What of the body of the Lord, purpose?

[StriperAddict]

A simple yet profound reflection on the communion elements and their meanings ... enjoy!
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"The Bread is really very Theological."
By Dan Camp, used by permission:

Father filled us, and fills us continuously by Grace, with the Son, Who loves others thru us, as we allow Him to do so.
The question that burdens us, that is rooted in our Heb12v15a personal Call, is, do folks know HOW TO love?
Equally important is, do those who have been called to love realize that the authentic and intended How-to love is by Christ in us, loving thru us?
The modern do-do-do church misses this fact about the Gospel routinely. I was chatting with a mature believer a year ago, when this was originally written.
"Sir, have you given any serious thought to the Communion elements?"
"Of course, I have. The Wine represents Jesus' Blood for our forgiveness of sins. And the Bread represents His Body for our... for our... for our... Well, Dan, the Bread is really very Theological."
Don't laugh too hard. Many believers have never reasoned thru the scriptures about why Jesus died physically and rose bodily for us.
The Lord is Eternal Life, and He is the Bread of Life. When we received Him, we received His Life as our New Life. Gal2v20 says that we were crucified with Christ, so that now, we live. But our Life has been changed. Or, we might say, it has been exchanged. Jesus took the old, and gave us the New, which is Him living in and thru us.
The Answer to my presenting questions above about How we now live, thru this new lens, or thru our new Grace-glasses, is clear and focused. My new Life is Christ living in me, and I can believe and trust Him in me to love thru me, and so much more!
Try it/Him in you today!

 

[gordon 2]

All very valid points. Also the bread for some is a direct link to the sacrifice on the cross.

 

[gordon 2]

Brother, what do you think of Christians who have never had a personal and individual encounter, or event-experience of God, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, can they live with the same life the same "Christ living in me" as those who have?

Or let me put it this way (and perhaps it is too plain in statement). some know Christian life by keeping to the instructions of Jesus to "keep the commandments" with especial focus on love, and such is their faith to refrain from doing evil and this they follow due to the instructions within scripture and of the church. Their formation as Christians is from the outside in, if you wish, as the church informs them. What is their understanding of "Christ in me"?

On the other hand, and perhaps( this is also too plain in statement) some Christians know God in that they have had a personal and individual and intimate experience with some individual aspect of God. Often or most times this experience is said by those who have claimed the experience or encounter that it is life changing from the inside out. These say they have been transformed from within, ( often said a born again experience) and love is a direct result out of the encounter independent of the instructions of the church or as Jesus gives in recorded scripture.


Are both these sustained by the same bread of life? Do both focus on Jesus equally? Are both equal according to God? Have they both received Jesus? Do they both live as equals and quickened by Eternal Life? Or, are these two separates or just us, single have within both natures we who claim Jesus from within?

 

[gordon 2]

Combine to this that the social values of each group is diverse within their group if such grouping exists? How can Jesus in us account for the many variations in values on what is just, good and evil? Are the days of the gentiles meant to be this way? Just as the Jews who issued from the Hebrews only had a grasp of God in part, needing a savior to usher them to a spiritually restored relationship with God ---more fully---, why is this restored relationship, and for the church, not sufficient for us today that we judge falling away, our children in our days especially given to desertion, all these in our very ranks? and so much so that we must continually re-evangelize the saints? What is in our grasp as Christians? Are we to grab at the robe of our Lord as he passes by? Are we to climb our trees to view him as he passes by? Are we to cleave to the word as our food-- the word that leads us to Jesus? Are we to cleave to the communion elements-that lead us to Jesus? And when we encounter Jesus...how do we account for that we follow him? What do we make of his spiritual leadership--from within and from without?

 

[StriperAddict]

I think the gospel is a light burden, far easier than we make it out to be. But life in all its complexity, perhaps that's where we take His easy yoke, light burden and bring this hope to others in whatever our individual gifts and calling direct us.
Sorry for a late return to this, I trust that in Christ we will each find our gifts and calling, and the work our God prepared for us to discover and perform.

His life within us is first relational, then it can be beneficial, to our sphere of influence as we walk by the Spirit.

Peace.

 

[Madman]

The Holy Eucharist is what sustains us in this life.

We see the discourse in John 6: 31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

As manna from heaven sent by God, sustained the Israelites in the wilderness, so does the true bread of life, Christ, sustain God's children in this new wilderness.