545. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 2): From Adam to Moses
The body and blood (life) of Christ is real food for us
There’s a story that John tells in chapter 6 of his gospel about Jesus feeding thousands of people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. After everyone ate, there were 12 baskets of food collected. Take a moment to imagine that, enough food to fit on a large plate fed thousands of people and then turned into 12 baskets. That’s our God! His idea of meeting your need is exceedingly, abundantly above what you can even imagine!
The next day, many from that crowd found him and asked for more food. He begins a dialogue where he tries to turn their thinking from carnal to spiritual. He uses their hunger for bread to present the idea that he can give them something that will give them life forever instead of for a day. When these Jews ask him for this bread he makes a confusing statement.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John 6:51
Say what, Jesus?
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. John 6:53-57
You’d think he’d explain the spiritual implications of this radical concept but he didn’t, he left that up to the Holy Spirit to bring revelation to those whose hearts were open to receiving him.
Read this entry from the Expositor’s Greek Testament.
He (Jesus) becomes as truly assimilated to the life of the individual as the nourishing elements in food enter into the substance of the body. The believer abides in Christ as finding his life in Him (Galatians 2:20); and Christ abides in the believer, continually imparting to him what constitutes spiritual life. For in Christ man reaches the source of all life in the Father (John 6:57),The living Father has sent Christ forth as the bearer of life. He lives, not equivalent to, through or by means of the Father, but “because of,” or “by reason of the Father”. The Father is the cause of my life; I live because the Father lives. The Father is the absolute source of life; the Son is the bearer of that life to the world. Every one that eateth Christ will by that connection participate in the life of God.
We understand that the body and blood or life of Christ are fed to us in our inner man, to our hearts from his spirit that dwells in believers. This spiritual life in us is not just a theological doctrine, it’s an actual force or presence that nourishes our emotions, our minds, our bodies and teaches us to think and see the world through God’s eyes. When we allow his spirit to be assimilated into every aspect of our being it acts just like physical food for the body, it brings life. As we learn to partake of the life of God flowing in us we can experience the same zoe (quality of life) that is in the Father.
Jesus says he lives because the Father lives. He understood that he was in the Father and the Father was in him. The same is true for us. Just like a branch of a tree receives the same nutrients that the roots of that tree draw from the soil, so do we draw life from God because we are in an eternal union with him in Christ.
Discussion questions:
- What is the picture in your heart or imagination of being fed by God’s spirit? (ex. a tree, a child in a womb, etc…)
- What area in your life do you need to have God’s spirit nourish you?
- What decision are you making to draw on his spirit to be nourished by his life in that situation?
Enjoy this free full length message on this topic:
Featured Series
Message Titles:
- Two Goats
- The Scapegoat
- Resurrection through His Eyes
- Exchanging Natures
- Joint-Heirs with Jesus
- Living in the Kingdom
These are some of the most powerful and concise messages I have given on the subject of Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. I go into much detail about the old testament day of atonement sacrifice and how it points to Jesus.
To fully understand the depth of which Christ cleansed us in his sacrifice we must look at the type and shadow detailed under the Levitical priesthood. These messages will give you razor sharp understanding of the cross and overwhelm your heart with compassion for all that Jesus accomplished on our behalf on the cross, in the grave and in his ascension.
These are my messages from the “Three Days that Changed the World” conference in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with Dr. Jim Richards.
The post The body and blood (life) of Christ is real food for us appeared first on Forward Ministries.
VIDEO How Do You Seek God’s Kingdom and Righteousness?
How would you answer that question for an unbeliever? You would tell him to believe on Jesus to receive forgiveness and eternal life. Why then does seeking the kingdom become about performance rather than believing for believers? Seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness is something we do in our hearts to ensure that we are in confident faith toward God based on what Jesus having already made us righteous when we put faith in him.
The post VIDEO How Do You Seek God’s Kingdom and Righteousness? appeared first on Forward Ministries.
The Cry for Faith
Daily I am confronted with this heart cry for faith. The one in despondence seeks to find someone who can believe for him. He cannot believe for himself, and yet he has every privilege and every right in the family of God. He knows that he is a child of God and yet the sense… Read More
The post The Cry for Faith appeared first on Positive Words.
Living the Life of Freedom
DUDLEY HALL -- “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Some time ago I was in a church service where the music team lingered on lyrics celebrating our freedom. We continued for several minutes declaring that we are free. I began musing on the degree of liberty we really have in Christ. It was interesting that on that occasion the sermon focused on how we can improve ourselves and feel better about ourselves if we would only practice certain specified disciplines.
It is great to be free from the penalty of sin’s curse. We could spend several eternities praising God for Jesus’s sacrifice, which satisfied eternal justice. Knowing that we do not have to face our sins should free us to embrace life with courage and confidence.
But there is more. When Jesus died for us -- in our place -- we died. That is important because we were inextricably chained to self-absorption. Since the original fall of mankind in the Garden, we have all been focused on ourselves. We spend most of our time trying to perfect and present ourselves in some acceptable fashion. We worry about how we are perceived. We measure our performance and compete with others for our own rights. Even when we try to do something for others we experience the menacing thoughts of wondering how this will look to outsiders. We find that it “feels good” to do charity work, so we do it more for ourselves than for the people that need the service. We massage our resumes and put our best foot forward in order to climb the social and vocational ladder. We become angry when others don’t see our point of view and value us as we deserve.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be free from that bondage? What if we could live beyond ourselves and for the glory of another?
That is the liberty Jesus offers. His death cut the power cord of sin in our present lives. Of course we can still choose to live in the selfish default mode, but we have been given a choice: the Spirit will enable us to live in the love of Christ. The same Christ that gave himself in our place has come to indwell us. We can be controlled by the love of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:14) This includes two vital dynamics. First we will live with joyful gratitude. After all He is the hero. He lived the acceptable life. He died the necessary death. He is God’s Son, man’s Savior, creation’s sustainer, history’s subject and the world’s hope. Why should any figure hold more intrigue for us? The treasure in knowing Him is unsearchable. The joy available in Him is without limit.
Secondly we will live with courageous confidence. He was raised from the dead and the same Spirit that raised him now lives in us and can transform us. When the message is proclaimed it will give hope to all who need change. Nothing in life is beyond the power of transformation. We can invade any sphere of this earth knowing that we represent a kingdom that is based on resurrection of the dead.
Yes, we are free. More free than we can imagine being. It is worth celebrating as well as appropriating. Let’s not live in selfish bondage when liberty is available.
517. Dead to Religious Rules, Alive to God
In this podcast we mentioned a couple of past episodes in which we talked about how sanctification is not a process, but is a part of who we are in Christ (our identity). Here they are:
506. The Gift of Sanctification
507. As Jesus Is, So Also Are We
Why Both Universalism and Hyper-Evangelicalism Just Don’t Work
A popular view that is influencing many people today is the idea that everybody will eventually make Heaven their home, which is commonly referred to as Universalism. In some circles, this is even being mixed in with the fresh revelation … Continue reading 
507. As Jesus Is, So Also Are We
Is Humanity Righteous? (Romans 5:18-19)
If I gave you a million dollars, how would you react? If you were poor, you’d be thrilled. You’d thank me and tell all your friends how awesome I am. But if you were Bill Gates you might say, “Meh. Add it to the pile.” How you react to a gift reflects your need for […]
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