The sprinkling of the blood of Christ is for us to be redeemed, for God to be satisfied, and for us and God to have a peaceful fellowship based on the Lord’s blood.
This is typified by the sprinkling of the blood of the sin offering, offered for the expiation of God’s people, in Lev. 16:15. In this chapter of Leviticus we see that on the day of expiation the blood of the sin offering was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the expiation cover, and it was also sprinkled on the bronze altar in the outer court.
The expiation cover is the lid of the ark in the Holy of Holies, and under this lid there’s the law of God, the Ten Commandments.
We as God’s people cannot fulfil God’s commandments; rather, we transgress, we fail, and we commit lawlessness. Therefore, there has to be the shedding of the blood for us to be redeemed and brought back into fellowship with God.
Christ came as the spotless, clean, and pure Lamb of God, and He offered Himself once for sin; through His one sacrifice on the cross we all have been redeemed.
Christ offered Himself to God as a sacrifice through the eternal Spirit, and His redemption is eternally effective in space and time, being able to be real and applied to anyone who believes into the Lord.
What we see in the Old Testament is a covering of sin by the sprinkling of the blood, which is a type of the real offering, Christ, who shed His eternally effective blood for all men to be cleansed.
In the Old Testament we see the covering of the blood of the offerings for God’s people to enter into fellowship with God, but in the New Testament we see Christ who came to accomplish redemption by offering Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice to take away man’s sin.
How we thank and praise the Lord for coming to redeem us by shedding His blood on the cross not only for the covering of sins but for the washing, cleansing, and removing of sins!
Now based on the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, sinners can come forward to God standing not on their own merit or righteousness but on the blood shed on the cross.
We had a debt we could not pay – our sins, our mistakes, our trespasses, and our defects; but Christ came to pay the debt He didn’t owe – He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, and He condemned sin in the flesh.
Hallelujah for our Christ, and Hallelujah for the sprinkling of the blood of Christ for our propitiation and redemption!
Christ made Expiation for our Sins by Dying for us and Sprinkling His Blood before God
Leviticus 16:15-19 presents to us a picture of the accomplishing of expiation, the covering of sins, as a type of the propitiation the Lord has accomplished for us once and for all.
Before God, without shedding of blood there’s no forgiveness of sins, so there has to be blood shed and sprinkled for us to be at peace with God and fellowship with Him.
So Christ Himself came as the reality of the sin offering; He put on the flesh, becoming a ‘goat’ in God’s eyes, and He was slain for our propitiation. The first step for the accomplishing of expiation was to slaughter the goat of the sin offering for the people.
Goats signify sinners, that is, us. Christ became one of us, in the likeness of the flesh of sin, and He went to the cross to die for us.
He who did not know sin God made sin on our behalf, and this One took away the sin of the world through His death on the cross.
Just as the goat for the sin offering represented all of God’s people before Him, so Christ who died for us in the likeness of the flesh of sin represented and replaced us all in God’s eyes on the cross. He was judged by God on our behalf, and by believing into Him we are saved and redeemed.
On the cross Christ died for us and shed His blood, and then He brought this blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the lid of the ark, thus accomplishing redemption for us once and for all.
In the Old Testament the blood of the goat for the sin offering was sprinkled on the lid of the ark of the testimony in the Holy of Holies, and God was appeased, the sins of God’s people were covered, man was acceptable to God, and God could speak to man and fellowship with His people.
Now in the New Testament Christ brought His blood into the Holy of Holies to accomplish an eternal redemption for us, the sinners, before God (Heb. 9:12).
Christ as the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world (John 1:29) by offering Himself once and for all on the cross as the sacrifice for sins (Heb. 9:14; 10:12).
He sprinkled His blood in the heavenly Holy of Holies for our expiation and He has accomplished an eternal redemption for us.
God needs to see the sprinkled blood of Christ on the lid of the ark, the expiation cover, for His requirements to be fulfilled and for Him to have fellowship with us.
When He sees the blood, He forgives us and cleanses us, and we enter into fellowship with Him.
The sprinkled blood of Jesus Christ meets all the righteous, holy, and glorious requirements of God for our redemption, and by believing into the Lord and applying His blood by faith, we are cleansed and forgiven, and we can enter into communion and fellowship with God.
We can tell the Lord with all gratefulness,
Thank You Lord Jesus for coming to earth to become a man just like us, partaking of blood and flesh, and dying for us on the cross. We are full of gratefulness, Lord, and we thank You. You became sin for us, and You shed Your blood for our expiation, propitiation, and redemption. Thank You Lord for accomplishing an eternal redemption for us on the cross. We can now come forward to God and have fellowship with God based on the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Thank You Lord Jesus!
The Sprinkling of the Blood of Christ Satisfies God and gives us Peace and Assurance
The blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the expiation cover in the Holy of Holies, which signifies that the blood of Jesus Christ was brought into God’s presence in the heavens and was sprinkled before God to meet God’s righteous requirements for our redemption (Heb. 9:12).
The process of expiation began at the bronze altar in the outer court, but it ended in the Holy of Holies, where propitiation was made for us all.
The putting of the blood on and around the four horns of the burnt offering altar signifies that the efficacy of the redemption of the blood of Christ is for the four corners of the earth (Lev. 16:18).
No matter where we are, no matter who we are, and no matter how old or young we are, as long as we believe into the Lord, the blood of Jesus Christ reaches us wherever we are, and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ is upon us to cleanse us, wash us, and cause us to be forgiven and brought into fellowship with God.
John said concerning this that Christ Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for those of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
The sphere of the efficacy of the redemption by the blood of Christ is both inclusive and extensive.
It is very significant to see what happened to the blood of the sin offering for expiation: some of it was sprinkled on the lid of the ark for God to be satisfied, some of it was put on and around the four corners of the burnt offering altar to reach all men, and some of it was sprinkled seven times on and around the bronze altar in the outer court.
This sprinkling of the blood seven times is very significant, showing us that the full efficacy of Christ’s blood is so that the sinner may look at it and have peace in his heart (Lev. 16:19).
When we come to God, He has a problem with us, and we also have a problem with Him; by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ on the lid of the ark, God’s problem is solved, and by the sprinkling of the blood on the burnt offering altar, we are at peace.
The sprinkling of the blood of Christ for our propitiation is for God’s satisfaction and for our satisfaction. This blood satisfies us and satisfies God also.
Christ sprinkled His blood in God’s presence to satisfy God and give us a standing before Him to fellowship with Him; Christ also sprinkled His blood on us, assuring us sevenfold that we have been forgiven.
If someone tells you, I forgive you, you believe him and are happy; but if he says it seven times to you, then you are assured that he forgave you. This is what the Lord did: He sprinkled His blood seven times to assure us that we have been forgiven, cleansed, and washed.
First it is God who needs to see the blood in His presence, and He is satisfied; then it is us who need to see the blood, and we are at peace. We see the blood of Christ, and we know that the problem of sin is solved; God sees the blood, and He is satisfied.
Now we can fellowship with God, for expiation is made, propitiation is made, and we are redeemed!
Thank You Lord Jesus for sprinkling Your blood before God to satisfy Him and on us to give us peace and assurance of Your redemption. Thank You Lord, thank You for accomplishing propitiation for us. We are not qualified, but You are, so You died for us, You shed Your blood, and now this eternally effective blood is sprinkled before God for His satisfaction and on us for our peace. Lord, we look at the blood and we are at peace in our heart, being assured that You are satisfied with us. Amen, Lord, we come forward to fellowship with You and be in Your presence based on the blood of Jesus Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, lsn. 27 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Leviticus (2), week 6, The Expiation.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Christ our Redeemer died on the cross, / Died for the sinner, paid all his due; / Sprinkle your soul with the blood of the Lamb, / “And I will pass, will pass over you.” (Hymns #1005)
# Not all the blood of beasts, / On Jewish altars slain, / Could give the guilty conscience peace, / Or wash away its stain. / But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, / Takes all our sins away; / A sacrifice of nobler name, / And richer blood than they. (Hymns #107)
# Thou, in love, hast shed Thy blood, Lord, / Bringing us to God in grace, / That from God, no longer severed, / We may ever see His face. / All God’s righteousness and glory / Have been fully satisfied; / Thru Thy death’s abundant merit / We may now with God abide. (Hymns #227)
