there continually (Heb 10:12)
4. OC - High Priest entered the Holiest with fear of death (Lev 16:2)
NC - Jesus destroyed the power of death & delivered us from the bondage of fear (Heb 2:14-15)
5. OC - No other Israelite was allowed to enter the Holiest ever, not even other priests (Heb 9:6-7)
NC - All saints should have boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus (Heb 10:19-23)
6. OC - Sins were not taken away, only cleansed outward (Heb 1:4)
NC - Cleanses us from all sin and purges the conscience of His worshippers (1 Jn 1:7, Heb 9:14)
7. OC - The veil separated from God’s presence (Heb 9:3-5)
NC - The veil was supernaturally torn in half, giving access to the Holy of Holies (Matt 27:51, Heb 6:19-20)
8. OC - God made the first covenant a temporary thing, He promised the He would make a new one (Heb 8:8-13
NC - God has accepted Christ’s sacrifice and made this the everlasting covenant (Heb 13:20, Gal 3:29)
9. OC - The Law was good in that it provided a fore-shadowing of the work of Christ, but no longer provides any means of access
NC - Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom 10:4)
10. OC - It never perfected anyone (Gal 3:11, Heb 10:1)
NC - Through the blood, Jesus makes every Christian perfect in every good work to do His will (Heb 13:21)
11. OC - The High Priest died and was replaced (Heb 7:23-25)
NC - Our High Priest lives forever (Heb 7:16)
12. OC - At death, a righteous Israelite departed to Abraham’s Bosom, known as Paradise in Hades (Luke 16:22)
NC - At death, the believer departs to be in the presence of the Lord, which is far better (Phil 1:21-23)
PLEADING THE BLOOD?
· This expression actually has no biblical reference
· It comes from the early Pentecostal movement (1900-1910)
· During these times of pouring out of the Holy Spirit, believers began pleading the blood of Christ in every situation that they were burdened for
· We do know, It is important to honor the blood & the life is in the blood
Heb 12:24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
· The Blood, itself, speaks, even from the mercy seat
· We know that we specifically instructed to use the name of Jesus, rather than the blood when casting out demons (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17, Acts 16:18)
· The Word also instructs us to avoid vain repetitions
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
· Some use this scripture to justify pleading the blood
· It does indicate there is value giving testimony to all the merits of the blood
WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR SIN?
· Many Christians have a hard time overcoming the accuser because they do not know what happens to sin after it is confessed and forsaken
· Confessed sin is blotted out, so that it is no longer visible in the sight of God
· Isa 43:25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
· Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
· Our sins are blotted out - permanently
· It is important that we see that God will not remember our sins He has already forgiven
· Heb 10:17, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
· Also remember, that just because God will not remember our sins, the enemy loves to
· But we won’t answer to the devil - just to God
CONCLUSION:
· Praise God! the Blood of the New Covenant blots out our sins, so that God will never remember them
· It provides redemption, protection, victory & access
· All we have to do is receive it in faith
