Bread is food, we eat food, when we eat food our body breaks it down, through metabolic processes, into smaller components that can be absorbed and be assimilated into our body. Eating is enjoyable, tasting our food is a good experience. But why do we eat? We eat because the food supplies us so we can live, if we don't eat we won't be able to live, we will die.
In John 6:35a it says; "Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life;", and in John 6:57 He said "As the Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me." this shows us that Jesus is available for us to eat of Him, the Lord Jesus is telling us that we can eat of Him. To eat Him is to take Him in so He can become a part of us, it is by this process of taking Him in that we live by Him, and He lives in us. By doing this we receive His life, by taking Him into our being we will live because of Him. This is wonderful! Praise the Lord that we can eat and enjoy Him! When we eat Christ we enjoy Him as our life supply and He lives in us. Rom 8:10a says "But if Christ is in you," Christ can dwell in us, He dwells in us as the Spirit, the footnote on this verse is so sweet "In this verse the Spirit is not mentioned, for here the emphasis is that Christ today is the Spirit and that the Spirit of Christ is the very Christ in us. According to the fact, it is Christ; according to the experience, it is the Spirit...As the Redeemer, He has the title Christ; as the Indweller, He has the title the Spirit. There are not two who dwell in us but one Dweller in two aspects." When we eat Christ and He enters into us He dwells in us! Praise the Lord!
So how do we eat Christ? We can call upon the name of the Lord Rom 10:12b "for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him;". Calling on the name of the Lord is so precious, when we call upon His name we can touch Him and experience His riches. How precious it is to call Him. Jeremiah called on the name of the Lord, he also explains to us that to call on the name of the Lord is to cry to Him and to experience spiritual breathing. Lam. 3:55-56 "I called upon Your name, O Jehovah, from the lowest pit. You have heard my voice; do not hide Your ear at my breathing, at my cry." In Isaiah 12:2-6 Isaiah also tells us that our calling upon the Lord is our crying to Him. There is many examples in the old testament of people calling upon His name. In the new testament, in Acts 2:21 Stephen called on the name of the Lord while he was being stoned. In Acts 9:14 it indicates that the people who called on the name of the Lord were the Christians. 1 Cor 1:2b " with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours." 2 Tim 2:22 " Flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." It is normal and healthy for Christians to call on the name of the Lord. Out of experience I can say that the Lord truly is rich to all who call upon Him.
Another way for us to eat Christ is by pray-reading the word. The word can be so rich to us when we muse over it, we need to spend time in the word, John 1:1 tells us that the Word is God, when we spend time in the word we touch the Living God! How wonderful! 1 Tim 4:6 tells us we can be nourished by the words of the faith. This shows us that God's word is food to nourish us. The function of the word is to impart God into us as life, when we read the Bible we should take something of God's essence into us just as we take in our food. When we pray-read we are taking in God's word by prayer. Eph 6:17-18 tells us to receive the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition. We are to take the word of God (which is Christ - John 1:1, 14) by means of all prayer and petition. This is pray reading. Pray-reading the word is to pray the word that we read.
Both calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading is for us to take Christ in and to enjoy Him as our supply. We should practice to call and to pray-read corporately (2Tim 2:22). The nourishment obtained from the Lord by calling on Him and pray-reading is for the whole Body not just for one member. You will profit by calling and pray-reading alone, but you will see and experience the difference when you come together with other members of the Body.
O Lord! Praise You we can eat and enjoy You. You are the true food that we need, we want to be nourished by You continually. Lord Jesus! You truly are rich to all who call upon Your name, Lord we love Your name and Your word!
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