The Parson's Corner

Question: In Genesis, it states that Adam and Eve would die when they ate of the fruit of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." It looks like they did not die, so what was meant by the statement, "You Shall Surely Die?"

There are at least two views of the fall of Adam and Eve. One is that at the fall of mankind, when God declared that man would die, it was a reference to the death of mankind's human spirit. This would leave mankind consisting of the body and the soul. The body, consisting of the physical container and its senses; and the soul, consisting of the mind and personality. If there was any spirit resident, it would be either of the demonic, or the temporary visitation and power of a Spirit from God.

The other view is that when mankind fell into sin, death would follow through the deterioration of the body over time; however, mankind's human spirit was still present but not in the same power and authority as had been present previously when indwelt and influenced by God's Spirit at the time of the giving of life. This human spirit could be influenced by external spirits from God or from Satan, temporarily resident, that could empower the body and soul for both good or evil. Adam had been created in the image of God, but after the fall, that image was blurred, if not distorted.

Let's look at the first view:

"The loss of mankind's human spirit."

If we can define that the human spirit of man is that means by which man can communicate and comprehend spiritual or supernatural things, then without the spirit there is no awareness of the spiritual or supernatural. God is a Spirit and must be understood and communicated with by the spirit (John 4:24). Adam, and then Cain, and then many others, still had the means to talk or communicate with God directly. Therefore, I believe that they still had a human spirit resident. We can specify that there exists a human spirit, an evil spirit, and a Holy Spirit. We also know from Scripture that a spirit being cannot die, but is eternal. In the case of God's saying: "You shall surely die", the Hebrew for the word die is "muwth" to die or die prematurely.

The second view, that death was over a period of time, leads us to question: "What was it that caused this death?"

When God breathed life into Adam, his lifeblood began flowing. This life blood flow was meant to bring eternal life to the body. Notice that when Eve was created, God did not "breathe life" into her. God did not have to do this, as the blood was transferred by the DNA of Adam. Note: The translation that is commonly used for the formation of Eve from Adam is "rib;" however, it could be more closely translated "his side." The word in Hebrew is actually "tsela," which infers "a container or cell." God essentially took the material (blood, flesh and bones) from which comes DNA, from Adam's side to create Eve. God affirmed that the " life of the flesh was in the blood." Leviticus 17:11 It was made abundantly clear by God that blood was to be held in the highest regard by mankind. God was not pleased by any misuses or defilement of the blood. It was a sin to defile the blood, which brought a curse if it was ingested or mishandled by mankind. The descendants of Adam understood that "to transfer the blood by cutting and joining blood one to another in a blood covenant" would be more than symbolic. They believed rather, that it was an actual transfer of the life source, and representation of the very person from whose blood was the source. Once this was done, the two parties were considered bonded; one family, dependant on one another to defend and provide.

Satan also knew the importance of the blood, and did his best to corrupt the blood by enticing mankind into further sin. It was the blood of Adam, or the "Life," that became corrupted and therefore death passed to all mankind. When the blood is corrupted, death will quickly have its effect on the body. We know today that disease and deformity can be passed from one generation to another. God stated many times that the penalty of a sin could be passed on to several generations. This link is broken when we become part of the body of Christ.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," the blood poisoning of their life and all future life began. As an aside, Eve was said to be tempted by a serpent. In the book of Revelation, we are told who that serpent is: Satan. Satan did his best to corrupt the line of Jesus by sin, as illustrated in Sodom and Gomorra, and the state of the people at the time of Noah. Mankind's life was meant to be eternal but sin would continue to shorten the Lifespan until the whole human race could be destroyed if not for the intervention of God. It was during the time of Moses that God set mankind's lifespan as an average of seventy years. That length of time can be increased or shortened by the the lifestyle we live allowing our born again spirit to have dominance over our flesh.

From the beginning God made it clear that it would be a blood offering of an innocent animal was to point to the covering for the forgiveness of sin. ( Genesis 3:21) Man's works could never be accepted. See the offering of Abel and Cain. (Genesis 4:3-7) God then created a nation that would be preserved and live under a covenant of blood, having their sins covered by the application of blood yearly to a substitute for their sin. This would allow the human race to await and point to the day when a Savior or Messiah would become the final perfect sacrifice, removing sin eternally, from those who placed their trust in His sacrifice.

The Bible is a trail of that blood and how God would make provision to restore mankind through the pure blood of Jesus, who was born of a virgin made pregnant by the Spirit of God, producing pure undefiled blood. It is important to understand that blood is created by the DNA of the sperm of the male when united with the egg of the female. When the DNA of the sperm joins with the DNA of the egg cell division occurs producing blood and flesh in the form of a zygote. All the blood within the infant is created within the embryo. It is not obtained from the mother. The mother, through the placenta provides the nutrients. The corrupted DNA of the of the father's blood is passed to the baby through the bonding of the DNA within the zygote producing the cell division. The cell division produces flesh and blood. Cell division progresses until an embryo is formed. That is why it was necessary for a child to be born with pure blood to have the mother's egg be impregnated by incorruptible DNA that would produce incorruptible blood within the embryo. This God did through the miracle of the Holy Spirit.  Satan never expected that it would be the pure seed, containing the pure blood DNA of God, that would cause a virgin called Mary to bring bring forth the birth of the Messiah Jesus. Let me just say here that God could have created Jesus just as he did Adam, but Jesus was to be born fully man and yet fully God. (Phillipians 2:6; John 1:1)

Mankind was able to communicate with God, who is a Spirit, throughout the Bible. That human spirit became increasingly susceptible, though, to evil and demonic spirits. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, which was "the image of God," was no longer resident due to this state of unrighteousness. It was only when the Holy Spirit occasionally came upon them that they were able to perform under Its influence, as did the original Adam when directed by God's power and image. Mankind would have to wait until the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost before this resident power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit would be restored.

Jesus was the first of a new race of Adam whose blood was now uncorrupted with sin. With the accepting as fact "the atonement of Jesus," mankind was said to be "born again" not of corruption, but of the incorruptible. Mankind was said to be born of the Spirit, and not of the flesh. Jesus, who was uncorrupted by impure blood, made an offering to God of Himself and His pure blood in exchange for the corrupted blood of mankind. By doing this act of "exchange," mankind was accepted and seen as righteous by God, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit could return.

Mankind's corrupted soul and spirit was recreated into the "new man or new Adam" with a mind that was to be renewed. This new spirit of man is called "a new creation." The "old man" is no longer resident. The human spirit of man was recreated instantly into the new creation or born again spirit and is always seen by God as in a state of righteousness. The soul or mind however was to be renewed on an ongoing basis into the image of God. Instead of God's Holy Spirit occasionally coming upon mankind, as before the Atonement, it was now available at all times as an indwelling Holy Spirit given at Pentecost. Jesus is an example of what Adam could have been, and what we now have the opportunity to become.

In John 20:22, Jesus, after being resurrected, symbolically breathed on his followers and told them to receive the spirit to indicate that eternal life and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was now once again restored as it was when God breathed on Adam to receive life.

We are left by Jesus with the memory jogger and visual aid of the Lord's Supper or Communion. As we drink the wine, we are reminded that our sin-stained blood is made pure through the shedding of Jesus' blood, and His bringing His blood on our behalf to God as an acceptable sacrifice. God sees Jesus' blood and sacrifice, and no longer sees our sin stained blood. The divine exchange was made at the cross and the throne of God. Our impure blood is exchanged for Jesus' pure blood. As we eat the bread, we are reminded that we have also become part of the body of Jesus and therefore stand in His health, authority and power. That which was our sin-ridden body is given the potential to be made whole. As we participate in the empowering of Pentecost through the gifts of the Spirit, we become restored, as Adam was at creation.

Our recreated born again spirit is that part of us which will be separated from the body at death. The recreated spirit of the believer in Jesus' Atonement will be contained in a new heavenly body, and be with God in a dimension called Heaven (Ecclesiastes 12:7). One day at the second coming of Jesus, our bodies will be reunited with our spirit, and God's Kingdom later restored on earth. The "human spirit" of "the unbeliever" will be separated at death to be contained in a place originally designed for the fallen angels called Hell, until the day it is judged for all eternity.

So what is the bottom line? Mankind was meant to have physical eternal life with God. Due to sin that lifespan would be prematurely shortened. Mankind would know death! God made provision for mankind to be restored to eternal life through His son Jesus. God gave His word in the bible that we might have the plan to transform our life into the likeness and image of God. Those of us who are believers are recreated in our spirit to be able to access this life giving flow. Jesus made provision by providing both spiritual restoration and healing of our bodies. By giving us the power of authority, Jesus provided a means of standing against the attacks of evil.

God loves mankind! "John 3:16" It is not God's desire that any should not enter Heaven. God so loved mankind that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever shall believe on Him shall inherit eternal life. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born not only of the water, which still passes on the corrupted blood; but of the Spirit, which restores our corrupted blood, gives residence to the Holy Spirit, and delivers us from sin. Jesus further stated that we need to be "born again" if we are to understand spiritual things.  John 3:5-7

God has a plan, and has made adequate provision for us to operate in this world in a state of grace and well being. God has given us a purpose on this earth to be conformed once more into His image. It is because of this purpose that we are to conform (train) our carnal mind and body to evaluate our thoughts and actions using spiritual discernment. The Holy Spirit resident in us will lead us into all truth. John 16:13-15

God does not force us to accept His plan, but allows us in love to make our own decision as to whether we allow it to be our plan. It is not complex, it is just a decision: Yes, I will believe what Jesus did for me; or No, I will try to handle life on my own. It is your decision. I pray you make the right one!

The Parson's Corner can not think of a better person to present the true meaning of Christmas. Reverend Graham gave this message the Christmas of 2005 and it will always carry the message of Christmas. Lynn and I wish all of you that have visited us on this blog from around the world a very blessed Christmas.

The Rev. Billy Graham, often dubbed “America’s Pastor,” released his Christmas message for 2005 this week, and as he has done for the past six decades, proclaimed the gospel – that each person is separated from God because of sin, but is redeemed through Jesus Christ. He urged each person to be transformed through having genuine faith in God’s gift of Christ this Christmas.

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  Billy Graham released his Christmas 2005 message this week. (Photo: BGEA)

“Millions of people miss the real meaning of Christmas,” began Graham. “In the midst of the Christmas rush, Christ is oftentimes left out as we forget that it is His birthday we are celebrating.”

Two thousand years ago, a Savior was born, he wrote as reminder.

Citing Matthew 1:21, Graham noted that the name “Jesus” was given “because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21, NIV).

People Deny Sin

But because people were blind to their sins, they didn’t see any reason to want Christ, he continued, and so they crucified the One who yearned to save them from their sins.

Graham stated that it is people’s continual rejection of salvation from their sins through Jesus that makes failures of all the social movements to end wars.

“One of the failures of many church leaders is their refusal to believe that our deepest problem is sin,” he wrote. “We have joined hands with the idealists of the world in trying to bring about social reform without first dealing with the root of the problem, which is sin.”

All religions and ideologies outside God's way in the Bible are merely forms of self-redemption and Christ rejection in disguise, but without God, the world cannot be made right because it is beyond our power to dissolve the sin in our hearts, he said.

“Thousands of human schemes for social and political improvement will ultimately fail because they do not deal with a person's basic disease. They change the circumstances but leave the person untouched,” said Graham. “They alter the surroundings but have no power to transform the character. If humanity is to be saved, if the world is to be transformed, then salvation must come from a source outside ourselves.”

Jesus Christ is the Gift To Save People From Sin

Christ removes the guilt and reconciles us to God, he said.

“Christ is God's great Christmas Gift to the world," he added. To personally accept Christ by faith is the only way to know true joy, peace and power.

“Beautiful, ethical precepts cannot save us, but Christ can,” he says. “When Christ comes into a life, He revolutionizes it so that the person becomes a ‘new creation.’ This, and this alone, is our hope.”

However, faith in Jesus Christ must be real, rather than merely intellectual, and when this happens, it is transformational, he said.

“Millions of professing Christians are strangers to the genuine, saving faith that means coming to the end of ourselves, to the end of our self-reliance and self-righteousness, and then trusting absolutely in Christ for forgiveness and for moral and spiritual renewal.”

Billy Graham has preached the gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history—over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through the various ministries of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Last month's teaching was about “God's Amazing Grace.” His grace covers sins committed “past, present and future,” when confessed. It allows the believer to become righteous in the standing of God.

I stated that Jesus bore not only our sins upon the cross; but also took our infirmities and sicknesses, by the stripes or wounds caused by the strokes of a whip, and a crown of thorns upon His head. A “divine exchange” occurred at the cross! Jesus took our judgment, and we took His blessings.

Let’s go back to “the garden” once more, as many lessons can be learned from what happened there that apply to us today.

Gen 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said to the woman, Is it so that God has said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. (4) And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, (5) for God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil. (6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took of its fruit, and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Why do you think Satan, in the form of the snake, chose to tempt Eve in this particular way?

Satan is known as “the deceiver and accuser". Satan knew that Adam was given all that he and Eve would ever need to live their lives out in God's provision. Nothing more was needed. They were in the image of God, and had God's authority. It was Satan's purpose to convince Adam and Eve that they still lacked something in their lives. Satan convinced Eve that what God had provided was not enough, and that God had held back a desirable commodity. We today often are convinced that we just won't be happy or complete unless we obtain some objective or object. Often this leads us into either sin or trouble. God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom (peace, joy and righteousness in the Holy Ghost) of God and His righteousness, and all else will be provided.” (Matthew 6:33 (paraphrased)) We often have much difficulty following this direction for our lives.

Even though God had forbidden the use of the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” Satan convinced Eve that she must eat of this fruit in order that they would be complete in their lives. They believed that they were missing out on something really good! This is still the method that Satan uses today with the believer. Satan tries to convince the believer that there is something lacking in their lives that God cannot or will not provide. Even though the believer knows that what they are doing is wrong and sinful, they are overcome by the temptation to act on their own, outside the known will of God.

Let’s look at “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” for a moment. Before partaking of the fruit of this tree, Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence. They were without sin or consciousness of sin. Therefore, they were also unaware of any state of condemnation. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented the "Law of God". This tree represented an awareness of the requirements of how to live in the presence of a Holy God. We would call this “our conscience.” Our conscience discerns whether we are in a state of good or evil in our relationships to God and mankind. The giving of the "LAW" by God, through Moses, was to teach us how exacting these requirements are.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

When Adam and Eve partook of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” the result was that they were taught or became aware that they had broken the command or "LAW" of God. Now the result of this is that their state of innocence, through lack of conscience, became a state of condemnation. Condemnation produces a curse. Condemnation is always the root of curses. Condemnation produces fear; fear produces stress; and stress produces the curse. The curse can be death, sickness, poverty, emotional illness, or many other states of distress.

Adam and Eve became fearful, resulting in the fact that they hid from their relationship with God in the garden. Their fear produced stress that God would punish them, and the stress resulted in the curse.

God knew that the only way that we could break free from the curse of the "LAW" was through a substitution for our sin that would take the curse from our lives. God established this as a principal in “the burnt offering.” God would accept a temporary substitution of an innocent and sinless offering in our place for our breaking of the "LAW."

Romans 5:17-21 (NKJV) states:

[17]  For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)[18] Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. [19] For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. [20] Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, [21] so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The question that now arises is, “How are our sins and failings to be handled after we accept this divine exchange?”

One of the major misunderstandings is that we look at sin as being major vs. minor, or being intentional vs. unintentional. Sin is sin -- no matter if it is a large sin such as adultery, or what appears to be a small sin such as over-indulgence of any habit. Jesus understood, as well as the Apostle Paul, that we would always be dealing with the flesh and worldly error while we were still in the body. So, what do we do?!

I John 1:9 states that if we confess our sin, Jesus will forgive our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Also, we are told that we have an advocate with the Father –- Jesus -- who is confessing our righteous standing through His sacrifice for us. If we sin multiple times, we are still to be forgiven, as when Jesus was asked the question, "How many times must we forgive?" Jesus replied seven times seventy, which was to say, as many times as necessary. (Matthew 18:21 – 22) Peter the disciple had to deal with his “betrayal of Jesus” by denying that he knew Him three times. Jesus met Peter after His resurrection, on the beach, and knew that Peter was dealing with condemnation. Three times Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?” Three times, Peter answered affirmatively; and each time, Jesus commanded Peter to “minister to His followers.” Jesus was making certain Peter understood that condemnation was not where Jesus wanted Peter's focus. Peter's focus was to be placed looking forward to ministry, and leaving condemnation behind.

We are told in Romans that there is “no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 & 2) We are not to waste our time and resources on condemnation that only leads to anxiety and depression. We are told that the Holy Spirit will guide us in our future walk. OK that said, how can we help ourselves to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh?

The Lord made provision before He left by endorsing three sustaining ordinances that would keep us locked into grace. The first is Water Baptism, in which we commit ourselves to repent, be washed of our sins and live the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. The second is the Lord's Supper, in which we commit to remember the life and sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. The third is the giving of the Holy Spirit, to be resident in our body called the Temple, and Who will guide us and allow us to be capable of expressing our spiritual thoughts and abilities.

This month’s focus is on the "The Truth in the Lord's Supper."

1Co 11:23-26 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: (24) 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. (25) After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. (26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.

Before Jesus went to the cross, He tied in his sacrifice to the Passover sacrifice of the Old Testament. Each year, since the deliverance of Israel from the land of Egypt, Jewish families celebrate the Passover meal. This was a meal that celebrated that God accepted the blood of the sacrifice of a lamb that was put on the door posts of a Jewish home. By the showing of the blood, death or the curse passed by their home. The one who would bring the curse would not recognize the sins of the occupants of the home, when it saw the blood of the lamb. Not only did it save the occupants from death, but the Bible also states that when the occupants came out the next day, that there was none feeble among them.

Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Psa 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

The association here to bread and wine goes all the way back to Genesis the 14th and 15th chapters, when Abraham won a great battle that redeemed his nephew Lot, and brought Abraham much wealth. Following the battle, Abraham was confronted with a pre-existent appearance of Jesus. The King of Salem means “the King of Peace.”

Gen 14:18-20 And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought forth bread and wine. And he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of Heaven and earth. (20) And blessed be the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

As an aside, it was also here that the principle of the tithe was established; that if the first fruits were given, the rest of the fruit would be made holy. Due to the curse, all things in this world, even money, are under the curse. When we present the first fruits, or tithe, to God, the curse is removed and the whole becomes blessed to reproduce and multiply.

Romans 11:16 For if the first fruits are Holy; the lump is also holy; and if the rot is holy, so are the branches.

Jesus, when having the Passover meal with His disciples, changed the meaning of the Passover meal to represent Himself as the lamb. He stated that the bread (which was not leavened, and was pierced, striped and burnt) now represented “His body broken for us.” The matzo, or unleavened bread, has many holes pierced in it; which represent (as Psalm 22:16 states) that Messiah would be pierced and broken. Isaiah 53 states “that by His stripes we are healed” of disease. The burning represented the judgment fire on Jesus as He became the burnt offering for our sin. Note that the matzo was not leavened. This representing that when we partake there is “no sin in the body of Jesus.”

Jesus further gave the cup of wine, stating that it was now representing His blood, shed for us for the forgiveness of sin. Why the blood? As previously stated, the shedding of innocent blood was accepted as payment for sin. Blood carries the DNA of life itself. When the blood stops flowing, there is death; but when flowing without disease, it is life! God states that the life is in the blood. (Lev. 17:11 and Heb. 9:22) We know today that the blood carries all our immunities, our cellular reproducing capabilities and many more recent discoveries.

We are told that as often as we meet, we are to partake of the Lord's Supper, in remembrance of Him. (Luke 22:19 & 20) When we partake, we are looking to the finished work of the cross that provides complete deliverance to us from our sin and the curse. As we take the bread, we visualize the body of our Lord, broken and taking our diseases and afflictions. We receive His health and wholeness in exchange for our sickness and disease. As we partake of the cup, we visualize the Lord shedding His blood for our deliverance from sin, and giving us righteous standing before God’s throne. We also have an exchange of our defective blood for His life giving blood. God ordained the Lord’s Supper, not as a ritual to be observed, but as a blessing to be received. Hallelujah!

Though we need to have the Lord's Supper in fellowship with other believers, one can partake of it in their home; just as we can have it on the battlefield, or in the hospital. When a need arises for healing of our body or our conscience, or conflict hits our home, take time to “celebrate the Lord's Supper.”

Acts 2:46 states:

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

Why do we need to do this? Let me take you to another passage of the Bible that bears truth.

Numbers 21:4-9 And they pulled up stakes from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the soul of the people was very discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water. And our soul hates this light bread. (6) And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. And many people of Israel died. (7) And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah and against you. Pray to Jehovah that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And Jehovah said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole. And it shall be when everyone that is bitten, when he looks upon it, he shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole. And it happened that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked upon the serpent of brass, he lived.

Bronze represents judgment, and the snake represents sin. As long as the people kept their eyes on the bronze serpent, that represented God's judgment of our sin upon Jesus, the people were healed. Today, the medical profession still uses this symbol as “a sign of healing.” (Staff & serpent) As we partake of the Lord's Supper, it helps us to focus on the finished work of Jesus for our lives. It helps us to keep our eyes off of the answers that the world tries to give us, and off of the temptations that it offers as alternatives. We are told that “our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” (I Cor. 6:19) The body and blood of Jesus represented by the bread and wine, become part of the temple of our Holy Spirit, which is our redeemed body. Jesus is represented in our bodily temple by the bread and wine. God is there as the Holy Spirit, and we are called to be the priest. (Yes – every believer is called to be a priest.)

Paul says this:

I Cor. 11:27-30 So that whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, he will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (28) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. (29) For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (30) For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and many sleep.

The above is the only reason given in the Bible explaining why Christian believers are weak and sickly and die pre-maturely. Paul does not say that the believers are weak and sickly because they are unworthy; but that “the manner in which they are partaking” is unworthy. Unworthily in this case is an adverb that describes the action of eating or drinking, not the person who eats or drinks. “Examining yourself” refers not to the person, but to the act of how one partakes. Condemnation on oneself refers to the Greek word “krima,” which refers to being sentenced. When we partake wrongly, we are sentencing ourselves to weakness, sickness and death. Paul says later, "Don't you have homes in which to eat food and drink?" It is the manner in which we partake of this ordinance of the Lord's Supper that Paul is talking about. They are not discerning that the bread and cup are more than food or drink. It means for them to pause and visualize the provision and blessing that Jesus has made for them. It is a time to be reminded that we are redeemed of sin and the curse, once and for all.

If we sin, Satan is there as “the accuser” through bringing us into a state of condemnation which produces fear, stress and curses upon our body. Satan would like us to focus on our problems and the bad reports which we receive daily from the world. The reports of Satan produce stress and condemnation. The reports of God produce peace and healing. Jesus left us a way of refocusing our thoughts away from the lies of Satan, and onto the completed work of Jesus through the Lord's Supper. Through this Lord's Supper, we can remember that Jesus took our sins -- past, present and future -- and that He is even now our advocate before God. When Satan accuses us, Jesus tells the Father God that we are righteous through His sacrifice. When Satan brings disease or affliction, we lift up the finished work of Jesus and tell Satan to go!

As Jesus, in the form of Melchizedek, blessed Abraham with the bread and the wine, so we the believers today are blessed each and every time we partake of the Lord's Supper.

If we keep our eyes on Jesus’ finished work, it brings us into a place of righteous standing; and we will not easily be brought under condemnation, or tempted by things of the world and the answers it tries to provide. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will see that all we need will be provided. We will not look to “another tree of the knowledge of good and evil” to provide something that we are missing. If you doubt that participating in such a simple ordinance can have such dramatic results, think about how the whole human race was influenced by the simple act of eating a fruit!

It is good to remember that before eating our regular meals, that in a Jewish gathering, the leader of the group would pronounce a blessing on the food and drink.

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.” (Amen)

We may say, “Blessed are you, Lord our God, creator of all our food and drink. Bless our meal with all that our body requires to bring health and well being. Break any curse that would bring harm to our body. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

LET US PRAY:

Lord Jesus,

Help us to never again take the bread and wine casually, in a manner not worthy of the gift of salvation and the removal of the curse in our lives. As we partake of this ordinance provided by You for our spiritual health, help us to see You taking the condemnation which we are under today, and replacing it with approval. Help us to see You taking our stress and replacing it with peace. Help us to see You taking our sickness and replacing it with health. Help us to see You removing the curse from our lives and replacing it with blessing. We accept this ordinance of bread and wine as Your divine instruction for strength and stability in our lives. Thank you, Father God, for sending your Son, to take our sin, and thereby removing the curse from our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen & Hallelujah