“‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink ye all of it.” Matthew 26:26,27
Dear Ones:
One of the great values of the Psalms is the very evident appropriation of the truth of God, but also, His life. It is for this reason that believers in the Old Testament could truly know God, not just hear about Him. The issue of appropriation is one where the believer literally TAKES by faith, that which has been given to him by God. To do this, the believer must know the truth of the gift.
Perhaps the singular, and most important aspect of David’s life, and experience of knowing God, lied not in the fact that he knew the truth, though imperative to faith. It was in his partaking by faith of the ways, nature, and power of God. God revealed to David wonderful truths of Himself. David took those truths, and “used” them to know God. He took his stand on the truth of the word of God, so as to precisely put his faith in God according to the truth. Jesus would later speak of this matter: “He that has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me: and he that loves Me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” (14:21) Knowing God is not just knowing the truth, but acting on it, believing it, placing one’s faith specifically IN Christ according to it.
One of the great pictures of appropriation in the Scriptures is found in the gospels, when Jesus shared “the last supper” with his disciples. When the disciples and Jesus, were partaking of the meal, the Lord take bread, blessed and broke it. The disciples would “see” Jesus do this with the bread. But then, the Lord would take them a step further in what He desired to show them. He said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” (Matt. 26:26) The call of Christ to follow, love and serve Him, is not just a matter of knowing the truth of belonging to Him. Christ would have His disciples KNOW Him, and this, by partaking of Him according to the truth of the will and purpose of God. An example of this is seen after the resurrection, when the Lord Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples, telling them to wait in Jerusalem for the realization of “promise of the Father,” the outpouring of the Spirit of God. This they did, in the expectation of what God would do, though they did not realize the full implication, nor effect it would have on their lives, and countless thousands soon thereafter. This “promise of the Father,” and realization of the prophesy of Joel concerning the outpouring of the Spirit, not only opened the door to heaven in a special way, giving an extraordinary access to God, but it provided the basis of truth, and the power, to KNOW Christ in a much fuller way. The disciples, from that time forward, in a new and fresh way, a more extensive manner, would partake of “bread” and “wind,” this being the work of Christ, and the very life of Christ by the Spirit. With the truth revealed of their union with Christ, would come the command: “Eat…and drink,” i.e. partake of the truth and reality of what has been accomplished on Calvary, the complete work on Calvary, and the fullness of the Spirit.
In Psalm 27, the psalmist writes: “The Lord IS my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?” (v.1) David is declaring truths here, truths that were revealed to him by God. The truth is that Christ is light, true light. He is also salvation in truth and in power. Strength and power are His also, as He is Creator and Redeemer. The question then becomes, “Do I appropriate Him to be this to be in and through me, and others?
Dear Father, Open our eyes to see the Lord Jesus, and us in Him by faith. Strengthen us to live, partaking of Christ by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad