The Bread

It's funny how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. I decided that i may gave been getting off on a rabbit trail with my studies the past couple of days, and wanted to get back on track where i began studying. I went back to Rom 6, where i had original begun these studies and came across something that i ALSO wanted to get out about the Bread, since i had just studied the cup yesterday...talking about communion. Anyhow, i picked up my favorite commentary, that of Brother Swaggart's and began to read what he had to say about Rom 6:5, when, as i began to read....i began to see something about "The Bread" of Life that came in perfectly with what i was studying on communion. So...i took that as the leading of the Holy Spirit to go ahead and study this portion first, before we get back to Rom 6:5.

Brother Swaggart was talking about how baptism is a symbol for death. He spoke about how we are all members of His Body...and then i remembered something that i had read from a different commentator about a week and a half ago. This person stated that when we eat of the bread, it is as though we are eating from the same loaf. The "Loaf" would be Christ. But, (and i'm not sure if i am communicating this quite as clearly as I AM seeing it), if we consider what we are in fact saying by our actions if we are to partake of this ceremony (if you will), we are saying that we have fellowship with THIS GOD. Just like the heathens did, they communed with their pagan gods...at least they were making an open announcement that this was what they were a part of and were allowing all spiritual influences of this "god" into their lives. We in essence are doing the same when we partake of the Lord's Supper. We are openly making a visual announcement that we are having fellowship with, welcoming into our lives, becoming one with...this God that we are taking part of this "offering" so to speak, when we eat it.

Let me better illustrate this: when we "eat His flesh, we are in fact saying that we are dead, buried with Him in Baptism (being baptized into Christ, not water), and by the drinking of His blood, that we are His servant and He is OUR GOD.

(it'll get clearer as i write, hopefully). All of Christ's members (members of His Body)-are the sinners who have Faith in Him and have chosen to associate themselves with Him in that Baptism. In essence, WE DIED & WERE BURIED WITH HIM. This is like (again, the example of the wedding ring for marriage, is what baptism is to the Believer, between them and God). It's an outward symbol that reminds us & explains to us how we spiritually are partaking in what Christ PHYSICALLY experienced.

it's a metaphor respecting our Faith in His Atoning work.

The punishment Christ suffered was that of what a sinner/thief would receive....punishment of sin is death. WE didn't ACTUALLY suffer THAT HORRIFIC death. How do we experience it with Christ then, if we are dead with Him? How do we take part in this "death" then? We believe when we eat this bread that we are part of His Body. (The Perfect & Sinless Body that He is and we actually are not). When we eat, we show that we DIED WITH HIM & WERE BURIED. Meaning, our Sin Nature (which He took upon Himself, willingly), because of His innocent Perfect Bloodshed for US, is overcome, The Sinful Man is dead, murdered, killed, laid dormant if you will. To be BURIED WITH HIM: our sinful nature was done away with and made dormant (no longer in full dominance), by His Body being Broken for us.

By HIS BLOOD: When we drink the wine (grapejuice) we are drinking the blood of an innocent man. (Murderers are said to be "guilty of innocent blood" - which we ARE guilty of. His Blood was poured out because of Our Sin. so, when we drink, we are in fact saying that we are drinking of the "cup of salvation," because there is NO WAY we could drink from the cup of God's wrath, which is what Jesus endured & the reason for His Bloodshed.

The need for Resurrection: 1. God saves the sinner, He separates him from the dominant sin nature, so that the Believer is not compelled to sin anymore. We are PERMANENTLY delivered from it's power. But, the Lord also left the sin nature IN the Believer as a disciplinary measure. 2. At the same time, He imparted His Divine Nature which gives the Believer both the WILL (desire) & the power to DO God's will, and not our own. Hence, the reason that Jesus prayed in the garden and told the Father, "Not my will, but thine be done." He said that because he was giving us the ability through His sacrifice to do so, and THAT is why He chose to lay down His Life.

ok, i have some scriptural references that i want to make concerning this, but i feel as though i need to start a different blog, because they require a little bit of explanation in addition to them...