Behold the Lamb
(Keith and Kristyn Getty)
Praising the Word Incarnate (Part II)
LYRICS (Click to minimize)
Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away
Slain for us and we remember
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross
So we share in this bread of life
And we drink of his sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King
The body of our Savior Jesus Christ, torn for you
Eat and remember
The wounds that healed the death that brings us life
Paid the price to make us one
So we share in this bread of life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of love
Around the table of the King
The blood that cleanses every stain of sin, shed for you
Drink and remember
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God
So we share in this bread of life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King
And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on Earth
And we share in his suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again
And with joy in the feast of Heaven
Around the table of the King
Around the table of the King
Source: Genius.com
Songwriters: Keith Getty / Kristyn Getty / Stuart Townend
© 2007 Thankyou Music
CCLI Song #5003372 | CCLI License #632898
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
John 6:53-58 (ESV)
We continue on with last week’s meditation on the Incarnation. We mentioned that our salvation is possible, not only because of Christ’s work for us, but also because of who Christ is, and our union to Him. Jesus Christ, truest God and truest man, is the intersection of humanity and divinity, and in Him we find our salvation and our identity.
We continue to dwell on the implications of this beautiful truth. If Christ is truly, truest God and man, then He is the intersection of heaven and earth. He is the point at which pure divinity and bodily materiality touch. This is an amazing truth, because in Christ we find the redemption of the material! The things we touch, see, hear, feel, and eat each day are not lost to sin. Just as Adam brought all creation into death, Christ brought all creation into redemption.
Have you considered the fact that Christ still retains His body? He is still human today! The disciples had to see Him ascend to heaven in His earthly body to ascertain this fact. This shows us that Christ is not here to abolish the material but to redeem it! The bodies in which we live, which were once lost to sin, are now united to Christ’s perfect body and not tossed out in some attempt at “pure spirituality.”
Consider further that Christ’s entire life is one narrative of atoning for humanity, including our bodies! He was born into earth, redeeming human birth. He was baptized in the Jordan River, giving us a way to live out our union with Him physically. He was crucified and killed, putting to death human sinful flesh. He was raised again, redeeming life and defeating death. He was glorified and ascended in His bodily form, revealing to us the glorious future of our bodies.
Praise God not only for redeeming our flesh, but also for allowing us bodily ways to participate in Him as well! It is easy for our Evangelical minds to think of baptism and the Lord’s Supper only as external shows of spirituality or as mere symbols. Yes, they are symbols, but in a much deeper way than we think! In our baptism, we are joining Christ in His own baptism, and we are living out our salvation and union with Him! In our partaking of the Lord’s Supper, we are remembering Him not only mentally but also physically!
There is much debate over the history of the church regarding the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. Truly, these are important, but do not let them cloud the immensity of the blessing that we get to partake in Christ! He gives us a physical, tangible, and even edible way of experiencing our union with Him. Just as Christ took on a broken human body to reveal divinity, the bread and wine were once merely physical elements that He used to reveal divinity.
Praise our One Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation, for His Incarnation. In His divinity, He redeems humanity as God. In His humanity, He brings us to God as humans. Our salvation is in Him and is Him, and He gives us a chance to constantly live out our union with Him in bodily ways. Therefore, let us not sin with our bodies, as they have been redeemed and brought to Him!