f. The church is appointed to believe God's testimony regarding His Son\
Now
the testimony which God has given us regarding His Son is that; “There are
three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and
these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God
is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
He
who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not
believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that
God has given of His Son. And this is
the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have
life' (1John 5:8-12).
God's
testimony is that He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
Now the Son in Whom we have life said quite emphatically, “Most assuredly, I
say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread
which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the
living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will
live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give
for the life of the world."
It
is this testimony that has become to the Jews a stumbling block. For after
hearing this statement, the Jews quarreled among themselves saying; “How can
this Man give us His flesh to eat?" And despite their rejection to the
statement, the Lord reiterated it by saying; “Most assuredly, I say to 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 him up at the last day.
For
My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and
drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I
live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This
is the bread which came down from heaven --- not as your fathers ate the manna,
and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:53-58).
To
the Gentiles on the other hand this statement is foolishness, for after hearing
Christ's statement they said; “This is a hard saying; who can understand
it?" Now when Jesus noticed their apprehension, He said to them,
"Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend
where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits
nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there
are some of you who do not believe."
Only
the twelve disciples believed Jesus Christ, for it is stated that, “From that
time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus
said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter
answered Him, "Lord, to whom we shall go? You have the words of eternal
life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God." The sad thing is that, both Jews and Gentiles stumble at
the Stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient
to the word, to which they also were appointed.
I
therefore beg to ask the question is this statement which was a stumbling block
and a rock of offense to the Jews and Gentiles still a stumbling block and a
rock of offence to us today?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/145385777X
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFP1SMV
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FV4WTWQ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S9QXQ4E
To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
No comments:
Post a Comment