god – Semper Reformanda

“… and the bread I will give is my flesh” | The Advent of Christ | 25/25

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. John 6:51 (KJV)

“Crede et manducasti.” — “Believe, and you have eaten.” (Augustine)[1] The phrase, ‘eat of this bread,’ seems to be a reference to spiritual sustenance. Christ came from Bethlehem Ephrathah, i.e., ‘fruitfulness from the house of bread.’ The poetic foretelling is consistent with Christ’s own words. This is a reference to a relationship that is intimate (Henry)[2]; i.e., one that is born of faith. Calvin writes, “If any man eat of this bread. Whenever He uses the word eat, He exhorts us to faith, which alone enables us to enjoy this bread, so as to derive life from it.”[3] The question largely narrows down on desire. What satisfies your soul? Is it manna that lasts for a day? Or is it God, the giver of eternal life? The advent is a reminder that Christ came to give His life, that we may never hunger for eternity. Piper writes, “Because of his death in our place, he is bread for us. He is the source of forgiveness and righteousness and life. This is the great meaning of Christmas in the Gospel of John.”[4]

Note: With this, I end my twenty five day devotional, meditations on the ‘Advent of Christ.’ Thank you for your readership, and your encouraging comments. Merry Christmas!

[1] Augustine of Hippo. “Tractates on the Gospel of John.” In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 7, edited by Philip Schaff, translated by John Gibb and James Innes. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888.

[2] https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary/matthew-henry-complete/john/6

[3] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/calvin/john/6.htm

[4] Piper, J. (2014). The Dawning of Indestructible Joy

“Bethlehem Ephratah” | The Advent of Christ | 24/25

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. Micah 5:2-4 (KJV)

Bethlehem means ‘the house of bread.’ (H1035)[1] Ephratah means ‘fruitfulness.’ (H672)[2] The Old Testament bore the promise of the messiah. But the promise never bore fruit until the coming of Christ. Spurgeon captures the essence of these two words quite poetically. He writes, “Our poor barren hearts ne’er produced one fruit, or flower, till they were watered with the Saviour blood. It is his incarnation which fattens the soil of our hearts. There had been pricking thorns on all the ground, and mortal poisons, before be came; but our fruitfulness comes from him.”[3] Micah was addressing the Israelites at a time of political turmoil. The promise of a messiah felt impossible. Piper writes, for Micah the coming of Christ was the confirmation of the promises of God.[4] And the good news is, we live in the age of the advent. Christ has already arrived. We are in the middle of the promise fulfilment. We have seen His assurance, and we have testimonies of His faithfulness. We have more witnesses to anchor our faith in, as compared to the Isreal of the Old Testament. All of God’s promises are yes in Christ.[5] We celebrate His birth because it is the confirmation of God’s promises in Christ.

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1035/kjv/wlc/0-1/

[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h672/kjv/wlc/0-1/

[3] https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-incarnation-and-birth-of-christ/

[4] Piper, J. (2014). The Dawning of Indestructible Joy

[5] 2 Cor. 1:20

“… minister of the circumcision” | The Advent of Christ | 14/25

Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. Romans 15:8-9 (KJV)

The phrase ‘minister to the circumcision’ employs metonym[1] to refer to the Jews.[2] The advent of Christ does not discriminate between Jew and Gentile. It is rather tailored into it. Christ embraced us all. (Calvin)[3] Christ fulfilled the prophecies and promises that were made to the Jews: all the while, this demonstration of His truthfulness was means of God’s mercy to the Gentiles. (Henry)[4] Christ’s service is directly in reference to God’s glory. He was not a slave to the Jews by ministering them. But He served God to glorify Him. His ministry illustrates the ideal end of all God’s mercy; it is to glorify Him. Christ truthfulness is not a duty-oriented accomplishment alone. His truthfulness to the Father grants us mercy. The advent refers Jesus’ commitment not only to the Father, but also, His indiscriminate love of His elect.

[1] A metonym is a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. For example, Washington is a metonym for the US government.

[2] For a thorough study of the Apostle Paul’s usage of metonym, refer: Fredriksen, P. (2022). “Circumcision is nothing”: A non-Reformation reading of the letters of Paul. In H. Najman, R. Bloch, Y. Fisch, & P. Fredriksen (Eds.), Protestant Bible scholarship: Antisemitism, philosemitism, and anti-Judaism (Chapter 5, pp. 79–125). Brill. Kindly note that this paper is referred here solely from the perspective of intellectual transparency. I do not subscribe to the author’s larger argument, nor does it have any (spiritual or religious) implication on this blogpost as well. Referred here only to discuss metonym.

[3] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cal/romans-15.html

[4] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhc/romans/15.htm