The Ever Working Power of the Blood

By Elder Enoch Ofori Jnr

(Sermon, 2nd June, 2012)

The False Prophet’s Nightmare: the Blood of Jesus can’t be Commercialized

Rev 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

I’m worried and scandalized. There is a grand fraud being perpetrated on many unsuspecting people in contemporary Christianity. It should have caused massive alarm among all true believers, but then how many ‘Christians’ are true to the truth Christ brought?

The blood of Jesus is losing its importance in people’s lives, not because it has lost its efficacy to save and to heal, for it ‘never loses its power’. But churchgoers nowadays place less and less faith in the blood because they have been introduced to ‘alternatives’ touted as equally powerful, if not more.  Mercenary prophets and pastors of all hues have invaded the religious scene and are advertizing religious items like anointing oil and holy water as the cure-all for all problems.  Desperate for a solution, people rush to buy from them.

Of course, that’s a smart way for the false prophets to make quick money. The evident truth is that you can’t sell the blood of Jesus.  But reduce the power of God to a bottle of anointing oil or a gallon of holy water, and you will be milking people for a long time to come.

Although there’s some Biblical support for the use of anointing oil in healing the sick, the apostle James was at pains to stress that “the prayer of faith shall save the sick” (Jam. 5:14-15; cp Mark 6:13). Therefore, the anointing oil only had symbolic value; the real healing power is in “the prayer of faith”.  Another is that Biblically it’s not sold to the sick nor ascribed the multiple uses it’s ascribed now. Commercial interests are the sole reason for the present popularity of the anointing oil.

The blood of Jesus has been put in the shade.

But I’m here to assure you this afternoon that the blood of Jesus is as efficacious as when it was first shed on the cross of Calvary 2000 years ago. It’s your greatest source of power on this earth!  This was the secret of the early Christians.  They knew the power of the blood of the Lamb and held on to it till death–the victory of salvation won for them by the blood could not be overturned!

The only Blood that has Everlasting Life

The great importance of the Blood in your life is that it’s your life.  This truth was brought home powerfully to the Israelites when God instructed each of their families to take for themselves a lamb on the tenth of Nisan and kill it in the evening of the 14th. Then they were to take some of the blood and daub the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses with the blood. (It was only after this that they were to eat the roasted flesh of the lambs with unleavened bread and bitter herbs). ”  For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:12-13 ESV).

The blood was the security for the firstborns of Israel; it was the preserver of their lives.  The blood of Jesus, the true Passover sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7), does much more than preserve physical life within a limited area over a limited period among a specific group of people. Unlike the blood of sacrificial animals which could not take away sins (Heb. 10:4), the blood of Jesus offers true redemption on a permanent basis for all people.

But why is the blood so important in scripture?  What is the spiritual significance of blood?

The Bible has two answers:

• Life is in the blood.  “… the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11, cp Gen. 9:4).
• No blood shedding, no redemption. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).

Thus blood came to be established as the only credible means by which sin could be atoned for and life exchanged for life.  Yet the blood of animals made a poor substitute for human life. Not only was animal blood of inferior quality in terms of purity and efficacy, but it had no equivalence to human life which it purported to redeem.

But the heavenly Father in His great love sent His Son “made like unto His brethren … to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17).  The blood of Jesus, which His life, is an adequate substitute for human life.  Whoever believes in Him for the remission of his sins will be truly redeemed.

But have you ever considered the kind of life that is present in the blood of Jesus?

The life in Jesus’ blood is not like the temporary life of the sacrificial animals (or even of fallen mankind) which once poured out congeals and dries up and loses all power.  The life in Jesus which HIS BLOOD is ETERNAL LIFE. It never loses its vitality, never congeals nor dries up. It is a life force that never ceases.  The life in the Blood is the eternal Spirit of the living God.   We read in Heb. 9:13-14:

“… if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

How could such a pure blood which has the “eternal Spirit” of God as its life force ever lose its power?

Christ Himself disclosed the unique composition of His blood when He said in John 5:26, “as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself”. We know from 1 John 5:11 that this life is no ordinary life but eternal life: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son”.

What other spiritual material matches the blood of Jesus?

The blood of Jesus has eternal power to save, heal and to deliver because it’s the everlasting life of the eternal Spirit of God.  It never loses its power! Your life is forever secured by it.

It’s the most precious thing that ever happened to man–the most precious blood that ever dropped on earth:

• It’s pure and sinless (1 Pet. 1:19; 2 Cor. 5:21). You can trust it to wash you spotlessly clean from your sins. Not a stain of sin will be left on your soul. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).
• It was shed once for many people for all time (Matt. 20:28, Rom. 5:17; 1 Pet. 1:20; Heb. 9:15). You are in the number. The blood works for you as it worked for believers in the past.  As a beneficiary of the blood, it’s your right to claim all the blessings and privileges which flow from it.  Sanctification, redemption, cleansing of the conscience, eternal life.
• It contains the eternal life of the living Spirit of God.  You can trust in its eternal efficacy. It will always keep you sanctified, redeemed and pardoned. And you can always look to its power of healing and salvation. This Life took your place so you can have eternal life.  The blood of Jesus will never fail you because it never loses its power.
• It takes the believer to the highest point of power, the Holy of Holies in heaven (Heb. 10:19). Nothing else can make you this worthy to appear before the holy presence of God Almighty, except the blood of Jesus.  Your spirit has access to His presence; your soul rejoices in Him.  For in His presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Ps 16:11).
• It’s mightier than any problem or foe you ever faced.  “As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water” (Zech 9:11).
• It’s your only ground of access to God’s mercy (Lev. 16:2-3; Heb. 4:16, 10:19).  Because of the blood, you are always assured of God’s mercy.

Never doubt the power and efficacy of the blood of Jesus. It has eternal power, because it’s the eternal life of the eternal Spirit of God.  And it was shed for you. The eternal life of the blood of Jesus was poured out for you (Luke 22:20) for an “everlasting covenant” (Heb. 13:20).  It’s your eternal security; everything was “finished” on the cross (John 19:30). And it’s FREE! You don’t have to pay for the blessings of the Blood. God only requires that you repent from your sins (transgression of His laws) and believe in His Son. You don’t need that ‘holy water’, absolutely not. The Blood has all the power because it never loses its power!  Amen!