"COMMUNION IN THE LORD'S CHURCH"
By Dr. Hoyt W. Allen, Jr.
Concerning the
subject of Jesus'
body being the
literal body and
blood, several
interpretations have
been given. The one
which many follow is
very common with the
Roman Catholic
Church. When the
priest prays over
the bread and juice
it is called
"Transubstantiation".
That is, he (the
priest) has the
power to literally
change the contents
of the bread and
juice to Christ's
body and blood. The
Roman Catholic
Lateran Council of
1215 determined
this. I contend that
when Jesus said
"This is my body and
blood..." (Matthew
26:26,28) the terms
were to be
considered as
metaphors, which
means "Likeness".
Other examples would
be found in:
1) Matthew 8:22 "Let
the dead bury the
dead." Literally,
this is
impossible, but
metaphorically it
can be true - let
the spiritually dead
bury the dead and
come and follow me.
2) Genesis 49:9
"Judah is a lion's
whelp (cub)...)
Literally, this is
not
possible, but
metaphorically it
can be true.
3) Jer. 1:18 Was
Jeremiah a literal
city, pillar, or
wall?
4) Jer. 2:13 Is God
a fountain of living
water, literally?
5) John 7:37 Can one
drink Jesus,
literally? No, but
metaphorically yes!
6) I Cor. 10:4 Is
Jesus really a rock?
Literally no,
but metaphorically
yes!
Jesus' words about
the communion
emblems is teaching
a mystery that there
was life in the
blood and Passover
Lamb (Gen. 9:4; Lev.
7:26,27; Acts
15:20). Jesus was
thus declaring that
His life was offered
as the means of
salvation to
mankind. His blood
represents His life
(John 6:54-56; Col.
1:20; Heb. 9:12,14,
22).
When Jesus said
"This is my
body...blood...", as
he lifted up the
literal bread and
the juice, yet he
was present IN THE
FLESH. Thus, the
emblems were not His
literal body and
blood, but a
likeness or a
comparison. If one
does not understand
this in such light,
then there will be
difficulty
understanding Luke
14:26 which says to
"Hate your
parents...",
(Preferring another
ahead of Christ is a
better translation)
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