Allow the Holy Spirit to Apply the Efficacy of Christ’s Redemption to us to Cleanse us

Whenever we, the people of God, become unclean and impure because of our contact with death, we need to experience the water of impurity, that is, we need to apply the efficacy of Christ’s redemption by the sprinkling of the Holy Spirit as the living water.

We may think we are OK, but in our daily life we get unclean very easily, for we contact death all the time; death is all around us, and even we ourselves many times are in death and full of death.

Death makes us unclean, and in particular the death resulting from the sin of rebellion causes us to be defiled and unclean.

So one aspect of the work of the Lord Jesus is like that of the ashes of the red heifer which was burned to be part of the water for impurity (see Num. 19:2, 9).

These ashes, the result of the red heifer being fully burnt even with its blood and all its parts, together with the cedar wood, scarlet strands, and hyssop – these ashes signify the eternal and unchanging efficacy of the Lord’s redemption.

In this case even the blood was burned – usually the blood is not burned; the resulting ashes included the blood. These ashes of the red heifer signify the Lord’s redemption, which He has accomplished for us (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7).

The redemption that Christ has accomplished for all mankind is forever unchanging and incorruptible; it is eternally effective, and in the Spirit this redemption can be always applied in time and space (Heb. 9:12).

Whenever an Israelite touched something unclean, he needed only to have the ashes of the red heifer mixed with the water for impurity and then to have this sprinkled on his body, and he was clean (Num. 19:11-12).

Similarly, we today as the people of God, whenever we touch something unclean, whenever we’re defiled by death, we don’t need the Lord to die for us again, for the Lord’s redemption has accomplished everything.

Christ has made provision for all our future uncleanness and all our future sins by accomplishing an eternal redemption; now we simply need to apply Christ’s redemption and we are cleansed by the precious blood of Christ for the restoring of our fellowship with God.

The ashes of the red heifer were specifically for the future; these tell us that the past work of the cross is applicable for our use today.

The red heifer has been burned once for all, and its ashes are enough to cover our entire life. How we thank the Lord and praise Him that His redemption is sufficient for our whole life!

Allowing the Holy Spirit to Apply the Efficacy of Christ’s Redemption to us to Cleanse us

Whenever someone in the people of God touched death or was defiled and thus became unclean, he needed to be sprinkled by the ashes of the red heifer mixed with running water in order to be clean (Num. 19:11-14, 16-20).

The running water typifies the Holy Spirit, the living water of God; in the Holy Spirit after the Lord’s resurrection the redemption of Christ with its efficacy were compounded.

When we as the people of God are defiled by our contact with death or by living in our natural life and by our natural man, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to be applied to us, and the Spirit will apply the efficacy of Christ’s redemption to our being to remove our uncleanness.

Our uncleanness is not dealt with just by the blood of Christ but by the Holy Spirit in whom there’s the efficacy of Christ’s redemption.

The running water (literally, living water) in Num. 19:17 signifies the Holy Spirit in the resurrection of Christ (John 7:37-39).

We need to touch the Spirit, who is the reality of Christ’s resurrection and who has been compounded with the efficacy of the Lord’s redemption; when we touch the Spirit, we are cleansed from the defilement of death.

This corresponds to 1 John 1:7 where we see that whenever we walk in the light – as He is in the light – we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin.

When we realise that we have sinned, when the Lord shines on us and exposes us of our sins and uncleanness, we need to take the blood of Jesus by exercising our spirit to contact the Spirit, so that our sins would be washed away and our fellowship with God would be restored.

This is not just something that should happen once-for-all; rather, we need to do this again and again.

Num. 19:12 shows that an unclean person needs to be purified by being sprinkled with the water for impurity on the third day and on the seventh day, and he shall be clean. The third day signifies resurrection, and the seventh day signifies completion.

When we as God’s people realise that we are unclean, we have been defiled, and we have sinned, we need to exercise our spirit to touch the Spirit, who is in resurrection.

Here, in resurrection, we are outside of the old creation – where impurity and defilement is – and here the Spirit can apply the blood of Christ – the efficacy of Christ’s redemption – to us to cleanse us of our sins and defilement.

If we remain in the old creation, we remain in the realm of defilement and uncleanness; whenever we live in the old man and in the old creation, whenever we live in our natural man, we are unclean, defiled, and impure.

So we need to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, allowing the Holy Spirit to apply the efficacy of Christ’s redemption to us to cleanse us of our sins and defilement, and to restore our fellowship with God.

After we apply the efficacy of the Lord’s redemption in resurrection, we will become clean according to the time of completion.

May we be those who experience this daily and who contact the Lord in spirit to be cleansed, washed, and purified from any defilement, sin, and impurity.

Lord Jesus, shine on us and expose our uncleanness, defilement, sin, and impurity; we come to You, Lord, to allow the Holy Spirit to apply the efficacy of Christ’s redemption to our being so that we may be cleansed. Amen, Lord, we exercise our spirit to contact You and be in the realm of resurrection, for it is only here that we are cleansed from our defilement by the precious blood of Christ. We want to walk in the light even as You are in the light so that the blood of Jesus Christ may cleanse us from every sin, and our fellowship with God may be restored!

Experiencing the Instant Application of the Constant Cleansing of the Lord’s Blood

Because death was prevailing among the children of Israel, there was the need for the water for impurity, and whenever we are defiled by death, we need Christ as the reality of the red heifer for the water for impurity (Num. 16:49; 19:2, 9). Amen!

In Num. 19 the water for impurity cleansed away and even annulled the effect of death that came from the great rebellion in ch. 16.

When rebellion happens and we’re in the middle of it or we are affected by it, we may think that there’s no way for us to get out of that situation and we will not be the same after that; this is not true, for Christ as the reality of the water for impurity not only cleanses us from the effect of death but also annuls it!

The water for impurity, to which the ashes were added, typifies the efficacy of Christ’s redemption, which continually cleanses us by the living water of life in order to restore our fellowship with God (1 John 1:7).

The water for impurity is not merely an interesting teaching about the red heifer but rather, it is for our experience and enjoyment.

Christ has been crucified for us, for our sins, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from every sin as we come into the light.

This word, cleanses, denotes a present and continuous action; the blood of Jesus the Son of God cleanses us all the time – continuously and constantly! Hallelujah!

Before God, the redeeming blood of the Lord has cleansed us once for all eternally when Christ brought His shed blood and sprinkled it in the eternal Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:12, 14).

The efficacy of this cleansing lasts forever before God, so that this cleansing doesn’t need to be repeated.

However, in our conscience and in our daily experience, we need the instant application of the constant cleansing of the Lord’s blood again and again whenever our conscience is enlightened by the divine light in our fellowship with God. Amen!

This instant cleansing is typified by the purification with the water for impurity mixed with the ashes of the red heifer in Num. 19:2-10.

We need the cleansing of the Lord’s blood in our conscience; we need the experience and application of the water for impurity by exercising our spirit to allow the Holy Spirit to apply the efficacy of Christ’s redemption to our being. Hallelujah!

First, before God, the redeeming blood has cleansed us once and for all, and this cleansing lasts for eternity; this needs not to be repeated.

Second, in our experience, as the Lord shines on us and exposes our uncleanness, dirtiness, sins, and defilement, we need the instant and constant cleansing of the Lord’s blood in our conscience. Amen!

On one hand there’s the eternal cleansing before God, and on the other, this can be applied to our experience today. Hallelujah!

It is only the working of Christ’s redemption, through His dignified and humbled humanity, with His death and the Spirit of His resurrection, that can heal and cleanse the situation from the uncleanness of death! Amen!

Lord Jesus, thank You for cleansing us by Your redeeming blood before God once for all, and this has an eternal efficacy, lasting forever before God! Hallelujah for the eternal efficacy of Christ’s redemption! We come to You, Lord, to be enlightened by You, and we want to confess our sins and allow the Holy Spirit to apply the cleansing of the blood to our conscience. Amen, Lord, how we need to experience the instant application of the constant cleansing of the Lord’s blood so that our sins may be removed, our defilement may be cleansed, and the effect of death would be annulled!

This article can also be read in the Romanian language / citiți acest articol în limba română la următorul link, Să-I permitem Duhului Sfânt să aplice eficacitatea răscumpărării lui Cristos pentru a ne curăța.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1960, vol. 1, ”Synopsis of Numbers,” ch. 24, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Numbers (2), week 5, The Water for Impurity.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # We have the blood! Christ is our spotless offering, / Who gave Himself, our God to satisfy; / And so we come with boldness to the throne of grace, / And all day long, the precious blood apply. (Hymns #1287)
  # Lamb of God so pure and spotless, / Lamb of God for sinners slain. / Thy shed blood has wrought redemption, / Cleansing us from every stain. / Lamb redeeming, Lamb redeeming, / Bearing all our sins away. (Hymns #1089)
  # Thy blood has now been sprinkled on the throne / In full redemption for Thy people’s sin. / The sweetness of the love that Thou hast shown / Has ris’n to fill the holiest place within. / And by the blood once offered in that place / God flows to us in mercy and in grace. (Hymns #1091)