For the exercise of our spirit we need the cleansing of the blood of Christ. First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.” To exercise our spirit is to have fellowship with the Lord and also with the saints in the presence of the Lord. In the Lord’s presence we are in the light. God is light (v. 5), the churches are the lampstands (Rev. 1:11-12, 20), and the saints are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). Because of this, we are often exposed in the church. Darkness veils, but light exposes. When we are away from the church, everything may seem fine because everything is hidden, covered, and veiled under darkness, but when we come back to the church, the church as the lampstand shines and we are spontaneously exposed.
Whenever we contact God, the church, or the saints, we are enlightened. We can test this in our experience. The more we contact worldly persons, the more we may be in darkness. On the contrary, when we go to contact the brothers and sisters, we are enlightened even while we are on the way to see them. Even before we meet the saints, we already have the feeling that we are wrong concerning certain matters. Then as we come into the presence of the saints, we are under more enlightenment even before we begin to speak. When we are in the fellowship either with the Lord directly or with the church or the saints, we are in the light. This light exposes us, and we are not able to hide from it. Therefore, we need the cleansing of the Lord’s blood.
The more we exercise our spirit, the more we enter into fellowship, are under the light, and sense how much we need the blood to cleanse us. In 1 John 1:7 the fellowship, the light, and the blood are related to one another. If we are in the fellowship, we are in the light, and under the light we need the blood to cleanse us. If we do not apply the cleansing blood, our conscience will be dirty and under condemnation. Then our evil conscience will bother us and break the fellowship, and we will not be able to exercise our spirit. Therefore, for the exercise of our spirit we need the cleansing of the blood.
Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” By the blood our conscience is purged not only from evil works but also from dead works. Verse 19 of chapter 10 says, “Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus,” and verse 22 continues, “Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” The Holy of Holies today is our human spirit. Because we are sinful, in the old nature, and in the flesh, there is no other way to enter into our spirit and remain in the spirit than through the blood of Christ.
If we are careless with God and our fellowship with Him, we may not sense that we are sinful, but if we care for our fellowship with the Lord and desire to enter into the Holy of Holies, we will immediately sense a condemnation within. This is because regardless of how spiritual we may be, we are still in the old nature, the self, the soul, and the flesh. If we mean business with the Lord to come into His presence, we will sense that we need the cleansing blood. Sometimes we may not sense a particular problem, but we may still have a general sense that we are dirty because we are still in the old nature. Therefore, we need the blood to cleanse us. It is through the blood and by the blood that we can enter into the Holy of Holies, that is, into our spirit.
Certain Christian hymns say that the blood cleanses our heart. It is more accurate to say that according to Hebrews 9:14 the blood purifies our conscience. Whenever we have a feeling that we are sinful or wrong, our conscience is dirty and needs the blood to purify it. Christ shed His blood on the cross to meet all the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. Then this blood was brought into heaven itself to be sprinkled before the face of God for our forgiveness and redemption (vv. 23-24). Our conscience within us corresponds to God in heaven. When God in heaven condemns, the conscience within us also condemns, and when God in heaven releases, our conscience also releases. Therefore, when the blood was sprinkled in the presence of God, our conscience was also sprinkled and released. For this reason we have a good conscience, and we have peace in our conscience.
If we do not know how to apply the blood, we will not know how to exercise our spirit. Whenever we come to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, it is vital that we apply the blood to cleanse our conscience. God is righteous, holy, and in glory, but we are sinful, evil, dirty, worldly, common, and short of His glory (Rom. 3:23). Therefore, we need the blood to bridge the gap between us and God so that we may come into His presence by exercising our spirit to contact Him. We must learn how to apply the blood. Through the blood of Christ we have freedom, peace, boldness, and victory. Without the application of the blood, Satan, the enemy, the subtle one, constantly accuses us of being wrong in certain matters and with certain persons. When we apply the blood, it gives us the victory over the accusations of the evil one, and we immediately have the peace within and the boldness to contact the Lord (Rev. 12:11).