LESSON NINE – ENJOYING CHRIST

John 6:35 — Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst.

EATING, DRINKING, AND ENJOYING THE LORD

Some people may say that the New Testament does not use the word enjoy. But the Bible does speak of eating and drinking. Anything related to eating and drinking must be a matter of enjoyment. The Lord Himself said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst” (John 6:35). He also said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me,…out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (7:37-38). In addition, the apostle Paul said that the Israelites who followed Moses in the wilderness, “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:3-4). Then in the book of Revelation written by John, the Lord Jesus promised, “To him who overcomes, to him  I will give to eat of the tree of life” (2:7). He also said, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna” (v. 17). These verses cover the matters of eating and drinking, which are certainly matters for enjoyment.

ABOUT THE MATTER OF EATING

Genesis tells us from the outset that after God created man, the first thing He did was not to give man the Ten Commandments or to say to man, “Adam, you must worship Me and not forget your source. In addition, I am a proper God who is righteous, moral, holy, and full of light, so you must also behave accordingly and not disobey.” This kind of concept is a product that evolved from human culture; it was not God’s revelation to man. After God created man, the first thing He did was to bring man to the tree of life and say to him, “Of every tree of the garden you may eat freely, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (2:16-17). Here God made a covenant with man, and this covenant was about the matter of eating. In other words, eating is the most important matter related to man’s existence; if man eats the right things, he will live longer, but if he eats the wrong things, he will jeopardize his health and invite death. For this reason, after God finished creating man, He immediately spoke to man about the matter of eating. However, because Eve saw that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good for food, she was tempted and ate wrongfully. This resulted in the fall of man.

After man fell, God came to save him and again brought in the matter of eating. Exodus shows us that the children of Israel not only received God’s redemption through the blood of the lamb, but they were also strengthened to leave Egypt by eating the flesh of the lamb and the unleavened bread. Then after they were delivered, they went into the wilderness and ate manna every day until they entered the land of Canaan.

After entering Canaan, there was still the matter of eating. God wanted them to go up to Jerusalem three times a year for the feasts, bringing the best tenth of their produce from the land to eat, drink, and enjoy before God (Deut. 14:22-23). (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life,” pp. 301-303)

EATING THE LORD BEING GOD’S ORDINATION TO US

God ordained even before the foundation of the world that our destiny, our future, would be to daily eat the Lord. What must Christians do? Eat the Lord! What kind of Christian are you? We are Christians who eat the Lord. What kind of church do you have? A church that eats the Lord. Christians are people who eat the Lord. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Eating the Lord,” p. 25)

References: CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life,” ch. 1; CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Eating the Lord,” chs. 1, 2

DRINK! A RIVER PURE AND CLEAR THAT’S FLOWING FROM THE THRONE

Experience of Christ— As Food and Drink – 1151

• Drink! A river pure and clear that’s flowing from the throne;
  Eat! The tree of Life with fruits abundant, richly grown;
  Look! No need of lamp nor sun nor moon to keep it bright, for
  Here there is no night!

Do come, oh, do come,
Says Spirit and the Bride:
Do come, oh, do come,
Let him that heareth, cry.
Do come, oh, do come,
Let him who thirsts and will
Take freely the water of Life!

• Christ, our river, Christ, our water, springing from within;
  Christ, our tree, and Christ, the fruits, to be enjoyed therein,
  Christ, our day, and Christ, our light, and Christ, our morning star:
  Christ, our everything!

• We are washing all our robes the tree of life to eat;
  “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” — Jesus is so sweet!
  We our spirits exercise, and thus experience Christ.
  What a Christ have we!

• Now we have a home so bright that outshines the sun,
  Where the brothers all unite and truly are one.
  Jesus gets us all together, Him we now display
  In the local church.