I posted Part 1 in March 2021. Its about 3 pages. Because it has a lot of Bible verses in from John chapter 6 some people will receive different pictures and emphases, and that’s ok.
The main points as I see it were:
There are parallels between the worldly acts of eating and drinking and receiving spiritually from God.
Jesus The Son of God became a man, the Incarnation, to show us that we can be like Him while we are still in this world in the flesh. In John 1:14 the KJV has “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”. So, in a sense, as we read the Word of God, as we hear it, as we speak it, it becomes a part of us, our mind, our emotions, who we are, even our body.
Being spiritual is as easy to us as eating and drinking
The reality of the sacrament of Communion or the Eucharist in church services can be repeated any time we eat or drink.
It starts with us believing that as we eat and drink we remember what He has done for us while in his body, His earth suit, and we thank Him for our food and for our salvation and for the life we now live.
Now I want to look at the Catholic Church doctrine of transsubstantiation. Back in the day this was regarded as blasphemous by some Protestants because it implies that when Catholics take Communion Jesus is crucified again.
In the official website of the Catholic Church in New Zealand they have the following description:
“Eucharist
It is the consecrated bread and wine which Catholics believe is the very body and blood of Christ hidden under the forms of bread and wine. It is also the Mass in which this bread and wine are consecrated and transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. This sacrament is a multi-faceted jewel: it is the bringer of deep relationship with Jesus, a wedding feast for the Church, a sacrifice of personal egoism, and a foretaste of heaven, all at the same time.”
see https://www.catholic.org.nz/spirituality/seeking-the-sacred/#section_100
accessed 12 July 2021
In “https://www.catholic.org/prayers/sacrament.php?id=2” we read, in part: “The whole Christ is present in either kind and is received by the communicant. For the wheat bread and grape wine are transubstantiated by the ordained priest into the flesh and blood of Christ so that only the appearance of bread and wine remains.”
First, I should say that this refers to the actual taking of communion through a Catholic priest in a church service.
Now I am not here to comment on the theology of the Catholic Church. I just want to use the descriptions to help us understand that God is really interested in our eating and drinking and that doing so in an attitude of gratefulness to Him can enhance healthy eating.
I am going to highlight some of the verses in Part 1 from the Mirror Study Bible to update those who haven’t read Pt 1 yet.
But first, here’s the reference to the Pt 1 blog:
https://www.mygracediet.com/blog/2021/2/17/eating-jesus-flesh-and-drinking-his-blood-part-1
Highlight verses:
John 6:51: Jesus speaking“ I am the living bread”
John 6:53 Jesus: “Amen amen I say unto you that you have no real life in yourselves until you consume the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood”
John 6:54 Jesus “ Your every meal is a celebration of the incarnation.”
Let’s face it, we normally enjoy eating and drinking, and even more so when we do it with friends and family. Being diet conscious and worrying about what to eat can spoil that. Being religious can spoil your enjoyment of a meal as well. Rereading this portion of scripture from the Mirror can bring us back to being healthy and having a good attitude about food.
The end of 1 Corinthians ch 10 and leading to ch 11 are regarded as talking about what we variously describe as ‘the breaking of bread”, “communion”, ‘The Eucharist”, which are often solemn times in church.
My emphasis in this blog is really to say that if you worship Jesus and commit to following Him then you can enjoy your food and along the way He can speak to you about what foods are best for you. In the end we all die physically within 100 years, whether you eat good or bad, so its more important to listen to Jesus because He has the words of Life and only He can carry you into the next life.
All verses coming are from the Mirror Study Bible, see https://www.mirrorword.net/.
Paul says in 1 Cor 10:30b “Every meal to me is a celebration of what grace reveals”
1 Cor 10:31b: “Your eating and drinking is certainly a constant reminder that you are his glory.”
1 Cor 11:23: Let me remind you then what we are actually celebrating in our fellowship meal: the night the Lord Jesus was betrayed he took bread
1 Cor 11:24: and gave thanks; breaking the bread into portions, he said “ Realize your association with my death, every time you eat, remember my body that was broken for you”
1 Cor 11:25: “ He did exactly the same after supper and said, This cup holds the wine of the New Covenant in my blood; you celebrate me every time you drink with this understanding.”
Now I want to go into an area where I have heard expressed in a communion service that if you take communion as an unbeliever or as a Christian with sin in your life, then you are eating unworthily and risk getting very sick or even dying. So lets look at how the Francois du Toit expresses his translation in the Mirror Study Bible.
! Cor 11:26 :”Your every meal makes the mandate of his coming relevant and communicates the meaning of the New Covenant” So the context here is “every meal”, not just communion.
1 Cor 11:27: “ So whoever does not value the meaning of the bread and wine, keeps themselves in condemnation.”
1 Cor 11:28: “To see oneself associated in Christ’s death and declared innocent in his blood is the only worthy manner in which to examine ones own life in the context of the new covenant meal.”
1 Cor 11:29: “ Anyone who partakes of the meal in an indifferent manner, either because of religious sentiment or merely being blasé about the meaning of the meal, eats and drinks judgement upon themselves!. The human body of Jesus represents the judgement of every single human life; to fail to acknowledge this is to deliberately exclude yourself from the blessing of the New Covenant.”
1 Cor 11:30: “ This is the reason why many of you are suffering unnecessarily with weaknesses and illnesses, and many have already died. “
In Prov 4:22 we read about God’s words “For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all your flesh.” (KJV). When we eat or take Communion, we can look to Jesus for healing, because healing is in the Atonement. Randy Clark has a doctoral thesis on this but basically this can be derived by believing in 3 Bible verses.
Isaiah 53:5 c “and with His stripes we are healed” KJV
Matthew 8:17; “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities , and bare our sicknesses. “ KJV
1 Pet 2:24 In his person he bore our sins in his own body upon the tree and thus 1brought closure to every distorted pattern of sin’s influence upon us; we were made alive unto righteousness; we were healed by the blows he took in his body!
du Toit, Francois. Mirror Study Bible (p. 920). Kindle Edition.
If we discern His body, what He suffered in His body for us, we can receive healing, in our body, in our mind, in our emotions. As Francois du Toit says, “thoughts eat words like your mouth eats food - both become flesh!” Just say “Yes Lord, I believe”, and He will sort it and activate it for you.
1 Cor 11:31: “ By judging that we indeed co-died in his death we are free from any kind of judgement!”
1 Cor 11:32: “ By discerning the broken body of Christ we can only conclude that he suffered our brokenness and distortion. This is the instruction of the Lord; what foolishness it would be to continue to place yourself and the rest of the world under judgement when Jesus already took all judgement upon himself. “
1 Cor 11:33 “ So when you come together to eat the covenant meal, embrace one another with utmost courtesy.”
To finish I just want to copy in Francois comments about these verses in the Mirror Study Bible:
“ The moment we discover Jesus in Scripture as in a mirror, our hearts ignite and our very next meal becomes a celebration of the incarnation! “Every time you eat or drink, remember me!” Every meal celebrates the temple! Your body is God’s address on planet earth! He does not dwell in buildings made by human hands. You will never again need to employ your willpower to diet and get into shape! Willpower is the language of the law! Love and value-consciousness ignites belief. The revelation of the truth sets you free to be free indeed! The days of fast food and junk-food are over! The Table is sacred and celebrates your body as the sanctuary of your redeemed life, the life of your authentic design! Sitting around the table is a feast of friendship and delightful conversation. Eat food that blesses the temple! Most diseases are diet-related! Study nutrition! We have this treasure in earthen vessels! The vessel takes its value from the treasure it holds!)
du Toit, Francois. Mirror Study Bible (p. 554). Kindle Edition.
To conclude, read prayerfully and let God give you power to eat the right foods for you!
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