Thanks for the link to the wonderful old hymn, "There's Power in the Blood". How true that is! The power in the blood is to cleanse sinners, and these old hymns make that so clear. For those of you who may have missed a fine article on the blood, I will repost the link to it here:I really miss the divinely inspired hymns of years gone by, and am really blessed by singing from the old hymnbooks. I do not care for the big screens and praise choruses of today, but each to his own. I believe many of the hymn writers of many years ago were inspired directly by the Holy Spirit to write, much as those who penned the words to the Written Word were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit.Another excellent and beautiful hymn about the cleansing blood of Jesus is "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood", by William Cowper. A sweetly sung rendition by Jeremy Morada is seen at this link:The powerful lyrics are as follows:1.There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
lose all their guilty stains;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
2.The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
wash all my sins away;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
3.Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
shall never lose its power
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more,
be saved, to sin no more;
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
4. E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die,
and shall be till I die;
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
5. Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save,
when this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave,
lies silent in the grave;
when this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.Following is a short article about how the blood of Jesus cleanses from sin, with attention given to how the law of God provides for cleansing. It is wonderful to see how the laws of God, which were not done away with, were fulfilled so perfectly in Christ Jesus.I just read the October FFI and would appreciate/direct to Scripture, writings, or other source and explain HOW the blood of sinless, pure, and holy Blood of Jesus Christ REMOVES SIN?? What spiritual principle is effected by shedding of blood?... Other than just say Law required it, HOW is sin removed by shed blood?
My Answer:Strictly speaking, the blood of Christ CLEANSES us from all sin. We should not say that the blood of Christ REMOVES sin. There is a difference, which explains the biblical terminology used.
The two works of Christ have two purposes: to overcome death and to overcome sin. The two doves are types to show how to overcome death. The two goats are types to show how to overcome sin.
Your question involves the latter, dealing with the removal of sin, so I'll focus there.
The first goat was killed, and the second released into the wilderness (Lev. 16). Both are types of Christ. The first time Christ came was to die; the second is a living work.
The first goat "atoned" for sin--that is, kaphar means "to cover." It did not remove sin. It merely CLEANSED us from sin. It was a ritual cleansing that was a legal act pronouncing something to be so, such as a legal verdict. I'll explain in a moment.
The second goat removes sin. It was pictured in the goat being led into a place not inhabited, carrying all of our sin, iniquity, transgressions, etc. to a place apart from mankind, i.e., the wilderness.
Thus, the first work of Christ on cross covered our sin, and gave us an IMPUTED righteousness. It did not remove sin, but God calls what is not as though it were (Rom. 4:17). We were given a legal verdict by which we were CLEANSED--that is, our criminal record was EXPUNGED, or cleansed.
The second goat portrays Christ REMOVING our sin, and this requires the second coming of Christ.
The first goat made it possible for Christ to indwell us as His temple. In the second coming, He comes forth from His Temple (our body), bearing also all of our sin, transgression, and iniquity to a place not inhabited. This is part of the event called "the manifestation of the sons of God." It is where Christ is manifested in us, and at the same time He removes all sin and iniquity from us.
I might also add that there is a difference between transgressions and iniquity. In Isaiah 53:5, "He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities." A wound is on the outside; a bruise is an inner wound. And so, Jesus wounds on the cross were for our transgressions, but He was also bruised for our iniquities, because a bruise is internal.
Iniquity is an inner condition and provides the motive for sin. Jesus deals with both of these, as pictured in the law and the prophets.
Stephen Jones, http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.org/WebLog/WebPosting.cfm?LogID=732