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The precious blood of Christ satisfies God, it is the believers’ access to God, and it overcomes all the accusations of the enemy (Exo. 12:13; Eph. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Heb. 10:19-20, 22; 9:14; 1 John 1:7, 9; Rev. 12:10-11); the Lord’s precious blood is also the blood of the eternal covenant (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 13:20), typified by the blood through which the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies in Leviticus 16:
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The blood of the covenant enables us to enter into the practical Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19-20), our spirit (Eph. 2:22; 2 Tim. 4:22), to enjoy God and to be infused by Him.
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According to the revelation in the New Testament, we are not only brought into God’s presence by the blood of the covenant—we are also brought into God Himself; the redeeming and cleansing blood brings us into God!
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The blood of the covenant is primarily for God to be our portion for our enjoyment—cf. Psa. 27:4; 73:16-17, 25; 1 Cor. 2:9; Heb. 10:19-20.
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Eventually, the blood of Christ as the blood of the new covenant (Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20) ushers God’s people into the better things of the new covenant, in which God gives His people a new heart, a new spirit, His Spirit, the inner law of life (denoting God Himself with His nature, life, attributes, and virtues), and the ability of life to know God (Jer. 31:33-34; Ezek. 36:26-27; Heb. 8:10-12).
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Ultimately, the blood of the new covenant, the eternal covenant (13:20), enables God’s people to serve Him (9:14) and leads God’s people into the full enjoyment of God as their portion (the tree of life and the water of life) both now and for eternity (Rev. 7:14, 17; 22:1-2, 14, 17).
Morning Nourishment
Heb. 9:22 And almost all things are purified by blood according to the law, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.Matt. 26:28 For this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
The children of Israel needed forgiveness and …God was ready to forgive them. If God had not been willing to forgive the people, He could have set the sacrifices aside and put the people all to death. But blood was shed as the necessary requirement for the forgiveness of sins.
The blood for forgiveness of sins ushered the sinful party of the covenant, the children of Israel, into better things. We know this by the fact that after God’s people failed to observe the law, He came in to make another covenant with them. (Life-study of Exodus, p. 924)
Today’s Reading
In the new covenant God pledged to make with His people, He promised [in Ezekiel 36:26] to give them a new heart….For God to give the people a new heart means that He would change their nature. At the foot of Mount Sinai the children of Israel spoke foolishly to Moses when they promised to do whatever the Lord commanded. God does not want His people to speak in such a way. His intention is to change their heart.In Ezekiel 36:26 God also promises to give the people a new spirit. This is to regenerate them and reconstitute them. For God to put His Spirit within His people is for Him to put Himself into them….A new heart, a new spirit, and the Spirit of God can all be ours because the blood has been shed for the forgiveness of sins.
[In] Jeremiah 31:33…God promises to put His law into our inward parts and to write it upon our hearts. This word is quoted in Hebrews 8:10. The law inscribed into our inner being is not the outward law, but the inward law of life. Because we have a new heart, a new spirit, the Spirit of God, and the inward law of life, we have the ability of life to know God [Jer. 31:34]. God Himself has come into us as the Spirit to impart His life and nature to us. God’s life and nature have become the inward law of life, an organic element which spontaneously regulates us. A new heart, a new spirit, the Spirit of God, the inward law of life, the ability of life to know God—these are the better things into which the blood for forgiveness of sin has ushered us.
Leviticus 16:11-16…show[s] that the blood shed on the altar enabled the high priest to enter into the Holy of Holies…to stay in God’s presence and receive the infusion of His shekinah glory. This is to have the enjoyment of God on the basis of the blood shed at the altar and brought into the Holy of Holies.
Hebrews 9:14…[indicates that] the blood of Christ makes it possible for us to serve the living God. How could we serve God if we were still dead?…Praise Him that through the redeeming blood we have life and have been brought into His presence to serve Him!
The blood of Christ is not only the cleansing blood, the blood which washes us from our sins. It is the blood of the covenant which brings us into God, into the divine life and nature, into the inward law of life and the ability of life to know God, and into the infusion, transfusion, and enjoyment of God both now and in eternity. This is the function of the blood of the covenant.
The blood of the covenant is not mainly for forgiveness; it is primarily for God to be our portion. God has ordained and predestinated us to enjoy Him. This enjoyment has also been covenanted to us. What enacted this covenant? It was enacted by the blood of Jesus Christ, the blood which brings us into all the divine blessings [Matt. 26:28]. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 924-927, 929-930, 933)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation,” ch. 1; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 4