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Oasis Higher Ground Trainings Draw Near Others - Chinese - English Languages
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"For You"
(5th in the series of expositions on Communion delivered on Aug 20, 1978)
In 1 Cor 11:23,24 it reads:
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord
Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when He had given
thanks, he broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you. Do this
in remembrance of me."
As we can see, Jesus not only died for us but also lives for us. He said 'My body is for you.' It was already for us even before it was broken, only when we understand this can we understand Jn 6:55, 'My flesh is food indeed'. The circumstances in which the Lord gave thanks was the night He was being betrayed - He gave thanks for the privilege of doing the Father's will. The Lord went to the cross willingly not because He enjoys death nor all the suffering, but He is delighted to do the Father's will. The cross is terrifying not because of the dying, but more because of the fearfulness of sin, hence big drops of sweat dropped from Him.
In v24 the RSV translation is better than the marginal one, 'it is for you'. By this we hope to catch the spirit of Communion. Everything that Jesus did was for us, He hardly had done anything for Himself. He fed the multitudes but He refused to feed Himself with the same power when He was tempted in the wilderness. Even when He comes again, it is to take us to Him. What have we done for the Lord?
Paul said, 'Present your body to Him.' This is the quality of life, the mentality we should have. Paul walked in the steps of Christ, the life of Christ is being manifested in Paul's life. In 2 Tim 2:10, "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory." This sums up Paul's mentality: his whole attention is on others. We should also have the same mind. No true Christian lives for himself. To live for Christ means to die to ourselves. To preach the Word of God is not just to talk but is to live out an example. Paul is showing to us the potential of being a true servant for God which is to live for each other.
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Communion Series:
- Worship
- A Sharing in the Body of Christ
- God's Expression of Love to Us
- Pressing toward the Mark of the High Calling
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