The Power in the Blood of Jesus

“There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb, there is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.”

These old hymns contain some timeless and precious truths, which sadly are not understood by many today. This post is an attempt to explain the significance of the blood of Jesus, what it has done for us and the implications that follow.

The Law

In the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20), God tells us not to make, possess, worship or serve other gods and idols. He makes it known that he is jealous and will punish the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him (Exodus 20: 5). What this means is that not only will you suffer the consequences of your own sin (Deuteronomy 27: 26; Ezekiel 18: 4), unless you repent you will also pay for the sins, particularly that of idolatry, of your forefathers (ancestors).

The Judge: God's Verdict

“I will not profane my covenant or alter what my lips have spoken” (Psalm 89: 34). If we are faithless God remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2: 13). This is the crux of the matter. What this means is that God stands by His Word, which cannot be revoked. He is watching over His Word to bring it to pass (Jeremiah 1: 12), whether good or bad, blessings or curses, if the conditions are met. The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15: 56). If you break the law, you will be penalized. However, this is often God's way of disciplining those He loves. His purpose is to bring about repentance and in turn cessation of punishment, and the sooner the better. God is not a sadist - He does not even delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18: 23, v32).

The Prosecutor: Satan the Adversary

Satan is a legal expert and knows the Bible inside out. The minute we break one of God's laws (righteous requirements), he stands ready to accuse us before the heavenly court (Revelation 12: 10) and to demand that we are punished on the grounds of God's justice. God's hands are tied: He cannot deny His word. Therefore, Satan has a licence through sin to wreak havoc in a person's life, which, unlike God, he takes great delight in doing. This commonly happens through generational curses, and curses spoken by mediums and other practitioners of sorcery and divination e.g. Balaam the prophet who was hired by Balak the king of Moab to curse the Israelites (Numbers chapters 22-25). For instance, they may "divine the moment of God's anger and utilize it to bring a curse" on someone (see footnote to Numbers 24: 1 in the Tanach, Stone edition), which could work because the presence of sin in the person's life makes the curse legitimate (Proverbs 26: 2). Therefore people perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4: 6; John 8: 31-36) due to ignorance about the spirit realm and spiritual laws.

The Defendant: The Christian

The believer who understands all that the blood of Jesus has attained for him or her can plead “Not Guilty” to Satan's accusations. On what basis? It is written through the blood of Jesus we have redemption and the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, taking our curse on himself when he died on the (wooden) cross, for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Galatians 3: 13; Deuteronomy 21: 22-23). He has blotted out the ordinances (regulations) that were against us, nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2: 13-14 cf Isaiah 43: 25). Through the blood of Jesus we have been justified (Romans 5: 9) or vindicated and sanctified, set apart unto God (Hebrews 13: 12). By his stripes (wounds), we are healed (Isaiah 53: 5).

In order to avail ourselves of these covenant promises, we first have to break all other agreements and covenants that either we or our ancestors have made, knowingly or unknowingly, through idolatry, involvement in divination, sorcery etc (1 Corinthians 10: 14-22; Deuteronomy 18: 9-14 & 7: 26), so that our covenant with God through the blood of Jesus can take effect and his blood can begin to act on our behalf (Matthew 26: 28; Hebrews 9: 22; Leviticus 17: 11; John 1: 29). Furthermore, we have to resist any efforts by the other party to reinforce the former covenant/agreement, which usually happens covertly in the spirit realm, and which we become aware of through our dreams. This is done by repenting (Mark 1: vv. 4 & 14-15), verbally confessing our sins and those of our ancestors (see Daniel 9: 1-20; Romans 10: 10) and renouncing any evil agreement that has been made. Plead the blood of Jesus over your life and against their advances because by his blood we have been reconciled to God (Colossians 1: 19-20) and transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1: 13-14). It may also be necessary to cast out any demons or unclean spirits that have entered your life through a curse or involvement in the occult by commanding them to leave in Jesus’ name, supplemented with prayer and fasting depending on the kind of evil spirit you are dealing with (Matthew 17: 14-21).

The blood of Jesus is our defense plea (Revelation 12: 11). We can use it to rebut Satan's accusations because Jesus has paid in full the price for our sins, satisfying God's wrath (Romans 6: 23). However, his blood bought covenant promises are conditional - we have to be walking in the light; in other words, we have to be living right (Hebrews 10: 26-31; John 3: 18-21; 1 John 1: 5-10). Only then are we covered by his blood which is continually cleansing us from all sin. So next time you're feeling condemned and all hell is breaking loose, instead of pleading the fifth amendment, plead the blood of Jesus (Romans 8: 34)!