Jesus Died To Heal Humanity
In the sanctuary system, the blood releases the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law. I used to believe that this was because it pays the penalty to a righteous God for my transgression of the law so that He could forgive me. Somehow I missed the clear biblical truth that God has forgiven us from the beginning (Ephesians 1:4). However, Christ’s blood actually does something far more practical than to legislate forgiveness:
It makes us well.
It rebuilds us.
It recreates us.
It cures us!
Not a Magical Potion
In a word, it heals us. Those who are sick need nothing more or less than to be healed. In the end, we will be released from the deathly condemnation of our sin-sickness for a very practical reason: we’re well, whole, restored. As sacred as Christ’s blood is, His red blood cells are not a magical potion needed so God can forgive us. Jesus’ blood simply stands for all of the ways His life and death are able to heal us. Remember, Jesus himself made this point:
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” John 6:54
Jesus didn’t mean for us to take him literally then, and He doesn’t now. The sacrifice of Jesus was needed to dispel the lies we believed about God and to heal our hearts. What’s more, lest we overestimate our importance in this controversy, the rest of the universe needed to see the sacrifice of Jesus too. Only His death could answer the questions about the character of God raised by the accusations of Satan—and heal us at the same time.
The Miracle of Healing
If you are under the condemnation of the laws of health with a terminal illness, what is required to release you from dying? Conformity to those laws. The blood of Christ releases us from the condemnation of the law because it transforms us, renews us, rebuilds us, recreates us—heals us. It writes the law on our hearts and minds and brings us back into harmony with God’s design law. We’re not condemned because we’re well—whole—restored.
The model of the atonement that held me hostage for so many years claimed that the blood of Christ pays a penalty so I could be forgiven for something that in reality I was already forgiven for. However, it was the understanding of the healing model of the atonement that finally pulled me out of the oppressive cycle of appeasing the Father and ever begging for His forgiveness. It changed my heart (by revealing to me the truth about the Father) and initiated my healing.
