Master Outline Number 20, “The Blood Of Jesus Christ From Genesis To Revelation

(These outlines are from “The Christian Life Bible” published by Thomas Nelson.  Notes by Porter L. Barrington)

 

MASTER OUTLINE NUMBER TWENTY

The Blood of Jesus Christ from Genesis to Revelation

"The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11).  Just as "the life of the flesh is in the blood, so the life of Christianity is in the atoning, life-giving blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, "I am…the life" (John 14:6).  He is the life of God, made living in the believer. Paul said, "Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Christ lives in every born ­again believer because the believer, by faith, is a partaker of the life-giving blood of Jesus.  We are children of God by the blood. Therefore, we are "blood relatives" of God through the living blood of Jesus the Son of God, who is God the Son.              ' ,            ' .

If the atoning blood of Jesus is rejected, and the rejecter continues willfully to reject eternal life through the blood, after knowing the truth that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1 :7), for that person "there, no longer remains a sacrifice for sins"(Heb. 10:26-28).  Christ atoned for our sins in His own body on the tree. Therefore, the person who rejects salvation by the blood of Jesus is guilty of a threefold sin:

(1) He has "trampled the Son of God underfoot" (Heb. 10:29; 6:6).

(2) He has "counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing" (Heb. 10:29).               

(3) He has "insulted the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29).

This threefold sin is committed by many church members who profess to know Christ as personal Savior, but deny salvation by the precious blood of Jesus.  Jesus warned them in His Sermon on the Mount, when He said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord; shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).   In that day they will point to their church membership, baptism, self-righteous life, and all manner of religious works; but Jesus will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23). Thank God He will never say this to those who, by faith, have "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14).

Before you proceed with this study, read God’s warning to those who deny the validity of the aton­ing blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:26-31). Now examine your faith: Have you neglected or belit­tled the doctrine of salvation by the precious blood of Jesus? Have you committed the threefold sin against the saving blood of Christ? (Heb. 10:29). If you have, it is not too late to repent  and by faith claim salvation through the shed blood of Jesus, and escape the Great White Throne of judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). God summed up His warning in Hebrews 10:31: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God:'

 

A. The First Shedding of Blood (Genesis 3:21)-"The LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them" (v. 21). When the first man and woman sinned, God did not drive them from the garden robed in their man­made, bloodless religion. The Word says, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings" (v. 7). Adam and Eve experienced a new feeling; for the first time they felt guilt, which caused them to fear God and to hide.

God judged the man and the woman, and before He drove them from the garden He, sacrificed animals; the innocent shed their blood for the guilty. What an excellent type, or illustration, of the Lord Jesus “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24,).  Peter also tells us that we have been redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot' (1, Peter 1:18,19).        

Adam and Eve must have watched as God selected the animals; and so they witnessed the first shedding of innocent blood, knowing that it was because Adam had failed God (1 Cor. 15:45-49).  As they watched, they learned that God in His sovereign grace provided a covering, a propitiation for their sins. Not a cover-up, but a cover---a promise of payment in full to blot out sin and to make atonement for mankind (Lev. 17:11).  They departed from the garden knowing that "without shedding of blood there is no remission"-no forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22).

Verse 21 gives us a perfect picture of salvation by the grace of God apart from works (Eph.2:8,9).  Just as the animals shed their blood in Eden, to provide a covering for the nakedness of Adam and Eve, so the blood of Jesus Christ covers the sins of the believer and robes him in the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 10:1-4).

 

B. Abel's Blood Offering (Genesis 43-:7)    Why did God reject Cain's offering and accept Abel's?  A careful examination of the two brothers and their offerings will answer this question, and will give you a fresh glimpse of "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

(1) Cain's offering was not an act of saving faith. He believed that God existed, and had come to worship Him. But he had .the wrong offering, the wrong attitude, and the wrong motive (Matt. 7:21-23). Cain did not do the will of God; he acted according to his own will. He had "a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Ti_lll. 3:5).   Abel's offering, on the other hand, was an act of saving faith (Eph. 2:8, 9). "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness [from God] that he was righteous" (Heb. 11:4). By faith Abel offered a lamb for the remission of sins, and God declared him righteous.              .

(2) Cain's offering was bloodless; it may have been equal in cost to Abel's, but it was without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22).   Abel's offering was a blood sacrifice; it was a type of the lamb of God who shed His blood to redeem lost souls (1 Pet. 1:18, 19).

(3) Cain's offering was a type of salvation by works (Titus 3:5). Abel’s offering was a type of salvation by grace (Eph.1:7).

(4) Cain's offering was a type of dead religion. Abel's offering was a type of life: "The life of the flesh is in the blood (the life of Christianity is in the blood of Christ), and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for' your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11).

(5) Cain's bloodless offering was rejected by God. Abel's blood offering was accepted by God, and Abel was made righteous with the righteousness of Jesus who would atone for his sins (2 Cor. 5:21).

 

C. The Offering of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19)   This chapter is a treasure of spiritual wealth, and awesome in many ways. We can never reach its height or depth, nor exhaust its spiritual significance. Gradually we see beneath the surface, and slowly begin to discern the purpose of God. in this unique picture of Jesus Christ, our substitute. When Abraham and Isaac left the land of Moriah, after seeing God provide a ram to take the place of Isaac, they knew that "the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27). How can anyone read of this amazing event and not stand in awe of Jehovah Jireh.  "And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-WiII-Provide" (v. 14). And God did provide a ram to take the place of Isaac, because Abraham believed God and obeyed Him without asking, "Why, Lord?"

 Verse 1 tells us that "God tested Abraham." God did not tempt him toward evil in the sense of luring him to fall, because "God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone" (James 1 :13).   Rather, He tested Abraham to show the quality of this man who was His friend. In this chapter God put Abraham's faith to the supreme test. He said to Abraham, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there· as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (v. 2). The mountain in the land of Moriah , where Abraham built the altar to sacrifice Isaac, is believed to be the plateau on which Solomon built the temple. Some believe that the Most Holy Place stood over the exact spot where Abraham built his altar. This chapter is also rich in typology; in it we have Abraham as a twofold type, Isaac as a twofold type, and the ram as a single type.

Abraham is a type of:

(1) All who are justified by faith ( Rom. 5:1). Abraham lived by faith (Gal. 3:11), and his faith was "accounted ... to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6, cf. Gal. 3:6, 7).  God tested Abraham’s faith in four great personal crises. In each crisis God called on him to surrender by faith something or someone whom he loved.  If faith is to grow to greatness; it always requires sacrifice.

(a) The first crisis. God called on Abraham to leave his country and relatives and to go by faith "not knowing where he was going" (Heb. 11:8, cf. Gen. 12:1),

(b) The second crisis. God called on him to separate himself from. Lot , his brother's son, Abraham had no heir but lot.  Then, "after Lot had separated from him," God promised him the land, and "your descendants as the dust of the earth" (Gen. 13:1-18).

(c) The third crisis. God called on him to abandon all plans for his firstborn son Ishmael. Abraham pleaded with God to make Ishmael his heir: "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” (Gen. 17:18, 19).

(d) The fourth crisis. In his greatest crisis of faith, Abraham was commanded by God to offer up Issac, his God-appointed heir, as a burnt offering (Heb. 11:17-19). Abraham's faith stood the test, and God gave him the victory. Anyone who lives by faith will be tested many times, because it is only through discipline that Christian character is developed.

(2) God the Father (John 3:16). Abraham was told, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love ... and offer him there 'as a burnt offering" (v. 2). This type was fulfilled when God the Father gave His only Son to become our sin offering. "For He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

(3) Isaac is a type of:

(a) The Lord Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, who came into the world to do the will of His Father.   Just as Isaac obeyed his father, and was willing to become a burnt offering, so the Lord Jesus obeyed His Father, and "humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8)

(b) The whole human race, which is born in sin (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 3:23-25). Isaac needed a substitute to take his place on the altar of sacrifice, and God provided a ram. The ram is a type of Christ, who became our substitute.   This type was fulfilled in Christ almost two thousand years later, when He freed us from sin's penalty and power ( Rom. 8:1-3).

 

D. The Passover Blood (Exodus 12:1-36)- The twelfth chapter of Exodus is one of the great chapters of the Bible. It displays deliverance from slavery for Israel , but judgment for Pharaoh and all Egypt . The Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt " (Ex. 11:1). The "one more plague" was death for the firstborn, wherever there was no Passover blood on the doorpost and the lintel.

(1) The Passover lamb is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeems, not with sliver or gold, but with His own life-giving blood (1 Pet. 1:18,19,). Paul reminds the Corinthian church that Christ is our Passover Lamb who was sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7).                \

(a) The Passover lamb "shall be without blemish, a male of the first year" (v. 5). The Passover lamb is a type of Jesus, "who knew no sin." He was without blemish (2 Cor, 5:21), and even challenged His enemies to find sin in Him: "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (John 8:46).

(b) The Passover lamb was to be separate from the sheep or goats, from the tenth to the fourteenth day. This separation period was a time of examination; to make certain that the Passover lamb was without blemish. The Passover lamb is a type of Jesus,  “Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens"(Heb. 7:25-28).

(c) The Passover lamb was to' be killed: "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel, [the cross beam] and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin" (v. 22). The blood of the Passover lamb is a type of the blood of Jesus, who hung upon the cross and shed His precious blood for the remission of' our sins (John 19:28-37). The blood on the crossbeam and on the two doorposts is a picture of the bloodstained cross., '

(2) God said to Israel , "The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you" (v. 13). Now God did not say, when I See your good works, or your moral character, or your self-righteousness, or your religion, or the laws you keep, I will pass over you. No! He said, 'When I see the blood, I will pass, over you" (v. 13). Remember, without the blood of Jesus there, is no

forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22)

 

See Leviticus 16:1;'34, page123,for Point 20-E: The Day of Atonement in the Old Te,stament.