1. In Scripture the Blood Is Spoken of in Two Ways --Blood Shed and Blood Sprinkled!
Most Christians know about the blood Jesus shed for us. When Christ lifted the cup at the last Passover, He said,
"...This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20).
We memorialize His sacrifice every time we have communion. But that is the limit of most Christians' knowledge of Jesus' blood. We know only about the blood being shed -- and not about it’s being sprinkled!
The first biblical reference to the sprinkling of blood is in Exodus 12:22. The Israelites were commanded to take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood of a slain lamb, and sprinkle it onto the lintel and two side-posts of their front door. That night, when the death angel came and saw the blood on the door posts, he would pass over the house.
Please understand -- as long as the blood was left in the basin, it was of no effect; it was merely blood that had been shed. The blood had power to save only when it was lifted out of the basin and sprinkled!
Why couldn't the Israelites have simply laid the basin of blood at the threshold and said, "It doesn't matter what we do with it. After all, blood is blood"? Suppose they had put the basin on a linen-covered table, or on a pedestal just inside the door?
2. How Is the Blood of Jesus Sprinkled Upon the Heart?
It is tragic that so many believers do not enjoy the power and virtue of the blood of Jesus. Scripture makes it clear -- it is important for us to know how the blood has been sprinkled on our hearts. This is done in two ways:
The blood is sprinkled on us by the Spirit of Christ, who dwells in us.
Jesus sprinkles His own blood on us when, by faith, we receive His finished work at Calvary. This isn't a physical sprinkling; rather, it is a legal, spiritual transaction.
He sprinkles the blood on our hearts in response to our faith. And until we truly believe in the power of His sacrifice at Calvary, the blood of Jesus cannot produce any effect upon our souls!
"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [a reconciliation] through faith in his blood..." (Romans 3:25).
Churches around the world partake of communion regularly. Yet, Paul warns us not to "drink [the cup] unworthily." This doesn't mean merely partaking of a communion service after we've failed in some way; we know that if we repent of our sin, Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us of all iniquity.
No -- I believe Paul is saying we are to discern Christ's body properly. He's talking about coming to the Lord's Table, drinking of the cup symbolic of His blood -- and yet not believing in the power of that blood! It has to do with sitting in condemnation and fear -- not believing that Christ's blood has justified and sanctified us in God's sight.
Many believers are condemned out of the wonderful experience of the Lord's Table, because they do not come to the blood in faith. Paul is saying, "No wonder so many are sickly among you. You are left weak because you do not believe in the total victory of Christ's blood!"
Such Christians are saying, in essence, "I know it's wonderful to be justified through the blood of Jesus Christ. But I still have trouble believing the Lord reckons me righteous. After all, I still haven't arrived. I still struggle."
Beloved, the truest evidence of faith is rest! If you believe with all your heart, it brings your conscience and soul into rest. And when you come to the Lord's Supper and partake of the cup, you can say, "I believe I am saved, forgiven, healed, because I believe in the blood. I trust in it!"
3. When you are so secure in the cleansing, justifying power of the blood that your conscience no longer condemns you, you can know you've been sprinkled.
Your conscience does an evil work when it does not wake you or stir you to obedience to the gospel. It does evil when it unnecessarily condemns you, accuses you, constantly reminds you of how you failed God, causes depression and fear.
But when you fully rest in the cleansing, justifying power of the blood of Jesus -- when you take command of your conscience in the Spirit -- your conscience is no longer an accuser, but, rather, does its work properly. When the devil rises up with an evil accusation, your conscience proclaims the victory of the blood!
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience..." (Hebrews 10:22).
A peaceful, purged conscience is a sign of being sprinkled with His blood!
By David Wilkerson
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