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Let's examine John 6 more closely.
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52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
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Was the above a "direct" answer?
Not really. He answered in a way that caused many of the other disciples to leave.
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60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
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“This is a hard teaching." Yes it was. It requires some hard thinking, even today, to understand the meaning or purpose behind the method He used in answering their questions.
What it did do, since we have the advantage of hindsight, is to separate the "wheat" from the "chaff". And while some, maybe most, did leave, twelve stayed.
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67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve?...
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Let's look again at 35-40:
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35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
...Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
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Well they obviously still became hungry and thirsty from time to time while in their flesh, but once they "put on incorruption", i.e., their bodies become tranformed, the above makes perfectly sense.
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1 Cor.53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
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Is what we've learned so far applcable to the OSAS theory. I think so. For as long as we're in the flesh, we are subject to be corrupted. Salvation is a process. The final goal is to become incorruptible.
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Matt. 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
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I ask myself, am I doing the Lord's will by sharing how I see all this. Or am I messing up some "process" by doing so. Then I remember these words: "There are none so blind as those who will not see."
Shabbat shalom
Glad you emphasized this.
Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
So many religious organizations assert that they are distributing 'REAL' food and 'REAL' blood for their members to eat; claiming, "We've been doing this for a REALLY long time; therefore we MUST be doing it right."
Yet; when the populations of the folks that think they are getting ‘real’ stuff and the other guys that think they are consuming something symbolic; physicians can’t tell much difference between them.