Page 108 - Gods Plan of the Ages

Mark 14:23-24
And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank
from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many."

The Bible teaches that life (the soul) is in the blood. We must sup up the life of Christ;
His divine nature must be found in us; we must be directed and empowered by His Spirit
if we are to truly experience aionian life.

John 6:53-56
So Yahshua 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 yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks
My blood has aionian life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food,
and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and
I in him."

Here is the crux of the matter. Abiding in Christ is the essence of aionian life. Consider
for a moment the attitude of many Christians today. Many testify happily that in Christ they
have received eternal life, but their actions reveal that they have little desire for intimacy
or fellowship with the Son. It is a rare event for many Christians to spend intimate time in
communion with Christ through seasons of prayer, meditation upon His word, or walking
daily with a consciousness of His presence. Such ones are not abiding in Christ. They are
not partaking of aionian life. Nor are they much concerned at this deficiency in their
Christian walk. They are content to have ministers and other Christians assure them that
they will live forever because they have said a sinner's prayer and confessed belief in the Son
of God.
Are not a great many Christians committing the same grave error as the Jews to whom
Christ first appeared? To them He declared:

John 5:39-40
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have aionian life; it is these
that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life."

Many Christians study doctrine and quote Bible passages while neglecting to daily
abide in Christ. Knowledge about Christ, and a hope of living forever, is not a substitute for
eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood. The very life of Christ must be in us. Consider
the implications of the following words of Yahshua.

John 12:49-50
"For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given
Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment
is aionian life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."

Yahshua did not do anything of His own initiative. Any action or word that is
independent of the Father is contrary to life. We are only partaking of aionian life when we
are being led of the Spirit in those things we say and do. When the life of God is animating
us and directing us, then we are truly experiencing life. This was Christ's meaning. He
testified that to do the Father's will, fulfilling Yahweh's commandments to Him, is the
essence of life.
Such life by necessity is one of fellowship and union. We must know the mind of the