Enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus

2025-05-09.

But I want to ask myself, am I really seeking the way into the Presence of God by the Blood or by something else? What do I mean when I say, ‘by the Blood’? I mean simply that I recognize my sins, that I confess that I have need of cleansing and of atonement, and that I come to God on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus. I approach God through His merit alone, and never on the basis of my attainment... (Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life)

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus... (Hebrews 10:19)

Wherever we are in our journey with the Lord Jesus, it is always by the blood of Christ that we can enter in the presence of the Father. The standard never changes. Whether we be sinners coming to Christ for the first time, whether we be the missionary of 50 years in the faith, the standard for entering the Holiest is by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He may have done mighty things through us since we were saved. We may have been changed so mightily by the Spirit of God. But the standard remains the same for our standing before Him: the shed blood of Christ.

No matter what emotions may tell us, whether it be the lofty highs or the devasting lows, the standard is the same.

It was only by the blood of the Lamb that the angel of death spared the Israelites on the eve of their departure from Egypt. “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).

It was by the blood that the high priest could enter the holiest in the earthly tabernacle once a year. “And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness” (Leviticus 16:14-16).

It was the blood that spared the destruction of Jerusalem by the Angel of the Lord. “And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel” (2 Samuel 24:25).

When these things were past, the blood of Jesus became central in the New Covenant, which superseded the old. “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

Jesus said, “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6:54-56). His blood sustains our eternal life, and His blood is the gateway into Him and His kingdom.

The church, His redeemed people, became the Lord Jesus’ because He bought them with His own blood and His own life. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

The blood of Christ wiped out the record of our sins by faith. By faith in His blood, we received His righteousness. “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:25).

We have been delivered from the wrath that is to come, whether it be the Day of the LORD or eternal lake of fire. “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:9).

By the blood of Christ, the members of His church have communion one with another. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16).

Redemption and forgiveness of sins are only by His blood. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). And again, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14).

We were far off from God and the community of His saints, but we were brought near to Him by His blood. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

We have been reconciled to God because of Jesus’ blood. We have peace with Him. “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20).

Jesus, by His own blood, entered the heavenly holiest place, far superior to the high priest who went into the earthly tabernacle annually. Jesus did not offer Himself anew every year, like the priest offered new offerings each year. He remained at the right hand of the Father. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:12-14).

We have boldness to enter the presence of God because of this blood. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus...” (Hebrews 10:19).

While Abel’s blood spoke vengeance against Cain, the blood of Christ speaks peace on our behalf. “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24).

The blood of Christ sanctifies us; the blood makes us holy. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).

In what sense does that sound like the efficacy of the blood is temporary? He entered into the holy place to remain with the Father by His own blood. His blood cries out on our behalf as a faithful mediator. His blood reconciled us with the Father, where we were once His enemies. He redeemed us and forgave us every sin. No, this remission is no temporary act, nor does the standard of our righteousness change. The blood of Christ is the basis of the covenant He made with us. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant...” (Hebrews 13:20).

The shedding of Jesus’ blood was not our obedience, but His. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Peter 1:2). The foreknowledge of God and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit worked in tandem with the willingness of Jesus to shed His blood for us.

The preciousness of Jesus’ blood is without peer. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

If we walk with and abide in Christ, His blood does more than judicially or theologically cleanse us from sins, though it most certainly does that. We also are cleansed from all sin in practice. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Jesus washed us from our own sins, whatever they may have been. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Revelation 1:5).

Because He washed us, we wash ourselves in His blood. “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

The blood of Christ has given us power over the forces of darkness. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).

The stain of His blood remains to this day. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13).

Considering that Jesus’ blood has done so much for us on our behalf, it would be strange that we need to change the standard for our relationship with the Almighty. He set the standard in Christ’s blood, and we will be in trouble if we try to change it to something else, such as good emotions, morally good acts, service to the Lord, scriptural knowledge, or any such thing. I have peace with God and forgiveness of sins because Jesus shed His blood for me. I recognize that I am still a sinner in need of His grace and cleansing. He accomplished everything on His own for me.

My own righteousness? Never. The only righteousness that remains is the righteousness of Christ, given to me by His shed blood.