Manna by Any Other Name, by Ember

"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread come down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever, and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." (Jn 6:49-51)

Well, Querci, some would say that this flesh of Jesus is the Eucharist. Yet we Catholics eat the Eucharist, i.e., the body and blood of Christ and we still die too! Huh? So, isn't it just like the manna, sustaining us in the wilderness until we get to heaven?

I want to eat what Enoch and Elijah ate. Whatever IT was, they didn't die, but were taken up to heaven. Was it this "flesh" of Jesus? How'd they get that?

Maybe it could have something to do with what Jesus says just prior to the above statement,

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. (Jn 6:47)

and then later,

It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. (Jn 6:63)

It looks like we need to not just do an action, but also have the correct belief (faith) and understanding of the Spiritual meaning behind the term "flesh". Then when we eat this flesh it will truly have the power of life. Then we will eat it and live forever.

Hey, I think I'll try it and see what happens!

Ember

Question, by Ember

Why do we never get an answer when we're knocking at the door?

Because the truth is hard to swallow...

Question - The Moody Blues

Please, Sir, I Want Some More, by Querci

In my previous post What Does Invisible Look Like? I brought up the idea that examining and imitating the perfect name, essence, or likeness, of the Lord Jesus can teach us about the name, essence, or likeness, of the invisible God himself. Now I’m thinking that buried somewhere in all of that is the message that we also get to learn about the name, essence, or likeness of God from one another! 

We each have in us an image and likeness of God, right? Remember, in Genesis:

God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen 1:26-27)

and the Apostle Paul said:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, (Eph 3:14-15)

and

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. (Rom 1:20) 

I think this means that our essential names, essences, natures, or likenesses are given to us by God from his own Divine Nature. (CCC #41;2158)

Christ received a perfect reflection of the Divine Nature. The rest of were given different subsets of gifts to work with:

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good...[All gifts] are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1Cor 12:7,11-12)

So I guess I'm thinking, not only do we all need one another to build up the fullness of the Body of Christ, we each have special need for those who are so different from us that we have a hard time understanding or liking them. They undoubtedly have received a different subset of gifts from us, and so have something important they can teach us about the name, essence, or likeness of God.

Now I can better understand why John tells us:

If any one says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. (1 John 4:20-21)

And Paul tells us to:

knit [our hearts] together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:2-3)

If I cut someone off from me, I’m cutting myself off from and rejecting some portion of the essence of God himself!

This is really starting to make sense to me on a much deeper level than ever before!

Oy, Ember! I think I have some major bridges to mend...

Ask and you Shall Receive? by Ember

Querci,
All this talk about what "name" means got me thinking about this passage in the bible.

Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. Jn 14:13

I don't think people really take this saying to heart. Some people think that God doesn't answer their prayers, perhaps because they are too sinful, or perhaps there is not a God to answer them. Or maybe he only answers certain prayers.

This doesn't seem right to me. I would like to take Jesus at his word. He said "whatever" and "I will,” not maybe. And it is said in other passages as well. For instance,

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Mt 21:22

It doesn't seem like there are any limitations or conditions placed on what you ask for, but that you ask in faith. Maybe we should say, then, that if prayers are not answered it is due to lack of faith...But still I think some people would say that they have asked in faith and did not receive. There may be another consideration.

Let's grant that you have asked in faith, but I say, "Are you sure to whom you asked?" Were you asking the "right" Lord? Think of Elijah's test in 1 Kings 18. He told the Israelites that his Lord was God and that the prophets of Ba'al (a word meaning Lord) were serving a false God. He told the prophets of Ba'al to pray to their God and he would pray to his God, then, whosever God answered the prayer would show himself to be the true God. The prophets of Ba'al prayed for hours to their Lord and their sacrifice was not set on fire. However, Elijah prayed to his Lord, and,

Then the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up all the water that was in the trench. 1Kg 18:38

I think it's a good consideration, "Does your God answer your prayers?" If not, maybe your God is a false God as well.

Ember

What Does Invisible Look Like? by Querci

So in my last post, What's In a Name?, I brought up the idea that the word “name” can have deeper meanings such as “temperament,” or “image,” or “likeness,” or "nature", and with that understanding, we might sometimes interpret the “the name of the Lord Jesus” as “The Way the Lord Jesus Does Things.” (Ref. CCC #203)

Well do you know what the Apostle Paul tells us about “image” in that same book a few chapters before the previous quote? He says,

He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, (Col 1:15)

Elsewhere, in his Letter to the Hebrews, Paul says:

He [Christ] is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being...much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Heb 1:3-4)

Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Because I think he's saying that Christ, through “The Way He Does Things,” reflects the otherwise undefinable glory, perfection, and awesomeness of God -- the same glory that Moses saw that made his skin shine so much that he had to cover up his face for the rest of his life so that he didn’t scare the carp out of the rest of the Israelites?! (Ex 33-34) 

And that now, by looking at the life of Jesus, WE get to see it. All of us! How’s that for giving sight to the blind!

But not only do we get to see it, we also get to be active participants! Because Paul already told us that we’re also supposed to say things and do things “the way Lord Jesus Does Things.” 

Wouldn't that mean that we are also able to participate in the image of the Glory of God in our thoughts, words, and actions? (CCC #41)

And furthermore, might this mean that when we follow “the way” of Jesus by saying and doing things “the way He would do them,” we can know something about the very essence of God, that we can experience and relate to right now, right here, on this Earth, without even dying or anything?! I think that's an aspect of what Peter's talking about when he says:

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. (1Pet 4:10-11)

Doesn't that mean that when we imitate Jesus by serving others with our spiritual gifts, we glorify God, which means make visible, manifest, or put a "name" to the Divine Majesty of God?

Ember, it’s not that we HAVE to imitate the Lord Jesus, it’s that that we GET TO imitate the Lord Jesus, which allows us to know more about God. The image of God that Jesus reflects to us is a perfect reflection. And of course I don’t think the image I reflect is anywhere near perfect, but I can certainly make a good go of it! I want, I greatly desire, to know more about God! Are you with me?

What's in a name?, by Querci

I’ve decided not to change my name to Lord Jesus. (As usual, Ember, your instincts are spot on!) I feel so silly. It turns out that “name” is one of those pesky words with lots of different layers of meaning. Sometimes when we are talking about “name” we are talking about a word. Other times were talking about the thing behind the word.
So, for instance, when I talk about your name, I might be referring to:

• your given name -- what people call you to your face,
• your reputation or image -- what people call you when you’re not around,
• your personality, temperament, nature, or disposition -- the way you go about doing things, or what you're like.

When we do something “in the name of another,” that person becomes our boss. We do things on their behalf, the way they'd like us to do them, according to that person's nature and reputation instead of our own.

So now when I look at that Bible verse I quoted in my last post,

...whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus...Col 3:17

I’m thinking that “in the name of the Lord Jesus” could mean “in the way that Jesus does things," or "with the disposition of Jesus.," and that St. Paul might be telling us something like:

“Whenever you say anything or do anything, say what Jesus would say and do what Jesus would do.”

That sure makes a lot more sense to me.

Hmmm. So sometimes in the in the Bible the word "name" might mean "given name," but it can also, and often does, have a deeper meaning, such as:

• reputation, 
• identity,
• image, 
• personality, 
• temperament, 
• likeness, 
• essence, or 
• "the way someone says things and does things." (CCC #203)

You know what’s got me wondering now? The Bible and other religious things sure use that “in the name of” line a lot. I’m going to poke around a bit and see if my new understanding of “in the name of” could be useful for uncovering deeper meaning in other places as well.

Should I change my name?, by Querci

Ember,


I was reading the Bible and came across this:

...whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus...Col 3:17

I’m thinking about changing my name to Lord Jesus, and if you call yourself a Christian you might want to think about it too!


Love,
Lord Jesus (the person formerly known as Querci)

Welcome to Grate Questions, by Ember

I'm sick of this "Better Than Nothing" line, who has the guts to stand in the "All or Nothing" line with me?