FAITHFULWORD.ORG | TEACHINGS

[Psalm 107:2; Proverbs 3:8; II Chronicles 1:12; III John 2]; Psalm 103:5, 105:37; 43; I Corinthians 11:29, 30; Luke 22:19, 20; Matthew 26;26-28; I Corinthians 5:7; 10:16; 11:23-29; I Peter 2:24; John 6:35; [John 10:10]; John 11:25; 14:6; Colossians 3:4; Revelation 22:1-5

Our God is the God of forgiveness and healing. God’s Word is health to our navel. Those who retain His wisdom are promised long life in one hand and riches and honor in the other. God desires that we, His representatives on earth, live a long life. The longer we live, the more we will be able to be witnesses for Him. There is nothing good about sickness, but when we are presented with such attacks, we can go to God and claim His promises.

I Corinthians speaks about the believers we were “not discerning the Lord’s body.” As a result, many were “weak and sickly,” and many died prematurely. “Not discerning the Lord’s body” involves looking into God’s Word with a prayerful heart to receive a deep understanding of what Christ truly accomplished by his strips and what he took upon himself in that 40-plus hours of physical abuse and torture.

At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ instituted the bread and cup as a memorial of his redeeming work until he comes again. Matthew says he taught them “as they were eating.” It was a common occurrence for Jesus Christ and his disciples to eat, just as it is for us today.

When Jesus said at the Last Supper, “This is my body,” it was a metaphor representing the healing and wholeness he would accomplish. When he said, “This is my blood,” it was a metaphor representing the forgiveness we could receive by his giving of himself for us. When he said, “This do ye, as often as ye drink … in remembrance of me.” It behooves us to daily remember the forgiveness and healing we have through our Lord Jesus Christ. Corinthians reproves the believers for eating and drinking “unworthily.” This means without having any mourning for sin whatsoever. To “discern the Lord’s body” means to remember how fully and completely he made healing available in this life and the ultimate healing of eternal life. When we eat the bread, we must be mindful of our healing. When we drink the cup, we must be mindful that his sinless blood not only covered our sins but took them away. When a family says a prayer of blessing before partaking of food, they can be mindful of the healing we have in Christ’s body and the forgiveness of sins through his blood. We should raise our level of faith and have these things in the forefront of our minds every time we eat and drink.

Through Jesus Christ, we have the promise of eternal life! He said, “I am the bread of life.” Jesus Christ is the believer’s wholeness, sin-substitute and justification. He is the believer’s life! When we partake of holy communion, let us remember what our Lord accomplished for us — by his stripes, we have healing; by his shed blood, we have forgiveness; through him, we have eternal life!