Chapter 10

CLEANSING

THE SECOND APPLICATION OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS IS cleansing. In regard to cleansing, the first scripture we will consider is First John 1:7.

But if we walk in the light, as He [Jesus] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

In this verse, it is important to see that there are three verbs in the continuing present tense. To emphasize that point, we could paraphrase the verse as follows: “If we continue walking in the light, we continue having fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us.” It is imperative to see that the use of the word “if” in this verse makes it clear that all the promised results are conditional. They depend upon obedience to the condition.

It is also important to notice, before we take the application of the blood in this passage, that there are three actions that are interrelated or bound together in the Word of God that cannot be separated. These three actions are walking in the light, fellowship with one another, and the cleansing of the blood.

CONDITIONAL CLEANSING

I have met scores of people who claim the cleansing and protection of the blood but who did not meet the conditions that entitle them to receive such cleansing and protection. Cleansing through the blood of Christ is a consequence that follows from something that is stated by an if. It is conditional upon our fulfilling the condition stated in the if.

If we walk in the light as He is in the light, then two results follow. Not one, but two. The cleansing of the blood is the second result. The first result is that we have fellowship with one another. The second result is that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

Logically, if we are not in fellowship, it serves as proof that we are not walking in the light. Conversely, if we are not walking in the light, it follows that we cannot claim the cleansing of the blood of Jesus.

Ultimately, we come to this conclusion: if we are out of fellowship, we are out of the light. And if we are out of the light, the blood no longer cleanses us.

ONLY IN THE LIGHT

One of the most important principles I can offer at this point is this: the blood of Jesus cleanses only in the light. I have heard hundreds of Christians deceive themselves about their right of access to the blood. Although they keep quoting the latter part of First John 1:7, they never fulfill the condition stated in the if.

We have to walk in the light as He is in the light. The evidence we are walking in the light, first and foremost, is that we have fellowship with one another. Out of fellowship; out of the light. Out of the light; no longer under the cleansing of the blood. This is exactly the way it is. Fellowship is the place of light.

Fellowship is a place of testing. Why? Because the closer the fellowship, the brighter the light. Until you and I come to the place where there are no hidden corners, no shadows, nothing swept under the rug, and nothing covered up, we will not be out in the light. Such a transparent place is a very frightening place for the natural man. But that is the only place where the blood of Jesus fully fulfills its function of cleansing. If you want cleansing, it is in the light. If you are in any way wrong with God or wrong with your neighbor, you are not fully in the light. Consequently, the blood will never be applied except in the light.

What do you and I have to do? We have to come to the light. What does it mean to come to the light? We have to confess our sins and bring them to the light. That is one of the hardest steps for natural man to take. The light seems so bright. “Oh, I couldn’t bring that terrible thing, that awful memory, that guilty secret, I couldn’t expose it to the light.”

The natural man shrinks from it. But the truth is that when it gets to the light, it disappears. Why? Because then the blood cleanses it. Sadly, if you don’t bring it to the light, you keep it. This is a tremendously important principle—the blood operates only in the light.

COMPLETELY CLEANSED

When I lived in East Africa for five years, I was exposed to the Swahili language. I didn’t exactly learn it fully, but I got involved in it enough to understand a little of it. In Swahili, there is a special tense that describes something which is complete and permanent. In that well-known song, “The Blood of Jesus Cleanses Us from All Sin,” Swahili speakers say, “Damu ya Yesu husafisha kabisa.”

The Swahili tongue also has some Arabic roots—an offshoot of the Arab traders who plied their wares up and down the east coast of Africa. So, if one knows Arabic, they will know that “Damu ya Yesu” refers to the blood of Jesus. Husafisha is “to cleanse.” Hu means it does it completely or totally. “Damu ya Yesu husafisha kabisa” tells us then that the blood of Jesus cleanses us completely, totally, or absolutely from all sin. That translation has always stuck with me because it says it so perfectly.

When you and I meditate on the cleansing of the blood of Jesus, we need to think of something that is both continual and complete. This is how we can testify to this truth concerning the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus:

While I walk in the light, the blood of Jesus is cleansing me, now and continually, from all sin.

There is a beautiful commentary on this concept in Psalm 51, which is the great penitent psalm of David after he had been convicted of his sins of adultery and murder. I believe it to be one of the most beautiful psalms ever written. I think that every one of us does well to read it from time to time as our own prayer. (I believe in making the psalms my prayers. I don’t just read them, I read them as my prayers.) In verse 7, David says:

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

From our earlier chapters, we take note that David introduces the use of hyssop. What is the implication of the hyssop? It is the means by which I bring the blood to where I am. It is a prophetic preview of being cleansed with the blood of Jesus.

As you read this verse, I would encourage you to make it a prayer and not just say it as an exercise. Psalm 51:7: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Isn’t that a beautiful thought?

With this verse in mind, let’s repeat the testimony we just learned:

While I walk in the light, the blood of Jesus is cleansing me, now and continually, from all sin.

I say in this declaration that the blood of Jesus is cleansing me now. Why do I say this? Because I always believe in a here-and-now statement. Not just something general, but real in the present moment. It is cleansing me here now. But it is also continual.

What an assurance it is to know where you and I can go when we are guilty! Stop for a moment and think about the billions of people who are guilty and do not know where to go. Imagine what it would be like to have a guilty conscience—to be tormented with the impact of your sin—and not know where to go to find forgiveness and peace. That is the condition of humanity today.