In our Spiritual Soldier Series on spiritual warfare we have talked about Jesus’ power over the dark forces of this world. But Jesus’ blood also has great power. So now we will look at Jesus’ blood and how it applies to spiritual warfare.
Some of these powers applied to you at salvation but have power for your family members, friends, and others you are fighting for in this spiritual war. Other powers of Jesus’ blood are powerful for you as you fight on the spiritual battlefield. Let’s dive in!
- Jesus’ blood has power to save.
When you were saved from your former way of life, it happened because of Jesus’ blood (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2; 18-19; 1 John 5:7-8, 11; Revelation 1:5). That’s a powerful truth you can hold on to, and anytime Satan challenges your salvation you can point to the blood of Christ.
But this is also a powerful truth for the unsaved you are fighting for. Whether you intercede for family members, friends, or other people around you, or you are sharing how Jesus has changed your life, you can be confident that Jesus’ blood is ready to save them and change their lives forever.
When Paul talks about holiness he describes how Jesus bought us at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). He paid your debt in full by His blood on the Cross. His blood is powerful enough to change your identity and inheritance as a child of God who’s going to heaven.
And he does that for everybody who believes in Him. Realize as you fight spiritual battles that those who commit themselves to Christ are no longer a pawn for the enemy. They belong to Jesus because of His blood shed for them.
Jesus redeems, or buys back from the enemy, every person who follows Him (Ephesians 1:7). You fight for them by witnessing and praying. These are both powerful weapons that draw them to Jesus. And the closer they get the more and more Satan fears they will come under the blood of Jesus.
Jesus’ blood ransoms every person who hears your testimony and believes a way from Satan (Revelation 5:9). We think of a ransom as what the victims pay the perpetrator to get their family members back. But that’s not how ransom works in the spiritual realm.
Jesus paid the ransom on Calvary through His death. He paid to make them new creatures in Him. So when you use these powerful weapons of warfare Jesus rescues them from the devil through that ransom.
Jesus’ blood justifies us and saves us from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9). Justification most simply expressed is, “Just as if I never sinned.” When we are justified before God He no longer sees the sin in us. We stand legally righteous before Him. This is the benefit of Jesus’ blood for those you help rescue from the clutches of the evil one.
So as you intercede for the unsaved loved ones around you, know that salvation by Jesus’ blood is the goal of all your fighting and hard work on their behalf.
- Jesus’ blood has power to inaugurate the new covenant.
Jesus began the new covenant and His Kingdom through the sacrifice of His shed blood on the Cross (Matthew 26:28). Every time we celebrate what Jesus did on the Cross through communion we remember His sacrifice.
The new covenant in His blood is the one we all live under. This new covenant made it possible for Jesus to rescue and reconcile everyone who believes in Him. This new covenant is the way God made for us to have personal relationship with Him. It destroys the sin that separates us from Him.
We don’t often think of the new covenant and how it came about, but every covenant must come into existence through the shedding of blood. Before Jesus shed His blood for us old covenant people lived with the constant shedding of the blood of animals.
But Jesus’ one-time sacrifice on the Cross means we do not have to keep offering animal sacrifices for every sin we commit (Hebrews 12:24). Jesus forgives our sins and begins relationship with us when we come under His one-time sacrifice.
Thank Jesus for His blood that inaugurated the new covenant. You don’t have to offer continual sacrifices as Job did for his children. All you have to do is pray and intercede for the unsaved still in the clutches of the enemy. Jesus does the rest.
- Jesus’ blood has power to forgive sins and bring peace.
Sins separate us from the relationship with God we need to have eternal life. Jesus’ blood has the power to forgive our sins (Ephesians 1:7). Through His power He forgives the sins we cannot get rid of on our own.
As you fight spiritual battles for those around you, you know they can’t forgive their own sins. They can’t make their own path to God. They can’t reconcile themselves to Him through their own deeds. But Jesus does this through His blood.
God has always been making the first move, putting in the effort to bring each of us closer to Him. What we cannot do He does through the most powerful act of love. And everyone who comes to Him receives the benefit of His sacrifice.
Like every covenant that must be initiated by blood, the writer of Hebrews explains that forgiveness doesn’t happen without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). If your unsaved family and friends will ever know God and be rescued from spiritual slavery, it must happen because of Jesus’ blood.
But thanks be to God who rescues those who believe by the sacrifice of Jesus’ shed blood. He forgives us though we don’t deserve it. As you pray for the unsaved and they enter the Kingdom of light, Jesus’ blood brings His forgiveness into their lives.
Right now, the unsaved ones you are interceding for as a spiritual soldier in Christ are wracked with the darkness and abuse of the enemy. They suffer confusion, unrest, and constant battles. He has all kinds of lies for them.
But when they come into the Kingdom of light Jesus gives them his wonderful peace. He made peace between warring factions through the sacrifice of His body (Ephesians 2:13-14; Colossians 1:20). The war between God and you is over at the Cross.
Now, the light of Jesus pushes back the pain, confusion, darkness, and depression. He brings His peace by the blood of His sacrifice to those once lost in darkness. It’s a world of difference between confusion and the peace of Christ. And you are a large part of bringing Jesus’ peace to those in confusion and darkness through your spiritual warfare.
- Jesus’ blood has the power to cleanse us from sin.
Jesus’ blood cleanses you and those you lead to Christ from sin (1 John 1:7). It’s one thing to wash over or cover our sin. But it’s completely different when His blood cleanses us from sin. It’s like Dawn dish soap that doesn’t just cover up Greece.
It completely removes the grease and grime. This is what Jesus’ blood has done for our sins. They are totally gone because of the power of His blood. And then Jesus makes those who are fighting for new creatures in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). All this comes about through your fighting for them, many times without them even knowing it.
Jesus’ blood also cleanses the conscience of those living in darkness when they come to Him (Hebrews 9:14). His blood makes it possible for them to no longer be riddled with the attacks of the enemy.
They have the ability to make right decisions for Christ that glorify God. And their consciences no longer tell them the wrong things. They no longer let them slide when they make ungodly decisions or do ungodly things.
Their seared consciences are purified by the power of Christ’s blood. It makes it possible for them to live godly lives. Satan can no longer convince them that they are living rightly because they do what they want to do. They know the truth and it sets them free.
- Jesus’ blood has the power for relationship with Christ.
Through Jesus’ blood, those you intercede for can have relationship with Him (Ephesians 2:13). They are far away from God now but through His powerful blood and your prayers and witnessing they can be drawn close to Him.
As they come to Christ, they now have access to His sanctuary (Hebrews 10:19). Like you, they can communicate with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. They have relationship with Him because of His shed blood.
Jesus’ blood makes a way into His throne room and presence. They can grow deeper in Him. They can know Him and understand Him through the Holy Spirit. John talks about having fellowship with God because of Jesus’ blood (1 John 1:7).
When Jesus’ lead cleanses them from their sin they have fellowship with God. This close communion with Him, this sharing all things in common with Him brings them a nearness and close connection with Jesus.
This relationship protects them from the onslaught of the enemy. It gives them the same shielding and fortress you have. And he gives them the weapons and power to defeat the enemy in their own lives and for those around them.
Communion, sharing in the Lord’s Supper, opens new doors of intimacy with God. It is a powerful draw into His presence. When they become followers of Christ they can find out for themselves how close to Jesus they can become.
All of these benefits are waiting the people you are interceding for. For me, this gives me renewed desire and boldness to fight spiritual battles with all the spiritual weapons and my disposal. I fight for them because they don’t know how much darkness they live in. But I want all of these benefits of Jesus’ blood for each of them.
- Jesus’ blood has power to overcome the devil.
Finally, Jesus’ blood makes you an overcomer (Revelation 12:11). Satan and his demons are constantly attempting to destroy the lives of Christians. Jesus calls Satan “the accuser of the brethren.” No matter how much he comes after us we defeat him.
One of the ways we do that is by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus’ blood makes us victorious. It reminds the devil and his minions that we belong to Jesus and have been saved by His sacrifice. Like the blood of the lambs put on the door posts of Israelite houses in Egypt to protect them from the Destroyer who killed the firstborn of the Egyptians Jesus’ blood protects us from the enemy.
When you fight spiritual battles you don’t have to fear the enemy. Jesus’ blood protects you from any attack the enemy can serve up. He cannot hurt you because of Jesus’ blood. You are not tied to this world. Your home is in heaven and he can’t change that.
Even if you are persecuted and give your life as a powerful testimony of Jesus’ love for you, you go to heaven. You go to be with Jesus. This is our reward afforded to us because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for us.
Wrapping Up
Trust in Jesus’ blood to have the power to assist you on the spiritual battlefield. Whether His blood gives you power for your own walk with Him or will help someone else who comes to Christ Jesus’ blood does the heavy lifting for salvation and developing a relationship with Him.
This makes fighting spiritual bottles for others all the more important. Jesus’ blood gives them the ability to become members of the Kingdom of light. What other spiritual warfare applications have you discovered for Jesus’ blood?
Up Next
Now that we have taken a deeper look at Jesus and how He prepares and equips us for spiritual battles, we will turn to a battlefield training on the Holy Spirit and what He does in spiritual warfare.
