On that dreadful day when the Lord instituted the communion in the upper room, He hoped beyond everything else that those men would understand what He was saying. They witnessed what He was doing, but could He make them see what He meant by it? O that the living truth may reach their hearts and never lose its meaning to them lest it fall into deadening formality and carnal repetition. He had earlier said, 'the bread which I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world; whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day'.
However, although at that time He was opening up truth relating to the Communion, He was not then directly speaking of the Communion. He was informing His hearers of the basic facts and means of eternal life, warning them of the dangers of mere believism, that is of believing without receiving. Man can only live by eating and drinking Him every day. The daily exchange of our life for His — the constant preference for, choice and appropriation of His life above and instead of our own — is the only continuing means of eternal life.
Although there is an association of ideas linking these two things together, to do this is quite a different thing from partaking of the elements of the communion, and is much more important. Without this, the Communion of the body is utterly impossible, for except a man already has Jesus' eternal life, he has no place at the Lord's communion table, and if he should attend, only eats and drinks damnation to himself.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.