BLOOD OF CHRIST: CLEANSING FROM “SIN”

 The author of 1 John, whichever John that is, thinks Christians should sin no more: “My children, these things I write to you in order that you not sin” (2:1a).  That is a well-known thesis of the letter, but I see it now from a different perspective.

As an OT scholar, I am aware of what were and were not the symbolic functions of blood in the Israelite sacrificial system – even whether it was applied or sprinkled had different functions.  I am also fairly convinced that Paul used the sacrificial language carefully, the precision of which is sometimes overlooked in NT interpretation and theology, particularly at a popular level.  (Some favorite hymns about blood are offtrack.  That bothers me, but I still sing with the congregation.)  1John 1:7 caught my attention: “… and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin [singular].”

Technical details:
Problem: In the Israelite sacrificial system, the blood of the purification/sin offering was not applied to people to cleanse them from sins.  Rather, it was applied to the altar to symbolically cleanse God’s dwelling from the contamination of sins.  That God allowed the blood to cleanse away this impediment in relationship with repentant Israelites was symbolic of God’s willingness to forgive.  So, I wondered if John did not know this technical feature of the sacrificial system.  (And, as a good NT scholar and friend pointed out, I might be expecting too much consistency within first-century Judaism.)

Observations: John uses the word for “sin” (harmartia) in the singular and the plural.  All of the plural forms use the term as a “product” of human behavior (1:9; 2:12; 2:2; 3:5; 4:10).  Moreover, all of the atonement concepts associated with the plural are appropriate to the sacrificial system (e.g. confessing, forgiving, “atoning offering,”*  taking up).  The singular forms may refer to a product (3:4 2x’s, 8, 9; 5:16 (1^st) or to a sinful state of being (1:8; 3:5).  (Some singular uses that are not clear by context also seem to refer to a state: 5:16 2^nd, 17.)  In our text, 1:7 in conjunction with verse 8, then appears to refer to a state of being.

Solution: John is thinking of the blood of Jesus as sanctifying people.  In the OT, after blood was applied to the altar to symbolically cleanse it of contamination sins, it was sprinkled with blood to re-sanctify it, to make it holy again.  In the dedication of the Israelite priesthood (Ex 29:16, 20 - 21, Lev 8:24, 30), after blood was applied to their extremities – the only time it is applied to people for the purpose of first purifying them# – it was then sprinkled on them to sanctify them, to set them apart as holy for the service of the priesthood.  Moreover, 1:9, which uses a different word for sin, “unrighteousness” (adikia) that also can communicate a state or a product, follows the same OT sequence of purifying and then consecrating: “If we confess our sins (plural), he is faithful and righteous in order to forgive us our sins (plural), AND cleanses us from all unrighteousness (singular).”  Therefore, it seems that John has extended the OT concept of blood for sanctification of the altar and the priests to those who profess Christ.  John in this letter appears to be saying two things: that sins are forgiven by Christ AND, given John's participatory theology (e.g. walking in the Light), that the believer’s character/heart has also been cleansed/sanctified by Christ's blood.

Application:  To me the extension John has made is beautiful and profound!  Having been forgiven through the process of Jesus' blood as a purification sacrifice, believers have also been sanctified by it to be holy.  That which has been made holy is not to become contaminated by sins again.

Lord, what I am offered in Christ is beyond wonder.  Having been forgiven and sanctified by Christ’s blood, I want to walk in the Light and sin no more.  Amen

*Sometimes translated as “propitiation.”
#In the covenant ratification ceremony of Ex 24:3 – 8, blood was sprinkled on people (or perhaps on the 12 pillars representing them), but this ritual was not for sins.  (The author of Hebrews does refer to this rite in 9:19 – 20 and probably 12:24, though, as one of three symbolic uses of the blood of Jesus that he mentions.