2016.10.16_The Lord’s Flesh and Blood

Eat the Lord’s flesh and blood

The Lord said, ‘Eat my flesh and drink my blood, then you will live.’ This word can be the most implicative word of the truth of God. The world which we will face in the future is included in this word.

God wanted to give His flesh and blood to humanity. In fact, Jesus came to this land and gave us His flesh and blood instructing us to ‘eat the flesh and blood of mine’. Like Him, we have had the biggest benefit when we just take and eat the flesh and blood.

Most people think about food first as the meaning of eating. It is a natural reaction but also, it is a reaction that shows us the limitation of man who has body. However, the bigger problem is that the soul must be dead like the body. There must be something for the soul in order to live, not food. It is Jesus Christ. Human can live by eating the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

There is a problem which we have to think about. Why did God use the word ‘Eat’ when referring to our faith? In fact, the word ‘Eat’ is a spiritual word. In the view of mankind, eating the flesh and blood of Jesus is understood as a metaphor. However, in the view of God, it is truth. The meaning of the concept of ‘Eat’ has already been used in Bible. Ezekiel 3:1~3 says, ‘Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” Also Matthew 4:4 says, ‘Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The scene where Jesus has the last supper with His disciples clearly shows us the meaning of word of ‘Eat’. Jesus told the disciples, ‘Take and eat, this is my body. This is my blood, which means, it is the blood of covenant so take and eat.’ The words of ‘Take and eat my blood’ mean ‘I will be dead for you’. And the words of ‘Take and eat my flesh’ mean ‘I will resurrect for you.’ In other words, it means ‘God loved you.’ Today, we have life inside of us because Jesus died for us, and we have eternal life because Jesus resurrected from the dead. The Lord has experienced the difficult process which is dead and resurrection in order to give real food and drink to us as the will of God that loves us.

The Lord’s Supper is what can make us remember that fact. It helps each other confirm the death and resurrection of the Lord by partaking in the Lord’s Supper. Baptism by immersion is related to eating the blood and flesh of Jesus as well. A complete immersion under water is joining the death of Jesus and that is related to drinking the blood of Jesus. Also, coming out of water is participating in the resurrection of the Lord, and we start preparing for the day of resurrection from the day of baptism. This is closely related to eating the flesh of the Lord.

The way to eat the flesh and blood of the Lord

So how could we eat the flesh and blood of Jesus in reality? The blood is related to the forgiveness of sins. We, who never knew about Jesus, have been forgiven, relying on the works of Christ who shed the blood, and received life. After that, we are far from sin by repenting day by day. Being forgiven of sins and repenting are a way to drink the blood of Jesus.

Eating the flesh of Jesus is obeying the words of God. This includes evangelizing souls, bringing them up, and taking care of them. In another view this is the work of the church, obeying the work of the church is a way to eat the flesh of Jesus. The Lord left a word of eternity in the Bible. The Holy Spirit makes us remember the word. The church has a responsibility, it is leading saints so that they can obey the word.

God strived immensely in order to achieve the impossible work that is giving His flesh and blood to humans. In the process, God thought it may be a problem if humans would not be able to fulfill the duties. A person who appeared in the process is Abraham.

We can know what kind of person Abraham was through the incidents written in the Bible. The Lord has said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:1~3) At that time, leaving your hometown was a very dangerous task, but Abraham trusted in God’s word and left his hometown.

When Abraham became ninety years old, God told him He would give a son through his wife, Sarah. It is difficult to accept His word because common sense would know that Sarah’s period has already ceased. However, Abraham believed the word of God. Then as a result, he got a son. The test of God was not been finished at that time. God told him to offer his son, Isaac, who Abraham got at the age of a hundred, as a burnt offering. Isaac surely had to be living in order to achieve the covenant given to Abraham by God. So it was so hard to understand why he had tooffer Isaac as a burnt offering. However, Abraham even obeyed that word. This faith of Abraham has continued through his lineage and through this way of faith ws prepared so that we can receive the flesh and blood of God.

King Saul was opposite of Abraham. He didn’t obey the word of God. God not only told Saul to hit Amalek,to but also destroy all of the animals as well as the people. However, Saul disobeyed the order and took the good cows and lambs. He thought God will be pleased if he gives an offering with them. But disobeying the word of God, we can’t please God. The reason why God was glad in Abraham is because he obeyed with only the sense of God, not the common sense of human.

The forefathers of faith prepared the achievement of the covenant by obeying the word of God, overcoming all kinds of hardships. Jesus Christ said, pointing the temple of Jerusalem, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19) It means that ‘I will be dead for you. But I will be raised from the dead.’ The Lord did achieve that word. Now the Lord says to us, ‘Bury the old man. From now you will be a church that eats and lives the word of God.’

The duty of those who eat the flesh and blood of the Lord

We who eat the flesh and blood of Jesus are a part of Him, a church. As all parts of a body move as one, every member of the church has to move as one. On the night before leaving Egypt, all of Israel should catch a sheep and eat it with its bones. That was the order from God. That might not be easy. There was probably a person who disobeyed, however, only those who obeyed the word were able to come out of Egypt. Now is the same as well. God is pleased with those who obey His word even though it can’t be understood. We have to have faith to be able to obey the works of the church without worry. When Jesus told his disciples to eat bread, they didn’t worry at all. Like that, a saint has to immediately start working.

The new commandment is like the biggest piece of flesh given by God. Obeying the word can’t be done overnight. We have to discipline and train ourselves sternly in order to obey the word, drinking the blood of the Lord because we have already gotten great love from the Lord. So we have to make our church successful by obeying the commandment of loving each other from now on. A person who wants to beat an illness and also who wants a family to be good has to work hard for the church. If the Lord has victory in us, He will take care of our life.

We are the body of the Lord. Therefore, we have to make the Lord use us as His will. Let us offer ourselves for the church. First of all, let all of the time of service be the time that God works in us. The time of the sermon has to be the time that God speaks. That can’t be possible only with the effort of a pastor. It can be achieved when we give our heart to the flesh and blood of God as one. Let us make a complete body of the Lord by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Lord together.