God Desiring Man to Be Transformed 
and to Be Like Him by Eating and Drinking

We should consider the situation when Adam was placed in front of the tree of life. Beside him was a river flowing, and where the river flowed, there were gold, bdellium, and precious stone (vv. 10-12). This picture depicts the desire of God’s heart. Adam, who was made of earth, was placed beside Eve, who was made from Adam’s earthy rib. This was an earthy husband with an earthy wife, an earthy male beside an earthy female; both were earthy. Do we think that the God whose appearance is like the shining of gold and precious stones craves worship of earthy creatures? God is not a god of earth and dust. He has no intention for earthy men to worship and serve Him. In effect, God was indicating that there was no need to serve and worship Him but rather to be fed and satisfied with Him. He is golden and like precious stone. He is different in nature from the earth, the clay, and the dust of our constitution. We need to eat and drink Him and allow His nature to enter into us in order for us to experience transformation. This will make us the same as He is—gold and precious stones.

God’s word is even clearer in the New Testament. Second Corinthians 4:7 clearly says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. God is a treasure, and we can be transformed when this treasure is hidden in us, the earthen vessels. At the end of Revelation there is a city with the tree of life and the river of water of life flowing in it. This city is not an earthen city but a golden city of precious stones and pearl. That is the ultimate manifestation of the glory of the believers. Hence, the first picture that God shows in the Bible is that He wants to be food to man. He wants to be eaten so that man can be transformed in his nature. This is God’s intention.

Some may think that I am too excited, but I have a burden within me. God has no intention for us to worship or serve Him. He simply wants us to eat Him. Although we would rather worship and serve Him, this thought is absolutely contrary to His desire. Our thought and God’s desire are incompatible. We must eat Him; we do not need to worship Him.

This picture needs to be seared into our being. God is for us to eat. I have heard many brothers and sisters praising God, saying, “I praise You that a man as vile and lowly as I am can worship You as the holy God.” This type of praise comes from those who do not truly know God. If we knew God and knew how to enjoy Him, we would say, “I praise You that a man as lowly and vile as myself can eat and enjoy You even though You are great and holy.” Every Lord’s Day we praise the Lord in the bread-breaking meeting, saying, “Lord, we love You so much. You died on the cross for us. You have shed Your blood and borne our sins. You rose from the dead and ascended on high to be our interceding High Priest. We thank and praise You.” Almost every Christian says this. After this type of thanksgiving, we may make a resolution, saying, “Lord, give me the strength not to shame Your name but to walk and behave according to Your will so that I can preach the gospel with zeal, attend every meeting, read the Bible, and pray every day.” The Lord’s response to this is, “Foolish one, I do not want any of these things. My body was broken for you. Take and eat. My blood was shed for you. Take and drink. Remember Me in this way.” Eating and drinking the Lord in remembrance of Him means to take the Lord by eating and drinking Him. When we break the bread, we need to realize that we are not worshipping or serving Him; rather, we are eating and drinking Him. The loaf of bread before us symbolizes the Lord’s body, which was sacrificed for us. The cup before us symbolizes His blood, which was shed for us. Both of these are for eating and drinking. This is altogether a matter of eating and drinking.

We must understand this. God’s relationship with man is not based on things but on His being food. In Genesis 1 we see the matter of eating and drinking. The tree of life is for us to eat, and the river of water of life is for us to drink. Through God becoming food, an earthen man can become golden. A man without God can become a man full of God, and the human element can be transformed by participating in God’s element. God has absolutely no intention for man to do anything for Him. He just wants man to eat and drink Him. When we break the bread, we are eating and drinking God. When we contact Him in the morning, we are also eating and drinking Him. Even our meetings are a kind of eating and drinking of Him.