Vampires and Cannibals

[B-A-C]

OK, so this isn't really about Vampires and Cannibals.

But it about those who eat flesh and drink blood.

In John 6... we hear Jesus talk about the bread.

John 6:5; Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”
John 6:6; This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

Yet again, Jesus is testing the disciples. In this case... it's normal bread.

John 6:32; Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
John 6:33; For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
John 6:34; Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
John 6:35; Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

Now... we have a different bread. "the bread out of heaven". "The 'true' bread out of heaven".
... Jesus says... "I am the bread of life". What does Jesus mean by this?

John 6:41; Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”
John 6:42; They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
John 6:43; Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.

It's interesting that the Jews here missed the main point. It wasn't only that Jesus came down from heaven,
but that He was "the bread" that came down from heaven.

John 6:48; I am the bread of life.
John 6:49; Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
John 6:50; This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
John 6:51; I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

Jesus says He is "the bread of life". "the living bread".... then He goes on to say... "[this] bread is my flesh".
That's an interesting statement... a little difficult to understand.

John 6:52; Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
John 6:53; So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
John 6:54; He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:55; For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
John 6:56; He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
John 6:57; As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
John 6:58; This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

But it even gets a little more difficult here. Jesus gives us His 'flesh' to eat?
Unless we eat of His flesh... AND... drink His blood... we have no life.
Whoever eats of His flesh ..AND... drinks of is blood... has eternal life.
Whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood ... abide in Him (Jesus) and Jesus abides in Him.
Now, it is isn't only His flesh (the bread) He is talking about here... He adds another ingredient here.
"The blood". Not only do we need to eat His flesh... but we also need to drink His blood.

... to be continued ....

 

[B-A-C]

Now if this is difficult for you... you're not alone.
Even the disciples had trouble with this.

John 6:60; Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
John 6:61; But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
John 6:62; What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
John 6:63; It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

.... It is the Spirit that gives life.... these words Jesus spoke to them... "are spirit and are life".

I'd like to step away from John 6 for a minute... (we'll go back in a bit).

If we jump over to 1 Corinthians chapter 11... we see a passage commonly referred to as "The Lord's Supper".
This is frequently read during communion service. Roman Catholic's have something called "Mass", but
it is slightly different than communion, and for a different purpose. You also hear this sometimes called "Eucharist".

1 Cor 11:23; For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
1 Cor 11:24; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
1 Cor 11:25; In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
1 Cor 11:26; For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

1 Cor 11:27; Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
1 Cor 11:28; But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
1 Cor 11:29; For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
1 Cor 11:30; For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
1 Cor 11:31; But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
1 Cor 11:32; But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
1 Cor 11:33; So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
1 Cor 11:34; If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. ...

Again... we see the bread is Jesus' body. But now we see that the blood... is the blood of the covenant.
Not just anyone can drink of this at any time. But we are to "examine ourselves"...
So that we do not drink ..."in an unworthy manner".

Hmmm... why should we examine ourselves? Examine what about ourselves?
What is it about ourselves that would cause us to eat and drink "in an unworthy manner"?

... to be continued ...

 

[B-A-C]

1 Cor 10:14; Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Cor 10:15; I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.
1 Cor 10:16; Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?
1 Cor 10:17; Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
1 Cor 10:18; Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?
1 Cor 10:19; What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
1 Cor 10:20; No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
1 Cor 10:21; You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
1 Cor 10:22; Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

One of the things here is idolatry... and sharing with "demons".
This is about priorities. You're on one side of the fence... or the other. You can't be both.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons at the same time.
You cannot eat at the table of the Lord, and the table of demons at the same time.

This also about being "one flesh" with Christ and the body. We "are many but we are one body".
When we hurt ourselves spiritually, we are affecting the whole body.

... to be continued ...

 

[amadeus2]

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14

That is the Bread that we are to eat, the Word which is the Bread which became the Flesh. Simply stated it is the Bible itself which is the dead Flesh of Jesus. I say dead because it is dead until quickened within a person and thereby written in his heart.

"Who [God] also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." II Cor 3:6

The "letter" is the book we read each day. Atheists may also read it, but without the Spirit to quicken it, it is dead to them and will remain so. The Spirit giveth life [quickens] to that dead book and in us it become the Living Word.

The drinking of his blood is not speaking of the physical blood (about 10 pints) he shed on Calvary that we are to drink any more than it was the physical flesh of his body we are to eat. That blood and spilled and that body of broken in order to pay the price. Once the price was paid the Door was open to allow the pouring out of His Spiritual Blood, the Holy Spirit beginning on the day of Pentecost according to Acts chapter 2.

"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:..." Acts 2:16-17

It was poured out upon what? All flesh! This flesh is not all of mankind but it is all of the raw dead scripture consumed by people in order to then be quicken by the Spirit.

 

[B-A-C]

That is the Bread that we are to eat, the Word which is the Bread which became the Flesh

I was getting there... ( Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4; ) which are actually quoting Deut 8:3;

 

[KingJ]

Vampires and Cannibals

This is classic BAC :thumbsup:

 

[amadeus2]

This is classic BAC :thumbsup:

Amen!