The Body and Blood

1 Corinthians 11:23-27

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Notice the cup in the hand of the Lord. There is one cup and one blood. This is about the blood and body of Jesus. Last week, God showed me how eating his flesh and drinking his blood so identifies us with his life until he comes. His body and his blood are all he has to offer. He gave them freely for us all so that we might become the sons of God as in Romans 8:32. In this apparent humiliation came exaltation in Philippians 2:9. Notice his eternal life and resurrection when God had exalted him. "He ascended on high and led captivity captive;" how much more will we who have suffered with him reign with him as in Ephesians 4:8. The text speaks of the body and blood of Christ together which means you cannot have one without the other. This is not like the animal sacrifices of the Mosaic covenant whose parts could be separated and used for various purposes. This is the Holy Lamb of God of whom we speak. He does not take his body lightly. Because he is more than just the Lamb slain for the sin of the world, he did not join those under the altar who cry out for justice in Revelation 6:9. His is as the blood of Abel which cries out for justice and also atones according to Genesis 4:10.

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

Isaiah 51:17-23 speaks of another cup. Actually, we will see it is the same cup. It is the cup of his wrath from which Jerusalem has drunken. By their actions, they are guilty of his unjust suffering and death at the hands of sinners. Even now they still reject the Messiah who would have gathered them like a mother hen with the chicks under her wings in Matthew 23:37. Notice the goblet that makes people stagger. It is a strong drink. The people who drink thereof are drunk but not with wine. Notice the children are also drunken, laying in the streets, motherless and fatherless. Within the blood of the Lord is the fullness of his wrath but for a time. Isaiah 14:4 speaks of the God of the turnaround; God can turn this situation around. Isaiah 49:26 says the cup of God's wrath will be taken from those who did not deserve it and had suffered enough. Then it will be given instead to those who told the suffering one to lie down before them as the ground and as the street for them to pass over. These images are seen repeatedly throughout the Scripture of people eating their own flesh and drinking their own blood. God is saying that by their own devices they shall fall. God will feed them to themselves.

Have you ever met someone who fell into the same trap that they laid for others in Psalm 141:10? By their own devices shall they sicken as one drunk with wine in the same way they tormented the innocent. This is done so that "all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" according to Isaiah 49:26. Only God can handle the turnaround. This is not for our glory but rather for the Lord's. This is his house, and he alone will administrate it. In Jeremiah 25:15-17, Jeremiah 25:26, and Jeremiah 25:28, God sent the prophet to pour out God's cup on the nations. In the end we will see the same cup poured out in judgement upon the earth. "But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it!'" Again, I repeat Jeremiah 49:12 because this is strong stuff: "If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished but must drink it."

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the body and blood of Jesus. We identify with Christ because we have been crucified with him in Galatians 2:20. His life is ours. As we have been made to drink along with him to its dregs, so will he also pour it out upon those who torment you. The God who defends his people will not leave you defenseless. Make sure it is God defending you. Believe me, he is the best defense in the whole wide world and the best offense too. You may be sad and in a situation now. I promise you after God is finished, you will not be in a situation anymore. I can personally attest, for me, there is no situation anymore. Now that God has delivered from the situation, there remains a duty to the children. Remember the children who laid in the streets fatherless and motherless. These need someone to show them they do not have to live like God never delivered them. They do not have to be absent, laid in the streets, defeated, and strung out on this thing or that. If God can deliver the parents, he can deliver the children. How much more will he not deliver them if they turn to him?

Some of the stuff you are dealing with such as the behaviors, the attitudes, and the actions are hung over from when there was a situation before God delivered you. The kids may still be reeling. Your tormentors are definitely reeling. Right now, is a great time for Godly ministry. You should not gloat nor go slash tires nor have all sorts of other responses. Now is not the time for that. How should the street get up and smite them who are now in the same position you were in once? God is the God of the turnaround. He will open the opportunity to either walk away and leave it as judgment or else to minister. Where would the earth be if God finished judging it and did not come back. Remember he entered as though from the wine press with robes soaked in blood according to Revelation 19:13-14. After this, he went right back out and finished up delivering the people. He did this to let the world see the God who had saved them, delivered them, and fixed their problems. The thousand years of rule and reign with Christ came after this; however, it was before the new Heaven and the new earth for a reason. Somebody shout Godly ministry.