“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
In a great hymn, written by Claire-lise de Benoit, she wrote: “All is in Christ; God’s dear Son is Lord of all.” It was Alphonse Monod, a French Reformed Pastor who wrote: “All is in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God, …all else is nothing.” What are these two authors, who were in their times, men and women of faith, saying? The great truth they are communicating is that of the all-comprehensiveness, total completeness, entire and eternal fullness, of the Godhead in One…in Christ. The corresponding truth, as it applies to sinful, but believing and saved men and women is this: each believer has been placed into Jesus Christ, into living union with Him as their life, so that, by His grace and mercy, they should be enabled to derive ALL from Him by the inward attitude of faith. This is that which the Lord Jesus spoke, as recorded in John’s gospel, chapter fifteen. Christ said, “I am the Vine; ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” (15:5) The great mystery of God, now revealed to the church, is this blessed union with Christ, where the believer is called upon to live an exchanged life, his old, sinful life, exchanged for the new life of Christ by the Spirit. He is called to appropriate the Lord Jesus Christ for all, at all times, and in every place. It was another man of God, Handley Moule, who wrote: “…there is no difficulty inward or outward which Thou art not willing to meet in me this day.” How can this be so? First, it is because of the all-sufficiency of Christ, who possesses all things good, worthy, holy and true. Then there is the marvelous fact that the salvation of Christ is not one where it is just a matter of the forgiveness the sinner’s sins, though monumental in importance. This salvation, this eternal work which Christ finished, was an all-encompassing one, perfect in its power and completeness, to be applied, and appropriated, in its fulness by every believer. Paul put it very simply: “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It is also the fact that Christ has come to the soul, to dwell in the heart by faith, filling that soul with the manifest fruits of righteousness, which are the specific revelations of God’s nature and life. Paul again would write this truth: “…no more I, but Christ that liveth in me.” What then are the keys of living such a life, “…on earth as it is in heaven?”
The first key is that of the “vision.” There must be an understanding of the truth of our salvation in Christ, and the extent to which it not only to affects how we live, but how it is the very essence, spring, well, and river, from which the life is to be derived, hence, “…all in Christ, by the Holy Spirit.” The vision is a clear and accurate perception of the truth concerning the meaning and magnitude of this salvation to which we are called.
The second key is that of faith in Christ, according to the vision. This is illustrated during what is called, “The Last Supper.” The Lord Jesus, at that time, took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take, eat; this is My body.” What is He saying here? First, He is giving them a vision, a clear understanding, of the importance of His body, which soon will be broken for them. But then, He carries them further by instructing them to eat the broken, blessed bread. Why? It is the appropriation of the meaning of that broken body. Knowledge without faith to appropriate, making it one’s own, is insufficient.. The same was true with regard to the cup, speaking of the blood of the New Testament.
Dear Father, Give to us to see Christ as our life, appropriating Him for all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.