2011-09-09
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We continue examining the issue of the “Life in the Blood” the topic at hand in “Our Covenant.” Just as a reminder, let’s review LV 17:11 and HE 9: 22, “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 sins…In fact the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” This is what made GN 3: 21 so very significant, albeit often missed by the beginner at reading the Scriptures. Just before their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the Lord used this method of covering up Adam and Eve’s nakedness. “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” One looking at this with more care must come to the conclusion, that despite the awful disappointment that these first humans dealt their Creator in giving in to the serpent’s temptation, God loved them enough to sacrifice an animal [with the shedding of blood] to make clothing for them of animal skin. Thus, we have the promise of future forgiveness being available to their descendants. We also looked at 1 COR 11: 25, a part of the Communion to see another promised to be fulfilled. So after taking the bread to remember His body broken for us, the pastor utters, “In the same way after supper, He took the cup saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood: do this, whenever you drink it in remembrance of Me.’” This is the reminder of the Covenant of Grace.
Communion is a rite of love and friendship. It is a co-mingling of the blood of two organisms. It is a time when the believer comes before the Lord in the most intimate of contacts we have on earth with Him, and asks forgiveness for any sins committed, seen or unseen. Under normal circumstances when one asks this forgiveness for reasons of faith, honesty, lack of wrongful motives, and not under coercion, the Lord will grant it. This is a co-mingling of personalities and natures between the communicant and the Lord Jesus. I am always pleased to cite COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear and share His glory!” Folks, this is huge! We are a co-mingled being when we are true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! Clay Trumbull puts it this way: “The inter-mingling of the blood of the two organisms is, therefore, according to this view the equivalent of intermingling of their lives, personalities, an natures together, so that there is thereby and thence forward, one life in two bodies, a common life between two friends.”
In LV 17:11, which comes very early in the Biblical Torah writings, the same thing that later science discovers is explained-the life is in the blood. An organism without blood can’t carry oxygen and energy to the cells and rid them of carbon dioxide waste. It can’t imbibe nutrition or carry out any other function of the other organs without unimpeded blood flow. Even the brain, the body’s lead organ or the heart, the main pump for the bloodstream, can’t carry out their tasks without blood. We already know that doctors won’t diagnose an illness without first getting blood samples. Now, the reason is more obvious. God won’t grant forgiveness without the shedding of blood. LV 17: 14, “The life of every living thing is in the blood. And that is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that they shall not eat any meat with blood still in it and that anyone who does so will no longer be considered one of His people.” Hence, we have the basis for the Kosher way to prepare [butcher] meat.
And yes, these medical truths have their spiritual applications. As HE 9: 22 reminds us, there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. It is because of this that the cutting of a covenant has such richness, security, and oneness to the participants. Perhaps a person who has never been married happily won’t understand what I’m about to write here, but the Holy Spirit leads me to write it anyway. There is a great difference between the relationship between two people fornicating [living together with a sexual component to the relationship but without the benefit of a committed marriage] and two people who enter into a marriage covenant that is ordained of God. The statistics in North America are quite different too. Over 80 % of uncommitted relationships break apart over time. While the break ups of marriages are alarmingly high too [normally because they were entered into without proper maturity and preparation first], they are 52 %, considerably less. That number goes down considerably when a marriage is entered into by two mature adults who have spent enough time in preparation for the marriage. While liberals don’t want to hear this, God’s plan is for the marriage of one female to one male [GN 2: 24] with the hope of producing children. We all know that God has been very up front in His abhorrence of homosexuality and lesbianism [LV 18: 22; RO 1: 26-32]. God doesn’t hate the people, but does abhor the lifestyle. A couple who can’t have children are not considered sinning, if they have tried. And, our society certainly smiles on those who adopt children in need of a loving, stable home. It’s a known fact that happily married people make more stable employees too. More on the spiritual aspects of this next week.
PRAYER: O Lord, when we are steadily maturing in our faith, we begin to realize that the making of mature, knowing, and dedicated covenants adds richness and quality to our lives that they didn’t have before. You are our Covenant Partner, One that can relied upon to keep Your promises. PS 138: 8, “You will do everything You have promised; Lord, Your love is eternal. Complete the work that You have begun.” That work began when You created us in our mother’s wombs. PS 139: 13-16, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made. In the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of the came to be.” Dearest Father, we are coming to understand that that while the life is in the blood, there is a mind-body-spirit connection. What this means is that our minds are the first place where sin begins, and also where the idea to be faithful to You begins. Because of the power that You gave us when we first came to believe to send the devil away [MT 4: 11 –Christ’s example set at the end of His forty days in the wilderness; EPH 1; 18-20-we are given the same power as God used to raise Christ from death to eternal life to battle the devil to victory in Christ’s name in spiritual warfare], we can overcome temptation we encounter. But we must remember this at the time of temptation to sin and use that power. It is Christ, Who first brought us to faith [JN 15: 16], because He chose us first. We must also remember Your teaching about the life being in the blood, and that blood must be shed for forgiveness. It is then, that we will truly appreciate the great sacrifice of His physical life and the significance of the shedding of His blood, so that all we must do is repent and believe in Him to be saved [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. PS 68: 19, “What a glorious Lord! He Who daily bears our burdens also gives us our salvation.” You are to be forever praised and thanked for Your love, generosity, mercy, and compassion. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is more to examine concerning the spiritual applications of medical realities, the mind-body-spirit connection. In the meanwhile, we can begin to appreciate the enormous blessings that God gives us in being equipped to fend off the devil, to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to be forgiven for the original sin and the sins of our past, and to recognize the amazing God we have. His love for us knows no bounds, for God is love. Without Him, there would be no love, no goodness on earth. 1 JN 4: 12, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another , God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” PS 16: 2, “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from You, I have no good thing.’” Your patience for us to mature and be faithful has its bounds, but they are slow and long in coming. 2 PET 3: 9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, but not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Our Lord has created us with everything we need to return to Him after the testing that our time on earth really is. He never abandons us. PS 9: 9-10, “The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.” We are truly a blessed people when we have faith and confidence in Him. Praise and thanks to Him eternally!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15