Q. I hear some people ‘pleading the Blood’ and urging others to ‘apply the Blood’ to various circumstances. But I can’t find this in the Bible and ‘plead’ appears only once, in Isa 3:13. Am I missing something?
A. You’ve not missed it at all for there is no such doctrine or directive in God’s Word. Folks who pray that way may have picked up these expressions somewhere and adopted them into their prayers. They are doubtless sincere, but misguided.
The Blood of Christ is important to us and Heb 10:29 tells that God will not tolerate those who ‘count the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing.’ We are to revere it and thank God always for His Son’s precious Blood shed for us. Here’s how Jesus’ Blood impacts us:
- Heb 10:29 – We are sanctified, set apart for God; Heb 13:12;
- Heb 9:22 – God is able to forgive our sins; Eph 1:7. Col 1:14; redemption and forgiveness are bound together; Heb 9:12, 1 Pet 1:18,19; Rev 5:9; 7:14;
- Matt 26:28 – Jesus’ seal on the New Covenant; Mk 14:24,Lk 22:20;
- Acts 20:28 – The Blood was the price God paid for our redemption;
- Rom 3:25 – Believing in Jesus’ shed Blood shows His righteousness and enables the Father to forgive us;
- Rom 5:9 – We are justified, declared righteous, and escape wrath;
- Eph 2:13 – We are drawn close to God;
- Col 1:20 – We have peace with God;
- Heb 9:14 – our consciences are purged from dead works, enabling us to effectively serve the living God;
- Heb 10:19 – We are confident to enter God’s immediate Presence;
- Heb 13:20 – God raised Jesus from the dead because He shed His Blood to seal the ‘everlasting Covenant’;
- 1 Pet 1:2 – Grace and peace are multiplied to us;
- 1 Jn 1:7 – We walk in the Light we are cleansed from all sin, Rev 1:5;
- Rev 12:11 – We overcome the devil by the shed Blood of Jesus;
- Jn 6:53-56; 1 Cor 10:16; 11:25-27 – We partake of Jesus’ Blood and Body spiritually every day, and especially around the Lord’s Table.
While the shedding of Jesus’ Blood opened so much to us, our correct emphasis is not so much on the Blood, but on the One Who shed it. His physical Blood pouring from His wounds was the ‘laying down of His life’ in the flesh.This was vital in God’s Plan of Salvation. Jesus shed His Blood, releasing its power which gave life to His flesh. God then raised Him from the Dead so that we may have His Spirit (the Spirit of Christ, not the Holy Spirit) indwell us. The shedding of His Blood made way for the entrance of the Spirit of Christ, by which we are born again – the Gift of Salvation!
We venerate Jesus’ Blood as the legal enablement of all He has bequeathed us. Now, however, we honour, love, call upon and worship the Son of God Himself! The ‘power of the Blood’ lies only in its having been shed; we neither ‘plead’ nor ‘apply’ it.
Today the Child of God, the one-time sinner, stands in the Presence of his Holy God, totally free of condemnation. He is not ‘covered by the Blood’; he is covered God’s righteousness! After His Resurrection Jesus had a ‘flesh and bones’ body – Lk 24:39 – having no further need for blood to keep Him alive, His ‘life-force’ now Spirit. His Blood had fully accomplished its purpose; it gave life to His human body, and, without sin, was shed to secure Redemption for us!
Some hold that Jesus physically took His Blood with Him when He entered into Heaven after His Resurrection. Physical, corruptible substance cannot endure eternity or God’s holy Presence. Heb 9:12, used for this view, says, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but byhis own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”; notice “by His own blood”, NOT “with His own blood”.
We conclude that our relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – rests upon the fact that Jesus’ Blood was shed, making it possible for Him, in Person, to indwell the believing heart. It is incorrect to emphasise the shed Blood at the expense of the PERSON Who, at great price, shed that precious Blood for us.