Ignite Revival

In our last lesson and discussion time we took a look at how God set up the sacrificial system as a temporary covering for man’s sin until the time came for Jesus His beloved Son to lay down His life. We established that it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. We also learned from the Book of Hebrews that these sacrifices had to be repeated year after year and could never make perfect those who would want to draw near to worship God. Those regular sacrifices only left them feeling guilty and they were an annual reminder of their sins. I am so thankful that when Christ came into the world He said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.” Then Jesus said, “Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:5-7) Jesus, who had been prophesied about throughout scripture, had finally come as our High Priest and with a final offer of sacrifice to a holy God for the sin of man. The sacrifice offered was Himself, sinless without spot or blemish. God was now able to set aside the first sacrificial system to accept and establish the second. I truly stand amazed at the fact that not only was Jesus obedient to His Fathers’ request, but that He did so willingly. In making the only sacrifice acceptable to a Holy God on our behalf, Jesus freely and willingly offered the most priceless, precious, and worthy gift, His sinless life.

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Calvary is, and will always be, the centerpiece of God’s eternal plan of salvation. God not only foresaw Calvary, but He was the one who arranged it. My heart cannot begin to comprehend the depth of perfect love that was behind His planning. Not only the love of a God for His creation, but the sacrifice that He made in putting His “only begotten Son” through the death of crucifixion. What is just as astounding to me, the obedience that was produced through the trust that Jesus had toward His Father. Jesus never questioned His Father’s motives regarding what was asked of Him. Not only did He trust His Father, but in spite of the Cross, He was assured of His Father’s love. One of the most amazing scriptures to me has always been John 10:17 where Jesus states, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life." Should that not speak volumes to our heart about the love and trust that was between the two of them. If Jesus was able to trust His Father under the circumstances and at the same time be assured of His Father’s love, shouldn’t we be even more assured of God’s love for us? We have all read John 3:16, and like me, you have all probably memorized it. But have you really thought about the implications of the love and trust in these actions? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”.... It assures us that if we simply put our trust in the same Father that Jesus did we will have life eternal just as He promised. It’s not only recognizing the depth of His love, it is also trusting in the depth of His love. He asked His only begotten Son to trust Him and become man, then asked Him to trust Him in the worst death, that of crucifixion, and then to trust Him that He would raise Him from the dead, all that we might be reconciled unto Himself. For God so loved the world and Jesus trusted His Father... God can be trusted, and if Jesus trusted His Father's plan, so should we! What amazing love! Because of Jesus’ trust and obedience to His Father and the willingness of His heart to shed His sinless Blood, our sins are not only forgiven, but cleansed and cast as far as the East is from the West. (Psalm 103:11-12) Through His obedience, willingness and trust, something wonderful happened at Calvary that day. His sinless Blood satisfied the wrath of a Holy God. The plan of God was revealed that day in all its glory and perfection.

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I have always said that there is a physical picture for every spiritual truth in heaven and on earth. One of those physical pictures is the spiritual truth behind Jesus’ Blood being sinless. The prominence of the significance of Jesus’ blood in the Scriptures takes on a whole new meaning in the light of the discoveries of science. Satan does not want us knowledgeable in the area of science and the blood. Satan does not want the world to truly believe in and trust in the truth of a sinless Savior. One of the areas that un- believers may eventually attack you in, is your doctrinal beliefs in the virgin birth. “How could Jesus be sinless and yet born of a woman?” The Bible, written by God thousands of years ago, fully anticipated this question and the truth would be revealed in all future discoveries through science. I stand in awe that there has not a been a single proven scientific discovery that has ever shown that the Bible was in error and this is especially true in the matter of blood chemistry and bio-chemistry.

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Most Christians agree that the Bible teaches that Jesus was conceived in the womb of a young virgin named Mary. The Bible also teaches that “...the Holy Spirit overcame Mary and the power of the Most High over-shadowed her.” By supernatural power Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary. This was done completely by the power of God and by the Holy Spirit of God. There was no intervention of a human father, ever! As I was researching the precious, sinless blood of Jesus, I came upon some important medical information that I think is worth mentioning in our study.

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Medically they have discovered that the blood which flows in an unborn babies veins is not derived from the mother but is produced within the little body only after the introduction of the male sperm. An unfertilized egg from the mother can never develop blood on its own and has nothing within itself that can produce blood. It is only after the male sperm has entered the egg that blood can develop. All the blood which forms in that little precious body is formed in the egg itself only as a result of the contribution of the father. The mother is the one who provides the egg with the elements that build the little body, the flesh. Mitochondria are DNA passed only through the female from one generation to the next. Mitochondria enable the body to aerobically respirate and without mitochondria human tissue would be unable to sustain its metabolic pathway. It was necessary for Jesus to possess the mitochondria DNA of Mary, otherwise His human body would not have the capacity to continue living. It is impossible for any human being to be conceived without female mitochondria. Another miracle is that from the moment of conception, to the time of birth, not one single drop of blood ever passes from mother to child, no blood can pass from us to our children in the womb. In order for God to produce a sinless Son that would be fully man, He had to use a woman through whom would come the flesh only, not the blood. How wonderful is this physical picture of a spiritual truth! God in His wisdom foreknew that He would use the egg of woman and He prepared her body perfectly to contribute what was needed for human life to continue. God also foreknew that because of Adam’s sin, sin would continue to be transmitted through the blood of man so God Himself would have to be the Father from whom the sinless child would come.

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If it would have been proven through science that even one drop of the mother's blood could be passed to her children, then Christ would not have been sinless. But that is not the case! We not only have the Bible but the scientific proof needed to back up our answer to the virgin birth and the sinlessness of the man Jesus. By God using Mary, a virgin, and by the Holy Spirit overcoming her and by the power of the Most High over-shadowing her, they together produced a sinless man. By Mary contributing the flesh, Jesus became the scripture promised and prophesied, "...the seed of David according to the flesh." And with God contributing the Blood, Jesus became scripture promised and prophesied, “the lamb without spot or blemish.” There should be no doubt in our hearts and minds that Jesus’ Blood was sinless Blood. But there is still one question to be considered. The Bible teaches us that Jesus was fully man, so could Jesus have chosen to sin and corrupt His sinless Blood? The answer is “Yes”. But the truth is He chose not to sin and He remained sinless throughout His human life. We should have no doubt as to what that sinless life was able to accomplish for us on that Cross. No doubt that God is satisfied because the sinless Blood of His sinless Son was the only price of redemption that God could accept, without violating the integrity of His holy nature. Our debt is paid! This sinless Blood is ever living, ever powerful, and it continues it’s work on our behalf even today. There is no way that when the Bible was written the authors could have known these medical facts. Only God in His great wisdom could have set in motion from the beginning this perfect plan to have His Son born of a virgin. Only by inspiration of His Holy Spirit could it be put into print and then thousands of years later be proven by medical science. This medical information should be an encouraging truth that we can trust God. God foreknew exactly what He was doing. We can, through this evidence, trust that Jesus is both God and man. No other explanation upholds all that Scripture says about Jesus Christ being our sinless Savior. Understanding this essential spiritual truth should be more to us than just intellectual knowledge, it must be the truth that we base our faith and hope on. Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin named Mary, was the union of God and humankind for the express purpose of providing a sinless Savior for us. Amazing! Peter rightly described Jesus when he said, “...it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last times for our sake. Through Him we believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so our faith and hope is in God. We can be assured that through our faith in the name of Jesus, His sinless Blood, and His resurrection, we will have life eternal. Our faith and our hope is in our God and His sinless Son! Let’s trust Him this week!

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Read Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-56

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Our Journey

through the Word

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1. What claims does Christ make in Matthew 26:63-64; John 5:17-18, 10:36-38, 19:7?

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2. What is said specifically about God in the following scriptures? John 3:35; 5:20, 10:17; 15:9-10

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3. What claim did God make of Jesus? Psalm 2:7; Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:1-14; 2 Peter 1:17

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4. What are some things that Jesus claims about God His Father in John 5:19-27?

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5. What counsel does the godly father give his son in Proverbs 3:5-6?

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6. How does the relationship of God the Father and His Son relate to us? John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 4:9-11

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7. In John 10:7-18 how many times does Christ mention that He, "lays down His life for the sheep"? What does this say about trust and was it important that He "lays it down of" his "own accord"?

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8. According to the following scriptures why is it important for us to trust God as Jesus did even when we don’t understand what He is doing? Isaiah 40:13-14, 55:9; Romans 11:33-36 (Please see Note #1)

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9. God desires that we learn to trust Him as Jesus did. W hat do we learn about trust from the following verses? 2 Samuel 22:31; Job 13:15; Psalm 7:1, 18:2, 25:1-2, 32:10, 34:8, 40:4; 91:2; Proverbs 16:20, 29:25, 30:5; Jeremiah 39:18; Nahum 1:7; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6; 1 Timothy 4:10.

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10. In the following scripture what council does Jesus give us regarding trusting His Father? John 14:1 (Some versions say “believe”. It is the same Greek word pisteuo (pist-yoo'-o) as “trust”.)

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11. What does Jeremiah 17:7-8 say about those who trust in the Lord?

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12. Because of Jesus’ sinless blood, what does the God not see when He looks at us? Psalm 103:11-12; Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:34; Romans 4:7-8

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13. What do the following scriptures say about Jesus and what it was that Jesus accomplished for us? Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 1:3

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Help Notes

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Note #1. In Isaiah 55:9 there are scripture cross references that scholars tie to this verse. What is God

implying to us about trusting His thoughts and ways ? Isaiah 53:6; Micah 4:12; Philippians 2:5.

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In Howell’s Textbook of Physiology, Second Edition, pages 885 and 886, It reads:

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"For the purpose of understanding its general functions it is sufficient to recall that the placenta consists essentially of vascular chorionic papillae from the fetus bathed in the large blood spaces of the decidual membrane of the mother. The fetal and maternal blood do not come into actual contact. They are separated from each other by the walls of the fetal blood vessels and the epithelial layers of the chorionic villae."

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Quote from Williams’ Practice of Obstetrics, Third Edition, page 133.

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"The fetal blood in the vessels of the chorionic villae at no time gains access to the maternal blood in the intervillous space, being separated from one another by the double layer of chorionic epithelium." And from page 136 of the same recognized textbook, "Normally there is no comm unication between the fetal blood and the maternal blood."

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"Nurse’s Handbook of Obstetrics" by Louise Zabriskie, R.N., Fifth Edition, page 75:

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"When the circulation of the blood begins in the embryo, it remains separate and distinct from that of the mother. All food and waste material which are interchanged between the embryo and the mother must pass through the blood vessel walls from one circulation to the other." And from page 82 of the same book, "The fetus receives its nourishment and oxygen from the mothers blood into its own through the medium of the placenta. The fetal heart pumps blood through the arteries of the umbilical cord into the placental vessels, which, looping in and out of the uterine tissue and lying in close contact with the uterine vessels, permit a diffusion, through their walls, of waste products from child to mother and of nourishment and oxygen from mother to child. As has been said, this interchange is effected by the process of osmosis, and there is no direct mingling of the two blood currents. In other words, no maternal blood actually flows to the fetus, nor is there any direct fetal blood flow to the mother."

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Additional Study:

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Jesus is fully God and fully human. Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to be God revealed in the flesh for our salvation. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, fully God and fully man, two natures in one Person. Following are Scriptures that support both his divinity and his humanity.

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Fully God

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Isa. 9:6; Matt. 11:27; 16:16; Mark 2:5-7; Luke 5:20-22; 9:20; John 1:1; 1:14; 2:19, 21; 3:13, 31; 5:18; 6:38; 8:58; 9: 38; 10:17; 10:30; 13:3; 14:9; 14:23; 16:15; 16:28; 17:8; 17:21-23; 20:28; Romans 9:5; 1 Cor. 10:3-4; 15:47; 18:4-6; 2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-17, 19; 2:9; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2:5; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:2-3, 8-11; 2:7, 9, 14, 16; 13:8; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 3:14.

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Fully human

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Matt. 1:1, 18-25; 4:2; 26:38; Luke 1:26-38; 9:58; 22:44; John 1:14; 11:33-35; 19:28, 34; Romans 9:5; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:5-11; 1 Tim. 2:5; 3:16; Heb. 2:14-15, 17-18; 4:15; 10:5; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7.