“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.” – John 6:53-54 (NLT)
We all know the saying that you are what you eat. And to be honest, it carries a lot of truth. If you eat a lot of unhealthy, fatty foods, you become unhealthy and fat (obesity/over-indulgence, which is a sin against God). But if you eat things that are healthy for the body, your body is healthy and your mind is clear. I learned a lot about this in my own life growing up, because up until about 4 years ago I had Tourette Syndrome. There are no remedies or medicines that can completely get rid of this, outside of the healing power of the Spirit. However, there are remedies that help calm down the brain activity, which allows for a calming affect for the Tourettes themselves. And one of those remedies, the one that my parents put me on, is an all natural, wholistic diet. No artificial flavors or foods, no food coloring, no preservatives. Just straight up, all natural food. Maybe one day I’ll write the whole testimony of my dealings with Tourettes and the Lord’s power through the process, but for now let’s focus on food (though I am happy to answer any questions concerning this topic if any are left in the comments).
Up until recently, I had been slacking on my food intake, and I was eating a bunch of unhealthy foods for the sake of time and convenience (something a lot of people do in America especially). Let me just tell you, I reached a point where what I was eating was actually starting to make me sick. So I switched back to eating an all natural diet once again, and the immediate difference I felt was significant! I am more clear in my mind, and I have a ton more energy. All this to say, what you eat, what you feed your body, it affects every part of your being. Body, mind, and soul. Which gets us to our passage above.
“Eat My flesh and drink My blood” Jesus said. Sounds strange, right? Well I promise you that Jesus is not endorsing cannibalism. As Jesus often did during His time on earth, He was speaking in parables to the people. Even more so, I believe that He was eluding to a spiritual representation as well.
So what was He meaning by this? Well, let’s break this down.
The Greek word for “Flesh” is sarx (G4561), which can be translated as the substance of the body (check out Strong’s Concordance). So Jesus is saying to eat the substance of who He is. Well, we have already established in a previous article that He is the Word who became Flesh. So when we take in His Word, when we read the Word, we are eating of His flesh. Even more than that, His Spirit is the substance of eternal life, which Jesus makes very clear we do not have if we do not eat of His flesh. So we eat of His flesh by taking in His Word, which is turned into substance by the Holy Spirit.
Now, the Greek word for “Blood” is haima (G129), which can be translated as generation (to produce offspring) (also from Strong’s Concordance). So the blood of Christ is what makes us children of God. His blood is life. Think about it for a second. Our blood that courses through our veins, it provides life to the body. Our hearts pump our blood through our veins in order that the body would function and operate properly. If a part of the body does not have blood, it dies. Hence why blood clots are so dangerous. Not only that, but there are certain different blood types, and in order to be a donor of blood/organs to another person, the blood types have to match. Essentially, this is the transferring of life from one person to another based on the blood. Now insert the blood of Christ. When He says to drink of His blood, He is saying that we are to become like Him. His blood allows us to function as His body. We take on the likeness of Christ through His blood. And this is what makes us sons and daughters of the Living God. This is made so clear through the whole of Scripture. The emphasis on blood being used for cleansing and forgiveness of sins, that is the entire premise of the Law. The requirement of it. That is why anyone who is not under the blood of Christ, anyone who does not drink His blood and becomes like Him, they are under the judgement of God.
“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” – John 6:63
Jesus’ words are spirit and life. They are flesh (Spirit) and blood (Life). And Jesus is the center, He is the heart, of it all. He is the One through Whom the impurities of our lives are filtered out and disposed of, and from Whom true life flows and allows us to function as we were created to function.
When we eat of His flesh by taking in His Word, and we drink of His blood by the application of His Word to make us new, we are given the Spirit Who leads us into true and eternal life.
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