The Power of the Blood of Jesus

The Vital Role of Blood for Redemption, Sanctification, and Life

Andrew Murray

• Publisher: Aneko Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781622453726
• eBook ISBN: 9781622453733
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Seek to enter more deeply into the perfect reconciliation with God, which is yours by the shed blood of Christ. Live by constantly exercising faith in the assurance that the blood cleanses from all sin and yield yourself to be sanctified and brought near to God through the blood; let it be your life-giving nourishment and power. You will thus have an unbroken experience of victory over Satan and his temptations. He who walks with God will rule as a conquering king over Satan.

Chapter 7

Dwelling in the Holiest

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having that great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts purified from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

In these words, we have a summary of the main points of this epistle and of the good news about God’s grace, as the Holy Spirit caused it to be presented to the Hebrews and then to us.

Through sin, man was driven out of paradise and away from the presence and fellowship of God. In His mercy God sought to restore the broken fellowship from the beginning. Through the symbolic types in the tabernacle, He gave Israel the expectation of a time to come when the wall of partition would be removed and His people might dwell in His presence. When shall I come and appear before God? was the longing sigh of the saints of the old covenant (Psalm 42:2).

Many of God’s children under the new covenant also sigh because they do not understand that the way into the holiest place has been opened and every child of God may have his real dwelling place there.

For those who long to experience the full power of redemption, let’s take note of what our God says to us about the Holy Place and our freedom to enter through the blood. Hebrews 10:19-22 shows us what God has prepared for us; then we learn how we prepare to enter into that fellowship and to live in it.

Read the text again with attention and see that the words let us draw near are the center of it all. The following outline may be helpful:

1. What God has prepared for us.
   The sanctuary.
   Liberty through the Blood.
   A new and living way.
   A Great Priest.
2. How we are prepared.
   With a true heart.
   In full assurance of faith.
   The cleansed heart.
   The washed body.

Read the text again with an eye on this outline:

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having that great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts purified from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22 emphasis added)

What God Has Prepared for Us

The Sanctuary

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, . . . let us draw near.

To bring us into the sanctuary is the end of the redemptive work of Jesus, and whoever does not know what the sanctuary is cannot enjoy the full benefit of redemption.

What is this sanctuary or Holy Place? It is where God dwells; the sanctuary is the dwelling place of the Most High. This doesn’t only refer to heaven, but also to the spiritual holiest place of God’s presence.

Under the old covenant, there was a physical sanctuary, the dwelling place of God in which the priests entered into God’s presence and served Him:

Nevertheless the first [covenant] had its justifications of worship and its worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made: the first, in which was the lampstand and the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, . . . the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second the high priest went alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for his own ignorance, and for that of the people: The Holy Spirit signifying in this, that the way into the sanctuary was not yet made manifest, as long as the first tabernacle was yet standing. (Hebrews 9:1-3, 6-8)

Under the new covenant is the true spiritual tabernacle, which is not confined to any place. The Holiest is where God reveals Himself. True worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). We also know that ye are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16).

What a glorious privilege it is to enter into the Holiest and dwell there – to walk all day in the presence of God. What a rich blessing is poured out there. In this sanctuary, we can enjoy the favor and fellowship of God; we experience the life and blessing of God, and we find His power and the joy of God. We can spend our lives in the purity and consecration of the Holiest; the incense of sweet savor is burned and sacrifices acceptable to God are offered. It is a holy life of prayer and blessedness.

Under the old covenant, everything was physical; the sanctuary was made of local, physical materials. Under the new covenant, everything is spiritual, and the true sanctuary owes its existence to the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, a real life in the Holiest is possible, and the knowledge that God dwells there can be as certain as the priests of old entering the Holy Place. The Spirit makes the work that Jesus has accomplished indisputable in our experience.

As one who has been redeemed, it is a fitting thing for you to make your home in the Holiest, for Christ cannot reveal the full power of His redemption elsewhere. But in the Holiest He can bless you richly. Oh, understand this, and let the objective of God and of our Lord Jesus be yours also. May it be the one desire of our hearts to enter into, to live in, and to minister in the Holiest. We can confidently expect the Holy Spirit to give us a correct understanding of the glory of entering into a dwelling – the sanctuary.

Liberty through the Blood

Admission to the Holiest belongs to God. He thought of it and prepared it; we have the liberty, the freedom, and the right to enter by the blood of Jesus, which exercises such a wonderful power that a son of perdition may receive full freedom to enter into the divine sanctuary through it. Ye who at another time were far off are made near by the blood of the Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

And what gives the blood this wonderful power? Scripture says the soul (or life) of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). The power of the blood is in the value of the life. The power of the divine life dwelt and worked in the blood of Jesus.

But that power could not be exercised for reconciliation until it was first shed. By bearing the punishment of sin by His death, the Lord Jesus conquered the power of sin and brought it to nothing. The power of sin is the law, and by perfectly fulfilling the law when He shed His blood under its curse, He made sin entirely powerless. So the blood has its wonderful power, not only because the life of God’s Son was in it, but also because it was given as an atonement for sin. This is the reason Scripture speaks so highly about the blood. Through the blood of the everlasting covenant, God has brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus (Hebrews 13:20).

By his own blood he entered in once into the sanctuary designed for eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12). The power of the blood has destroyed the power of sin, death, the grave, and hell, and the power of the blood has opened heaven’s doors.

And now we have liberty to enter through the blood. Sin took away our liberty to approach God; the blood perfectly restores this liberty to us. Whoever takes time to meditate upon the power of that blood and believes it for himself will obtain a wonderful view of the liberty and directness with which we can now have communication and intimacy with God.

Oh, the divine, wonderful power of the blood! Through the blood we enter into the Holiest. The blood pleads for us with an eternal, ceaseless effe...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• What the Scriptures Teach about the Blood
• Redemption by Blood
• Reconciliation Through the Blood
• Cleansing Through the Blood
• Sanctification Through the Blood
• Cleansed to Serve the Living God
• Dwelling in the Holiest
• Life in the Blood
• Victory through the Blood
• Heavenly Joy Through the Blood
• About the Author