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"For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
cleanseth to the purification of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, Who,
through the eonian Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purify your conscience
from dead works unto serving the living God" (Heb. 9: 13, 14).
"Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered
without the gate" (Heb. 13: 12).
Entry into the holiest is by the blood of Christ, as set forth in type in the offerings of
the law (Heb. 9: 7, 12; 10: 19). It is spoken of as "the blood of the eonian covenant"
(Heb. 13: 20), and "the blood of the covenant" (Heb. 10: 29).
The first Epistle to the Corinthians refers to the blood of Christ three times, and in one
connection only. "The communion of the blood of Christ" (10: 16), "the new covenant in
My blood" (11: 25), "guilty of the body and blood of Christ" (11: 27). Each reference has
to do with the Lord's Supper. There is no reference to the blood of Christ in Galatians,
neither is there in II Corinthians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Timothy or Titus.
Ephesians speaks of the blood of Christ in two connections, "redemption", and being
"made nigh" (1: 7; 2: 13). Col. 1: 14 is to be omitted according to best Greek texts.
Col. 1: 20 refers to the blood of Christ in "making peace" in connection with
reconciliation. I Pet. 1: 2 speaks, as the Epistle to the Hebrews does, of the blood of
"sprinkling". This "sprinkling" is used entirely in connection with Israel, for it occurs
nowhere else in the New Testament, but in Hebrews and I Peter.
What is the meaning of the "blood of sprinkling"? The Greek word rhantiző stands
for two Hebrews words translated "sprinkle" in the O.T., and therefore a detailed
examination of the words is not necessary in this article. We are more concerned about
the teaching of the act of sprinkling. The books of Leviticus and Numbers contain the
clearest indications of its meaning.
Blood, oil, and the water of separation are said to be sprinkled in these two books.
The Epistle to the Hebrews connects sprinkling with purifying (9: 13, 14), the dedication
of the old covenant (9: 18-20), and the tabernacle and vessels (9: 21). That "cleansing"
is a prominent idea in the sprinkling is evident from verse 22, "And almost all things by
the law are purged (cleansed) with blood". Heb. 12: 24 links the Mediator of the new
covenant with the blood of sprinkling which speaketh better than Abel. Some by Cain
that cried from the ground. The fact that the "better" things of Hebrews are all to do with
the new covenant as compared with the old, and that Abel and his offering heads the list
in Heb. 11:, whereby he received testimony that he was righteous, and, still more to the
point, that by it, though Abel be now dead, he yet speaks, shows that the offering of Abel
is intended. This links 11: 4 with 12: 24. The incident of Gen. 4: revolves around the
forfeiture of birthright, just as the case of Esau (Heb. 12: 16), the position of blessing
indicated by the same word in 12: 23. The spirits of righteous men perfected, and the
fact that nearly every reference to Abel in the New Testament declares him to be
righteous, and shows how he was perfected through suffering, are added witnesses
(Matt. 23: 35; Luke 11: 51; Heb. 11: 4; I John 3: 12). Although the twelfth of
Hebrews is not our exposition just now, it is well to note that it is not the spirits of just