At Communion, Does Christ Come into a Believer’s Life?
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At Communion, Does Christ Come into a Believer’s Life?
When a biblical topic is controversial, it’s good to take a look at it from many angles. What we’ll take a look at next are the words no life in you taken from a verse in the book of John that’s considered paramount in supporting the mindset that the elements of the bread and wine at communion become the literal body and blood of Christ while maintaining their original appearance.
John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
While Catholicism believes that the elements are to be taken literally, could it be another way of looking at this? Before we take a look at an alternative approach, let’s begin by seeing if there are other verses that might appear to support the literal approach.
THE LITERAL VIEW
If each of the elements of communion change into Christ’s body and blood, then one could say that when they’re consumed, He literally comes into their life. With that said, are there verses that support the premise that Christ comes into a believer’s life?
John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
There it is. Scriptures verify that Christ comes to live in a believer’s life. It’s contended that this happens at communion. Thus, if someone chooses not to partake in this announcement, then it’s declared that they’ll have no life in you (John 6:53). The target word life in Koine Greek is zooeen from zoe. One meaning of it is that it refers to the life of Christ.
John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
And the verse that follows indicates that this word also refers to eternal life. Therefore, when the components of communion are swallowed, the life of Christ comes into them and provides eternal life. What do you think? Does this explanation appear to be scripturally sound? Could there be another way to interpret John 6:53? Let’s find out.
THE FIGURATIVE VIEW
Where do we begin?
Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Let’s start by using the same verse from the book of Colossians and try to determine two things, what causes Christ in you (Christ coming into someone’s life), and could this expression be figurative of another member of the Trinity?
God would make known (reveal) the mystery (secret) among the Gentiles (that they were included in His redemptive grace). And what is this mystery that’s been hidden, it’s Christ in you. Scripture informs us that there’s another way to describe the words Christ in you. Where this is found is in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
The words Christ in you may also be expressed as Christ may dwell in your hearts. The word dwell could have two distinct yet collaborative meanings. First, a permanent abode, and second to settle down and be at home. And what causes each of these conditions to occur? Faith!
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Ephesians 1:12-13 … Christ… In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Initially, this is the faith that pertains to responding to the gospel of Christ by repenting of one’s sins and believing in Christ as to who He is and what He has accomplished.
Romans 8:9-10 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
When the apostle speaks of Christ dwelling in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17), he’s referring to the Spirit’s indwelling, for Christ dwells in his people by his Spirit.46 In these verses from the book of Romans, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Christ, and we’re also told that the words Spirit of God dwell in you are synonymous with the words, And if Christ be in you. And let us not forget that there’s another aspect of faith that we’ll talk about later in this study, which is the ability to live rightly because Christ himself lives in the believer through the Spirit.47
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
So, Christ in you (living in us) is figurative of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Now, let’s go back and take another look at the words from John 6:53. With what we’ve learned, we could say that the words eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood are symbolic of Christ’s atonement for sin.
John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
The idea of eating this bread, i.e., figuratively eating of Him, which will cause someone to live forever, is synonymous with believing in Him or in the name of the Son of God.
In summary, the alternative or figurative view doesn’t ascribe the eating of bread and wine to Christ’s literal flesh and blood. And neither does it, in this context, reference to the last supper, meaning that while both incorporate bread and wine, they have different meanings. In John 6:53, they have to do with salvation. In Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, and Luke 22:19-20, they have to do with keeping in mind all that Christ did for us on the cross.
Furthermore, Christ coming into a believer’s life, which is analogous to the indwelling Spirit, doesn’t occur when they digest the elements of communion, but this takes place by the repentance of sins and faith in Christ. And if someone doesn’t respond to the message that declares these truths, i.e., the gospel of Christ, they won’t have life (eternal life).
So, where do we go from here? Well, we have another aspect of this study to look at, which has to do with the implication that the more a person partakes of communion, the more they’ll grow spiritually because they’re increasing in their intake of the literal person of Christ. What do you think about this perception?
Endnotes
46The Pulpit Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2006. BIBLESOFT. WEB. 21 January 2023
˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.
47IVP.
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