3rd time to share this. I’ll shorten it and take out my
comments. Well, one personal question. In John 6, when does Our Lord mean His real flesh and when does mean His “flesh” is symbolic, a metaphor? Where’s the change? Give the evidence?
_____ _____ ______
John 6:55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.
John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
“John 6:55 is the metaphor.”
~ ~ ~
John 6:51-52
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. [52] If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my FLESH, for the life of the world.
Jesus says that the bread which He will give for the life of the world is His flesh. When did He give His flesh for the life of the world? On the cross. Was that symbolic? If you think Jesus is speaking symbolically here when He says that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood, then you must also conclude that Jesus’ death on the cross was symbolic...it wasn’t really Jesus hanging up there...it was symbolic flesh and symbolic blood.
Questions go unanswered. Look to the faith, the reason Catholics keep asking. What if you’re wrong? Imagine if you’ve been taught something untrue. The not knowing, especially when you see an obvious error or contradiction in the Gospel.
It’s been posted, the “water” in the Protestant new meaning
to “Born Again” was the women at the well, “Born Again” is
connected to the Our Lord’s words...”rivers of living water”
and the third, something to do with the Bible is the “water.”
Someone else reply, where is the “water” in accepting Our
Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior, one time? That’s the Protestant definition of
“Born Again.”
Jesus said in John 3, “Born Again” involves water and the
action of God. Both...what say you?
John 3:5
Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
footnote ~
[5] Unless a man be born again: By these words our Saviour hath declared the necessity of baptism; and by the word water it is evident that the application of it is necessary with the words. Matt. 28. 19.
“If you think Jesus is speaking symbolically here when He says that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood, then you must also conclude that Jesus’ death on the cross was symbolic...it wasn’t really Jesus hanging up there...it was symbolic flesh and symbolic blood.”
That's hardly so. We mix idioms, metaphors, symbolic and actual in our speech, often in the same sentence. Example:
I could say, ‘It's winter and the wolf is at the door.’, but no one would expect to see an animal on the door step.
So on what basis can we deny to others the rich use of language that we use ourselves?
John 6:53-58 53 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. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 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. 58 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.”
OK, this is the passage that Catholics use to justify transubstantiation. Why do Catholics die? Jesus said that whoever ate (Catholics say it must be done physically) would never die. If someone is going to be consistent in their Bible interpretation then it must mean that whoever physically eats of the physical body and blood of Jesus will never physically die.
It is the height of hypocrisy and points to deception to interpret verses literally or not on a line by line basis. It violates general principles of interpretation of ANYTHING, much less Scripture.
So then the question becomes, if one is going to interpret literally or not on a line by line basis, what is the criteria one uses to determine how a particular verse or part of verse should be taken literally or not?
What about the following here? Is this literal or metaphor?
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
John 6:68-69 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Peter did not say that Jesus had the bread of eternal life. HE knew what was really going on, just like the rest of us believers.