“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”
Leviticus 17:11
Love bleeds? Wait… what? Please don’t misunderstand this. It’s not meant to encourage violent behavior or any such thing. This blog post is to delve deeper into areas of theology that maybe some of you have never even contemplated before— why God chose ‘blood’ as the element of restoring humanity back into fellowship with Him. Why blood?
Life is in the blood. When humanity rejected its Creator, this was an act of rebellion or sin. God is the Divine Lawmaker and so, His laws state that sin is a crime punishable by death. This is not merely a physical death but a spiritual death, too. Now people grow old and die. Now people are disconnected spiritually from God.
The way to reconnect spiritually to God is through the very thing that carries life—blood. This is why in the Old Testament, before Christ came to Earth, the Israelites (those chosen by God to bring salvation into the world), made amends for sin through the blood sacrifice of animals, as commanded by God for a season. That season ended with the final blood sacrifice completed by the “Lamb of God” — Jesus Christ (John 1:29). All of humanity’s sin was imputed on Christ. It is finished (John 19:30).
“For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human,” (1 Tim. 2:5)
Since Christ’s death and resurrection, today people who choose to believe in Jesus are made innocent by His blood. His life for ours – spiritually. This is a mystery, and theologians wrestle with how precisely this occurs in the spiritual realm. The Bible gives us a hint, however, of how this could happen as stated in Titus 3:6, “…by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
Once we accept Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit moves in and begins His work of regenerating our spiritual being. He moves us along a renewal process of becoming less sinful and more holy (or morally perfected). To know if this is “working,” sin should become less desirable.
When God moves in, there's less desire to sin! Share on XThis was God’s first intention when He created humanity. We were meant to be Sons and Daughters of the Living God, holy and in constant communion with His Spirit. When we went our own way, that communion was broken. God, in His omniscience, knew this would happen. He didn’t have a plan B.
Ephesians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence.
He planned to offer Himself as a humble, human sacrifice to bridge the gap that sin caused when it entered our souls. This is how much He wants a relationship with us — that He would chose to become a man and suffer a tortuous death of crucifixion at the hands of those He created.
God made people with a free will to reject Him, but He also made a way for us to return to Him, if we so choose. This is true love – it must be a choice.
Some theologians trust that this is the process by which God will ultimately rid the entire universe of evil; keeping humanity’s free will intact while simultaneously working His will to weed out and confine evil. He wants people to choose Him freely—He doesn’t want forced obedience.
Jesus not only forgives our sins but He offers eternal life. Death no longer holds believers in its grip. Heaven awaits those who have received by faith this payment. God will have heaven full of beings delighted to spend eternity with Him. And the way of providing this blessing is found only in the pure blood of Jesus’ sacrifice… because His love bled.
Christ’s sacrificial love bleeds a bridge to eternal life Share on X
Great posting- as always Lisa!
Ahhh… thanks, DeeDee! Hope you are doing well. Love you, Lisa Q
Lisa, I appreciate your thought-provoking posts! I have always wondered at the mystery of a blood sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin. But you help clarify that here. If sin brings death,then only something that carries life will suffice to counter that loss.To think that God Himself provides the needed sacrifice for all of us.It is still hard to take in the magnitude of such love.
Thanks, Melissa. I actually never thought about this until I started reading what atheists were saying about Christian faith. One guy called it a “cult of human sacrifice.” That got me thinking about what was the actual reason why blood was necessary for atonement. And hence, this post is my short attempt to answer that.
His blood was shed for us. Through Him, we are forgiven. Thank you for this blessed message.
Beautiful and thoughtful, as always. This passage is one of my favorite in the Bible: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence” (Ephesians 1:3-4). The choosing of us before the foundation of the world states clearly the Plan A of God’s design and actions. This fallen world is not Plan B.
I love this paragraph: “Some theologians trust that this is the process by which God will ultimately rid the entire universe of evil; keeping humanity’s free will intact while simultaneously working His will to weed out and confine evil. He wants people to choose Him freely—He doesn’t want forced obedience.” This is beautiful, and I know is representative of a certain way of looking at God’s work in the world. For instance, on the spot in which I now sit to write you, formerly the Word of God was not known and idolatrous people roamed the earth. But now this spot is peopled by a population that has a high percentage of Christians, and I can find a church easily in any direction. Evil is weeded out, even though in the sin of our own society, we can neglect the historical comparison and not recognize it.
As I’ve been pondering the “not yet” aspect of the coming Kingdom of God when Christ returns, I think the viewpoint in that paragraph is the one presented as postmillennialism. I’m not sure if this is what you’re referring to, but can you please comment? Is that the viewpoint that paragraph represents?
Thanks, Melinda. I know you’ve seen places in the world that I will never see, and your experiences in these places must profoundly change you. Regarding the viewpoint on how God is ridding the world of evil, I had read that from several sources and I don’t think it is directly associated with post-millennialism, although it certainly fits in that viewpoint. It was more of an even grander view – a meta-narrative, if you will – of how all of this will ultimately play out. God is weeding out evil even now, among us, in our souls through regeneration. It is ongoing and will continue until the New Heavens and the New Earth are created. And then, who knows? Maybe God will write another book?
You are right Lisa, I had never thought about this subject before. Very thought provoking. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us.
What a profound mystery Jesus’s death is to me. How was the sacrificial system determined? What is the “deep magic” as Lewis calls it? God could have designed a system of giving fruit or homemade pottery. Instead he asked for sacrifice of life.
It’s appalling that my sin earns death. Im forever grateful Jesus took my death. Great post!
Oh, Lisa, I love this so much! Real and unconditional love really does bleed. Appreciate the theological aspects you brought in…especially about free-will and God working to confine evil. This post was informative but also worshipful.
The blood brings life!
The blood that flowed through Immanuel’s veins spilled out on a cross. It cleanses my sins, gives me new life, and a new heart. I’m redeemed by the blood. Set free by the blood. Adopted into God’s family by the blood.
The blood of Jesus will never lose its power!
This comment stood out to me: God will have heaven full of beings delighted to spend eternity with Him.
I love how he works free will and divine sovereignty to accomplish this mystery. So that there will be a heaven full of people who truly desire to be there, whose free choice will be made perfect.
So thankful you wrote on this topic. It’s one my husband and I have discussed at length as we delved into the old testament (FULL of sacrifices, right?) .
I’ve so loved pondering the idea that God knew who I would be before He created the world. Sometimes in life that has been so comforting. Thanks for reminding me once more.
Hi Lisa,
Just wondering if it would be okay for me to link to this page on my related post The Sacrificial Lamb – Why Did Jesus Have to Die? (I tried to post the link here, but I was blocked.)
Thank you for your ministry!
Yes, I will try to fix that. Sorry – I am not a good technical person. Writing is my thing! Ha ha ha… Lisa Q
Believe me, I can relate!!!