The Power of the BloodSample

The Power of the Blood Seals Our Faith Contract with God   

As amazing as the comparison is between physical blood and Jesus’ shed blood, the spiritual benefits go far beyond anything in the natural realm. The shed blood is actually the sign of God’s covenant or contract with us; its importance goes all the way back to Adam and Eve!

The first reference to shed blood in the Bible is hidden in the passage where, after man’s fall, God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins (Genesis 3:21). Blood was shed to provide Adam and Eve with a covering. In so doing, God made atonement, or a “covering,” for their sin. From that time forward, God always required the shedding of innocent blood to cover man’s sin.

The second reference to blood is the sacrifice to God made by Abel, the son of Adam and Eve. Abel, a shepherd, offered God the sacrifice of a lamb. Cain, his brother and a tiller of the soil, offered fruits and vegetables that he had grown. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s.

In past readings of that account, I have argued, “God, that was unfair! Cain was a farmer and Abel raised animals. Doesn’t it seem only right that the farmer should bring what he had raised?” 

One day while reading Hebrews 11, I realized why God rejected Cain’s sacrifice. This passage says that “by faith” Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain. And Romans 10:17 says that “…faith comes by hearing…” Abel had heard God’s Word and therefore knew that only a blood sacrifice was acceptable to God. If Abel knew that, then so did Cain; but he ignored what he was told by offering the fruit of the ground—the very ground that had been cursed by God. Cain’s offering displeased God because it was a sacrifice produced from human effort rather than complete faith in God’s provision.

Mankind will always hit a dead end when it tries to do everything by human effort. Unfortunately, we often carry this over into the Spirit-filled walk. Have you ever tried to help God? God doesn’t need your help; He wants your complete faith in the shed blood of His Son to meet your every need.

One time on an airplane, I led a man to Christ. He was thrilled about having received the Lord, but afterward he said, “This is just too good to be true. I’ve been an evil and immoral person; I need to do something to make things right.”

“There is nothing you can do to please God,” I told him, “except believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Faith in Jesus’ shed blood is all that God requires in order for you to receive forgiveness!”