Considering Proverbs 9:2

² She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.

If we think of the above scripture in terms of the faithful church—both as a collective and as the Christian individual—what might we consider?

What should our table be furnished with? Jesus has the answer.

John 6:47-62

⁴⁷ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

⁴⁸ I am that bread of life.

⁴⁹ Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

⁵⁰ This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

⁵² The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

⁵³ Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

⁵⁴ Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁵⁵ For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

⁵⁶ He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

⁵⁷ As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

⁵⁸ This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

⁵⁹ These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

⁶² What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

⁶³ It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

⁶⁴ But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

⁶⁵ And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

⁶⁶ From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

⁶⁷ Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

⁶⁸ Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood?”

Jesus gave His flesh and blood to us when He sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins. Of course, we cannot literally eat and drink Christ—but we can metaphorically.

God is spirit, and we should seek the Holy Spirit because the things Jesus speaks to us are spirit. The things of the Spirit seem foolish to the world, but to those who can hear, this is everlasting life.

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).

If we consume the Word of God like we do food and wine, then we will be filled with the things of God in spirit, and this brings our own spirit into greater conformity and communion with our Creator.

We can study scripture, listen to quality Christian music, we can fellowship with other believers, and we can pray often. When Jesus is the central part of our life, then it is as if we eat and drink Him up.

With the Spirit of God, we can learn to understand scripture better, we can discern quality Christian entertainment and teachings, we can enrich fellowship with believers as we help one another grow in righteousness, and the Spirit can intercede to the Father on our behalf and help us live a more effective Christian life. The more we walk after the Spirit of God, the more we are living as the sons of God.

What if we lack motivation to seek the things of God through Jesus?

I know what it is like to have no motivation, and I know that the Lord can and will provide us with that motivation in His perfect time and perfect way. Maybe we don’t have much motivation, but if we invest any amount of desire for Jesus we have into knowing Him better, He will cause us to grow.

We are all in differing stages of growth, but so long as we are alive in this present world, we still have more to seek from Jesus. There is more to eat up and drink up, and the end of our journey is eternal life.

If we think that we know it all already or become overly loyal to our biases, then we might become hardened to what Jesus has to say to us, and when the truth is presented it might be tempting to hold our ears.

That being said, there are things we should not hear. Not all old teachings are good, and there is nothing new under the sun either. Some new teachings should also be rejected–especially those that usurp Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation.

As the faithful church—both as the collective and as Christian individuals—we do not want to be among those who leave Jesus because His teachings are hard to hear or because we welcome another.

We want to consume every detail of His good teachings, to the best of our ability, and continue seeking the Lord so that our hearts can hear Him better and learn to apply these to our life.

If we seek Him humbly, He will teach us everything we need to know, again, according to His perfect way and timing for every person–so we do not despair or lose hope if we are not getting the results we want. We trust in Him.

We trust in His sacrifice to forgive our sins. We trust in His work within us. We trust in the promise of the resurrection and the coming Kingdom in which righteousness dwells. We trust that though we might suffer for His name sake, this is a blessing and the end of all suffering is everlasting life.

As the faithful church—both as the collective and as Christian individuals—we can expect the world to be offended at us just as the world was offended at Jesus. We can expect people to turn on us and betray us, we can expect the world to destroy our flesh and spill our blood. However, with the flesh and blood of Jesus within us—the flesh and blood of everlasting life—we will live again.

There is no other name by which man can be saved.

Jesus alone is the way, and He provides so much for us to eat and drink up.

Do you want someone to talk to about the teachings of Jesus such as this one, or do you have thoughts you’d like to share? Life has made is so that I have time each day for talking to people who want to fellowship in Jesus Christ, so never hesitate to reach out. If on social media, send a message or leave a comment. If on the website, find my email on the contact page or leave a comment.

Whether we agree or disagree, we can help each other grow, and where two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is there.