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Bread, Wine & Flesh:
This Bread and Wine signify the heavenly food found in the teachings of the Christ."If any man eat of this bread" or ".. drinketh my blood" simply mean that if any man believes in Christ, accepts Him and lives according to His teachings, he will gain everlasting life. Just as physical food nourishes the body, so does the spiritual food, the words of the Christ nourish the soul of man. Just as the various members of the physical body gain vitality and sustenance from the blood, so does the spirit of man receive sustenance from these heavenly teachings.
The Meaning of "Flesh:" Flesh represents the "Body" of Christ's Teachings. Sears wrote, "Christ showed plainly that by "heavenly bread" He meant the spirit of His teachings. He declared: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing.. " (joh 6:63) see
In a verse of John this symbol was used again, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. " (joh 6:35) see
"Thus, Christ expresses "coming to him" as eating; and "believing in him" as drinking. To eat is to draw near to Him, and to drink is to believe in Him. Whoever find guidance through the words of Christ by approaching and believing in Him, has indeed partaken of the "last supper" of bread and wine; and thus became numbered among the living. Whoever remained afar and disbelieved was without spiritual food and was among the dead."
Christ referred to this drinking in words which conclusively show its symbolic nature: "Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scriptures have said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. " (joh 7:37-38) see
The next verse says: "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him shall receive.. " (joh 7:39) see
"Christ gave the same lessons privately to His disciples. He showed them that the "meat" of which He spoke was the teachings which God had given Him to deliver to mankind. It is recorded of Jesus: "In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying Master, eat. (joh 4:31) see
"But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. (joh 4:32) see
"Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him out to eat? (joh 4:33) see
"Jesus said unto them. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (joh 4:34) see
Meat, Bread Wine were all Symbolical
They were inner nourishment described by an outward name. If the bread and wine were to have purely physical meaning they would be but a mere replica of many similar ceremonies held to honor the pagan gods of the past."
The teachings of Jesus Christ were always with spiritual significance. As Sears mentioned above, if they were taken purely for their physical meaning then the rites and ceremonies done in the church are the same as that of the pagans. And, yet, Christians would dislike to be called pagans, however, they have practices that mirror paganistic beliefs, rites and ceremonies. As followers of the Christ it is a bounden duty to know the meaning of His teachings, not just to follow and do rituals without the use of the intellect. If we know that what we have been doing is not of Christ's teachings, should we not stop? Must we hold on to superstition? Life is a school. Go on to the next level.
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