Laying hold on eternal life.

When we first receive Christ we are given a portion of eternal life, that is, of His flesh and blood. Then the battle commences. Each day eternal death and eternal life struggle for mastery over our personality. If we choose to yield to our sinful nature, eternal death will prevail. In that case, we will not receive bodily immortality when the Lord returns.

If we overcome our sinful nature each day, we are given more eternal life that day. Each day we gain more eternal life or remain in spiritual death. This is why it is written that he who overcomes will be given to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God.

Before people eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood their inward nature is spiritually dead and the body is approaching the corruption known as death.

Dining on His body and blood.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54)

Again let me emphasize this is not a one-time eating and drinking. If we open the door of our personality the Lord dines with us. We dine on His body and blood. He dines on our obedience and worship.

The word "dine" suggests something that is done several times a day, doesn't it? We would not do very well if we dined only once in our life. Dining is a daily practice.

So it is with the flesh and blood of the Son of Man. We dine with Him frequently each day. I cannot stress this enough. The forces of decay and death are pressing on us continually. Therefore there must be a continual coming to Christ on our part if we are to press toward immortality in our body.

Real food and real drink.

For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. (John 6:55)

Real food and real drink as compared with the food that spoils. "Do not work for the food that spoils," the Lord said. The idea is that we put the will of the Lord in first place, and making a living in second place.

Someone might say, "This is not practical." So God is not practical? God told us to seek the Kingdom first, and everything else would be added to us. Either we believe God or we do not.

American believers, by and large, put making a living in first place. When they do this they miss the day of their visitation. In order to keep abreast of what God is doing at any given time, we have to be putting His will in first place. We have to be listening to Him constantly, like Anna and Simeon.

Today there is a remarkable move of God. It is a giant step forward in the Kingdom of God. The Scriptures are opening as never before. The summit is in view. What we have had before are base camps.

I am not certain whether people who are alive now will be living on the earth when God brings His Church to the fullness of redemption. But I do now that if we are to participate in the fullness, we will have to grasp that which is available now.

This is why our greatest danger as American Christians is not alcohol, drugs, adultery, homosexuality, aborting our fetuses, molesting our children. We probably are prepared to resist these.

Our problem is occupying ourselves with the material demands of our culture. They rob us of the time and strength to keep ourselves in the Presence of the Lord. As it was in the days of Noah . . .

To be continued.