The writer to the Hebrews taught that although bulls’ and goats’ blood could purify the flesh331, and as we have just shown, provide pardon for inadvertent sins, it could not sanctify the soul by taking away332 sin to cleanse the conscience from dead works333. The shedding of an animal’s blood under the Old Covenant therefore could do nothing to progress the partaker towards moral rectitude334. The Old Law made no one perfect335; only the divine blood of sprinkling can save to the uttermost by “purging the conscience of dead works in order to serve the living God”336. Again, note how the faculty of conscience directly impacts upon one’s relationship with God, i.e., with spiritual life.
326 1Pet2:9
327 Lev16:15-22
328 Num15:22-25
329Acts13:39
330 Ex19:5-6
331 Heb9:13
332 Heb10:4 Greek aphairein = to eliminate or substantively remove, not merely pardon 333 Heb9:13-14
334 Heb10:1
335 Heb7:19
336 Heb9:14 “Dead works” are sinful activities that result in Pauline “death” as previously defined 52
The nation of Israel had been JHWE’s vineyard; He had looked for a good crop but was receiving only bad. He had looked for justice and righteousness amongst His people but observed only bloodshed and distress337. What He assuredly did not observe were people
“desperately seeking to keep the Law in order to justify themselves in His sight”. That is a delusion as even a cursory reading of the Old Testament affirms. God’s complaint was their lack of effort to keep His Laws and be faithful to Him and the prophets and kings he had appointed over them. As with our first parents, privileged individuals had been given their opportunity for a glorious inheritance but wilfully defaulted. Yet this was in accordance with God’s foreknowledge, and an alternative arrangement was set in place. His Son was always going to be at the centre of His salvific plans; the supporting cast would have to be changed.
God’s intentions remained the same: the long-term salvation of the world through the redeeming action of His Son, the Saviour of the world, supported by a people God would give to Him338 cleansed from their sinfulness through His blood. These were no longer to be restricted to the Jewish race:
“And with Your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the
World” 339
So, in the fullness of time the Son of God takes on our humanity, teaches whomsoever will listen about the Good News of the Kingdom, and disciples a group of twelve men to lead His work after Him, knowing He was shortly to die, be resurrected and ascend to heaven. He shed His blood, acting out within history the righteous act by which Adam’s sin had been nullified throughout history340. As Scripture also testified:
“He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world”341
Propitiation has been provided for all true humanity. Christ’s sacrificial act of love at the Place of the Skull acts as a perpetual sweet-smelling savour342 as from the rising of the sun to its setting it is re-presented to the glory of His name through the sacrifices offered by His assemblies in East and West who have remained faithful to His will. Expiation, by which Christ’s death alleviates man’s guilt through the payment of a penalty, applies to all those remaining justified within the inclusive Universal Covenant of life by demonstrating they are of God (i.e., truly human) and not the seed of Satan343. Purging or taking way sin was not possible before the historical act of love enacted at Calvary344. Now it has been granted to both Jews and Gentiles who are baptized into Christ and partake of His body and blood, by which they can experience eternal life. That misunderstood quality is something which was
“with the Father” (i.e., hidden in God) and has now “been manifested to us”345. Jesus speaks 337 Is5:7
338 Jn17:6
339 Rev5:9-10
340 Rom3:25
341 1Jn2:2
342 Eph5:2
343 Gen3:15
344 Cf. Heb10:4
345 1Jn1:2
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of it as a “well of water springing up inside us”346; rarely if ever is the term used to specify those who will go to heaven. So infrequently is that concept mentioned that some groups who claim to believe the Bible have rejected the idea of the soul going to heaven altogether, believing that people have no consciousness after death until the resurrection. But Jesus confirmed that the thief next to Him on the cross would that day be with Him in paradise, and Paul wrote that he would sooner be absent from the body and present with the Lord347.
Not that he wished to be naked, that is in the spirit, but what he most desired was to be clothed upon with his “house” which is from heaven348; not his “heavenly home” but his resurrection body.