What can make me whole again – Nothing but the Blood of Jesus

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'”

(Rev 5:9 NASB)

Readers,

I’ve had much interest on a journal entry that I provided in July, 2010, entitled, ‘The Voice of the Blood.’ This entry is based on that earlier entry but with a few allowable differences. The most important thing to understand about God’s work of salvation involves the blood of Jesus. The old-time song says it well enough —

What can take away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Let’s begin with King Messiah

David often spoke of the Lord as his God and as his King. And because David had prophetic visions of Jesus and personal encounters with the Lord, he could speak of Jesus the Messiah long before He walked among us.

Consider a few statements from David:

A King is exactly who Jesus is

While we readily acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must always keep before us that He is a King and has a kingdom. A King is exactly what Jesus is. And in order for a king to rule, he must have a kingdom.

The term kingdom (basileia) in Greek speaks of sovereignty, or power. In an abstract sense it refers to the power exercised by a king. So the kingdom of God refers to God’s direct ruling power. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of great power.

Now we turn to Jesus. Follow carefully the conversation between Pilate and Jesus. In questioning Jesus, Pilate becomes frustrated. His wife had a dream about Jesus and warned Pilate not to do Him any harm.

Pilate says,

Are you the King of the Jews?”

Some think that Pilate asked this in jest. I don’t believe this is the case. Pilate is too disturbed to be joking around.

The Lord responds,

Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”

Pilate is confused. He responds,

I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”

It is here that Jesus begins to explain His kingdom. Listen carefully;

My kingdom is not of this world. [It’s not simply a Jewish kingdom.] If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world or of this realm. World [kosmos] speaks of a worldly order. Realm [enteuthen] has to do with ‘from a place’. Jesus says His kingdom is not an arrangement or an adornment to be seen with the eyes. It is not from ‘this place.’ It is neither a worldly kingdom nor a Jewish kingdom.

Pilate responds,

So You are a king?”

What Jesus says next puts His kingdom rule into its spiritual essence.

You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Cf. John 18:33-37)

A kingdom not of this world

Now we come to the crux of the matter. If the kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this world, then His subjects must not be of this world.

The Lord points out that only His subjects are able to hear His voice.

And the Lord says His kingdom is all about truth.

Now we have all the elements that describe the Lord’s kingdom.

(1) His kingdom is not of this world.

(2) His subjects are not of this world.

(3) Only His subjects hear His voice.

(4) His subjects do not fight. (Not in the sense of worldly kingdoms. Their weaponry is not of the flesh.)

(5) His kingdom is about Truth.

What does this tell us up front? It tells us that the kingdom of Jesus Christ cannot be put in religious terms. Religion is what man does. Relationship and reality is what God does for us in Christ.

Hence the dilemma —

If His kingdom is not of this world, and His subjects are not of this world, and only His subjects can hear His voice, and His kingdom is about Truth, and His subjects do not fight, how can we ever expect to recognize His kingdom? How can anyone find it? How can anyone enter into it?

Recognizing the kingdom

Every born again person knows the answer to this or they would not be born again. The only way to enter into what Paul calls ‘the kingdom of His Beloved Son,’ is to have a personal invitation from the King. And the only way to be born again is to take to yourself Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior and King.

Thus we have the gospel message. Many people are not aware of just how powerful the gospel really is. The gospel is an official message from God’s heavenly kingdom and in the gospel is a personal invitation from the King to His kingdom. The gospel carries in it the voice of the King.

I’ve been a gospel minister since age 24. I’m now 70. The most wonderful thing that I’ve experienced in my life as a minister of the gospel is to see people actually brought into the kingdom of the beloved Son of God.  In my many years I seen untold numbers brought into the kingdom that is not of this world.

Here is just one incident that has been forever etched in my memory.

I Have a Message from the King

We were on our way to a village in Honduras near the border of Guatemala. As we were nearing the village, I asked the Lord what He wanted me especially say to the people. He placed on my heart to begin my message by saying, ‘I come to you as an ambassador of the kingdom of God, and I have a message for you from the King.’

“That was the first thing that came out of my mouth. A total stillness settled over the crowded building. I began sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it  happened – An old Indian stood up and began to make his way towards me. Once again I stood amazed at the power of the gospel. The old Indian heard the voice of the King. He was making his way to accept God’s invitation to enter the kingdom of His beloved Son. He was ready to give his heart to Jesus.

But what actually happened to the old Indian? This brings me to the story of the blood and the only thing that can take away our sins.

The blood of the King

To enter into the kingdom of the beloved Son, you must have an invitation. This is the job of the servant of God and of the Holy Spirit. The invitation is sent through God’s servants in the gospel message.

Jesus said,

And He [the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”(Joh 16:8 NASB)

The gospel message is about the blood. The gospel is God’s invitation to turn from the kingdom of darkness and to the kingdom of His beloved Son. In this turning the blood of Jesus is sprinkled on the sinner’s heart. And in this turning comes the believers transfer out of darkness into the Lord’s kingdom.
The blood speaks to the throne of God. First, as a person turns from their former master Satan, and thus receives Jesus Christ as Lord, and Savior, and King, something marvelous takes place in their heart.

Listen very carefully to Peter:

Every statement that Peter makes is without measure. What does the blood of the King speak over us? It speaks mercy and grace. You may be concerned with the idea of the blood of Jesus speaking. Listen:

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”(Heb 12:22-24 NASB)

Abel’s blood cried our for vengeance against his brother Cain. The blood of Jesus speaks from the finished work of the cross. It speaks of mercy and truth and grace and forgiveness and love and acceptance. The blood speaks of joy that is beyond expression and full of glory.

This is why we sing,

‘What can take away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.’

The world has a standing invitation.

John says,

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:11,12)

It is important to understand what John means by believing. Our salvation is not based on some emotional work up. It is based on an open declaration of faith in Jesus Christ. Believing in the Bible has to do with the heart. It is an outflow of the deepest of our heart.

The Greek word for believe [pisteuo] means to put faith in a person, to rely on, to trust in, to adhere to. (It is the Greek word that we get our English word ‘glue’.) To believe in His name means to accept who Jesus really is, that is, to believe in the full message of the gospel, and in His authority. We actually believe out of darkness and into life.

What about the truth part and the voice part?

Well, I’ve covered this a bit. The gospel is a message from heaven. It carries all the authority and power that is needed to cause a person to be born again.

The word ‘truth’ in Greek, speaks of the reality that is behind an appearance. To realize truth is to become fully aware of the Person and Presence of Jesus Christ. It is a heavenly reality.

When a person is born from above, that birth brings a new spiritual reality into their life. The realness does not go away. It will be there from today, to the next today, to the next today, and forever. Out salvation is eternal.

His voice also speaks of the Lord’s Kingly ministry. The issue of Jesus being our King is very real to a believer. And hearing His voice is also very real. Jesus explained it this way;

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”

And again,

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Cf. John 10)

Where do we go from here? Listen to this old-time song. It has a message for you.

Much love,

Buddy

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