“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:14
Through the entirety of Scripture, even from before the moment Adam sinned, God had put into place a certain, sure way to redeem mankind. It was a redemption for all men. Not only would it be revealed to mankind that the great motive and power of God to redeem was the result of His love, but the essential matter that had to be dealt with was that of His righteousness which had to be satisifed. Since God cannot deny Himself, He cannot under any circumstance, or at any time, require of man less than the perfection of what God deems, and declares, to be righteous. Scripture calls this “righteousness,” being right in the sight of God. However, the problem with man since the fall has been that he, by his own choice and will, received the sentence of spiritual death upon himself. The moment Adam sinned, he died spiritually, becoming devoid of any capacity or power to come again to a place of being at peace with God. The wrath of God abided, or remainded, upon him, simply because he was unrighteous, not bearing in his soul or being that which was righteously acceptable in the sight of God. No amount of offering, sacrifice, works, or even suffering, could atone for his sin. Nothing could, in and of itself, wash away sin’s filth, stain, and pending punishment, or deadly effects. Man was completely and totally lost, without remedy to deliver himself from the tyranny and domination of sin, and Satan. However, God would provide one single remedy…and that would be the blood of Christ. Why?
When one reads the book of Revelation, and specifically gives attention to what occurs in heaven in chapters four and five, one is struct by dominant issue of worthiness, and that which possesses true, eternal value. God the Father is declared to be worthy, and this with regard to His design and making of all creation. No one can sound the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God, nor of His power and might, His intent and will to do that which is in accordance with HIs holy nature. In creating the world, in and by Christ, and the moving of the Spirit, the Father demostrates that there is no one, nor any thing, higher than He is with regard to absolute goodness, loveliness, power and might. The fact that He has brought all of creation into existence is a testimony beyond measure of His greatness, His worth, and worthiness to be constantly praised and worshipped. It is also the great incentive to know Him, for to know Him is to know that One who is wonderful and great in all of His person, without fault, sin, or selfishness. He is absolutely praiseworthy because of HIs infinite worth.
In chapter five, when we come to Christ, the slain lamb of God, we find that central to the matter of His worth is the expression of that worth in His shed blood. God alone can forgive sin if that which is offered in sin’s place as a debt payment, is worth more than the price. There is nothing in this entire universe which is of greater value to the Father than the prescious blood of Christ. Its weight in value or worth far exceeds the weight of all the sin of the world’s worthlessness. Hence, only the blood of Christ can redeem from sin…and it does, in particular for the one who trusts only in Christ.
After Christ was crucified, buried, raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven, He appeared before the Father. It was there that He entered once, for all time and eternity with His own blood, obtaining for us eternal redemption. He offered that which was of priceless worth to the Father, because of the magnitude of the sacrifice of Himself. Christ withheld nothing, so that by His blood we could be redeemed.
Dear Father, Wash us entirely today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.