The Blood of Christ

In times of war, especially during the medieval era when swords were the common weapon to use in combat, a soldier needed to be very careful that they didn’t receive large flesh wounds from a sword. Soldiers today may have to deal with bullet wounds, which can be very deadly themselves, but with a sword wound it could often be a rather serious problem as those cuts needed to be taken care of so that they didn’t bleed out and die from blood loss.

Blood is essential for life, because without it a body will die. It is as simple as that. You must have blood in your body or you will die. And similarly, when we partake in the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus we can have life in us as well. But this isn’t the life as we know it right now, it is eternal life.

John 6:53-58  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.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath 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 eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

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.

During the partaking of Holy Communion we can have everlasting life. Without the blood of Christ we do not have that life in us, and if a person goes through their life and dies without the blood of the Lord they will not live forever. They may look alive while on the Earth, they may walk, talk, rest, eat, and have an outward appearance of life, but on the inside, inside their soul, they are really dead. They are spiritually dead because they do not have the life that comes from Christ.

This was something that Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees for. As administers and rulers in the Jewish Law, they should have been keepers of the Law as well, but there were many of them which only had the outward appearance of holiness, but inside they were filled with sin and wickedness.

Matthew 23:25-28  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Unless something is alive inside it is really dead, isn’t it? A tree may look exactly like the others around it, but if there isn’t any water inside it isn’t alive, it is dead. Someone may claim to be a Christian all they want, but if they do not partake of the body and blood of the Lord they do not have eternal life abiding in them.

You must know what it is that you are doing when you partake of Holy Communion. It is not bread and wine, but the body and blood of the Lord, which He gives to us for the remission of our sins. When we eat His body and drink His blood during Communion He cleanses us from all of our wrongdoings so that we may be at peace with God.

1 Corinthians 11:23-29  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:

And when he had given thanks, he brake 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 testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

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.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

The body and blood of the Lord is given so that we may have forgiveness, not so that we may continue to sin and then go back for more forgiveness again. You must examine yourself and fully recognize your sins, and turn away from them. Don’t be among those who misuse His grace by partaking unworthily of the Lord. Those who do will only bring damnation upon themselves.

Forgiveness is a gift. Life is a gift, and we have life in the body and blood of Christ. 

In Christ,

Andrew