When I first see these truths laid side by side, my first reaction is shock and disbelief. I’ve been a Christian the entirety of my 65 plus years and an avid student of God’s Word for the last 45. I have been searching for the truth concerning eternal life for several years. Now, let me explain. Most Christians cite Ephesians 2:8-9 or John 3:16 as the roadmap to eternal life but they completely over look Hebrews 5:9. If we are saved by grace through faith, if eternal life is a gift of God no mam can earn, why does Hebrews 5:9 say, "He gives eternal life to those who obey Him?" Clearly there is more to the story.
I am not only dumbfounded that I have never seen the truth found in John 6:53 but also that it seems no one else has either. Of course, in John 6:53-58, Jesus is talking about the institution of the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper, we are instructed to eat the Lord’s flesh and drink His blood and Jesus said, "If you do not observe this ritual, you have no life in you." So, it doesn't matter how strong your faith in Jesus is or how great God's grace is, if you do not eat the Lord's body and drink His blood, you have no life in you. In 1Corinthians 11:26, Paul says, “For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till He come.” The parallel is uncanny. The problem is: a case can be made that the death Jesus died was not on a cross; it was on an altar, so we are remembering a completely different event.
John’s accounting of the Lord’s Supper has a different setting and I wonder how many people realize the similarities. If you google, "The Lord's Supper," nothing comes up for the book of John. John 6:53-58 reads: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me will live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live forever.”
Then, Matthew’s accounting reads, “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my body. And He took the cup. And gave thanks, and gave it unto them, saying, Drink you all of it; for this is my blood of the new covenant.” The two accounts are almost exactly the same. Now a new covenant is necessarily not the old covenant and from Hebrews we learn and understand the new covenant was ratified with Jesus’ blood, meaning, this blood was poured out on an altar. Hebrews 8:5 tells us the old covenant tabernacle was built after a pattern of one found in heaven. John, upon seeing Jesus' approach, said, "Behold the Lamb of God, come to take away the sins of the world," but lambs are not tortured and killed on crosses. Covenants are established by blood let on altars.
Now, in 1Corinthians 11, Paul goes over the institution of the Lord’s Supper he received from the Lord and he said, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night he was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Is there any question Jesus, in John 6:53-58, is talking about the Lord’s Supper? If not, the only way to have the life of Jesus in you is to partake of the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper, however, has several caveats. It should be clear, though it is anything but, Jesus did not die as a spotless lamb on the cross. Galatians 3:13 reveals: “Jesus became a curse for us, as it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.” ANY FULFILLMENT OF OLD COVENANT LAW WOULD REQUIRE A CURSED SACRIFICE because all those who broke the law lived under a curse, but a cursed sacrifice could never establish a new covenant. Jesus' death on the cross was the perfect fulfillment of the law but that death disqualified Him from being a spotless lamb. Moreover, human sacrifice was strictly for bidden by the law. Jesus clearly said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you," but Jesus' blood did not pour from any of the wounds He received prior to or on the cross. We should not be remembering the cross when receiving the Lord’s Supper.
Moreover, the observance of the Lord’s Supper comes with distinct instructions. Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do ye,” but there are no instructions as to what to do. These instructions are not that hard to find, though, once you understand where to look. First, if we change the wording to read, “This cup is the old covenant in my blood: this do ye,” we immediately understand the doing of the old covenant is the keeping of old covenant commandments. In John 15:10, Jesus says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in my Father’s love,” so we understand what it takes to abide in the love of God. The Father’s commandments make up the old covenant law, and to do them is to keep them, but Jesus continued, “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love.” In that there is a new covenant and Jesus said He issued commandments these would be the commandments of the new covenant. Isaiah 53:6 tells us, “And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” which tells us the Father was Lord before the altar on which Jesus died but Philippians 2:9 tells us the Father gave to Jesus the name above every other name. This explains Psalm 110:1. David said, “The Lord said to my Lord.” David’s Lord was the Father, the Lord of the old covenant; the Lord is Jesus, who was highly exalted by the Father.
To do the new covenant, as in, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do ye,” is to keep the commandments of Jesus but Jesus was not Lord when He died on the cross; He was made Lord afterward. Therefore, it is commandments Jesus issued after the cross we must keep to abide in Jesus’ love. The old covenant had to be fulfilled before a new covenant could be established. In Acts 1, Jesus gather’s His disciples about Him and commands them to wait for the promise of the Father. He tells them the Father’s promise is a baptism with the Spirit, and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, the Holy Spirit came and baptized all who were waiting for Him.
Now, there has never been a commandment of God that could be satisfied with one time obedience and this commandment is no different. In order to be in compliance, we must be constantly waiting for a baptism with the Spirit. The word, baptize, means, saturated. A baptism with the Spirit is a tongue talking event and it is through a gift of tongues that we achieve saturation.
Continuing in 1Corinthians 11, verse 27 reads: “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” Now, whatever could make one unworthy? The unworthiness comes from not keeping Jesus' commandments. The saturated condition is so important, the Lord’s Supper must not be taken without it. When Jesus commanded to wait for the baptism with the Spirit, He brought up John the Baptist’s ministry of baptism with water. John was totally devoted to the ministry he was called to and practiced it constantly. The Church is called to baptism with the Spirit and should be constantly about its business.
The Lord’s Supper is not simply a ritual; it is the heart of Christianity. Jesus said “Whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day,” which means, those who fail to receive the Lord’s Supper do not have eternal life and will not be raised! It certainly takes faith to believe Jesus died on an altar as a spotless lamb and the jugular vein of the lamb is cut, whereby all its blood pours out. Those who believe in the Lamb, keep the Lamb's commandments and certainly receive everlasting life by their obedience. Thus, John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, and Hebrews 5:9, are all in complete agreement.
Now, remember, this is not the sacrament of the Christ and it is not the Christ we must remember. Jesus certainly was the Christ when He died on the altar, remember, "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all," but it was the Lord who came off the altar. Therefore, it is the Lord we remember. Paul continues, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body." Most Christians discern the Christ and the cross and fail to attempt saturation while receiving. "For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep." "For if we should judge ourselves, we should not be judged but when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world.” Our judgment is two fold. We must judge between the death of Jesus on the cross and the death of Jesus on an altar in heaven, in other words, we must discern the death of the Lord, and, second, we must judge ourselves saturated.
This is the key to Christianity, the key to John 14:12; “He that believes on me shall do the works I have done and greater works than these shall he do because I go to the Father.” When Jesus went to the Father, it was as a spotless lamb and the Father sacrificed Him on the altar of heaven. Jesus was raised from that death as Lord and went on to enact a new covenant. “He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me will live by me.” We cannot have life (the life of almighty God) in ourselves if we do not keep the Lord’s Supper and if we keep it unworthily, we keep ourselves in damnation. To discern the Lord’s body is to keep the Lord’s commandments but it is also to observe the Lord’s Supper.
When Jesus was raised from the death of the altar, He was not just given the name above every other name, which is the name, Lord, He was also given all power in heaven and earth, made ruler over all principalities and powers, He was made King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the blessed only Potentate, and only wise God. To fail to keep His commandments is to fail to judge Him as Lord. Which is why, the only way to receive the Lord’s Supper in a manner worthy of the Lord is to do so fully saturated with the Holy Spirit. Full compliance is the only compliance.
This gives new meaning to Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.” It is clear to me now this verse is talking about the receiving of the Lord’s Supper. Remember, Jesus said, “He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him.” A congregation of believers is two or more and the statement, “I am in their midst,” cannot mean an unseen presence. Remember, in John 14:21, Jesus said, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, He it is that loves me, and he that loves me will be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”
Compare this verse to Acts 1:8 “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto me.” Jesus is no longer the meek, mild mannered, Christ; He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, wields all power in heaven and earth, and rules His kingdom with a rod of iron. To witness of the resurrected Lord is quite different from a witness of the Christ. When Jesus says, I will be in their midst, or, I will manifest myself to him, He is talking about a manifestation that is quite different from anything recorded in the gospels. Remember, John 14:12 says, “the works I have done, and greater works than these.” “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for His children.”
I am convinced now; all these verses are talking about the receiving of the Lord’s Supper in the prescribed manner. Again, John 6:57, “As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so, he that eats me will live by me.” Now, the question is: ‘How do we implement this in the year of our Lord 2023?’ It would certainly appear it has not been implemented since sometime in the first century. Certainly, each man must stand on his own two feet. Paul said, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” and Jesus said, “If you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you and I will not raise you up in that last day," but He also said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, this do ye." To eat and drink without full saturation is to eat and drink damnation to yourself.
We are talking about a very holy event and one that must be entered into with the greatest respect. It is a catch 22 situation. We either enter into Holy Communion and risk damnation or abstain from it and ensure it. I envision thousands of people singing in tongues and worshiping the Lord while receiving Holy Communion. When Jesus said, "He that eats me will live by me," it certainly appears Jesus was being both literal and figurative. Those who fail to eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord fail to gain eternal life. I do not believe the bread and wine literally become the body and blood but I believe I am partaking of the body and blood. That faith, plus my obedience to the Lord's commandments, conveys on me eternal life. It is a gift of God; I can't earn it but I must gain it.
"You do show the Lord's death till He come." 1Corinthians 11:26
Here, once again, we have parabolic speech. Remember Matthew 11:35, “Without a parable, spoke He not unto the people.” In other words, all Jesus’ words are shrouded with mystery. It is up to us to study to show “ourselves approved unto God.” According to the scripture, Jesus laid aside His Godhood to come to earth as a man. As the Christ, the savior of the world, Jesus died on the cross and the altar and in fact the two events equal one human death. Jesus was separated from God on the cross, which is one definition of death, but His body did not deteriorate during the three days in the tomb. This would seem to be because He was only partly dead.
Jesus said, "This is my body, broken for you," but the body of Jesus was explicitly not broken on the cross. It was broken in heaven when all His blood poured out of it. At this point Jesus truly is dead; His body is broken because it no longer functioned as intended. Jesus experienced spiritual death on the cross when His spirit was separated from God and physical death in heaven when the last drop of His blood drained from His body. "The life of the flesh is in the blood." These two events make up one human death.
So, how is the taking of communion showing the Lord's death? Jesus was not Lord when He died and in fact, it is impossible for God to die. Jesus said, "Just as the Father has life in Himself." You see, as God's creation, humanity does not have life in itself. Life comes from an outside source. In our case, life comes from God but God comes from nothing. God has life in Himself.
The word, show, means to allow or cause something to be visible or allow something to be perceived. This is why the exercising of the Lord's commandments is critical to the taking of the Lord's Supper. Jesus laid aside all power and glory to come to earth as a man, to serve mankind as the Christ. There is no obedience required or expected. Under the old covenant, it was obedience to the Father’s commandments that was expected. The Lord, however, wields all power in heaven and earth and it takes all authority to wield all power. By obedience, we show the Lord's death, or, in other words, we demonstrate the event that made Jesus Lord.
If Jesus was not Lord when He died on the altar of heaven, how did it become the Lord's death? When Jesus died on the altar, the Father raised Him from the dead with all power in heaven and earth. It was the Christ's death that made Jesus Lord. Therefore, to remember the death of the Christ is to remember the creation of the Lord.
When using titles and speaking of events prior to the time the title is bestowed, it is customary to use the title currently bestowed to reference the earlier time. I might say, “When your dad was young,” or, “the president’s younger life. In speaking of Jesus today, all of Jesus’ accomplishments are correctly ascribed to the Lord. It is the Lord’s birth and the Lord’s death even though Jesus was not born Lord or died Lord. In receiving communion, we are honoring the event that made Jesus Lord and it is the defining moment of His life.
Which is why the belief required for salvation mentioned in John 3:16 is in the Lord’s death and only faith in the Lord’s death saves. Likewise, the Lord’s death defines Romans 10:9, which states: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” The confession is made out of obedience to Jesus’ command to wait for a baptism with the Spirit and the confession is made while receiving the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Verse 9 continues, “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The belief of this verse refers to the death of Jesus on the altar. Notice Hebrews 9:14: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscious from dead works to serve the living God.”
No one who believes Jesus died for them on an altar in heaven attempts to keep old covenant law. They understand the altar of heaven made Jesus Lord and it is His commandments that must be kept. The confession of our mouth is the gift of tongues. Jesus is the only member of the Godhood who has died and is thus called The Living God.