Monthly Archives: February 2012

Are Spiritual Gifts Still Misunderstood?

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Spiritual Gifts ARE NOT Natural Talents!

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! ~ Luke 11:11-13, ESV

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. ~ Luke 24:49, ESV

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ~ 1 Peter 4:10-11, ESV 

 

In today’s institutional “church,” there has been much discussion about the difference between natural talents and spiritual gifts. Even so, there still are way too many believers who remain, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:1, “ignorant” (KJV) about spiritual gifts.

The Greek word that Paul actually uses in 1 Corinthians 12:1 is the verb agnoeo, which, according to Thayer’s Greek Definitions, means “to be ignorant, to not know, to err or sin through mistake, or to be wrong.” Thus, in context, this agnoeo refers to a person’s lack of understanding and/or his or her lack of certain facts that specifically are about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as about who the Holy Spirit is.

It is important to note here that it is from the Greek word agnoeo that we get the English noun and adjective, agnostic, and the English noun, agnosticism. For this reason, it also should be noted here that in 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul is not saying that some Corinthian Christians are agnostics, or fence straddlers, because they don’t believe anyone can prove the existence of God. He actually is saying that some Corinthian agnostic believers are exhibiting an agnosticism that is about the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, or the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which includes believers’ spiritual giftings. It is their agnosticism that is causing them to be so confused about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts that Paul has to correct these believers’ misunderstandings, by addressing their unbelief (culpable ignorance).

Thus, by giving a close examination to Paul’s explanations about spiritual gifts, which he gives in Romans 12, in 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, and in Ephesians 4, twenty-first century believers, who also might have been confused about spiritual gifts, should be spiritually able to discern that spiritual gifts are NOT natural talents. True, both natural talents and spiritual gifts come from God, for James writes:

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” ~ James 1:16-17, ESV

However, natural talents differ from spiritual gifts along these lines: Natural talents are those abilities that have been inherited from parents; moreover, natural talents are nurtured in the context of the family. Naturally gifted people also might have to develop their talents, and this development often is achieved with hard work and perseverance (through practicing and training), which eventually will lead to expected results.

On the other hand, independent of birthright or lineage, spiritual gifts come from God, either through Christ Jesus Himself or through the Holy Spirit who has indwelt AND then infilled believers. Additionally, only the Holy Spirit can prompt and direct the “proper” exercise of spiritual gifts, which means believers’ “correct” use of their spiritual gifts requires spiritual growth and maturity (cf. Ephesians 4:13-16). In other words, believers’ spiritual gifts increase in supernatural power and giftedness as believers become intimate with and mature in their supernatural relationship with God and Christ Jesus. For this reason, unlike the naturally talented individuals who expect the kinds of results they get from using their natural talents, Holy Spirit-driven believers usually are surprised by what they are able to do, spiritually, simply because what they are able to do is clearly more than what they ever could have done, naturally!

Put differently, humans are born with their natural talents, which manifest themselves in the lives of both saved and unsaved people, but spiritual gifts only will manifest themselves in the lives of saved (justified) believers, AFTER these Holy Spirit-indwelt believers have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit—the fullness of the Holy Spirit! That is to say, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside born again and saved (justified) believers, and with Him comes the potential for believers to be all God has created them to be. However, to be frank, the indwelt Holy Spirit ONLY can deposit inside of believers their potential spiritual gifts. It then takes the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to release those deposited gifts so that believers’ spiritual gifts then can manifest themselves in their lives!

Once believers allow the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to infill them with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, then and only then will everything that the Holy Spirit comes bearing be ready to be released. Everything, meaning the fullness, God has given to believers by way of the Holy Spirit includes the spiritual gift(s); the anointings or supernatural abilities to develop and operate in those given spiritual gift(s) so that believers might know how and when to use their spiritual gift(s); and the supernatural power that enables spiritually gifted individuals to edify the Body of Christ (ekklesia), to meet the needs of others, and to help themselves in their own personal walk with the Lord.

The bottom line is that life itself makes it clear to us that, depending on how we are living, it is possible for us to lose our natural talent(s), either because we do not use our talent(s), or we have misused our talent(s), or we have abused our talent(s). In contrast, every one of God’s spiritual gifts is irrevocable (cf. Romans 11:29).

Furthermore, it is clear that God intended for both natural talents and spiritual gifts to be used primarily to benefit others. That’s why the natural talents and the spiritual gifts possessed by believers should be surrendered and consecrated to the Lord so that they can be used for His honor and glory.  Lastly, while natural talents also are used to benefit mankind, spiritual gifts first and foremost are used for the building up of the Body of Christ!

Most of all, where spiritual gifts are concerned, there are many New Testament verses that unmistakably state that “each one,” each Christian believer, has been given spiritual gifts for the purposes of building up the Body of Christ and for carrying out Christ Jesus’ work in the world (like in Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:11; 1 Peter 4:10).  For instance, in the following verse, Paul makes it clear that at least one “…spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7, NLT). More important, what Paul is saying in this verse is that God, through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, gives at least one spiritual gift to every believer—a spiritual gift that is independent of that person’s birthright and lineage—so that his or her spiritual gift first and foremost would benefit other believers, rather than him or herself. This, however, is not the situation with a person’s natural talent. For sure, God also gives at least one natural talent to every person, but this natural talent comes through that person’s heritage and parentage so that his or her natural talent could benefit the whole world rather than merely him or herself.

Case in point, recently so many people have been saying that the entire world has benefited from the natural talent demonstrated by the late, great singer, Whitney Houston. Most of these people know that her extraordinary singing voice is because Whitney Houston, first and foremost, was born into a naturally talented musical family. Thus, there can be no doubt that her family provided her with the necessary nurturing it would take to develop her voice. Likewise, there can be no doubt that her remarkable singing voice also is the result of her own perseverance and the training she more than likely received from the arts-focused Franklin School (now called the Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts)! Using Whitney Houston as an example, it should be easy to see how, more often than not, naturally talented people in a naturally talented family will help each other develop one another’s natural talent, no matter whether that natural talent is that of a vocalist, musician, artist, teacher, athlete, dancer, scientist, mathematician, novelist, journalist, speaker, and so forth.

However, despite the fact that there often are many unsaved and saved individuals who counterfeit God’s spiritual gifts, it should be mentioned here that neither saved nor unsaved people have any power to cultivate or train the spiritual gifts believers use. As earlier mentioned, it is the Holy Spirit who prompts and directs the “proper” exercise of spiritual gifts, which means believers’ “correct” use of their spiritual gifts requires spiritual growth and maturity. For these reasons, in order for believers to increase in supernatural power and giftedness, they first must mature in their own intimate relationship with God and Christ Jesus, and even then ONLY the Holy Spirit can help believers achieve their mature, intimate relationship—their oneness or unity with God and Christ Jesus.

Now although God gives every believer his or her basic temperament (nature, character, personality), natural talent(s), and spiritual gift(s), not every believer will open his or her gift of the Holy Spirit (access the supernatural power and fullness of the Holy Spirit) so that he or she can receive everything God has given to him or her. Once again, everything God has given to every one of His children includes: the spiritual gift(s); the anointings or supernatural abilities to develop and operate in those given spiritual gift(s) so that every believer might know how and when to use his or her spiritual gift(s); and the supernatural power that enables the spiritually gifted individual to edify the Body of Christ (ekklesia), to meet the needs of others, and to help him or herself in his or her own personal walk with the Lord.

For these reasons, it is important to note once again that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (infilling Holy Spirit) is the prerequisite that must be met before there can be any manifestations of the spiritual gifts God has put inside believers. Moreover, it is these spiritual gifts that determine how a believer should operate in the Body of Christ (should function in the ekklesia or Christ Jesus’ “body” on Earth, but only according to how the Holy Spirit lives and moves in each believer who has received His Baptism or infilling).

There are many reasons why believers refuse to open their gift of the Holy Spirit so that they can receive His Baptism, which also anoints them with the abilities to develop and operate in their spiritual gifts. However, based on the fact that most of today’s believers are “ignorant” about who the Holy Spirit is and equally “ignorant” about His supernatural power and fullness, which includes the spiritual gifts Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit give believers, the most common reasons for refusing to open the gift of the Holy Spirit are: Believers have decided that they are not comfortable with, not faithful enough, or not available to use their spiritual gift(s). Believers have decided to trust in some renowned Christian celebrities and/or some reputable biblical scholars’ reasons for why they believe that the first century apostolic spiritual gifts have ceased. Believers have decided that they do not want their own spiritual gift(s), because they prefer to have the spiritual gift(s) another believer has.

The Divine Truth is that NONE of the supernatural power, spiritual gifts, graces, and enablements that the Holy Spirit poured out on the Day of Pentecost has ceased. For sure, everything Christ Jesus promised His disciples, then and now, in Mark 16:17-18, the Holy Spirit made available first to the 120 Upper Room disciples, to Paul, and eventually to every born again, saved (justified) and being sanctified believer (cf. The Acts Of The Apostles). Thus, the supernatural power, spiritual gifts, graces, and enablements are available today, and NOT just for “church” pastors, bishops, or Dr. so and so, but for EVERY believer!

Now, biblically speaking, there are four different listings of spiritual gifts, and they are: 1. Leadership Gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds-teachers (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12); 2. Service Gifts—the Father’s mercy/grace, prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, and leadership (cf. Romans 12:4-8); 3. Supernatural Gifts—the Father’s wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, diverse tongues, and tongues interpretation (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 28-31); and 4. Miscellaneous Gifts—the gift of celibacy (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:7-8), gift of hospitality (cf. 1 Peter 4:9-10), gift of speaking in tongues—speaking in a heavenly language/tongues of angels (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1a), gift of martyrdom (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3b), gift of missionary (cf. Ephesians 3:6-8), and gift of voluntary poverty (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3a).

Concerning Leadership spiritual gifts, Paul tells believers that they are to walk worthy in their calling and to use that grace that has been given to them, according to the measure of Christ Jesus’ gifts (cf. Ephesians 4:1). Additionally, Paul says that Christ Jesus has measured out to every believer one or more Leadership spiritual gift (cf. Ephesians 4:7).  

As mentioned earlier, both Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit give spiritual gifts to the Body of Christ; however, the gifts that Christ Jesus gives are not charismata gifts (spiritual gifts of service, or gifts of favor, or gifts of Grace given on behalf of the donor, who is God). The Lord’s gifts (or domata) are the spiritually gifted individuals who are to function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and  pastors-teachers (shepherds-teachers). In other words, the Lord gives people as His supernatural gifts, and these spiritual people gifts are to function in His ekklesia as the persons God divinely created specifically for discipleship work (for equipping or training the saints for service), as well as for building up and encouraging the saints (cf. Ephesians 4:8, 11-12; Hebrews 10:24). Thus, the ministers listed in Ephesians 4:11 are THE literal spiritual “gifts” Christ Jesus gives to His Body of Believers, because in Ephesians 4:11, the Greek verb didomi, which is translated in English as “gave,” actually means Christ Jesus is presenting, giving, bestowing, and/or granting to the Body of Christ, the  “gift of the person.”

On the other hand, it is the Holy Spirit who specifically gives the service, supernatural, and miscellaneous charismata spiritual gifts, and these charismata gifts have four common characteristics: (1) they manifest because of the Holy Spirit’s baptism; (2) they are the direct result of the supernatural ministry workings of the Holy Spirit; (3) they specifically are given to benefit the Body of Christ or ekklesia, and (4) they are instantaneous in that they are Holy Spirit prompted and directed to be used at a given moment and to meet a special need. Then too, contrary to popular opinion, believers’ spiritual gifts are not given to them for them to use when and however they please; yet, that doesn’t stop many spiritually gifted believers from doing just that—they often use their spiritual gifts when they have not been Holy Spirit prompted and directed to do so. However, as earlier mentioned, Paul says that spiritual gifts are irrevocable (cf. Romans 11:29). This last point is why even backslidden believers are still able to use their spiritual gifts!

Finally, God is a Good God and the Giver of every good and perfect gift. As the benevolent donor that He is, God sovereignly has purposed that He would give each one of His children everything he or she needs to live the victorious Christian life (an overcomer life) that he and she is called to live. That’s why God showers His sons and daughters with many kinds of spiritual gifts, in the hope that they graciously will accept, as well as obediently and willingly use, His spiritual gifts as He intends for them to be used.

Lastly, since there is no scriptural proof that the domata and charismata spiritual gifts ceased with the apostles or with the accepted Old and New Testament lists of books that officially have become the Holy Bible, then the logical conclusion should be that these spiritual gifts are still in effect. Moreover, when some people use the argument that spiritual gifts are being misused, as the reason for why they are not operating in their spiritual gifts, it should be obvious that their argument is flawed because spiritual gifts can’t be misused if they are not still in existence!

The bottom line is this: The first-century believers needed to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit before the promised supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and the varied spiritual gifts could be released in their lives so that they could have the promised spiritual help, guidance, Truth teaching, revelation knowledge, strength, and joy they needed to be effective witnesses for Christ Jesus, as well as the victorious Christians (overcomers) they were called to be. Consequently, if the first-century believers needed the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which includes supernatural power, spiritual gifts, and the spiritual anointings or the abilities to develop and operate in their given spiritual gifts), then it should be evident that twenty-first century believers cannot truly succeed in their walk with the Lord without the same fullness and same spiritual gifts!

Also, please read my posts: Is Begging for Money a God Anointed Spiritual Gift?, and  It Is Quite Possible For Us To Misuse Our Spiritual Gifts

True Love

13 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Praises and Thanks

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God’s VALENTINE To The World

 

 

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, ESV; cf. The Parable of the Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13; and Revelation 19:7-9

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark . . . ~ William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116, lines 1-7

 

Hardly anyone will dispute this fact: Valentine’s Day is all about love. That’s why by briefly looking at a great poem about true love and by briefly looking at God’s Valentine, who is the greatest expression of True Love, this blogger hopes to give the hopelessly romantic individuals a new way to think of Valentine’s Day.

To begin, it is evident, in the above quoted lines from Sonnet 116, that what Shakespeare is saying about the true love that exists between husband and wife, God also is saying the same thing, via Paul in the previously cited 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, and via Christ Jesus in the above referenced Matthew 25:1-13. What God is saying in these mentioned Scriptures is that He created a True and constant LOVE between a husband and wife, which Shakespeare agrees neither alters during good or easy times nor alters during bad or difficult times. That is why, to God and to Shakespeare, love cannot be TRUE LOVE, if it changes for any reason.

By using the North Star metaphor, which Shakespeare declares is a constant (the True Love) in sailors’ lives (cf. line 7), Shakespeare also is saying that TRUE LOVE is a constant in married couples’ lives. Thus, since TRUE LOVE is constant, it will not fade with time, for according to Shakespeare, “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,/But bears it out even to the edge of doom” (Sonnet 116, lines 11-12). In other words, TRUE LOVE is timeless. Also, Shakespeare is saying that it is only after death that TRUE LOVE ever can leave!

There can be no doubt that the “‘Til death do we part” wedding vow rings true in the just quoted Shakespearean lines 11-12. Likewise, this “‘Til death do we part” wedding vow also definitely echoes Matthew 19:4-6. There are other Scriptures, too, that undeniably say that God made male and female so that they could understand, through their marital experiences, the intimate nature of their unique oneness relationship. Put differently, earthly marriage is symbolic of the spiritual union between Christ Jesus and believing mankind.

Indeed, it is the intimate marital relationship between husband and wife that corresponds to the spiritual relationship between Christ Jesus (Bridegroom) and the collective Body of Believers (Bride)—Christian males and Christian females. For this reason, only Christ Jesus can be the Husband of the collective Body of Believers, or His Wife, who includes believing males and believing females. Furthermore, it is this TRUE LOVE spiritual relationship that concerns God the most.

The point here is that, contrary to popular opinions, God neither redeemed nor purchased a city (New Jerusalem; cf. Revelation 21:9-10). The Scriptures make it clear that, in the beginning, God chose ONLY human beings to love so deeply that He would create a salvation plan for them so that He could get fallen men and fallen women living in a fallen world to return to Him (cf. John 3:16). Consequently, through the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus, believing males and believing females have been redeemed and purchased so that they could become His spotless Bride. Thus, if some men have a problem with being called the Bridegroom’s Bride, then they need to get over that, especially if they are hoping to be counted in the Rapture.

 For the abovementioned reasons, it should be obvious that the Revelations 19:7-9 verses absolutely are about the Bride, Christ Jesus’ Wife, and it is clear that She is the one who has made Herself ready for Him. In other words, it is the Bride who has chosen to prepare Herself for Her Husband, Christ Jesus, by dressing Herself in fine linen.  For sure, ONLY a human being can dress him or herself, but it takes God to make a city ready, in this case, the purified New Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21:10). That’s why the fine linen in Revelation 19:8b is defined as the “…righteous deeds of the saints” rather than the righteous acts of the holy city!

Now, how does all of this relate to Valentine’s Day? Well, legends have it that Valentine’s Day is a celebration of the sacrificial kind of love St. Valentine (a Roman priest, Italian bishop, and/or a martyr living in a Roman province in Africa) demonstrated when he laid down his life for his friends. This is why Valentine’s Day is all about love, and why this holiday has become to be all about giving the best valentine gift, as well as why that best valentine gift is considered to be the gift of ourselves, which we give to the ones we love the most.

Having said that, it needs to be pointed out here that there can be no doubt that God has demonstrated His True Love for us by giving this world the best Valentine gift ever, who is Christ Jesus, believers’ spiritual True Love. Certainly it is widely accepted that God has given Himself in His Son, who became the personification of His “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, ESV) saying, which speaks of the God kind of True Love.

That is why on this Valentine’s Day, after having their spiritual insight renewed about Christ Jesus being God’s Valentine gift to the true Bride of Christ, His genuine Bride then should focus on what the Lord’s Valentine gift means to them. Since He is indeed the Giver of the greatest Love that this world has ever known, or will ever know, then, after spending some time reflecting, Christ Jesus’ true Bride should share His True Love with everyone!

Who Is Truly Christ’s Broken-Yielded Bread AND Poured-Out Wine?

02 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Spiritual

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Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me. After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me. What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt. ~ 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, MSG

 

Since the Lord’s Supper is a sacramental meal the Lord Himself instituted, there probably isn’t any true believer who has not partaken of the Lord’s Supper, which is the breaking and eating of bread and the pouring out and drinking of wine. Besides being a sacramental meal, the Lord’s Supper is a feast of love, because it complemented the early Christian “church’s” love feasts, of which the purpose was to maintain and promote brotherly love (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Jude v. 12). In essence, the Lord’s Supper was the meal within a meal!

More important, the Lord’s Supper is to be a feast of participation (the sharing in Christ Jesus’ brokenness or death on the Cross, as well as the sharing in His newness of life resurrection). The Lord’s Supper also is to be a feast of hope (the foretasting of eternal life in Heaven with Him). Thus, taking part in the Lord’s Supper not only is supposed to help every believer to remember the Lord’s death, until His Second Coming, but also the Lord’s Supper is supposed to keep each believer’s mind and heart alive to Him. 

Be that as it may, without a doubt, not everyone who takes  “communion” today understands that the Lord’s Supper involves two kinds of “remembering.” The first is a believer’s personal remembrance. The second is a believer’s collective remembrance.

It is important to point out here that, as a result of the Lord’s sacrificial death and His glorious resurrection, the Lord’s Supper both symbolizes and confirms that the Holy Spirit has made every believer one with Christ Jesus. In other words, believers’ union with Christ Jesus—their oneness in His suffering, death, burial, and resurrection—is what the Holy Spirit uses to bring believers together as one Body, which is under the Lord who is the Head (cf. Colossians 1:17-19). This oneness is why the Lord’s Supper also symbolizes salvation; additionally, this oneness is why the effects of “communion”—the kinds of “remembering”—are both individual and corporate.

Now, there can be no doubt that during the Lord’s Supper, each participating believer PERSONALLY takes a moment or more to meditate on EVERYTHING the Lord went through to be the ONE who could forgive everybody’s sins, to be the ONE who could redeemed each person who genuinely believes on Him, and to be the ONE who could give eternal life to every believer. Yet, very few believers are like the first-century believers who, while taking “communion” together, not only were personally thankful to receive the Lord’s Supper but also collectively blessed to be taking part in a koinonia—the unity, love, worship, and fellowship with the other present Body of Christ “communion” takers.

It is important to note here that neither those first-century believers nor today’s believers could experience a koinonia, which is one body of loving, worshipping believers who are fellowshipping together and having all things in common, just because they take part in the Lord’s Supper. As earlier stated, because of the Lord’s sacrificial death and resurrection, the Lord’s Supper both symbolizes and confirms that the Holy Spirit has made every believer one with Christ Jesus. Thus, it is this oneness and the sense of having all things in common (cf. Acts 2:44) that create a koinonia experience.

The point here is that because of their koinonia experiences, the Holy Spirit-established oneness with Christ Jesus causes the early first-century believers who are participating in the Lord’s Supper to take their personal remembrance to a higher level—to move to a collective or corporate remembrance. In other words, these believers didn’t just eat the broken bread and drink the poured wine, but also they openly shared with one another what they each felt, knew, and understood about the price Jesus the Christ paid for His Body of believers—for His ekklesia, for His called out ones. In short, they became a true spiritual family or one body in Christ (cf. Acts 2:42, 44, 46). The sad truth is that there can be no doubt that very few of today’s believers who take “communion” really do so as a spiritual family!

Furthermore, there can be no doubt that Christ Jesus was the first-century disciples’ broken-yielded bread and poured-out wine. That is to say, first-century disciples (the Day of Pentecost Holy Spirit-filled believers) understood that the Lord literally had become spiritually exhausted for them—He had allowed His vital forces, life energies, to flow out of Him and into His followers. In other words, before His death on the Cross, the Lord’s sacramental character willingly and obediently allowed God to break Him, the Bread of Life, and pour out of Him the Wine of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of His disciples. In essence, Christ Jesus’ vital forces (Bread and Wine . . . Life of Service) flowed out of Him and into His disciples so that their souls could receive their necessary spiritual nourishment and spiritual power (bread and wine), and this spiritual exhaustion continued until His disciples were able to feed on  and drink from Him on their own.

In essence, the Lord’s figurative sacramental character, as symbolized by His physical life of service to others, became the first-century disciples’ literal sacrament (the actual bread and wine), or the means by which they became partakers of His life—the way they became  spiritually united to their Lord and Savior (cf. Hebrews 3:14; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17). For this reason, it is clear that the Lord’s Supper takes on more than just the natural aspects of physical nourishment and genuine fellowship between believers, because this meal also involves having a relationship with Father God and Christ Jesus and being in fellowship with them through the Holy Spirit.

That’s why, the early first-century believers’ “breaking of bread” (cf. Acts 2:42, 46) had both a physical and a spiritual purpose. Additionally, that is why every time these early first-century believers took the Lord’s Supper they literally and figuratively were refueling themselves with His spiritual nourishment (His spiritual energy, meaning the Holy Spirit who gives God’s supernatural power and who produces spiritual maturity). Put differently, for the Day of Pentecost’s Holy Spirit-filled disciples, the Lord’s Supper was NOT mere food and drink. Rather, once both the broken and eaten bread and the poured out and imbibed wine were digested, they became these early disciples’ spiritual food and drink that gave their souls power and strength, plus the necessary spiritual growth. Consequently, these disciples became vessels who were broken by Christ Jesus yet refilled with the Holy Spirit so that they could witness for Christ.

Taking the Lord’s Supper, therefore, made them able to go back into the world where they could be that broken-yielded bread and that poured-out wine that spiritually immature individuals must feed off of until these babes in Christ learned how to feed on Christ Jesus for themselves. Furthermore, once these spiritually matured disciples became spiritually exhausted again, they knew that they only had to return to their energy Source, and they would be refilled, which was why DAILY they partook of the Lord’s Supper—the meal within their common meal.

For the above reasons, it is important to note here that the original Lord’s Supper was part of the Jewish Passover meal. It is mentioned in the Scriptures that, while the Lord’s 12 disciples were eating their meal, contextually speaking, their Passover meal, Jesus the Christ shared with them another meal, which they consumed a few hours before He was crucified (cf. Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:17-22). Thus, when it also is mentioned in the Scriptures that the earliest first century Spirit-filled followers of Christ met daily in homes for teaching, praying, witnessing, and socially encouraging fellowship or koinonia, then it stands to reason that these disciples would have incorporated the Lord’s Supper within their daily common meals (cf. Acts 2:41-46), because there can be no doubt that the Lord’s Supper still was fresh on at least His 11 initial disciples’ minds!

More important, what is irrefutable is the fact that these early Christians’ koinonia involved them frequently sharing the Lord’s Supper together. They did so for the purpose of bringing together (uniting) their individual vertical relationship between themselves and their God, and their horizontal relationships between themselves and other brothers and sisters in Christ so that believers in the Lord’s ekklesia, regardless where His ekklesia is located worldwide, absolutely could have EVERYTHING in common (in harmony). The end result would be that believers’ interdependent supporting fellowship would benefit each person in the Lord’s ekklesia (cf. Acts 2:44).

To this end, just like Christ Jesus’ sacramental character and His broken-yielded Bread and pour-out Wine benefit the entire world, but especially every believer, which the taking of the Lord’s Supper causes participating believers to remember, then every ekklesia member’s sacramental character and his or her broken-yielded bread and pour-out wine must benefit, first and foremost, every Household of Faith sibling, and secondly, the world’s lost souls. This benefiting EVERYONE point no doubt is why, where having a sacramental character is concerned, even the apostle Paul believes that God calls every Christian so that He can make each one broken-yielded bread and poured-out wine for His ministry, for the sake of others, and so that he or she would be a servant for Christ—so that every believer would become spiritually exhausted, living sacrifices who are in service for Christ Jesus.

Paul writes:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ~ Romans 12:1, ESV

Then later, near the end of his life, this same apostle writes:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. ~ 2 Timothy 4:6-8, ESV

In the above verses, Paul metaphorically is saying that his entire life has been a drink offering that has been “…poured out on the sacrifice and service…” (Philippians 2:17) of others’ faith (cf. 2 Timothy 4:6)—that he physically and spiritually has exhausted his life’s energies by way of presenting his body as a living sacrifice (cf. Romans 12:1). In other words, in the hands of Christ Jesus, Paul’s willing and obedient body has become broken-yielded bread, after which the Holy Spirit inwardly has filled (and refilled) him so that he then could be used as broken-yielded bread and poured-out wine for others. For this reason, Paul’s past faithfulness to his God-given calling is what makes his imminent home going that much more appealing and rewarding (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7).

From apostle Paul, contemporary believers learn that they are expected to devote their lives to the same kind of sold out for Christ commitment and willingness to become spiritually exhausted that Paul had given, because he was just modeling Christ Jesus. Thus, today’s believers also must be willing and obedient to the point that they would put their bodies in Christ Jesus’ hands so that they can become broken-yielded bread, while, by the infilling Holy Spirit, they become His poured-out wine (His supernatural power and spiritual fruit). Additionally, these modern-day believers must realize that it is only when they are willing to allow God to use them to minister to (spiritually feed) babes in Christ, to the point that these seasoned believers become spiritually exhausted, that God’s Holy Spirit will give them everything they need to help the souls of the spiritually immature believers learn how to draw their spiritual nourishment directly from their Lord and Savior.

Finally, when today’s believers have a sacramental character, which is a spiritual nature that demonstrates an intimate relationship with God and with Christ Jesus, a commitment to worship, and a calling to be broken-yielded bread and poured-out wine, they then will be like apostle Paul. This last statement means that 21st–century believers would be modeling the same characteristics that Paul, a sold out for Christ Jesus believer, demonstrates. More important, contemporary believers also would be modeling the life in service to others sacramental character that their Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, demonstrates!

For the above reasons, before modern-day believers ever could hope to have a successful life in service to Christ and others, every contemporary believer first must be a called-out member of Christ Jesus’ ekklesia, and he or she must be participating in both a personal remembrance and a collective remembrance of the Lord’s death—each believer must be someone who is taking part in the sacramental meal the Lord Himself instituted. This meal, of course, is the Lord’s Supper. Secondly, every believer must be able to answer YES to the following questions: Am I willing to become a living sacrifice? Do I really want to be broken-yielded bread and poured-out wine to this world’s carnal, hurting, and lost people? Am I willing to pay the cost of time, willing to humble myself, and willing to love others above myself in spite of what it costs me? Am I willing to have a sacramental character that causes me to become spiritually exhausted?