"The Tree Of The Knowledge" and "The Tree Of Life" are two special and precious trees planted by God in the Garden of Eden. "Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. Yahweh God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden." - Gen. 2:8-9 -

Since "The Tree Of The Knowledge" of good and evil signified the All-Powerful nature of God, its fruit was forbidden to eat. "Then Yahweh God gave the man this admonition, You may eat indeed of all the trees in the garden. Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die." - Gen. 2:16-17 -

The serpent was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, 'Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?' The woman answered the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death." Then the serpent said to the woman, 'No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.' The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths. - Gen. 3:1-7 -

So Eve and Adam chose to disobey God. This act of rebellion marked the entrance of sin into the world. Obviously, the result was quite different than Eve expected. Instead of gaining superior knowledge that made them equal with God, they gained awareness and knowledge of their guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Before Adam and Eve sinned, they had free access to "The Tree Of Life" after their act of rebellion and disobedience to God, two "Cherubim" guarded the way to its fruit. Adam and Eve's inability to eat from "The Tree Of Life" after their sin showed that they failed to gain "eternal life" or "immortality" and because of their sin, they were subject to death and dying. This condition lasted until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who offers "eternal life" to all humankind.

In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God. - John 1:1 -

I tell you most solemnly,
whoever listens to my words,
and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life;
without being brought to judgment
he has passed from death to life. - John 5:24 -

This is the testimony:
God has given us eternal life
and this life is in his Son;
anyone who has the Son has life,
anyone who does not have the Son does not have life. - 1 John 5:11-12 -

The institution of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Eucharist, or Holy Communion, or Holy Mass took place on the night before Jesus Christ died, at a meal commonly know as the 'Last Supper.' The 'Last Supper' probably was the 'Jewish Passover' meal, first instituted by God in the days of Moses. In fact, many of Jesus' actions and words at the 'Last Supper' such as the breaking and distributing of the bread and wine, were part of the prescribed 'Passover' ritual. But when Jesus said, "This is MY body" and "This is MY blood" while distributing the bread and the cup, Jesus did something totally new. These words, have been the focus of disagreement and 'food for thought' among Christians for centuries, even until today.

This ritualistic practice, usually during a worship, in which Christians partake of bread and wine, and it is a Sacrament [an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace] instituted by Christ Jesus, proclaiming His Death and profess His Resurrection until He come again.

The day of Unleavened Bread came round, the day on which the Passover had to be sacrificed, and Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and make the preparations for us to eat Passover.' 'Where do you want us to prepare it?' they asked. 'Listen' Jesus said 'as you go into the city you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house he enter and tell the owner of the house, "The Master has this to say to you: Where is the dining room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?" The man will show you a large upper room furnished with couches. Make the preparations there.' They set off and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.

When the hour came Jesus took his place at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, 'I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; because I tell you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' Then, taking a cup, he gave thanks and said, 'Take this and share it among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the kingdom of God comes.'

Then Jesus took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of me.' He did the same with the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you. - Luke 22:7-20 - Mark 14:22-25 - Matt. 26:17-29 -

Jesus answered:
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal. - John 6:27 -

Then they said to Jesus, 'What must we are to do the works that God wants?' Jesus gave them this answer, "This is working for God; you must believe in the one he has sent.' So they said, 'What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'

Jesus answered:
'I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes from heaven
and gives life to the world.'

'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always.' Jesus answered:

'I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me
I shall not turn him away;
because I have come from heaven,
not to do my own will,
but to do the will of the one who sent me.

Now the will of him who sent me
is that I should lose nothing
of all that he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father's will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him
shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.'

Meanwhile the Jews were complaining to each other about him, because he had said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven'. 'Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph' they said, 'We know his father and mother. How can he now say, "I have come down from heaven"? Jesus said in reply, Stop complaining to each other.

'No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God,
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it,
is to come to me.

Not that anybody has seen the Father,
except the one who comes from God:
he has seen the Father,
I tell you most solemnly,
everybody who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that a man may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.'

Then the Jews started arguing with one another: 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' They said. Jesus replied:

'I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.'

Jesus taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue. After hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?' Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, 'Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

It is the spirit that gives life,
the flesh has nothing to offer.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit
and they are life.

'But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, 'This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.' After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' Simon Peter answered, 'Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.' - John 6:27-69 -

Therefore, in what sense are the bread and wine Christ's body and blood? What should the Lord's Supper, or Holy Eucharist, or Holy Communion, or Holy Mass mean to us? The answers to these questions are often grouped into categories, although there are variations within these views.

The Transubstantiation View is practiced by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This view holds that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ at consecration, by an ordained priest. This doctrine, know as "Transubstantiation" holds that while the physical properties [taste, appearance, etc] of the bread and wine do not change or transform, the inner reality of these elements undergoes a spiritual change. Thus, this view help to foster a serious and reverence attitude toward the Holy Eucharist, or Holy Mass, or Holy Communion.

The Consubstantiation View is practiced by the Lutheran church, developed by Martin Luther, is that the Lord Jesus Christ body and blood are truly and spiritually 'in, with, and under' the bread and wine.
The elements do not actually change into Christ's body and blood. But in the same way that the heat is present in the elements. The Lutheran position is often called "Consubstantiation."

The Symbolic View or Memorial View [spiritual absence] is derived from the teachings of the Swiss reformer, Ulrich Zwingli. Although his teaching is not explicit, he basically held that the bread and wine were only symbols of the sacrificed body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught that the Lord's Supper is primarily a memorial ceremony of Christ's finished work. This is the viewpoint held by most Baptist churches, and independent churches.

The Spiritual Presence View is practiced by John Calvin. The Reformed churches, and the Presbyterian churches follow his teachings, known as the "spiritual presence" view, it stands somewhere between the positions of Luther and Zwingli. John Calvin agreed with Zwingli that the bread and wine are to be understood symbolically. The Lord Jesus Christ is not physically present in the elements, because His risen, glorified body is in heaven. Thus, He is spiritually present in the Lord's Supper through the Holy Spirit.

The Spiritual Presence View is practiced by the Anglican church, and we will find Anglicans who believe in "Transubstantiation", "Consubstantiation", "Spiritual Presence", and who refuse to specify any view. But they all agree on the "real presence" of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord's Supper, to apostle Paul is: Now that I am on the subject of instructions, I cannot say that you have done well in holding meetings that do you more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you all come together as a community, there are separate factions among you, and I half believe it - since there must no doubt be separate groups among you, to distinguish those who are to be trusted. The point is, when you hold these meetings, it is not the Lord's Supper [The supper commemorating Christ's last supper with his disciples during which he instituted the Eucharist. Before the liturgical meal the Corinthians held this ordinary meal, the earliest form of the agape. Paul disapproves of this custom, v.34 and condemns its abuse, vv.21-22] that you are eating, since when the time comes to eat, everyone is in such a hurry to start his own supper that one person goes hungry while another is getting drunk. Surely you have homes for eating and drinking in? Surely you have enough respect for the community of God not to make poor people embarrassed? What am I to say to you? Congratulate you? I cannot congratulate you on this.

For this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me." In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me." Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death, and so anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be behaving unworthily towards the body and blood of the Lord.

Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body is eating and drinking his own condemnation. - 1 Cor. 11:17-29 -

Why does apostle Paul use such strong language when speaking of the abuse of the Lord's Supper or Holy Eucharist, or Holy Mass, or Holy Communion, if it is not the view of: "Transubstantiation" because the Corinthians were not discerning or not recognizing the Lord Jesus Christ body and blood. He had make it very clear: Now that I am on the subject of instructions and; For this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you.

Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning: [The apostolic teaching concerning the mystery of Christ.]
as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you,
you will live in the Son
and in the Father;
and what is promised to you by his own promise
is eternal life. - 1 John 2:24-25 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -