In communion we call into remembrance what the Lord Jesus Christ did on our behalf. He offered his body up so that his blood could be offered as an atoning sacrifice upon the altar of a Roman cross.
Why was it necessary for his blood to be shed for us?
In Leviticus 17:11 we are told that the life of the flesh is in the blood and He has given it upon the altar for the atonement of our souls. “the life of the flesh is in the blood” What does that mean? I think, the Lord is drawing our attention to the fact that our blood gives our flesh life. A perfectly healthy animal or human for that matter dies if you drain the blood from it. Blood sustains the lives of all living things. The ancients understood this. God has chosen to use blood as an analogy between the natural life force that is contained in our blood with the supernatural power of Christ’s atoning blood that gives our spirits eternal life in the Spirit realm. The Lord is a bit of a poet and he has designed metaphors and analogies into His word and plan for redemption.
Do you know that when our heart pumps our blood that the first place it flows to – is our lungs. In our lungs our blood gets filled with the breath of life. Do you know where our blood flows next? To every cell in our body! If any cell of our body isn’t nourished with the breath of life it will perish. Blood carries life to our bodies. So it is with a heart of faith that pumps the redeeming blood of Christ. It carries the Spirit of life. We need to let it flow to every corner of our lives so it can bring life to our whole being.
When the red blood cells carry the breath of life to our cells it delivers oxygen and removes waste. The cell is cleansed from carbon dioxide and washed clean. So too the blood of Christ cleanses us of all our sins and iniquities.
Our blood not only contains red blood cells that nourish and cleanses us, our blood contains white blood cells. White blood cells fight off infection and disease. They provide our bodies with a defense against disease and sickness. So too the blood of Christ provides physical and spiritual healing to our beings! By His stripes we are healed and his atoning blood can provide miraculous healing.
Blood also contains platelets which binds up our wounds when we are pierced. They are a clotting agent that binds up a wound. So too Christ Jesus wants to heal and bind up the broken hearted from places where we have been pierced and wounded. Jesus is so good.
It is amazing to think that all the while you’ve been reading this your blood has been pumping blood throughout your body. Giving you life – Delivering the breath of life to every cell, cleansing them, providing defense against sickness and disease and ready to bind up any wound. God has given every human born this gift of life that is in our blood. There is no need not strive to make it work. It is a precious gift he has given us. So too when we are born again in Christ his atoning blood is able to flow through us giving eternal life and an abundant life now. We need not strive, we simply need to let it flow to every corner of our lives and live an abundant life in Christ.
So the next time when you take the body and blood of Christ, receive the Spirit of Life – the breath of life. Receive a cleansing of sin as the Spirit washes over you. Receive healing through the stripes he took on your behalf. Let you wounds be bound and comforted. Let his supernatural blood flow to every corner of who you are and receive life more abundantly.