CHAPTER EIGHT
EATING AND DRINKING—
THE FOCUS OF GOD’S SALVATION
Scripture Reading: Exo. 12:3-4; 16:14-15; 17:5-6; 1 Cor. 5:7; 10:3-4; 1:2; 1 Pet. 2:2-3; John 6:54-57; Matt. 22:1-2; Luke 15:18, 21; Acts 2:4; Eph. 5:18
THE LORD’S DESIRE BEING FOR US TO LIVE HIM
THROUGH EATING AND DRINKING HIM
In the previous chapter we emphasized that God wants man to enjoy Him through eating and drinking Him. Although some may think that this is a crude and unrefined way of speaking, the New Testament speaks of God offering Himself to us for our food and drink. Although the expression eating and drinking may seem common and even vulgar, God often uses common expressions to convey extremely mysterious things. In describing the relationship between God and man, it is insufficient to say that man should receive God. This can be understood as receiving something purely in an objective way. Even if we speak of receiving God into us, this may not convey the thought adequately, because receiving something into us does not necessarily mean digesting it into our being so that it becomes our very constitution. The most direct and clear way is simply to say that God wants man to eat and drink Him. This is because everything we eat and drink is assimilated into us and becomes a part of us. “Eating” God is the clearest description of this thought.
Regrettably, the concept of eating and drinking God does not exist in man. Our concept is to worship God, serve Him, be zealous for Him, and do something for Him. When we first hear the expressions eating God and drinking God, we may consider them as hard sayings that are difficult to understand. The Lord Jesus said that He is the bread of life that came down out of heaven and that those who come to Him would no longer hunger, and those who believe into Him would no longer thirst (John 6:35). He said that His flesh is true food, and His blood is true drink (v. 55). This word confounded the Jews. How could they eat His flesh, and how could they drink His blood? This was a hard word. Who could hear it (v. 60)? But the Lord Jesus said that His flesh is true food, and His blood is true drink. He who eats His flesh and drinks His blood abides in Him, and He in him. As the living Father abides in Him, and He lives because of the Father, in the same way, those who eat Him will live because of Him (v. 57). We live because of Him when we eat Him, because after eating Him, He enters into us and is digested by us. He becomes our nutrients, our element. This is not difficult to understand. We live today because of the food we eat. If we did not eat, we would cease to exist. This is the reason the Lord said that we should eat Him. If we eat Him, we will live because of Him.
Man’s Concept Being to Work, Not to Eat and Drink
When man considers Christianity, his first thought is that he should do good or achieve some work. People often say that Christianity is a good religion and that it teaches people to do good. Then they claim that they are good and do not need Christianity. They say that only those who are evil and poor need Christianity. Some friends have said to me, “I know you are trying to convert me for a good reason. But I cannot give up my drinking or my gambling; therefore, it would not be good for me to join Christianity.” These statements show that people’s concepts are based on behavior.
What about the concepts of Christians who are saved by grace? Although our gospel proclaims that we are not saved by works but by grace and although we readily acknowledge and confess this with our mouth, when we become a Christian we immediately place ourselves under a kind of bondage. For example, we say, “In the past I often rebelled against my parents, but from now on I will no longer rebel against them. I often lost my temper and abused my wife, but from now on I will no longer do these things.” Some sisters say, “I used to argue with my husband all the time. It was terrible, but from now on I will be a good wife. Tonight I am being baptized. As soon as I rise from the baptistery, I will be a new person and will act like a new person.” However, no one can produce this kind of “newness.” After only a few days the old man will resurface. Because this is our situation, we never have the concept that God is for us to eat, drink, and enjoy. I have never seen a person on the day of his baptism prostrate himself before the Lord and say, “Lord, I thank and praise You. You do not want me to do anything or behave in any way. You simply want me to enjoy You, receive You, eat You, drink You, and take You into me.” I am afraid no one who is baptized has ever uttered such a prayer. Rather, everyone has the concept that following his baptism he should make a resolution to refrain from certain things. As Christians, we focus on acts and behavior. Rarely do we think about eating and drinking God. We can say that Christianity knows nothing about eating and drinking. It only knows about work and behavior. Christianity is a work and a walk with an empty stomach. But this concept is far from the record of the Bible.