Hebrews 9:14, commentary and pictures

The verse contrasts outward ritual cleansing with inward cleansing: animal blood and ashes could purify only the flesh, while the blood of Christ cleanses the conscience from lifeless works to serve the living God. Through the eternal Spirit He offered Himself to God as a complete offering without blemish, personally pure and sinless from birth to death, of far greater worth than fallen humanity and therefore able to ransom sinners. As sin-bearer, substitute and true High Priest He entered by His own blood to obtain eternal redemption, satisfying divine justice, vindicating God's law, and making pardon and reconciliation possible. That purging of conscience is pardon that opens the way to sanctification, made effectual only as the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, produces repentance and faith, and renews the soul into perfect love, obedience and conformity to God's will. The cleansed conscience frees the believer to serve God with undivided heart in daily consecration, bearing fruit in righteousness and unselfish works, for to neglect this sacrifice leaves no other sacrifice for sins.

Ritual Contrast and Fulfillment

Hebrews 9:14 turns on the contrast between outward ritual purification and inward cleansing, for the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on the unclean could sanctify only to the purifying of the flesh, while the blood of Christ purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. That greater cleansing belongs to Christ because He offered Himself without spot to God through the eternal Spirit, and His spotless, sinless self-offering accomplishes what animal blood and ritual ashes could never fully accomplish. His blood does more than purify outwardly, for His sinlessness made Him a sacrifice for sinful humanity able to endure temptation without yielding, and therefore the basis of cleansing the conscience so that people may serve the living God.

Animal sacrifices had no saving power in themselves, for the blood of the slain victim only symbolized the blood of the Son of God and the use of blood to cleanse the sanctuary only typified the cleansing power of Christ's blood. They were figures, symbols and types pointing forward to Christ, keeping before people the separation caused by sin and the need for a mediator, and opening no way to God except as they represented His voluntary, perfect offering that alone met the demands of the divine law. When type met its reality at Christ's death their value ceased, so the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish law no longer had worth once the one great offering they foreshadowed had been made.

The blood of beasts could not satisfy God's demands in atoning for transgression of His perfect law, because the life of a beast is of less value than the life of the offending sinner and could not be a ransom for sin. Animal blood was acceptable only as a figure representing the perfect Offering it prefigured, and even abundant blood of bulls and goats could not wash away guilt incurred by rejecting mercy and warnings. Without genuine sorrow for sin, obedience to God, and a broken contrite heart, many offerings made without repentance were worth less to God than that contrite heart itself.

Because atonement comes through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God alone, and only Christ's blood atones and cleanses, blood is sacred and a clear distinction between the sacred and the common must always be preserved. The sanctuary service surrounding that sacrifice, even the rivers of blood flowing when sacrifices were offered in large numbers at the harvest thanksgiving, was designed to impress that what God has set apart for Himself is holy and to teach that earth's productions and bounties for man's sustenance are owed to Christ's offering upon the cross as the gift of redeeming love. Christ is the substance of all sacrifices and offerings, who came to do God's will by offering Himself as the world's Redeemer standing at the head of humanity, and through Him the Holy Spirit comes to man. Those animal sacrifices could give only a ceremonial holiness and could not cleanse the conscience because they were only a representation of the great sacrifice, while salvation is complete because it rests on the plan laid before the foundation of the world and is accomplished in His whole and entire sacrifice made once for all, so that when type met antitype there could be no second probation.

Spotless Offering Through Spirit

Hebrews 9:14 declares that Christ through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God as a complete offering, sinless and spotless, whose blood purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God with a cleansing greater than ritual purification by animal blood and ashes could accomplish. As the sinless true High Priest He so offered Himself to God, and His death both redeems transgression and makes Him mediator of the new testament so those called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. His sinless offering is the basis of this inward cleansing, doing what animal sacrifices could not do. Without spot means noble, spotless perfection of character without blemish, in the express image of the Father not in features alone but in perfection of character.

He was personally perfect, pure and sinless through His whole life from birth in Bethlehem to death on Calvary, the holy Sin-bearer who though just died for the unjust, and He could challenge His accusers and enemies that none could convict Him of sin. Only One who was Himself perfection could be at once Sin-bearer and Sin-pardoner, standing before the redeemed as their sin-burdened, sin-stained Surety while bearing only their sins. He had to remain without stain under terrible testing, for any failure would have made the offering imperfect and redemption fail, yet though He could have used divine power to escape or destroy His persecutors He endured their insults with meekness, patience and composure. His life alone could suffice to ransom fallen man because He was of far greater value than man as next in authority to the great Lawgiver and commander of all the heavenly host, so that He alone could become an acceptable offering. No smaller sacrifice could redeem men or save the sinner from ruin, for the spotless Son of God was the only offering that would atone.

His sinlessness made Him a sacrifice for sinful humanity and enabled Him to endure Satan's temptations and wrestle throughout His earthly life without yielding, taking the guilt of the transgressor upon His sinless soul and dying as the Just for the unjust so humanity might not perish. By laying aside glory, clothing divinity with humanity and taking the form of a servant, He became both offerer and offering, both priest and victim, revealing a character wholly unlike Satan's. He voluntarily took human nature upon Him and purchased the world by ransom, which made it possible for Him to offer Himself, while that human life was taken into union with Deity. Possessing in Himself power to lay down His life and take it up again, He could lay it down as both priest and victim, and He offered Himself once through the eternal Spirit. His sinlessness gives His life in human flesh and His death on the cross its value to procure grace for the sinner, for otherwise it would be of no more value than the death of any other man, and His perfect obedience and self-sacrifice satisfied the Father's justice, made reconciliation possible and purchased an everlasting inheritance for those given to Him.

Priesthood and Mediation

Christ is the sinless true High Priest of good things to come, ministering by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. He entered once into the holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood to obtain eternal redemption. Through the eternal Spirit He offered Himself without spot to God, and His blood purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. This purging brings converting power upon the heart under the softening, subduing influence of the Holy Spirit, freeing from faultfinding, making of one mind and submissive to God so He can use the person effectively in His great work.

The tearing of the Temple veil at His death marked the end of the old priestly access. It opened a new and living way for all people to come to God without a human priest or ruler.

For this cause He is mediator of the new testament. By His death redemption is made for the transgressions under the first testament. Those who are called may thus receive the promise of eternal inheritance. His perfect obedience and self-sacrifice satisfied the Father's justice, made reconciliation possible, purchased an everlasting inheritance for those given to Him, and makes it possible for people to obey God's law through faith.

He now serves as interceding High Priest in the sanctuary for those who come to Him in faith. There He pleads in behalf of sinners the efficacy of His blood as an atoning sacrifice, and after giving His life for the world He presents the virtue of His offering before God. His death is the complete and only sacrifice of value for salvation, its meaning reflected in the Day of Atonement. The sanctuary ritual of casting sacrificial blood toward the holy place seven times expressed perfection, and His blood reconciles humanity to God. The object of the sacrifice was to uplift fallen man degraded by sin, so that through faith in the crucified and risen Saviour sins are pardoned, the guilty who deserved punishment go free and return to allegiance to God through His merits. Through the love of God revealed in Him there is forgiveness with God and reconciliation of God to man, received when man repents, becomes contrite in heart, and believes in Christ as his atoning sacrifice.

He is the fulfillment of the ceremonial sacrifices in His crucifixion and His ministry as priest in the heavenly sanctuary. He is the foundation of the Jewish economy and the one to whom all sacrifices and offerings pointed. In His death type met antitype so the need for those sacrifices was soon to cease. The temple where He proclaimed truth as His own, unawed by its splendor and teaching even in the outer court that Gentiles might hear, was left as the tomb of a departed dispensation.

No quality in a person can make that person acceptable to God. Access, pardon, peace and righteousness come only through Jesus as the sinner's substitute, Redeemer, Advocate and Mediator. Christ's blood given in His sacrifice restores the sin-stricken soul, and He makes the sinner's petition acceptable to the Father. Understanding the sanctuary and Christ's atoning sacrifice and mediation as High Priest is central truth necessary for exercising the faith God requires, and nothing should distract from studying these truths.

Atonement Justice and Redemption

Atonement for sin comes through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God alone, and that blood alone can cleanse from sin. His death is the complete and only sacrifice of value for salvation, and pardon and forgiveness rest wholly on that spotless and perfect offering. The blood of the slain sacrificial victim symbolized His blood, and the use of blood to cleanse the sanctuary from the sins of the people typified the cleansing power of His blood.

As man's substitute, sin-bearer, surety, and antitypical sacrifice in His own body, He paid the penalty for disobedience, bore the curse, and took undeserved punishment to satisfy divine justice and vindicate the honor of God's law. Entire justice was done with Christ as its object, and by His own merits He covered everything God's justice demanded. His spotless self-offering fulfilled every condition upon which the free communication of grace to the human family was suspended. His perfect obedience and self-sacrifice satisfied the Father, made reconciliation possible, and purchased an everlasting inheritance for those given to Him, while also making it possible for people to obey God's law through faith. That offering sealed forever the everlasting covenant of grace and broke down every barrier intercepting the fullest exercise of grace, mercy, peace, and love to the most guilty of the race.

The guilty sinner who receives and holds Christ as personal Saviour goes free, and though guilty is looked upon as innocent, freed from condemnation, pardoned through faith, restored to allegiance to God, and given everlasting life instead of perishing. Through faith in the crucified and risen Saviour sins are pardoned, and those now on probation become prisoners of hope, with forgiveness received when there is repentance, contrition of heart, and belief in Him as the atoning sacrifice. The cross is God's mightiest pledge of justice and love, showing His character as holy, good, compassionate, and loving. It sheds abundant vindication on the faithful obedient child of God and leagues righteousness with truth to make unrighteousness appear.

By creation and by redemption through the ransom price of His spotless offering, every human being is His property and of special value. That offering furnishes abundant provision for everyone and proves He has suffered so much that He will leave nothing undone to accomplish man's salvation. It manifests an unabated love that human words fail to express, a love that can be made unavailable only by the sinner himself. Through His merits those He came to save are made unblameable, pure, and holy.

Purged Conscience and Sanctification

Purging the conscience from dead works is pardon as justification, which saves the soul from perdition and places it where it can receive the blessings of sanctification, leading through sanctification to the life of heaven. His blood provides the basis for justification and forgiveness, while the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit brings sanctification and transformation, so the cleansing is the basis of both. It is a glorious offer kept before sinners for years, and those who humble themselves, confess the iniquities that separated them from God, and ask for sins to be blotted out receive forgiveness, conversion and transformation.

Those chosen by God from eternity are to be holy, with soul, body and spirit sanctified and conscience cleansed from dead works to serve the living God, which surrounds them with the atmosphere of heaven. This is possible because God gave Himself to die to purify people from all iniquity, and the Lord carries on this work of perfection in all who refuse to make self god and allow themselves to be controlled by Him, for their good and His own name's glory. God's purpose is for His people to be holy, and Christ will continue His work of perfection in those who yield to His control.

The purging means perfect love, perfect obedience and entire conformity to the will of God, worked out in conformity of life to the life of Christ through sanctification of mind, soul and body by obedience to the truth so as not to be separated from the Sun of Righteousness. Believers are not yet perfect, but they can put away self and sin, cut away the entanglements of self and sin, and advance and go on unto perfection. Such a conformed life will have a powerful influence on the world. This righteousness requires faith and the Spirit's daily guidance, for faith that works through Christ's love purifies the soul, while self must die for Christ to live in the believer. Jesus takes possession of the sanctified soul to renew, sustain, guide and give vitality to all its impulses.

The blood purges the conscience only as the Holy Spirit as constant, working, regenerating agent makes that sacrifice effectual in each person. The Spirit constantly draws attention to the great sacrifice on Calvary, unfolds the love of God, opens to the convicted soul the precious things in Scripture, opens darkened minds to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, presents the moral standard of righteousness, convinces of sin, produces godly sorrow that works repentance not to be repented of, and inspires faith in Christ who alone saves from all sin. Through the Holy Spirit God uses Christ's suffering and death to purify the mind and heart from selfishness, restore His image in humanity and bring a new principle of life to minds defiled by sin. The Spirit withdraws affections from temporal perishable things, imbues the soul with desire for the imperishable immortal inheritance, recreates, refines and sanctifies character to make human agents members of the royal family and children of the heavenly King, and enables them to stand firmly against every species of idolatry and exalt the Lord alone in service to the living God.

Through His blood believers are presented spotless before the Father and become temples for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This cleansing sets the mind at rest and consecrates heart and hands to His service with undivided use of mind, soul, heart and strength, giving spiritual life that manifests love to God and to others and reveals His grace and life in character. Bodily affliction and reliance on good works cannot bring pardon or peace of conscience; only Christ's sacrifice cleanses. To neglect this great salvation and despise this glorious offer is to reject Christ, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.

Service in Daily Life

The blood of Christ sanctifies and cleanses from dead works by His taking possession of the sanctified soul to renew, sustain, guide and give vitality to every impulse, setting the mind at rest and consecrating heart and hands to His service with undivided mind, soul, heart and strength. Through that blood believers are presented spotless before the Father and become temples for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, with spiritual life manifesting love to God and to others and revealing His grace and life in character. That cleansing sanctifies the heart, making it holy and renewed so service to God is with full purpose. This cleansing must be applied to the heart daily, and is especially essential for those living in the perils of the last days while exposed to Satan's temptations. It calls for closer union with God and earnest unselfish devotion to His work rather than attention to temporal matters and business for self, and refusal to be purified brings being cut off from the congregation.

This purging brings converting power upon the heart and brings a person under the softening, subduing influence of the Holy Spirit, freeing from the spirit of faultfinding, making of one mind, and making submissive to God so He can use them effectively in His great work. Applied to the heart, that sacrifice cleanses the guilty conscience from sin's pollution and leads to seek forgiveness and sanctification, submit the will to God, and turn from selfishness and faultfinding so as to honor God and obey His commandments. By that better sacrifice than the blood of bulls and goats believers are purchased and consecrated to the ministry of service. Through the merits of Christ's grace daily received they practice His virtues and bear satisfactory fruit in works of righteousness, and their unselfish works give evidence to the world that they are indeed converted, have experienced the new birth, stand on the sure foundation, are heavenly minded, united with one another, and accepted of God. Such a purged conscience means perfect love, perfect obedience and entire conformity to the will of God, worked out in conformity of life to the life of Christ through sanctification of mind, soul and body. Though not yet perfect, believers have the privilege to cut away the entanglements of self and sin and go on unto perfection, and such a conformed life will have a powerful influence on the world.

Those cleansed by Christ's sacrifice are purged from sin and given freedom, and are not to return to transgression but are to seek more of His grace and serve God. This cleansing is received by taking hold of His merits and believing in Him for salvation, giving liberty and making it possible to reveal Him by telling what He has done. His shed blood is ground for seeking God's help in the struggle against evil, so that drawing near with heartfelt contrition and full assurance of faith, believers may plead that blood and trust that the enemy will be overcome. Discernment of the priceless worth of that cleansing blood and atonement requires a clear mind, and healthful simply prepared food helps protect the brain's fine nerves so they can discern it.