“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love” (1 Peter 1:6-8).
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
📷: Cassi Josh
In the two passages quoted above, two things are deemed more precious than gold: faith and the blood. Both are deemed incorruptible and imperishable in nature. Both are deemed more valuable than the riches valued by this world. And, when the two join forces, the results are God-breathed. Dear friend, when you place your faith in the power of the blood, the blood of the Lamb, when you choose to believe what He won for you on that old, rugged cross, darkness beats a hasty retreat and miracles manifest. What miracles? Miracles of salvation, miracles of healing, miracles of deliverance. His blood and our faith were designed to work together!
Consider Leviticus 17:10-12: “‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.' "
The life of the flesh is in the blood. It is the blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells. It is the blood that carries metabolic waste away from those same cells. Without the existence and constant movement of blood within a body, that body ceases to function, it ceases to live. The life is in the blood. It pulsates through the body, making all alive. If it stops moving or is drained from the body, that body dies. So, if blood pulsates with life, what does sin pulsate with? Death, dear friend. Sin pulsates with death. Sin is the carrier of death. It is the source of death. Before Adam and Eve sinned, death could touch neither humanity nor creation. When they sinned, death entered and established a foul foothold. Paul wrote in Romans 6: “For the wages of sin is death” (verse 23). He was not speaking solely of physical death here, but also spiritual death: separation from God, both in this life and after our bodies fade away. Physical death is not the end-result of sin but rather its summit, its tipping point. Once that peak has been reached, sin continues pulling the sinner downhill for all eternity, deeper and deeper into the abyss of hell.
Death can only be destroyed by life. The two are opposites. Life cancels out death. And so, if the essence of sin is death, how does one conquer sin? Through an injection of life so potent that sin has no chance but to implode. If life is in the blood, then whose blood can do the job? None other than the blood of God! Jesus declared Himself to be “the way, the truth and the life” in John 14:6. In John 1:4 it is declared concerning Him: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” He is the life and in Him was life. If life is in the blood then His blood pulsated with Everlasting Life. There has never been nor shall there ever be blood quite like His. It was extraordinary. It was divine. When He shed that blood on the cross unto death, it was given up for us. And, when we call on His name, it is applied to us. Its application vanquishes sin. Its application severs the power death has over us. Physical death becomes a mere doorway the believer walks through into a more glorious life. Spiritual death is nullified immediately. The recipient of that blood application becomes alive, gloriously alive. They become the very abode of God.
Do you believe in the power of the blood, dear friend? Your faith and His blood were designed to work together.“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame,” Scripture declares (Romans 10:11). Today, choose to believe. Today, choose to believe that there is power in the blood!