How are we to sustain the gift of eternal life which is
the first integral component of God’s Grace?
Remember
Jesus Christ said quite explicitly; “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."
(John 6:47-51).
And
again Jesus said; “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 (real) food indeed, and My blood is (real) drink indeed.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me (eternal life), 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).
Therefore,
to those who believe that they have eternal life which was granted to us by the
grace of God my question to them is, what it is about Jesus Christ that one
must believe in order to have eternal life? Are we therefore feeding ourselves
on the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood in order to guarantee
eternal life?
If you do, the question is how often? And has
the Lord ordained specific times for His people to feed on Him in order to
sustain eternal life?
It
is my firm belief that many have unfortunately received this aspect of God’s
grace in vain. But truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now
commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which
He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He
has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.
Like
the apostle Paul wrote; "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened; That we
may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He
worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right
hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that
which is to come.
And
He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
I
perceived that many have indeed zeal for God, but without knowledge, and God
expressed His disappointment to this by saying; “My people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you
from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I
also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).
God's
people are being rejected as priests unto God because they are failing to
perform their main duty as priests of our God. Because the main duty of a
priest is to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for
they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God;
therefore, they shall be holy. And the only way one can be holy, is by eating
of the thing by which the atonement was made.
May
the Lord have mercy on our souls?