Obviously, eating Christ's flesh and drinking Christ's blood is defined as receiving His Word...
John 6
56“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."
John 15
7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you..."
...but doesn't Christ define "eating His flesh and drinking His blood" not only as "believing in Him", but also as "being sent by Him and living like Him"?
John 6
57“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me."
In the same way that the living Father sent Him, and He lives because of the Father, so the one who eats His flesh and drinks His blood will live because of Him: This would have to mean that eating His flesh and drinking His blood would have to be serving Him (as He served God--"And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”), living as He lived, letting your life represent Him, right?
This reminds me of...
1 John 3
23This is His commandment [singular] that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24The one who keeps His commandments [plural] abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
John 15
10"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love."
John 8
29"And He Who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
So, it appears the Apostle never intended to promulgate an idea of a separation of the two--ie, believing gives you eternal life, and then obeying Him is some other thing that has nothing to do with eternal life--but the two are one, so that refusing to love others is actually a form of denying Christ, and refusing to believe Christ is also not loving others, and eternal life is decided by these things, because abiding in Christ, where the eternal life is located (1 Jn 5:10,11), is decided by these things.
"We must work the works of Him Who sent Me..."
I still think the power to actually live as pleases Him is His Grace, and that is by faith in His Word ("Sanctify them in the Truth. Thy Word is Truth."), but this clarifies things a bit for me.
John 6
56“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."
John 15
7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you..."
...but doesn't Christ define "eating His flesh and drinking His blood" not only as "believing in Him", but also as "being sent by Him and living like Him"?
John 6
57“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me."
In the same way that the living Father sent Him, and He lives because of the Father, so the one who eats His flesh and drinks His blood will live because of Him: This would have to mean that eating His flesh and drinking His blood would have to be serving Him (as He served God--"And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”), living as He lived, letting your life represent Him, right?
This reminds me of...
1 John 3
23This is His commandment [singular] that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24The one who keeps His commandments [plural] abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
John 15
10"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love."
John 8
29"And He Who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
So, it appears the Apostle never intended to promulgate an idea of a separation of the two--ie, believing gives you eternal life, and then obeying Him is some other thing that has nothing to do with eternal life--but the two are one, so that refusing to love others is actually a form of denying Christ, and refusing to believe Christ is also not loving others, and eternal life is decided by these things, because abiding in Christ, where the eternal life is located (1 Jn 5:10,11), is decided by these things.
"We must work the works of Him Who sent Me..."
I still think the power to actually live as pleases Him is His Grace, and that is by faith in His Word ("Sanctify them in the Truth. Thy Word is Truth."), but this clarifies things a bit for me.
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