Do We Believe God: Regarding Communion? Part 3

Hello To All:

1. "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the FELLOWSHIP of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:9).
2. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have FELLOWSHIP with us: and truly our FELLOWSHIP is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3).
3. "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body." (Matthew 26:26).

The Personal Account:

When our Lord Jesus Christ, was gathered with His disciples, in the upper room; He was with them in a very intimate and personal fashion.  Jesus took the bread. Jesus blessed the bread. Jesus broke the bread. Jesus gave the bread, to His disciples. Jesus said: "Take, eat, this is my body."  The disciples take the bread that Jesus gives them. The disciples eat the bread that Jesus gives them. The disciples hear the proclamation - "This is my body" - and they "take" and they "eat" - without complaint - without asking how can this be - without any stated exception or unbelief regarding what Jesus was saying and doing.

In John, chapter six (please see essay titled: "Do We Believe God: Conclusion"), the disciples, of the upper room, were present, as Jesus was speaking to a larger group, including the larger group of disciples. Jesus spoke, very directly, regarding His flesh and His blood. He concluded His proclamation with these words from John 6:57-58:

57. "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me."
58. "This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as our fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever."

Many of the disciples, from the larger group, had a complaint, in response to the words of Jesus Christ. Verse 60 states: "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" In verse 66, we find written: "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."  The disciples, of the upper room, stayed with Jesus. The saying was not too hard for them. We need to ask ourselves why. Why is it that they were able to accept what Jesus said? - while others "went back, and walked no more with him." Why is it, that in the upper room, they took and they ate, without complaint? - and continued, for the rest of their lives, to walk with Him.

The answer can only be found in and through the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The why is found in our growing understanding of and our submission to: Koinonia. Go back and look at our opening texts. In the first text, we find that fellowship (koinonia) is of Jesus Christ. In the second text, we find that fellowship (koinonia) is with Jesus Christ. In Part 2, of this series, we recognized that communion/fellowship (koinonia) is of the Holy Ghost; and is given, as a gift, to the body of Christ, the church.

The King's Book is telling us that fellowship (koinonia) is both of the Holy Ghost and of Jesus Christ. If we are willing to see it; this reality of koinonia, being both of the Holy Ghost and of Jesus Christ, affirms the truth that a right understanding of the work of the Holy Ghost, is found in the recognition that the Holy Ghost always directs us to Jesus Christ; and always works in and through Jesus Christ. Thus, communion/fellowship (koinonia) is always going to be in and through and with Jesus Christ. Look, again, to our opening text: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

Fellowship (koinonia) is not forced upon us. It is a calling. A right response to a calling is obedient submission. The effects and blessings of koinonia can only be enjoyed in the context of our submission to koinonia that is both of and with Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Thus, in the upper room, when Jesus says, to His disciples: "This is my body" - the disciples are able to accept this as truth - without complaint - because, in the context of their submission to Jesus Christ, they are also submitted to the realities of the koinonia that is of and with Jesus Christ. The personal presence of Jesus Christ, establishes communion/fellowship (koinonia) in such a way as to make the supernatural understanding of "This is my body," both possible and without complaint. Thus, in the personal account, of the Lord's Supper, the disciples were able to recognize the truth of "This is my body," by virtue of their koinonia (communion/fellowship) with Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Can we say thank you Jesus? Amen and Amen and Amen!

When next we gather, we shall take a deeper look at the revelational account of the communion (koinonia) of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus