Who, through the purpose of God, have been made holy by the Spirit, disciples of Jesus, made clean by His blood. 1 Peter 1:2.
I was caught by the phrase ‘made clean by His blood’. Songs of great fervour are often sung about the power of the Blood. Some refer to its cleansing power. I believe its possible to get caught up in the excitement and miss the point. This section of the letter is the greeting. It is Peter saying ‘hey yo’ to his audience, but in such a way that the listener is reminded of their status. The power of the blood to clean – to purify – is one that cannot be glibly overlooked.
Imagery is replete in scripture about cleanliness – no wonder some believe scripture states it is next to godliness despite it never being stated. When we consider ourselves as ‘sin-stained’ people, though, what does that mean? Surely that would help us identify what the cleansing power of the blood really means.
Teaching people in theur teenage years where hormones, identities and personas arejust all over the place, it is not unusual for banter to slip into something that would get someone suggesting that someone has a dirty mind. Yet that is not all that is considered when referring to us being sin-stained. It goes deeper than naughty allusions and connections, it gets to the rank and filthy nature of sin. It disfigures and mars the human condition. It more than stains the character, it makes it a mess. So the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse that has to be deep and strong. It has to affect areas of the human experience often neglected or minimised in value. Unlike a laundry advert that can show the spotless shirt, the believer has to present a spotless character. That in itself is a challenge, which makes the cleansing power of the blood all the more amaxing, as in the sight of the father, we are clean and can approach God because of Jesus’ blood and righteousness. There is access no other way and thus a greater appreciation for the expression of grace in this way to offer a clean start.
What that means is that the freedom and grace of god is inextricably looked to seeing the stained character we have that could not be cleaned by will power, positive thinking and the like. Our way of life is different because of the cleanig power of the blood. That impacts all relationships, as others see howwe walk in hand with God in keeping life clean.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
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