How truly we each in turn bless the cup so full of blessing to us, which signifies the sum total of all heavenly blessings in Christ. It gathers blessing unto itself as we thankfully own our communion to be in His precious blood and in turn bless and add our blessings to it. The symbolic blood in the cup is not to be thought of in this aspect as redemptive, sanctifying or cleansing, but as the blood of the cup of trysting and covenant, cumulative of blessing. It is His blood containing the blessings of His life, to which we add the eulogistic, heartfelt blessings of our life also, so that it overflows with the blessings of Christ and His Church. It is the communion of the body; the Head with the members and the members one with another and all together.
We eulogistically aggregate the conscious mystic communion of our lives too as we break the bread, for it is we who are that one bread. In the other passages it is written that the Lord is the bread, and so He is, and thanks be to God that this is the aspect most deservedly emphasised. But in the jubilation of our thanksgiving for this, let us not overlook the clear insistence of the apostle here, 'we being many are one bread and one body'. The bread is ours and us, the wine is ours and us, the body is ours and us, the blood is ours and us. O the miracle of it! 'All things are yours', writes this inspired man, 'and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's; ye are the body of Christ and members in particular; as the body is one and hath many members so also is Christ'
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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.