BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
"The flesh counts for nothing." Yes, very clear.
Once again, this is a VERY common Protestant objection, because is uses the word flesh again.
Jesus says "THE flesh counts for nothing." Not "MY flesh counts for nothing."
The flesh that Jesus is referring to is a New Testament term often used to describe
human nature apart from God's grace.Why would Jesus contradict Himself after speaking this NO less than 5 times he tells us:
"if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever" (v.51a)
"unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood" (v.53)
"he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me" (v.56)
"he who eats me will live because of me" (v.57)
"he who eats this bread [his flesh] will live forever" (v.58)
In John 6:50-53, Jesus uses forms of the Greek verb
phago, "eating." After the other disciples were murmuring, in John 6:54 He uses the the Greek word,
trogo, which means to "chew on" or "to gnaw on" like an animal.
The word for flesh in these verses, He uses the Greek
sarx, which means "flesh" or "meat".
The disciples, many of who had been with Jesus for weeks, months, or longer leave because the could not accept what He was teaching any longer. He doesn't call them back and say, "Hey guys, this is just a symbol. He lets them go. Peter and the apostles didn't leave. They didn't understand, but they stayed with him.
Ignatius of Antioch writes:
"I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the
bread of God, which is the
flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his
blood, which is love incorruptible" (Letter to the Romans 7:3 A.D. 110).
"Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the
Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes" (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:27:1 A.D. 110).
Let's go biblical with the words of Paul in 1 Cor 10:16:
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
and 1 Cor 27-30:
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep
If the Eucharist was just a symbol how could they be guilty of sinning? If you were to stab a picture (symbol) of your wife, you wouldn't be guilty of sin, but if you were to stab your wife (her actual body), you would be guilty.
We know from the Last Supper forward when Christ instituted the Eucharist, Christians believed this was the Body and Blood of Jesus. Early Roman pagans accused Christians of cannibalism for their beliefs.
Scripture and history CLEARLY shows this Protestant claim to be false.