The blood of Christ

[PASTOR JOSHUA OTIENO MUGENYA]

Your Blood Purchased Men For God – Revelation 5

Revelation 5:9-10 -

And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,

because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

The Book of Revelation contains many symbols and predictions about the End Times, but it also is rich with doctrine. Every believer must understand these foundations of the faith. This song in Revelation 5, sung by the 24 elders in the heavenly throne room of God, teaches us important aspects about Christ’s “atonement,” the effect of Jesus’ blood.

…WORTHY BECAUSE YOU WERE SLAIN – This chapter’s main point is that Jesus is the only one in the universe worthy to open the scroll about the judgments on sin in the Last Days. Unlike ministers today who claim to have visited heaven, where God supposedly told them about their special call and anointing, the Apostle John felt overwhelmed by his own unworthiness. Jesus alone is worthy. He was already perfect in eternity, as the Son of God or the Word, but he became even more deserving because he was willing to suffer death on the cross for our sins. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9).

“…your blood purchased men for God…” One dimension of the blood of Jesus (among many others) was that it was a purchase price or payment for our souls. Through this purchase, we became God’s rightful property. Everything we have, everything we are, rightfully belongs to him, not us. When we turn away from God’s will and pursue our own selfish ends, we are stealing from him – stealing something that he bought with the precious blood of Jesus.

Adam and Eve passed ownership of the world (and mankind) to the Enemy in the Garden of Eden (compare Genesis 1:26-30 with 1 John 5:19, Ephesians 2:2, and Ephesians 6:12). The Enemy tricked them, of course. They did not realize that they would become slaves, and would experience death. 4,000 years later, God sent Jesus as the “second Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:22-45) to pay the price, giving his life on the cross, to buy back the earth and humanity from the Enemy. Jesus "gave himself as a ransom for all men..." (1 Timothy 2:6).

There was an ancient Greek custom where someone could pay a “redemption price” at the slave market in order to set a certain slave free, and the early Christians partly understood the atonement this way. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." (Ephesians 1:7) One facet of Christ's atonement was this re-purchase of “property” (i.e., slaves).

“…by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

"He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:15) For more study of redemption through Jesus’ blood, see Romans 3:23-26; Romans 5:6-8; Galatians 3:13-14; Titus 2:14; and 1 Peter 1:18).

“…from every tribe and language and people and nation…” The Jewish sacrifices in the Old Testament were only for the nation of Israel, and were incomplete. The blood of Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for people in every country and culture. Missionary work today, reaching every village, continues to fulfill God’s purpose for sending his Son to the cross.

“…a kingdom and priests to serve our God…” Jesus is both King and High Priest, and he makes his true servants into spiritual royalty (not in the sense of earthly power, but as part of the Kingdom of God), and priests. “Made them to be a kingdom” means we are loyal subjects of Christ, our King – we must obey him. “Priests to serve our God” means devoting ourselves to intercessory prayer for others, as well as worship and adoration to the Lord.

“…they will reign on the earth” – This occurs only after Jesus returns. God does not want us to take over the world – or our own country – now, because it would be merely an earthly kingdom pretending to be the Kingdom of God, as the “Holy Roman Empire” did in the Middle Ages. We will reign when Christ returns and establishes his throne in Jerusalem – the millennial reign of Christ.

This side of the atonement is humbling for us, because it highlights that we are worthless sinners in need of forgiveness, helpless captives needing someone to pay our ransom - Jesus. Like the elders in heaven, we should acknowledge his purchase, through his blood, when we pray or worship.

Pastor Joshua

Kenya

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[Apostle GOC. Ogaraku]

Well organised andrendered pastor.

May God keep on blessing you my holy brother.