The Church Which God Bought With His Own Blood

2009-11-14 20:47

In the old covenant, it was the blood of the flesh that made atonement for one's life according to the law. It is written, "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).

The Bible says about it, "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--I have come to do your will, O God.' First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:1-14).

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me." In these words, "a body" does not mean a natural body who was born of a descendant David. As for a body, there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so, in the above passage, "a body" does not mean a natural body, but a spiritual body. It is written, "it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:44).

The natural body can be seen with the eye of the flesh, and the spiritual body can be seen with the eye of the spirit. Jesus Christ came in the natural body, the body of the Son of Man who was a descendant of David, and simultaneously in the spiritual body, the body of the Son of God; he became the mediator between God and men. And therefore, according to the flesh, he is the Son of Man, and according to the Spirit of holiness, he is the Son of God. It is written, "regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 1:3-4).

The spiritual body of Christ is the body of God. It is written, "...and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3). And so Christ said, "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30). And also, "Jesus answered: 'Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father?'" (John 14:9).

Therefore, the blood of Christ is the blood of God. And so the Bible says, "...Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." (Acts 20:28). The life of the Father and that of His Son are one. The Bible says, "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself." (John 5:26).

The Bible said about the flesh and blood of the spiritual body, "Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.' He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, 'This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?' Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:53-63).

In the order of Melchizedek, there are bread and wine. This bread is the flesh of Christ, and this wine is the blood of Christ. It is written, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16).

Therefore, if we know Christ only according to the flesh, we cannot become one with him. It is written, "Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer." (2 Corinthians 5:16). And so the Bible says, "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:17).

The Bible says about the order of Aaron and that of Melchizedek, "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:13-14).

Therefore, the blood of Christ offered to God is the blood of God which He gave Christ. God received from His Son the precious blood of Christ through which His love was fulfilled in the world, and bought at the price the eternal house, the church, in which He and His many children will remain together. Therefore, the church is the body of Christ, that is, the body of God. Amen. Thank you, Lord.