1. by R.B. Theime, Jr. – 1972 Edited by Stephen E. LaFleur, ThD - 2009

2. Introduction The blood of Christ is one of those subjects which traditionally has been misunderstood. Many people think that there is something in the actual blood of Jesus Christ that saves, and many emotional people “plead the blood” on this basis. The majority of hymns which have been written about the blood are totally confusing. The removal of all blood hymns in more modern hymnbook has further muddied the waters. Few people understand that the blood mentioned in the NT (John 19:30-37, Col. 1:19-22, I Peter 1:18-19, Rev. 1:5) is symbolic. It does not refer to Christ’s literal blood, and the “shedding of blood” does not mean that he bled to death. The Blood of Christ 1

3. Contents of this Study The Blood of Christ 1

4. A great deal of this confusion goes back to the detrimental influence of Romanism. It has turned the concept of the blood into a form of mysticism, which has been adopted even by fundamental Christianity. As a result, we now have a generation of ministers who can give a few cliches, but they cannot give you any true Biblical definition regarding the blood. In the communion service, most fundamentalists regard the bread as symbolic of the “body” but refuse to regard the blood a symbolic of spiritual death. It was at the last Passover that Christ presented his two deaths and his blood as a representative analogy. The Blood of Christ 2

5. “And he took the bread, and gave thank, and brake it, and give unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:19-20 The literal bread represented his body which is analogous to his PHYSICAL death. The literal cup represented his blood which is analogous to his SPIRITUAL death. In the Church Age, communion portrays Christ bearing our sins in his body on the tree. Yet to most fundamentalists, communion is half symbolic and half literal. The Blood of Christ 3

6. A bona fide place for symbolic connotations exists within the framework of Biblical exegesis, however, this requires scholarship, which is sadly lacking in fundamentalist circles. Too much of fundamentalism has fallen in with Romanism in the matter of the blood of Christ being gathered in a vessel and presented to heaven. Therefore, it is imperative that those who adhere to plenary verbal inspiration of Scripture and recognize the authority of the Word of God differentiate between papal speculation and biblical dogma. Otherwise, the impact of the Reformation is lost. The Blood of Christ 4

7. There are numerous significant passages in Scripture which deal with the blood of Christ; the whole purpose of this study is to establish the true meaning of the blood of Christ. This cuts into one of the greatest areas of prejudice and traditionalism but it is important to understand that we do not deny the blood of Christ or the importance of his physical death but rather look to simply “rightly divide the word of truth.” The Blood of Christ 5

8. The Issues Involved When Jesus said, “it is finished”, salvation was completed on the cross. Since Jesus was still alive when He spoke these words, even the casual student of the Scripture will note that salvation was completed BEFORE the physical death occurred, and that most of the literal blood of Christ which was lost from his body occurred AFTER his physical death (John 19:33,34). Therefore, physical death cannot be the penalty for sin. The Blood of Christ 6

9. When Christ was nailed to the cross, He bled slightly from His hands and feet. However, as will be demonstrated in this study, He DID NOT BLEED TO DEATH. In other words, He did not bleed literally for our sins, but rather, He “bore our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Pet 2:24). “He who knew no sin was made sin for us” (II Cor.5:21) The blood of Christ is used in two ways in Scripture: first, in relation to the animal sacrifices; and second, in relation to His efficacious spiritual death – the bearing of our sins and becoming our substitute. The Blood of Christ 7

10. The Importance of the Spiritual Death The least understood of the seven types of death in scripture is spiritual death. Spiritual death is SEPARATION FROM GOD IN TIME. It dates back to the DAY on which Adam, of his own free will, chose to disobey God. At the very moment of his fall, he died spiritually and was separated from God immediately; for God had warned Adam, “…in the DAY that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die.” (Gen. 2:17). The literal Hebrew translation reads “…in the DAY that thou eatest thereof, dying (spiritual death) that shalt die (physical death)”. The day he actually ate of the fruit, he did not drop dead; in fact, he did not die physically until 930 years after he had sinned. (Gen. 5:5). The Blood of Christ 8

11. When the Bible says that the “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), it refers to SPIRITUAL DEATH. Physical death is not the penalty of sin. Therefore, it is the spiritual death of Christ which is paid for our sins, not His physical death. Physical death is a result of spiritual death, but physical death is never spiritual death. If it were, members of the human race would die physically at birth, since they are born spiritually dead. The scripture is very clear that all members of the human race (with the exception of Jesus Christ) are born with an Old Sin Nature, and therefore born spiritually dead (Rom. 5:12, Eph. 2:1) The Blood of Christ 9

12. After Adam and Eve lost their fellowship, God, in his grace, sought them out and they both responded to his offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, “…the seed of the woman…” (Gen. 3:15). As a result of Adam and Eve both possessing the OSN, the children born to them were spiritually dead. At the fall, the man is said to have sinned knowingly. Eve also sinned, but she is said to have been deceived according to I Timothy 2:14, “and Adam was not deceived, but the woman deceived was in the transgression.” The Blood of Christ 10

13. For this reason, the OSN is passed down through the man, not through the woman. How do we know? By the virgin birth of Christ. In order to be born without an old sin nature, he could not have a human father. Both Mary and Joseph were born spiritually dead – separated from God; and therefore, both had to be saved. But their spiritual death was not passed down to Christ because there was no male involvement in his conception. The Blood of Christ 11

14. Adam was created spiritually alive and became spiritually dead, but Jesus Christ is the only person ever born spiritually alive. He was born true humanity, without an OSN and therefore, born without the imputation of Adam’s sin. His birth was unique and he lived 33 years without an act of personal sin, all the way to the cross (Luke 22:42). As he hung upon the cross, the sins of the world were poured out upon him and the Father judged him. His humanity was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit while bearing our sins. This was a spiritual death and is why he cried out ”My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” in Matt. 27:46. The Blood of Christ 12

15. “He who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Cor. 5:21). “Made sin” means that he bore our sins in his own body; he died spiritually. Christ deliberately chose to go to the cross, for he knew that he must suffer substitutionary spiritual death. It was his substitutionary atoning spiritual death which was efficacious for our salvation, not his physical death. He had no sin of his own, came to the cross without spiritual death, but while hanging on the cross, bore our sins and its judgment, becoming spiritually dead. The atoning work of salvation is in spiritual death; the sign of its completion is in physical death. The Blood of Christ 13

16. End of Part One The Blood of Christ