Communion As The Church And Body Of Christ

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another faith-building message by Pastor David Entry. Faith comes by hearing and by hearing the Word of God.

[0:11] May your knowledge of Jesus Christ increase as you listen. Be blessed. Heaven is not God's house. It's only earth that we need houses.

[0:24] So when Jacob saw the ladder, he said, this is certainly the house of God, talking about the earth. So when Jesus said, in my father's house, what exactly did he mean?

[0:38] In the book of John chapter 2, this is where he finished doing the miracle of turning water into wine. Let's read from verse 15 to make sense.

[0:49] And when he had made a scorch of small cores, he drove them out of the temple. Where did he drive them out? The temple. The temple. Right.

[1:00] All right. I think, let's read from verse 13. And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went to Jerusalem and found in the temple. Found where? In the temple.

[1:11] In the temple. In the temple, those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and changers of money sitting. And when he had made a scorch of small cores, he drove them out of the temple.

[1:25] He said, you can do it anywhere, but not in the temple. So the context of his dealing with the people was within the temple. If you are doing it out there, no problem. I don't have an amul coming, but it shouldn't enter the temple.

[1:39] So he came into the temple. He found some things going on in the temple, which he did not endorse and agree with. Or he strongly disapproved of. So when he came to the temple and he found out this is what they were doing in the temple.

[1:55] Very, very, very deplorable in his sight and really reprehensible. So he decided to go and make a scorch of little cords.

[2:08] And then he brought and whipped them. And then now, this is the text. That's the story behind the text. Verse 16. And when he started whipping them over to their table, he said, verse 16.

[2:19] And said unto them, unto them that so, that take these things hence. Make not my father's house a house of merchandise.

[2:31] Oh, oh. Where was he talking? When? Where was this event happening? Where? Temple. Temple. Temple. Temple. Temple. And then he said, don't make this temple, which is my father's house, a place of merchandise.

[2:45] Now, look at verse 17. And the disciple, remember, that it's written, the zeal of your house has called Jimmy. Verse 18 said that. Then answered the Jews. The Jews answered unto him, what sign do you show us or showeth thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

[3:03] Jesus answered unto them, destroy this temple. Somebody say temple. Temple. Destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up. Then the Jews said unto him, then said the Jews, forty and six years was this temple in building.

[3:21] And will thou raise it up in three days? So my key points are verse 16 and verse 21. What did he say about 21? He was speaking of the temple of his body.

[3:32] He was speaking about the temple of his body. The house of God in the Old Testament was the temple. I get it. The house of God was the temple.

[3:43] What we have just read was the transitional moment. In the verse 16, he said, the temple which you have made the den of thieves is the house of God. Then the temple showed us a sign. Then now he flipped.

[3:54] He said, now my body is the temple. Okay. So in the Old Testament, the temple was the house of God. In the New Testament, the temple is the body of Christ.

[4:07] Wow. Wow. Wow. Okay. Okay. The New Testament temple is the body of Christ. Wow. And so the house of God in the New Testament is the body of Christ. That is why he says that we are the body of Christ.

[4:21] The church is. And in fact, in 1 Corinthians, he says that, don't you know that ye are the temple of God? So we human beings are the temple of God, the church, which is the house of God, which is the church of the living God.

[4:34] I think I'll take my time to teach on this later, sometime later. Why am I talking about this today? We are the church of the living God. So when Jesus said, in my father's house, he was not talking about heaven.

[4:51] Because the house of God, even within the times of Jesus, when he spoke about the house of God, he was speaking about the temple. But now that thing is changing from the physical building to become the body of Christ, which we are.

[5:07] So when he was going to die, he said that I am going to prepare a place. Don't turn to 14 again. He says that in my father's house are many mansions.

[5:18] That mansions there is wrong word. It's the translated mansion, but actually it's supposed to be translated dwelling. So when you go to a hotel, there are a lot of dwellings in the hotel.

[5:30] It's one hotel by a lot of dwellings. One house of God by a lot of dwelling. And guess who are the dwelling? You and you and you and you and I and him and he who are born again and Christ dwells in us.

[5:45] There was no way he could dwell in us for us to be the house of God until he has gone onto the cross. When he went to the cross and died on the cross, that's when the change happened.

[5:58] Now human beings became the dwelling place of God on earth. And we cooperatively become the church. God wanted to be on earth and have a dwelling on earth.

[6:11] Wow. So he created man and Satan entered man. And first he created the happy end of the earth and he puts man inside. Now as I talked to you the other time, now he has created new man first.

[6:24] And later on, he will create a new heaven and earth and he will put out the new man in. So that the original plan from Adam will start to. Garden of Eden is reenacted and we are.

[6:35] That's the garden of God and all that. But what's the point here? Because we are the house of God. When Christ died, we became the house of God. Say, I am the house of God. I am the house of God.

[6:46] At the point I'm making, John chapter 14, when he said, in my father's house there are many abodes. He's talking about in the church, in the body of Christ, which is the house, the temple of God. He said, there are a lot of dwelling places.

[6:58] You are one of the dwelling places. She's one of the dwelling places. He's one of the dwelling places. And one of the dwelling places. Anybody who is born again is one of the dwelling places. Many dwelling places and we all form one house of God.

[7:08] Does that make sense? Yes. Now watch this. When people become born again, 1 John chapter 1, verse 3, it says, That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us.

[7:30] Why are we preaching to you? We are preaching to you so that you will have fellowship with us. Now that fellowship there is koinonia, is meaning that in Acts 2, verse 42, it says that, And they continue in the apostles' doctrines, apostles' fellowship, prayer and breaking of bread.

[7:48] So fellowship. You watch this. The key point I'm making is you become born again in order to be part of a body. And those of us who are already in the body of Christ, our fellowship is with one another and with God and with the Father.

[8:02] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship, the last verse. And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Second point, nation of the 13th verse 14 there. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

[8:14] So the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the Holy Spirit is our fellowship. And it says that our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. So we believers have a fellowship with the tribe of God.

[8:27] Our fellowship is with God. When we go and preach for someone to be born again, what we are doing is we are inviting you not to go to heaven. We are inviting you to join this fellowship.

[8:39] As soon as you become born again, you have become part of a bigger fellowship. And so when Jesus comes by, he's coming for these fellows. Fellows in the ship.

[8:51] He is the head. In the Old Testament, there are several imagery that is used to describe God's people.

[9:04] One of it is a ship fold. So God being a shepherd is not from New Testament time. It is from Old Testament time. Okay. The same thing happens to the church. God is our shepherd.

[9:16] Another one of it is family. The whole of Israel was kind of a family and God was their father. That's why they said we are not illegitimate. God is our father.

[9:26] In John chapter 8. All right. It's like the imagery of family, the imagery of a fold, the imagery of is like a big garden.

[9:38] Or the imagery of a tree. We are the branches and God is the vine. The same Israel. The only imagery that was never portrayed in the Old Testament for the people of God is a body.

[9:55] Being the body of God is a unique, exclusive New Testament term for God's people. Okay. And it connotes a very strong imagery or strong.

[10:09] It depicts a very strong meaning. Meaning that you see the body shares one blood and one life. It's the same blood. So my nail cannot claim to be part of my body and still not be part of everything the body is enjoying.

[10:26] My ears cannot claim to be part of my body and not have the same. If you extract blood from my ears, it should be the same blood that runs through my thighs or my knees.

[10:38] Why? Because it's one body. And so if you are part of the body of Christ, we have oneness. Jesus prayed that make them one as we are one.

[10:48] The Bible says that endeavor to keep the oneness of the spirit. It's not you can't create it. It is already created as soon as you become born again. That is why those who create tension and confusion in the church, God doesn't make it lightly at all.

[11:03] Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Because this is a body. Why do you want to cut your knee or your little toe from your body? Wow. Why are you gossiping to that sister to make her even stop coming to church?

[11:16] Wow, wow. God will hold you personally responsible. Wow. Because we are the body of Christ and what's this? The house of God.

[11:27] It took Jesus' death to bring people into the house of God. Don't drive them out. Wow. I'm going to raise this temple. After they destroyed the temple, his physical body, the third day he raised that.

[11:42] He actually raised a proper body that is made up of your universal bride. Wow. That's why he told his disciples, I'm going and I'm going to prepare a place and I'll come for you.

[11:53] When he went, he dealt with sin. He dealt with self. He dealt with Satan. He dealt with the world. Those are the things that block people from becoming people of God. Dealt with these things.

[12:06] After he dealt with it, you cannot be part of God's people without any step back. Once we became part of him, his body, we became his body. And because we are his body, we have one shared life.

[12:21] Communion. What is communion? Communion is fellowship. Wow. Grandship life. Communion is partnership. Hmm. Share partnership.

[12:32] First Corinthians chapter 10. I'm reading from the King James. It says, the cup of blessing. Oh my God. Thank you, Jesus. I have the communion here. The cup of blessing which we bless.

[12:45] Is it not the communion? King James said, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? And the bread which we break. Is it not the communion? Do you see the same word? Communion, communion.

[12:56] That's why we call it communion. Communion is actually fellowship. You are born again to be part of the communion. Oh, are you getting it? Yes. When I say communion, I'm talking in this sense.

[13:06] It's fellowship. We said, we tell you this in 1 John chapter 1 verse 3. This we declare to you that you have fellowship with us. We are preaching to you so you can be part of this partnership.

[13:17] Anyone with NIV? Yes. It reads, is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ. What is it?

[13:28] It is a participation. You are part of it. You are part of this body. Read it. Continue. And it is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ.

[13:41] Communion means participation. We are sharing in one thing. We are part of this. We are having communion in it. We are having, it's a participation. So communion is not just a church ritual, but it's reinforcement of our oneness in Christ as the house of God and the body of Christ.

[14:01] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. I am part of the vine. I am part of the vine. You are part of the family. Hallelujah. You are part of the fold.

[14:12] But guess what? More importantly, you are part of his body. Amen. And I am part of the body. And he is the king of the body. Amen. Hallelujah. He does the speaking for us. Amen.

[14:22] He does the speaking for us. He does the reading for us. The thinking is in the head. Christ is the head. Wow. Head of the church. So the church is the body of the head.

[14:36] And Christ is the head of the body. In other words, Christ is the head of the church. And the church is the body of the body. Okay. And so if you are part of this body, then it is necessary we all share this body life together.

[14:53] That is the purpose of communion. And the good thing I like about communion is it carries supernatural power. You know, Bible says that he who is joined to the Lord is one. As I share communion, the blessings of Christ that is in here, we commonize it.

[15:09] Wow. We use the word commonize. We make it common amongst all of us. Because if something is happening from Christ in your life, then as we share the communion, I become a bona fide beneficiary or partaker.

[15:25] Because we are all partakers. The bread which we bless, is it not the partaking or partnership of the blood of Christ and the bread we bless?

[15:36] Is it not partnership, koinonia, fellowship, interaction? Participation. Participation. Yes, yes, yes. Of the body of Christ.

[15:48] So, the body of Christ is... That's interesting. Let me read it again. The bread we break. Is it not the participation or the communion of what?

[16:00] The body of Christ. Who is the body of Christ? The church. The church. The church. And so, if you are part of the communion, that means you are reinforcing your position in the church as part of the church of Christ.

[16:14] Wow. And so, anything that belongs to the church, the healing, the blessings, the favors, the open heavens, the Holy Spirit empowerment that belongs to the church, the wisdom of God that belongs to the church, the allotment that belongs to the church.

[16:30] As we share in communion, you are saying that I am also qualified to be. It's just like a citizen. You are a citizen. Anything that belongs to a citizen belongs to you as well.

[16:42] Anything that belongs to citizens. And Bible calls us even citizens of the house of God. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. It talks about we are no longer foreigners, but citizens.

[16:57] We are no longer strangers, but fellow members of the same household. And so, communion is we are about to reinforce our fellowshipness.

[17:08] Permit me my coined word. Fellowshipness. Our oneness. Our koinonia. Our participation. Our partnership. If God is blessing me, and I'm part of this charis assembly, and you are also part of that charis, then every blessing that is flowing in my life, that same dimension, God's blessing and favor is also entitled to it happening for you.

[17:34] Amen. Amen. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Explain it a bit clearer for somebody to get it. Hmm. Or you didn't get it properly. Oh, we got it.

[17:44] Yes. Yes, yes. We got it. Okay, got it. What Jesus said in my father's house. Everybody, everybody, many people in Christianity, big thing, they all think it's heaven.

[17:56] Ah. How can there be a mansion in a house? In a house. It's a dwelling. But there are abodes in the house. Dwelling places. Where God goes. Jesus said, you are my dwelling places.

[18:08] I dwell in you. He lives in you. He lives in you. He lives in you. Now, to recap everything I said. In the Old Testament, when they say the temple, it meant the building. That's what he said. Why are you making my father's house?

[18:20] The temple, which is my father's house. Den of thieves. And he said, if you kill me, destroy this temple. I raise it. He was talking about now his body is the temple. So that body, which we are, we are the temple.

[18:33] Hmm. We are the temple. That everybody who is part of this body is also part of the temple. Hmm. And because we are one body, anytime somebody comes in, he comes to join us.

[18:44] Not by virtue of coming to church. Just being in church. But by virtue of being actual spiritual part of this body. Hmm. And because we are all spiritual parts, we take the communion to reinforce and to make a statement that we are a bought body.

[18:59] We are partakers of this purchased body. We are partakers of this blessed body on earth. We are partakers of this unique person. We are a peculiar people.

[19:10] A whole nation. We are partakers. We are partakers. So in spite of what is, in spite of your mistakes, in spite of some things you have done, which you shouldn't have done. Hmm. If we take communion, it still means that we are all the same.

[19:25] Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. We are all the same. The same in the eyes of God and in the opportunities with God. Now, Pastor, why is it that we take communion, but I don't see the same kind of blessing?

[19:37] No. Hmm. It says that blessed are you. This is, you know, blessed are you if you do them. So you are entitled, but it doesn't mean you'll get it. You can be entitled to benefit, but it won't come until you go and claim it.

[19:49] Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's time to see the manifestation of the koinonia, the partnership we have in the blessing. Your own is not showing.

[20:00] Why? Not that you are not entitled. You are entitled, but you have blocked the access. You have blocked your access. Wow. In spite of your history, in spite of what has happened, we are all, once we take the communion, and we are making a statement that we are all equally God's children.

[20:17] Nobody is better than anybody. The pastor is never closer to God than the ordinary member. So long as the sonship is concerned. The pastor is not closer to God than you.

[20:29] Hmm. No. No. Because the communion is the same communion. Hmm. That's why it's even good. Everybody is having their own, and we are taking communion.

[20:40] If your own is very poor bread from Harold's, then it may look like you are better than me. That is not the bread that determines.

[20:52] Hmm. It's our partnership in this blessedness of being in the body. Hmm. We take the communion as the same blood for us and the same body.

[21:03] We are partakers. We have partnership. We have koinonia. We have fellowship. So that healing grace that is upon me, as we take communion, I see it manifesting in your life.

[21:16] Amen. You do not care your family history, historic illnesses in your family. Now, this is also, there is historic good health in this family.

[21:27] Thank you, God. Amen. As we share the communion, you activate the family traits of blessings, of favor, of good health, of sound mind.

[21:38] Amen. You have sound mind. We are doing your work. You have sound mind. Amen. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. It lives your life instantly. Amen.

[21:49] In the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thank you, God. It makes sense of our worship and fellowship. Thank you for listening.

[22:00] To hear more from David Entry, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Why don't you subscribe to our YouTube channel at Karis Church? And subscribe to our podcast so you are always up to date.

[22:15] Be blessed. Thank you.