Behold His salvation

Jesus' Blood

 I'm no longer my own possession

I've been bought at greatest cost

Through the mercy of the Father

Through the mystery of the cross

I am free, I am forgiven

I deserved the highest judgement

To be rejected and cast aside

But through the words that Christ has spoken

And His blood that testifies

I am free, I am forgiven 

Jesus’ blood is innocent and costly

Price of my redemption

Makes the sinner clean

There is one triumphant victor

Only one who could endure

He alone will judge the nations

And my pardon He made secure  

I am free, I am forgiven 

The greatest gift, our salvation

Our debt exchanged, death overcome 

The Lamb of God has ransomed us

We are Yours, we are Yours

Devotional

Jesus' Blood starts with a profound lyric: "I'm no longer my own possession, I've been bought at greatest cost." This line echoes the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “…you were bought with a price.”

But what does it mean to be "bought at greatest cost"? 

From the foundations of the earth we were chosen by God to be recipients of a most undeserved gift: His salvation (Ephesians 1:4). Christ accomplished this by the foreordained plans of God the Father (Acts 2:22-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21), Who sent His only Son that He might save and redeem His people from their bondage to sin and from their spiritual death. In order for this to happen, Jesus not only had to endure a horrifying death and bear a curse (Galatians 3:10-14), but give up His life in the most unique of sacrifices to ever be made. 

For all of time passed and to come, no human being will ever be able to replicate Jesus' sacrifice: an entirely righteous life laid down for all of our unrighteousness. 

If only through Christ's unique and painful payment could it be made possible for us to be free from the power of death, then we have indeed been bought. The debts we owed were covered. Our rightful sentences commuted. And our lives bought and paid for. 

Such a gift then - bought at such extreme cost - has practical, personal, and eternal consequences for our lives. 

John Calvin summarised it well when he wrote: "But if we are not our own, but the Lord's, it is plain both what error is to be shunned, and to what end the actions of our lives ought to be directed. We are not our own; therefore, neither is our own reason nor will to rule our acts and counsels. We are not our own; therefore, let us not make it our end to seek what may be agreeable to our carnal nature. We are not our own; therefore, as far as possible, let us forget ourselves and the things that are ours. On the other hand, we are God's; let us, therefore, live and die to Him. We are God's; therefore, let His wisdom and will preside over all our actions. We are God's; to Him, then, as the only legitimate end, let every part of our life be directed."

In beholding God's great gift of salvation, setting our minds to think about this gift, our perspectives on life are changed. No longer can we proceed through life thoughtlessly or carelessly. No longer can we feel ourselves to be worthless or, indeed, the lives of others to be so, whether great or small. No longer can the everyday mundane tasks of life remain so, but instead are transformed into the consecrated, the sacred, the set apart for Christ and for His glory. 

It is only due to His salvation that we are able to truly live at all; His Spirit poured into us, sealing us into His body, and empowering us to live to Christ. In life and death, He is our only hope. “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7-8).

Let us live lives transformed by the gift of His salvation. 

Reflections

1. How is living a life to Christ possible considering we are imperfect humans?
2. In what ways does the Spirit of God help us to live to Christ?
3. What practical steps can you take to live not as your own but as Christ’s? (For example, greater devotion to reading His Word, leading to a greater love for and obedience to His Word.)