The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 402

bertinue, 'Do Enchnristin,' lib. i. o. 30; nncl ing;" bnt fJpw<T,s Rncl ..-&11,c ar11 user! vrry Wnko, 'Diec. of the Euchnrist,' p. 20) re- frequently by tho Attic writers for "fo0,[" jocl:od the encromental interpretation, ond Rnd "drink," nR wdl as fnr the proce,,sH the Ileformors most justly ropuclinted it. of enting nnd drinking.) Tho.t is, Christ'; Luther, Melanothon, Deza, Grotius, Owen, flesh nn,! blood stand in tho same rrlatir,n Lampo, Coccoius, oeecrtccl thnt the whole fo the true life of man that f(J()d end drin 1, oonstruction of the possnge, which treots do to the physical lifo of earth ; and w,. "coming" "believin"'" as the complete unless we duly and fully assimilate Divin" oonditio;s of life a~tl resurrection, must humanity, we have no life in us. If w" not bo hold to transform on, ns yet, unin- cannot assimilate food, w0 die. It must. 11tituted ccremoniol into the solo method of become part of our life-blood encl permeat1e "believing." Notwithstanding this wide our system; so "the coming and believing" protest, the opponents of the authenticity of must mean such en acceptance of the Christ the Fourth Gospel-Bretschneider, Strauss, tho.t the love of God penetrates our wholr, Baur, Thomo, Hilgenfold, ond numerous being," even the joints e.nd marrow of soul others-see in this poss11.ge the conception of and spirit; " unless it does so, we have no li f, • a mystically disposed second-centm-y divine, in us. Lange, even here, presses the iuea of who placed the Eucharistic ceremony in the the flesh and blood of Christ as being tn10 lips of Jesus long before the institution. food, seeing that by believing hi8toric con- But while this view can be without hesita- templation we participate in the "historic tion rejected, it is obvious thot there was form of his manifestation," and by spiritual a spiritual po.rticipe.tion in the "humanity" contemplation and feruent faith we drink in and the "sacrifice" of the Son of God the blood which is the life. The difference which Christ called upon the Caperna'ites between rl.>..11611s and rl.>..116ws is nearly that to experience-one which must hove been between ii>.118-l,s and a>..118ivas. The former possible to Olcl Testament saints, to little is tho antithesis of the merely apparent children, to oll who are accepte.ble to God food; the latter would have meant genuine and accepted by him. Such participation food answering to the ideal of food. " The is, without doubt, aided ond rendered pecu- true food" is the food for the inner man- liarly possible, thinkable, in the Euchorist. food in all reality. '.rhe Lor.cl was speaking These words were timed, therefore, to bear to them of a unique relation which he sm- the rich and twofold sense of Holy Scrip- toined to the hnman race, o.nd which cannot ture. Observe: (1) The use of uwµa. rather be explained away into some mere euphem- than ucl.p~, in every account of the institution ism for the blessedness o.nd stiroula.ting of the Supper, is not without special mean- character of the gospel message. This is ing; ucl.p! and a.Tµa. meaning the whole of made still more evident by his next words- his humanity, and the entire fulness of the Ver. 56.-He that eateth my flesh e.nd sacrifice for the world : while uwµa. ,ea.I a.Tµa. drin.keth my blood, dwelleth in me, e.nd I suggest that organized parsonal life in (dwell) in him. This mutu"l indwelling is which the Incarnation culminated, and the illustrated elsewhere (eh. s:v. 1-5) by the blood which wo.s shed for the remission of image of the vine and its branches. The sins. The rrwµa. is not without reference to trine abides in the branch in the virtue of the new "body" in which the spirit would its life-giving forces. Cut nway from the be ultimately enshrined. (2) The phrase, parent stem, it can do nothing. Fruitle:ssness " drinking of the blood," is peculiar to these condemns and fire consumes it. The branch verses. In the Eucho.rist we " drink of the abides in the 1,·ine, as deriving nil its worth. cup which is the new coveno.nt in the blood its true plooe, its possibility of growth and of Christ." "The hand of history," suys fruit, from the vine ( cf. also eh. xvii. 23 : Edersheim, "has drawn out the telescope: 1 John iii. 24; iv. 16). The dwelling of e.nd, o.e we gazo through it, every sentence the believer in Christ involve, an utter self- and word sheds light upon the cross, and surrender to him, o. recognition of the light from the cross carrying to us the two- supreme claims of the God-llle.n and hls fold meaning-his death o.nd its celebration work, a complete trust in him as the Source in the great Christio.n sacrnment." of e.11 life, n sound and abiding place of Ver. 55.-A new justification is given for rest, e. jUBtification before God as one with this greo.t statement: For my flesh is true 1 Christ, as one identitiecl with him in his food, and my blood is true I drink. (The two well-pleasing to the Father. The dwelling aatit1e verbe.ls are adopted," eating," "drink- of Christ in the belicwr is the fulness o.nd riches of the Divine life. Christ liveth in 1 Tregellee, Tischendorf (8th edit.), West- him (Gal. ii. 20), thinks in his thoughta, oott and Hort, R.T., read d>..11611T instead of moves throu~h his will. This is sanctifico.- A>..116ols of T.R., on the authority of t(0, B, 0, tion. The believer is in Christ as the Fa, K, L, and thirty other versions and quo- members Ille in the body. Chri;t is in thu t.atiom. 'AJ,:ri6iis is one of the readings oft(, believer as God is in his temple, Whn'; is  270 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOIIN. [en. vt, 1-71,