“And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him, I say whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20).

There was a time for all of us corporately and individually when we “were without Christ . . . aliens . . . strangers . . . having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Our situation and our choices doomed us, “but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace” (v.13,14). The second verse of the thoughtful hymn, “No Blood, No Altar Now,” expounds on this great victory.

We thank thee for the blood, The blood of Christ, Thy Son:
The blood by which our peace is made, our victory is won:
Great victory o’er hell, and sin, and woe
That needs no second fight and leaves no second foe.

His victory consisted of multiple battles. On an individual basis, we that were “alienated and enemies in [our] mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled. In the body of His flesh through death, to present [us] holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight” (Colossians 1:21,22).

On a grander scale, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? . . . Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 15:54–57). “He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (I Corinthians 15:25,26) through His resurrection from the dead. In the final battle, “death and hell were cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14).

Christ’s death on the cross assured the victory, but we are still occupied in personal struggles. As we press on, our hearts are strengthened by the sure knowledge that “It is finished” (John 19:30), and no more sacrifice is needed. JDM