What is the difference between the significance and function of the blood and the significance and function of the cross? Why does the Bible never say that we shed blood with the Lord but only that we were crucified with the Lord?
Because some may ask, "Since sins have been taken away before God, why is sin still with us?", we ought to pay attention to this question in order to eliminate any doubt.
Many places throughout the Bible tell us that the Lord shed His blood. Many other places tell us that the Lord was crucified. Are the significance and function of the blood the same as the significance and function of the cross? Are they interchangeable? For example, could we change "Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22) to "Without crucifixion is no remission"? Or could we change "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him" (Rom. 6:6) to "Knowing this, that our old man shed blood with Him"? If the significance and function of the blood are the same as that of the cross, then they are interchangeable. But if they are not interchangeable, then their significance and function must be different.
Then what is the significance and function of the blood, and what is the significance and function of the cross?
Let us look first at the matter of the blood. There are over four hundred references in the Bible to the blood. Why does God require the blood? Why does God need to slay whoever dares to come into His presence without the blood? Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make propitiation for your souls; for it is the blood which, by the life, makes propitiation." This verse clearly tells us that the blood is for propitiation. Where is propitiation made? It is made upon the altar. The work of the blood is before God; it is not in us. The blood propitiates for us before God so that God considers our sins as having been taken away. However, it does not cleanse us from sin inwardly.
Perhaps some may ask, "Does not 1 John 1:7 tell us that `the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin'?" Yes it does, but we must remember that whenever the Bible mentions cleansing from sins by the blood, it always refers to a cleansing before God. The first part of this verse says, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." Then it says, "And the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin." This cleansing is before God. The function of the blood is altogether a matter before God. God requires the blood. He requires that we come before Him with the blood.
Some may ask, "Does not Hebrews 9:14 say that His blood can purify man's conscience?" Yes it does, but we must realize that "purify" refers to the purifying of the conscience, not to the purifying of the sinful nature. Our sinful nature has never been purified by the blood. In the entire Bible, there is no mention of the blood purifying our old nature, nor does it mention the blood purifying the flesh. The blood only cleanses us from the sins that we have before God. The blood only purifies our conscience so that we may freely and boldly come before God. "And without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (v. 22). With the blood there is forgiveness of sins, and therefore, we have peace. "Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus, which entrance He initiated for us as a new and living way through the veil, that is, His flesh" (10:19-20). The blood, not the cross, is brought to the heavens. The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus shed His blood. We did not share in the Lord's shedding of the blood. The blood remits and takes away our sins before God. Let us hold fast to this fact.
Many people do not have freedom before God because they misunderstand the function of the blood; they assume that the blood is for cleansing away the sin within man. Therefore, they can never see the function and effect of the blood. The cleansing spoken of in 1 John 1:7 does not refer to the cleansing away of inward sin or to cleansing away the root of sin. Rather, it refers to the cleansing before God. God alone demands the blood, and only the blood of the Lord Jesus can satisfy God's heart. Therefore, we can freely draw near to God by the blood at any time. Whether we feel that our sins are great or small, rough or refined, forgivable or unforgivable, all these sins are cleansed away before God. "Though your sins are like scarlet,/They will be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18). What does this mean? It means that every scar and trace of your sins can be erased just as if you never sinned. This refers to your condition before God. Although there is still nothing good within you, before God and in His eyes, your sins have been taken away.
When we read Numbers 20:2-9 and 21:4-9, we realize how bad the children of Israel were when they were in the wilderness. They sinned and murmured against God. Yet Numbers 23:21 says, "He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob; /Nor has He seen trouble in Israel./Jehovah their God is with them,/And the shout of a king is among them." This is true. We must note that there are two aspects to dealing with sin: one is before God, and the other is in us. The blood cleanses us of our sins before God so that God sees no unrighteousness in us.
Does the Bible ever say that our justification is because of the cross? No. Justification is through the blood. The blood is before Him; it enables God to justify us. What is this righteousness? It is the righteousness that makes us fit to dwell in heaven with God. The blood of the Lord Jesus enables us to have a standing in heaven so that we may dwell with God. We may boldly enter into heaven by the blood. God knows how valuable the blood is!
Leviticus 16:30 says, "For on this day propitiation shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before Jehovah." This plainly tells us that sins are removed before God, not within us. The blood only cleanses us of our sins before God. Within, the blood is limited to the cleansing of our conscience, so that we no longer sense the presence of sins and there is no more barrier between God and us. The blood removes the accusation that comes as a result of the individual sins we have committed. But the blood does not remove our consciousness of the root of sin. The Lord's death bore our sins before God; whereas His blood cleanses us before God. The blood is to propitiate for our sins; it does not remove our inward sinful nature.
The "sin" in "sin of the world" (John 1:29) is singular in number, and the "sin" in "cleanses us from every sin" (1 John 1:7) is also singular in number. Both refer to the taking away and cleansing of the problem of our sin before God. Neither the "takes away" in John 1:29 nor the "cleanses" in 1 John 1:7 can be interpreted as the taking away or cleansing of the root of sin. Both verses refer to the Lord's blood solving the problem of our sins. Before God, our sins have been taken away.
The significance and function of the cross is different from the significance and function of the blood. The blood is before God; whereas the cross is within us. The blood solves the problem of our sins; whereas the cross solves the problem of our old man. God not only gives us the blood, which gives us freedom before Him, but He also gives us the cross, through which we deal with our corrupted self and flesh.
The flesh is dealt with by the cross. Galatians 5:24 says, "But they who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts." Does this say that the blood cleanses the flesh? No. It says that the flesh has been crucified on the cross. Cleansing the flesh would not be adequate. Suppose that both a living child and a clay doll become dirty. After the child is washed, he is clean. But no matter how much the doll is washed, it will never be clean, because it is clay within and without. The corrupted flesh is just like a clay doll. It is so corrupted that even the Lord's blood cannot wash it. The only way to deal with the flesh is to crucify it.
As far as our sins are concerned, they are cleansed away by God with the blood. As far as our flesh is concerned, it is crucified by Him on the cross. We cannot rely on the cross to cleanse us of our sin, nor can we rely on the blood to cleanse our flesh. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves." Being crucified with Him causes the body of sin to be annulled. In the original Greek the word annulled is the same as "make useless" in Luke 13:7. Therefore, annulling does not annihilate the body of sin but makes it useless. The word annulled can also be translated "unemployed." Once God crucified the old man, the body which was subject to sin became useless; it is no longer a slave to sin and is unemployed. Christians ought not to sin; but the way to be victorious is based upon the Word of God and not upon our own concept. Today we do not need to beg for God to do the work of sanctification for us. Instead, we need to thank Him for having crucified us on the cross. The way is not believing that God will do something, but believing that God has already done something. Promises are obtained through prayer, but facts are obtained only through believing. The old man was crucified with the Lord; this is an accomplished fact which we only have to believe. Once we believe this fact, no temptation can touch us. The only way to be victorious is to abide in the Lord by faith and abide in the Lord's accomplished fact. If we depart from this, we will stop our progress.
Galatians 2:20 says, "I am crucified with Christ." It does not say that I have shed my blood with Christ. Instead, it says that the wicked "I" has been crucified with Christ. We need to see clearly that the blood deals with sin; whereas the cross deals with the flesh. The blood secures forgiveness for us and rids us of the record of sins; however, the cross sets us free and delivers us so that we are no longer under the power of sin. The blood is related to salvation; whereas the cross is related to victory. The blood settles the problem of our sins; whereas before God the cross settles the problem of our person. Just as we believe in the blood, we should also believe in the cross. It would be good if we practiced this every day.
Romans 6:11 says, "So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus." Verse 13 says, "Neither present your members as weapons of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to God." All we need to do now is: (1) daily stand upon verse 11, believing that we have already died and that the body of sin is unemployed, and (2) present our members as weapons of righteousness to God. If our presenting is inadequate, we will still fall. If we do not do what God requires of us, we will still fall. On the one hand, we should believe, and on the other hand, we should obey. If we believe in what God has accomplished and obey what He demands, we will spontaneously be victorious.
