I have titled this article, “What do you
count the blood?” The reason is so we can get to the real heart of the issue
of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the brief follow-up on the question, “Was Jesus’ Blood Divine?”
in the 2002 Fall Issue of The Gist,
Dale Burden (the Editor) said I did a commendable job of establishing the fact
that the blood shed was indeed “the blood (of the) divine.” You will notice
that
Dale
Burden
added the words ‘of the’, to the phrase that is found in my research. The
phrase is Blood Divine, not ‘of the’
divine. Dale Burden implied in his article that I was “ignoring” Hebrews
2:14. Which is not the case. I wasmerely
dealing with several statements that he had made that didn’t agree with my
research. I wasn’t dealing with that text yet, but I will and
many others also.
Mr. Burden commented that a pastor
who had read my first article entitled,
‘In Defense of the Divine’, (available upon request) contacted Mr.
Burden and made the observation that the article really proved Mr. Burden’s
point.
This statement does not reflect the
overall comments I have received.
The next point he made was, “a pastor who
had read my first article (It is called,
‘In Defense of the Divine’, contact us for a copy of the article if you have
never read it) contacted Mr.
Burden
and made the observation that the article really proved
Mr.
Burden
’s point.”
Well I have received a few comments
from Pastors that said,
“I
appreciate your sending me the information on the blood. There was never a doubt
in my mind concerning the divine nature of the blood. I would appreciate the
“complete refutation” when it is complete. Thank you for what you are doing.
God bless.”Georgia
“I
support your position and appreciate your work and will continue to read your
articles.”L. R. S.
“I
thank God for you and others for tackling this issue.”Missouri
“I
appreciate all the work and research you and your staff have done on this
subject.”North Carolina
And
one said strangely enough, “I must have missed something in Bro. Burden’s
article regarding the blood of Jesus. I suppose my years of college and years of
reading papers must have dulled my sense of perception. I was SURE that Bro
Burden said that the blood of Jesus was DEVINE [his spelling] and the whole
point of his article was just that pointed.”Missouri
Also one former denominational leader and his wife told me that I really did a
good job and thanked me tremendously and one of our best Pastors as far as
convictions and standards and a church builder who holds two earned doctorates
and one honorary read it before I sent it out told me that he agreed with the
position and for me to go ahead and send it and so did several others.
And as far as the guys from Ohio
sending that resolution to the National, I appreciate them tremendously and look
forward to hearing from them to be able to get this and other information out
there to let people know what this issue isreally
all about.
Some other comments were made like
calling this issue a “foolish question”, and a “petty squabble”.
I believe that the Blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ is not a “foolish question” or a “petty squabble” and
thoughts and comments like these violates Hebrews 10:29, and we can see what
they “count the blood.” And we will see that this is what the whole issue is
about, “What do you count the blood?”
And so this brings us to try once
again, to restate this and I’m going try to be a little clearer so as not to
be misunderstood again.
I.Blood of God
The first point I want to make is Mr.
Burden
said, “I am aware that two Early Church Fathers namely
Ignatius
and
Tertullian
, used the expression “blood of God.” They were the exception and Bible
believing theologians have historically taken issue with this language.”
Well, let’s see if that is true.
The first quote I would like for us to take a look at is found in The Fundamentals –A Testimony to
The Truth, Volume 4, Edited
by Dr R. A. Torrey, A. C. Dixon and others -BY PROFESSOR WILLIAM G.MOOREHEAD, D. D., United Presbyterian Theological
Seminary, Xenia, Ohio. For
quick access see The Ages Digital Library CD, Reference, P. 97. Chapter 9,
Millennial Dawn:
A Counterfeit Of Christianity
“The
Apostle Paul does not shrink from ascribing even
divinity to the blood of Christ: “Feed the flock of God which He hath
purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).”
You will notice that Mr.
Burden
ignored this quote ENTIRELY, and he
has to because it speaks to the very point of divine blood in Acts 20:28. Now
you will notice that this theologian said clearly that this quote from
Paul
is “ascribing even divinity to the blood”, and note, if you
will, what he is writing against. It is the forerunners to the Jehovah’s
Witness movement of today, an Arian heresy, and this is exactly what we have
here in
Mr.
Burden
’s view. The other view along this line is also that of Socianism. Even though
Mr.
Burden
will admit to the deity of the
Lord
Jesus Christ
his view comes too close to these people as we will see as we look further in
this article and articles to come.
The next thing before leaving this quote is
that Chapter 9 in the above article was compiled by
Dr.
R.
A.
Torrey
, A. C. Dixon and others, apparently they didn’t “take exception [Burden’s
words] to this kind of Language.” And to prove that take a look at
Torrey
’s Topical Text Book under the topic of the Lord Jesus Christ, which states,
“His blood is called the blood of God.”
Acts 20:28 and this “language was
not taken exception to” by Orville J. Nave,
NAVES
CONCISE TOPICAL BIBLE- JESUS, THE CHRIST
by
Orville J. Nave, A.M.,D.D.,LL.D
. For quick access use The Ages Digital Library CD, p. 989
-His
blood is called the blood of God.Acts
20:28
The next quote I would like to look at is a
quote by
John
Owen
.
Mr.
Burden
quoted him in the Summer Issue 2002 of The
Gist, on page 6, where he uses a quote that
Owen
made about the Lord’s human nature which was a generalized statement.
I know of no one that will deny that the Lord had a human nature generally,
but let’s take a look at what
John
Owen
and others had to say further about the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
In the Works of John Owen [Vol.
12, Ch. 10, No. 3, p.330], in dealing with
Acts 20:28, under the question, “What
dost thou answer to this?” The answer is, and I quote, “I answer, the name of “God” is not…in this place referred to Christ, but… referred to God the Father, whose blood the
apostles call that which Christ shed,… For the great conjunction that
is between Father and Son, although in essence they are altogether diverse, is
the reason why the blood of Christ is called the blood of God the
Father himself.”
The
next quote that Mr.Burden “ignored” was the quotes by JohnFlavel.
"The
Blood of Christ is called the blood of God the Father Himself"
-John Owen
THE
METHOD OF GRACE-HOW
THE SPIRIT WORKS,
CHAPTER
10, FIRST TITLE OF CHRIST —THE PHYSICIAN OF SOULS
By JohnFlavel-Puritan Theologian
THE
AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY, p. 192,
His
blood only
is innocent and precious
blood, 1 Peter 1:19; blood of infinite worth and value; blood
of God, Acts 20:28; blood prepared for this very purpose.
THE METHOD OF GRACE-HOW
THE SPIRIT WORKS,
CHAPTER
16, THE BENEFIT PURCHASED BY CHRIST —THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
By JohnFlavel
THE
AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY, p. 258,
The
pardon of believers is THE PURCHASE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Nothing but the
blood of Christ is equivalent to the remission of sin, for this blood was innocent, the
blood of a Lamb without spot, l Peter l:19; this blood was precious blood,
of infinite worth and value, the blood of God. Acts 20:28. It was
prepared for this
very purpose, Hebrews l0:5;
prepared by God’s eternal appointment; by Christ’s miraculous production through the
operation of the Spirit; by his voluntary sanctification of himself to this very
use and purpose.
THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE
By JohnFlavel
SERMON 5, OF CHRIST’S WONDERFUL PERSON.
THE
AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY SERMONS, p. 67, 72,
The
two natures being thus united in the person of the Mediator, by virtue whereof
the properties of each nature are attributed, and do truly agree in the whole
person; so that it is proper to say, the Lord of glory was crucified, 1
Corinthians 2:8, and the blood of God redeemed the Church, Acts 20:28,that
Christ was both in heaven, and in the earth at the same time, John 3:13.
[p.
72], Indeed the flesh of Christ will ever have a distinct glory from ours in
heaven, by reason of this union; for being the body which the Word assumed, it
is two ways advanced singularly above the flesh and blood of all other men, viz.
subjectively, and objectively: Subjectively, it is the flesh and blood of God,
Acts 20:28, and so has a distinct
and incommunicable glory
of its own.
SERMON 11, THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF THE
PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST.
THE
AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY SERMONS, p. 138,
The
blood of this sacrifice speaks better things than the blood of Abel. The blood of this sacrifice is the
blood of God, Acts 20:28. Invaluably precious blood, 1 Peter 1:18.One drop of it infinitely excels
the blood of all mere creatures, Hebrews 10:4, 5, 6. Such is the blood
that must do thee good. Lord, I must have such blood (saith conscience) as is
capable of giving thee full satisfaction, or it can give me no peace. The blood
of all the cattle upon a thousand hills cannot do this. What is the blood of
beasts to God? the blood of all the men in the world can do nothing in this
case. What is our polluted blood
worth? No, no, it is the
blood of God, that must satisfy both thee and me. Yea, Christ’s blood is not only the blood of
God, but it is blood shed in thy stead, and in thy place and room,
Galatians 3:13. “He was made a curse for us.” And, so it becomes
sin-pardoning blood, Hebrews 9:22. Ephesians 1:7. Colossians 1:14. Romans
3:26.And consequently, conscience-pacifying, and soul quieting blood, Colossians
1:20.
This
Puritan Theologian apparently didn’t take exception to the language of “the
Blood of God” since he used it 12 times, but not only did he use it 12 times,
he went into depth to explain why he used it. First of all, it’s in the direct
context of Acts 20:28 and he uses words that can only be used in speaking of
divinity, see note in Chapter 10, pg 192…. “His
blood only is innocent and precious”, then the word infinite
which can only be used when talking about divinity and he uses the word infinite
in Chapter 10, 16, and in Sermon 11, and in Sermon 5 he draws a clear cut
distinction from His Blood and ours by saying it is ‘advanced
above all other men’. (Why?) Because it is the Blood of God.
Also
he places this blood and body of the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven (in which I have a section on that point also but
let’s stay on this point for now).
I now want to focus on the phrase “blood
prepared for this very purpose” in chapter 10, pg. 192 and chapter 16. pg.
258, “prepared by God’s eternal appointment” and Sermon 11, pg. 138, all
quoting Heb. 10:4, 5, and 6. And as far as Heb. 2:14, this is a general
statement about our Lord’s humanity, but the rest of the book of Hebrews
explains “what to count this blood as”.
And now I would like to introduce Pastor
D. A. Waite, Th. D., Ph. D., Founder, Director, and President of The Bible For Today and a former President of the Dean Burgon
Society and his comments on this “prepared body” that is found in his book,
“JOHN MACARTHUR’S HERESY ON THE BLOOD
OF CHRIST”.
By
Dr. D. A. Waite,From BFT NEWSREPORT (7/86--11/92) pg. 28-32.
e. Christ's BLOOD Is Divine, NOT HUMAN, Because It Was
"PREPARED BY GOD" (Hebrews 10:5). Hebrews 10:5 offers a very clear contribution to this subject of the
Blood of Christ. In this verse, we can see thatChrist's Blood is Divine, NOT HUMAN, because it was
"PREPARED BY GOD" the Father. Please examine this verse once again:
"(4)For it is not possible that the BLOOD OF BULLS AND OF GOATS should
take away sins. (5) Wherefore, when He [that is, the Lord Jesus Christ] cometh into, the
world [at His incarnation], He saith,
Sacrifice and offering Thou [that is, God the Father] wouldest not, but A BODY
HAST THOU PREPARED ME." (Hebrews
10:4-5)
Before going into these verses in more
detailed exegesis, let's look at some other verses that form the background for
our discussion.
(1) Other Verses That Bear on This Subject.
(a)
Matthew 1:20. This verse should be taken in conjunction with Hebrews
10:4-5 since it is the historical setting for it:
"But
while he [that is, Joseph] thought on these things, behold, the angel of the
Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not
to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for THAT WHICH IS CONCEIVED in HER is OF THE
HOLY GHOST." (Matthew 1:20)
(b)
Luke 1:35.
Another verse giving the historical setting for the Virgin Birth of our Savior
is Luke 1:35:
"And
the angel answered and said unto her [that is, Mary]. The HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, and the
POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE: therefore also THAT HOLY THING which
shall be born of thee SHALL BE CALLED THE SON OF GOD."
(2)The MEANING of Luke 1:35.
The Lord is telling us in Luke 1:35 that the Lord Jesus Christ's birth is different than every single other
birth in all of human history. He was to be called "THE SON OF GOD"
for two reasons: (1) First, because the 'HOLY GHOST WOULD COME UPON HER"
and (2) second, because 'THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST WOULD OVERSHADOW HER."
Our Savior was also called: 'THAT HOLY THING" [hagion]. As an entire
PERSON, the Lord Jesus Christ was HOLY. This "HOLINESS" had as its
Source, God Himself-both God the Holy Spirit ("the Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee") and God the Father ("the Power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee"). Though the Lord Jesus had a PERFECT HUMANITY as well as PERFECT DEITY
subsisting in but ONE PERSON, the SOURCE of His PERFECT HUMANITY was God the
Holy Spirit and God the Father, according to this verse. In His PERFECT HUMANITY
was included a PERFECT BODY as well as PERFECT BLOOD. There were no defects in
either because they originated in the PERFECTION OF DEITY ITSELF. They were
'Divine" in the sense that they were SUPPLIED BY GOD, yet they were carried
in the womb of a Virgin mother who had a fallen, Adamic, sin nature. To escape
that fallen, Adamic, sin nature, GOD Almighty intervened in this miraculous
birth to insure that the Lord Jesus Christ had a PERFECT HUMANITY, including a
PERFECT BODY and PERFECT BLOOD by Which He could atone for the sins of the
entire world!
Now
that we have looked at both Matthew 1:20 and Luke 1:35, let's go into a more detailed exegesis of
Hebrews 10:4-5.
(3) The Meaning of Hebrews 10:4-5.
(a)
The Context of Hebrews 10:4. Note carefully that in Hebrews 10:4, Paul is speaking about the 'BLOOD OF BULLS AND
GOATS" being unable to "take away sins." The word,
"BLOOD" is right here in the context, before our very eyes. Now what
would have made Paul, under the guidance of God the Holy Spirit, to go on in the very next
verse to talk about "A BODY HAST THOU PREPARED ME"? There must be a
DIRECT connection between the "BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS" on the one
hand (inferior as it was), and the "BODY WHICH THOU HAST PREPARED ME"
on the other hand (superior as it was). What was there about the
"BODY" that answered to something that was BETTER than the 'BLOOD
OF BULLS AND GOATS"? It was the fact that the "BODY" of our Lord
Jesus Christ contained BLOOD" also, but the "BLOOD" was
"FROM GOD." That "BLOOD"was "HIS OWN." That "BLOOD" was
"PRECIOUS." That "BLOOD" was "INCORRUPTIBLE." That
"BLOOD" was "PREPARED BY GOD."
(b)
The Context of Hebrews 10:5. This verse is a conversation between God the
Son and God the Father at the very point of the Son's Incarnation. The Lord
Jesus Christ reminds God the Father of his disdain for the mere animal
sacrifices and the 'BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS" offered by Israel under the Law. Perhaps it refers back to Isaiah
1:11 where the Lord is asking a question of Israel:
'To
what purpose is the multitude of your SACRIFICES unto me? saith the LORD: I am
full of the burnt-offerings of rams , and
the fat of fed beasts; and I DELIGHT NOT IN THE BLOOD OF BULLOCKS, OR OF HE
GOATS." (Isaiah 1: 11)
(c)
The Teaching of Hebrews 10:5. After the Lord Jesus reminds His Father of this disdain, He brings out
a very important theological verity. He says: "but A BODY HAST THOU
PREPARED ME." This was a "BODY" destined for SACRIFICE as it
states in Hebrews 10:10:
"By
the which will we are sanctified by the OFFERING OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST once for all." (Hebrews
10:10)
This
"BODY" contained "BLOOD," but it was a DIFFERENT BLOOD than
that of "BULLS AND GOATS" (verse 4). If it were NOT DIFFERENT BLOOD
than that of "BULLS AND OF GOATS," it would be of NO AVAIL in the
redemption of our souls. It would be of NO AVAIL to REDEEM lost sinners! Let's
look at Hebrews 10:3 once more:
'Wherefore,
when He [that is, the Lord Jesus Christ] cometh into the world [at His Incarnation],
He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou [that is, God the Father] wouldest not,
but A BODY HAST THOU PREPARED ME." (Hebrews
10:5)
I’ The Meaning of
"BODY."
The word is the Greek word, soma, which is the regular and customary word for
"body." It is used 135 times in the Greek New Testament. As such, it
is what we usually think of as our "body." According to the World
Book Encyclopedia, there are seven major "SYSTEMS" of the body:
(1) the
skeletal-muscular system; (2) the digestive system; (3) the urinary system. (4)
the respiratory system, (5) THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, (6) the nervous
system, and (7) the reproductive system. (Volume 8, p. 380).
Certainly,
the "BODY" which God the Father "PREPARED" for God the Son,
was a "BODY" which contained all seven of these major systems. Our
Savior had a PERFECT human nature as well as a perfect Divine nature, yet His
human nature was ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY PERFECT! According to the World
Book,
"The
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM carries BLOOD through the body. It includes heart,
arteries, veins, and capillaries," (op. cit., p. 381).
'This BLOOD has four main parts: (1) plasma, (2) red cells, (3)
white cells, and (4) platelets. . . . About FIVE UNITS of BLOOD
flow endlessly through the body." (op. cit., Volume
2,pp. 325-26).
Since
God the Father "PREPARED" this "BODY" for God the Son, it
included ALL of these seven major systems in PERFECTION and WITHOUT FLAW. The
“BODY” of our Savior was a 'DIVINE BODY" because it was
"PREPARED" by God Himself in a SPECIAL WAY. If Christ's entire "BODY" was a "DIVINE
BODY," certainly the Blood was "DIVINE BLOOD," again, because it
had its SOURCE and was "PREPARED by God Himself!
II’ The Meaning
of "PREPARED."
The word for "HAST PREPARED" is katErtisO. This word comes from
two Greek words, the preposition kata, and the simple verb, artizO. The
verb, katartizO, ("prepare"), is used only 13 times in our
Greek New Testament. This verb is in the Greek AORIST TENSE and in the
indicative MIDDLE Voice. In the King James Bible, it is translated in the
following ways, other than in Hebrews 10:5: "mending their
nets" (Mt. 4:21 & Mk. 1:19); "perfected praise" (Mt.
21:16); "every one that is perfect " (Lk. 6:40);"fitted
to destruction" (Rom. 9:22); "perfectly joined together" (1
Cor. 1:10); "be perfect" (2 Cor. 13:11); "restore
such an one" (Gal. 6:1); "might perfect that" (1 Th.
3:10); "the worlds were framed" (Heb. 11:3); "make
you perfect in every good work" (Heb.13:21); and "make
you perfect" (1 Peter 5:10). The main root, artizO, though
not used in the New Testament, is used in Classical Greek to mean such things
as: "to get ready; to prepare." This verb, in turn, comes from
the Greek adverb, arti, which means "just now, presently, just at
present." With the preposition, kata, it gives a perfective
sense to the verb, making the action even more thorough and complete than in the
simple form. In general, the verb means: "to adjust thoroughly; to knit
together, unite completely; to frame; to prepare; to provide; to qualify fully;
to complete (in character); to supply; to make good." In Classical
Greek, it also meant such things as: "to put in order; to set (a
dislocated limb); to form (by exercise); to restore (to a right mind); to
reconcile; to make (good); to furnish; to equip; [to put] (in battle array); to
make ready; to compound; to prepare (dishes, medicines. etc.)." From
these varied facets and shades of meaning, we can see the full force of what God
the Father and God the Holy Spirit accomplished by means of the Incarnation of
the Lord Jesus Christ spoken of in this Hebrews 10:5 verse in the phrase:
"a body hast Thou PREPARED Me."
Taking some of the
above meanings for the Greek term, katartizO, ("hast
PREPARED"), we can conclude the following: (1) God "PREPARED" Christ's BODY (including His BLOOD) so it was PROTECTED
from all sin and imperfections of man. (2) God PREPARED Christ's BODY (including
His BLOOD) so it was PERFECTED and therefore PERFECT in regard to any sin or
imperfection of man. (3) God "PREPARED" Christ's BODY (including His BLOOD) so it was FITTED OUT
in such a way as to eliminate any sin or imperfection of man. (4) God
"PREPARED Christ's BODY (including His BLOOD) so it WAS PERFECTLY
JOINED TOGETHER in such a way as to eliminate any sin or imperfection of man.
(5) God "PREPARED" Christ's BODY (including His BLOOD) so it was FRAMED in
such a way as to eliminate any sin or imperfection of man. (6) God
"PREPARED" Christ's BODY (including His BLOOD) so it was PUT IN
ORDER in such a way as to eliminate any sin or imperfection of man. (7) God
"PREPARED" Christ's BODY (including His BLOOD) so it was COMPLETE in
such a way as to eliminate any sin or imperfection of man. Can there be any
question on this so CLEAR teaching?
SERMON
26, OF THE NATURE AND QUALITY OF CHRIST’S
DEATH.
THE
AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY SERMONS, p. 313,
This
preciousness of the blood of Christ riseth from the union it has with that person, who is over all, God
blessed for ever. And on that account is stiled the blood of God, Acts
20:28:and so it becomes royal, princely blood: Yea, such for the dignity, and
efficacy of it, as never was created, or shall ever run in any other veins but
his. The blood of all the creatures in the world, even a sea of human
blood bears no more proportion to the precious and excellent blood of Christ, than a dish of common water, to a river of liquid gold. On the account
of its invaluable preciousness, it becomes satisfying and reconciling blood to
God. So the apostle speaks, Colossians 1:20, “And (having made peace through the blood of his cross) by him to
reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth,
or things in heaven.”
He talks of the nature
and quality[Note
the title of the sermon] of
this blood and says that this blood “never
was created, or shall ever run in any other veins but His”. So this blood,
as far as Flavel is concerned is not the typical A -, or A +, Type B, O, nor any
other type of blood. Or maybe like what Spurgeon said in Sermon 228, “the
blood that Jesus shed was Godlike Blood…..the
divinity was so allied with
the manhood that the blood derived efficacy from it.” So it must have been
type “G” blood. I don’t think that Mary had that type of blood and neither
does any other human, that’s why Flavel finishes saying, “Even a sea of human
blood bears no more proportion to the precious and excellent blood of Christ than a dish of common (we will deal with this word later in Heb. 10:29) water, to a river
of liquid gold. Note, both are liquids but they are of different “natures and
qualities”. (see Flavels sermon title again) And so is the blood of the Lord Jesus, it is a different nature and
quality. It is the Divine Blood of God.
The next reference I want to take a look at
is by JohnOwen, he was quoted by Mr.Burden in the Summer 2002 Issue of The
Gist on page 6. It was a quote made by Owen about the general human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, but if we look
a little deeper into what Owen believed specifically
about the blood, we can see that he “counted it more than common”.
The
Works of JohnOwen
Edited
by WilliamH.Goold
THE DEATH OF DEATH IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST
A
Treatise of the Redemption and Reconciliation That is in the Blood of Christ
Volume 10, Book 4, Chapter 1
“The Scripture, also, to this purpose is
exceeding full and frequent in setting forth the excellency and dignity of His
death and sacrifice, calling His blood, by reason of His person, “God’s
own blood.” Acts 20:28; exalting it infinitely above all other
sacrifices, as having for its principle “the eternal Spirit,” and being
itself “without spot,” Hebrews 9:14; transcendently more precious than
silver, or gold, or corruptible things, I Peter 1:18.”
Note first of all in the context of Acts
20:28, again he takes no exception to the phrase “Blood of God”, and begins
to go deeper into explaining it, (the blood’s nature) he says … “The Blood
…having for its (the blood’s) principle(look the
word up in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary; the cause, source, origin of
anything: that from which a thing (the blood) proceeds from) the Eternal
Spirit and itself (the blood) being without spot.” Note the rest of the quote
is clearly in the context of the blood
only.
The next quote that Mr.Burden “ignored” is the quote by HenryBrockett, a Wesleyan Holiness Writer;
THE RICHES OF HOLINESS
By HenryE.Brockett,
Published in 1936, Forward by D. W. Lambert, M.A.,
Principle of LebanonBibleCollege
The Ages Digital Library Inspiration,
p. 57,
“I
purchased Dr.AndrewMurray’s books, The Power of
the Blood of Jesus, and The Blood of the Cross. He shows that
the blood of Christ must not be regarded as something that was shed and finished
with, as it were, at the Cross. The blood of Christ, as a divine reality, has entered heaven itself, is
sprinkled on the eternal throne, and there abides and all the time exercises its
mighty power both upward toward God and downward and inward towards the
believer.”
Notice
the sentiment that Brockett has here is the same that AndrewMurray has (Born in South Africa, AndrewMurray (1828-1917) was
sent to study in England at age 10. He
founded many Universities and wrote many books) concerning the blood, so we have
2 men holding the same view. Brockett quotes Murray and he says,
“that the blood of Christ is a divine
reality”. That means by the definition of these words that the blood
is in reality .
. . . . Divine and it’s in Heaven, (which we will deal with
at length later).
Also
in that same book of Murray’s that Brockett
quotes from in Chapter 2, Murray says that, “the
Eternal Life of the Godhead was carried in that blood”. (You can’t say that
about human blood). Then in Chapter 7 calls it again, “divine wonderful power of the blood.”
II.
Sacred Blood
Let’s
move to the 2nd point I want to get to and that is the statement made
by Mr.Burden in the Spring
Issue 2002, pg. 3, where Mr.Burden said the word “precious
(that’s God’s word to describe the blood of His Son)”. Then, in the Summer
Issue 2002, pg. 3, Mr.Burden said, and I
quote,
“The
Bible calls the Blood of Jesus
“precious” to go beyond that is unwise and leads to errors”.
Then
Mr.Burden in the Summer
Issue 2002, pg. 2, says, and I quote,
“Some
used the word “sacred” in reference to Jesus’
Blood. That word also carries the connotation of being divine and is therefore
improperly used in defining His human blood”.
I
want Mr.Burden to know I agree
that using the word “sacred” would mean that the blood is divine and that
anybody that ever used the word “sacred”, or any other words that went
beyond the word precious would be calling the blood divine, or calling the blood
something other than ordinary, common, or human blood.
Let’s
see if any “Bible believing theologians” ever used this word to define the
blood then we would know what the “historic position” of the church was and
“What they counted the blood of the Covenant”.
The
first person that we might be familiar with is a man by the name, JamesArminius. In the Works
of Arminius, Vol. 1, called
the blood sacred. Also he said it was in Heaven, (which we’ll deal with
later). AlbertBarnes, Notes
on the Bible, Vol. 16, in Hebrews 10:29, called it sacred. The Works
of John Owen (which again Mr.Burden quotes in the
Summer Issue 2002, pg. 6, which is a generalized statement about our Lord’s
humanity), in his Exposition of Hebrews,
Vol. 22, in reference to Hebrews 13:20, calls the blood sacred
and says some other things that we will use later in another context.
JohnWesley in his commentary
on Lev. 17:10, 11 says,
10.I will set my face – I will be an
enemy to him, and execute vengeance upon him immediately; because such persons
probably would do this in private, so that the magistrate could not know or
punish it. Write that man undone, for ever undone, against whom God sets His
face.
11.Is in the blood – Depends upon the
blood, is preserved and nourished by it. The
blood maketh atonement – Typically, and in respect of the blood of Christ which it
represented, by which the atonement is really made. So the reason is double;
1.Because this was eating up the ransom of their own lives, which in
construction was the destroying of themselves.
2.Because it was ingratitude and irreverence towards that sacred blood
of Christ which they ought
to have in continual veneration.
He
says that God will be an enemy to him and will execute vengeance upon such
person that would treat the sacrificial blood of the Old Testament which was
typical of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to count that
“sacred blood”, (Wesley’s words) with
ingratitude and irreverence.
R.C.H.Lenski, A.M. in his commentary
on Hebrews 10:29, calls the blood of the Lord Jesus Christholy once, and sacred
3 times in one paragraph. At this time I’m not going to comment on this, I’m
going to save what he had to say for my last point where it would make the best
application of “What to count the blood.”
In
the SELECTED WORKS OF JOHN CALVIN VOL. 1,
TRACTS PART 1, by John Calvin, the NECESSITY OF REFORMING THE CHURCH pg.86,
he calls the blood sacred on
pg. 255, he calls the blood holy.
Then in his commentary on Hebrews 9, pg. 186, he calls the blood sacred again
and then in chapter 10 he says, “… the
blood of Christ
… is subject to no corruption,”
and that the blood is perpetual.
In
the WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,
by Marvin R. Vincent, D. D., (Baldwin
Professor of Sacred Literature in Union Theological Seminary, New York),
Volume 4, The epistle to Hebrews, Chapter 10, he uses the word sacred twice and
once again I’m going to save his commentary and my commentary on this passage
until the last point, but none the less he still used the word sacred.
In
the book THE GROUNDS AND REASONS OF
CHRISTIAN REGENERATION OR, THE NEW BIRTH Offered to the Consideration of
CHRISTIANS AND DEISTS, by William Law, M.A., on page 31, he calls the BLOOD
of the LORD JESUS CHRIST holy.
William Law was a writer Wesley held in very high esteem. John Fletcher was the
man Wesley wanted to take his place if he ever died, and his writings THE
WORKS OF REV. JOHN FLETCHER, Volume 4, by Rev. John Fletcher, on p. 139, he
calls the Blood sacred.
I’m
kind of hurrying through this because it seems like we can find plenty of Bible
believing Christians that used the word sacred
and holy, etc., to describe the Blood of our Lord for an example, Spurgeon
used the word sacred to
describe the Blood of the Lord Jesus in sermons 152, 191, 253, 379, 643, 703,
771, and 848. Spurgeon also used terms for the blood like infinite
in sermons 853, 892, 1131, 1172, 1223, 1437, and 1481. He used the word pure
in sermon 1276, the word matchless
in sermon 1419, he used the word omnipotent
in sermon 1437 and 1611, he said the blood is forever
in 1453, and he said that the blood is everlasting
and immutable in sermon 1428.
And this is only searched up to Volume 30.
JOHN MACARTHUR'S HERESY ON CHRIST'S BLOOD-
