There is a pressing in my heart and I believe the Holy Spirit will speak to us individually and collectively as a body of Christ because I believe the word He wants to share with us in this piece is one of the many heartbeats of the Father concerning every kingdom citizen. We must always be in remembrance of the kingdom that we represent. The Bible says: “we are in this world, but we are not of this world.” The difference between “Of this world” and in is that, “Of” speaks of identity; your origin, it speaks of your placement, an attachment. But “In” speaks of space; where you are operating, where you are, which is transient, it is not constant, it is a variable.
But “Of” cannot be taken away; that is why Jesus speaking emphatically says, “You are not of this world.” And we must constantly be in remembrance of that, because it is very important. Because the moment any man loses his identity, it is only a matter of time, he will lose his essence. The moment any woman loses her identity, it is only a matter of (or bit of) time, she will lose her essence. Essence talks about the reason for being. So, when a man or woman loses his or her identity, that man or woman is on a path of losing essence —reasons for being. You will realize that there are many who were full of life when they were younger, suddenly, when you meet them later in life, you will notice that all the flavor, hunger, or excitement for living is gone, what had happened? Something had happened to that individual which has made him or her lose touch with his or her identity. And ultimately, such has brought the person to the point where he or she is no longer passionate of his essence.
Hence, the essence of this piece is to keep us in remembrance of our identity so we don’t lose touch with our identity. By the help of the Holy Spirit, we are looking into The Conviction of a Disciple. There are two words in this title that are strong: Conviction and Disciple. Of course, we know who a disciple is. A disciple is a believer and follower of the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. While conviction talks about one’s believe system: what you have come to be persuaded about without any shadow of doubt. So, we are talking about the strong persuasion of a believer/disciple.
There is an event that took place in the Book of John chapter 6 that will help us see the conviction of a disciple; John 6:60, the Bible says, “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it.” The first question we want to start with is that, what did they hear? You cannot have a conviction based on nothing; no one is convicted about nothing. It is out of point for anyone to say, “See, I have conviction”, but when he is asked of what he had conviction about, he said, “Nothing”. Such person would not be perceived a normal person — conviction is always about something— conviction is about a particular knowledge or understanding. What did they hear? Let’s go back to find out what they heard in same book of chapter 6 from 53–58, the Bible says:
“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
This is what Jesus said to them. In verse 60 of same chapter, the Bible says, “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” This is what we read in verse 53 to 58. Jesus was speaking to them about a conviction. Jesus was sharing a knowledge with them; Jesus was speaking life to them. But they could not bear it. Now, let’s take out time to begin to look at those things that Jesus said to them that they could not bear. In verse 60, after that the Lord had spoken to them, the Bible didn’t say, “And when the multitude heard this”, but the reading is, “When many of His disciples heard this knowledge [truth]”. Look at what they say, “This is a hard saying who can understand this?” Meaning there was a problem with those disciples. What Jesus was sharing with them was a great and important body of knowledge, but they could not understand it.
Jesus started in verse 53 by saying to them, ““Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you”. When Jesus used the word “Unless” and “Most assuredly”, He was telling them that there is no other way. This is a guaranteed thing; what I am sharing with you, it is the guaranteed way. It is the guaranteed truth, there is no other truth elsewhere. He said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man”, when He was speaking here, He was speaking to His disciples and they were hearing. And this way Jesus is still speaking, because Jesus do not just speak to a few of His disciples. The Bible says, “What He says to one, He says to all.” He is also speaking to us right now through this piece.
Jesus as our ultimate Discipler; teacher, is telling us, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” Which life is Jesus talking about? This people were breathing, they were living, so, what was He speaking of? These people were physically present on the earth having flesh and blood, many of them owned houses, wives, horses, families, and properties. So, what was Jesus talking about, just as all of us as disciples, are feeding on this truth now. We have our lives going, and certain things working for us. And Jesus is saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”
He broke this conversation further in verse 54, He says, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” He said the kind of life I was talking about in verse 53 is Eternal Life, not the kind of life that you already have. There is a life that is bigger than what you already have that is what I am speaking to you about. Jesus was tying an experience in time with the experience of eternity. What is the experience in time? The experience in time is that in time, you can have eternal life. In time, in the flesh; while you are still in this mortal flesh, you can have eternal life, what will qualify you for the Life? Jesus says, “You eat My flesh, and you drink My blood.” What is the significance of that? Apostle Paul said, “That I may know Him”.
Eating His flesh and drinking His blood is knowing Him. Jesus was speaking, He says, “Until you”, the same thing He was saying to them when He says, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me”. It is same thing Jesus is speaking here to His disciples, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” The life that He is talking about, it is the life that is in the Father. The life that is in the father is eternal life. He said in time, you can have that heaven on earth life, but it is tied to knowing Me. We must understand this, because in Genesis chapter 4, when the Bible says, “And the man knew his wife”, but before then in chapter 2, he said to the woman, “And this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman”. And the Bible went on to say, “And the man knew his wife”, “The two were together naked and were not ashamed.”
When apostle Paul was giving us a similitude, helping to understand the relationship that we must have with Christ Jesus, he was speaking of marriage, “Wives, submit to your own husband, husbands, love your wives as Christ the church.” Meaning that the relationship between Christ and the church, it’s a marriage relationship; flesh and blood relationship. Jesus was making His early disciples and us to understand that until we have come to that level of intimacy, you cannot carry the life of God. Disciples, this is not about reading and reciting the Lord’s prayers: there is a life we are called unto, and for you to become partaker of that life, for you to walk in the fullness of that life, then “You must eat My flesh and drink My blood”, Jesus said. You must know Me.
It is not knowing of knowledge, no, it is not. It is knowing of intimacy. Apostle Paul said, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering”. These are deep things, “Being even conform to His death —intimacy.” That was the first thing Jesus was speaking to the disciples about. See, “Unless you know Me, you have become one with Me.” Where is that place that flesh and blood meets; it is a place of oneness. It is a place of intimacy, until you know Me. You must know Jesus beyond the name; you must know Jesus beyond pictures. As a disciple, you must know Jesus intimately, naked and not ashamed. And He said whoever comes to this point of intimacy, have eternal life.
We must understand that what Jesus was talking to them about is not just a literal flesh and blood; flesh eaters (vampires). Jesus was not talking about disciples becoming vampires. No, that is not it. He was only talking about intimacy that must take place between Him and His disciples. Repeating Himself, “This is the way, the only means; this is how it is possible.” “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood, has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day”. I will not abandon him. That is why the Bible says, “The Holy Spirit is to us God’s guarantee.” The Holy Spirit is not for unbelievers, He is for believers because He is the guarantee that these ones have become intimate with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the proof, He is the guarantee, He is the seal that these ones have become intimate with Jesus.
Jesus is saying, “When you eat and drink, you will have eternal life, and I will raise you on the last day.” “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed”, was He talking about this realm? Was He talking about your ‘in’ or your ‘of?’ Jesus was talking about us of not our in. We are in this world, but not of this world. In this world, eating of flesh and drinking blood is not it. But on that realm, we live on the blood. We live on the flesh. Jesus was breaking it down further, He was explaining a realm that we must be of; partakers of, not just on Sundays, meeting days, but every moment of our lives — He was explaining the realm of God. He says, “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed”. I love that!
Jesus breaks it further, “He who eats Me, become intimate with Me”. He does not leave my presence ever though the person is in this world. Abiding talks about a dwelling place; it talks about a location. And it is not talking about a location in the flesh, but a location in the Spirit. “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” No wonder apostle Paul said, “My life is hide in Christ”. It is a spiritual location, because we feed on the flesh and the blood. The only reason you can be seen perpetually in the location, it is because you drink the blood, and you eat the flesh.
He says, “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” Jesus in this text is giving us comparison, the way you are seeing me now, “I am in Him”. This is because Jesus came to set us an example, when He was speaking here, He was not dead, He was alive, He was on the earth. So, Jesus was speaking to them at that time, of His location; “Even though I am in this earth, My location is of the Father”. “Even though I am standing on the soil, the earth, I am in the Father, and I live of the Spirit”. He said, “He who feeds on Me will live because of Me.”
This is the conviction of the disciples: even though you are in, you are not of. There is a spiritual location, there is an identity that must not be mistaken, lost, because it finds our essence. Even though Jesus was on the earth, His essence was not lost, because His identity was not lost. He said, “I am the bread sent down from heaven”, “I am the bread of life”. “I am the way, truth and the life”, that always define His essence. In verse 58, the Bible says, “This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
Now, Jesus summed the flesh and the blood, as the BREAD. When He was talking about flesh and blood, they thought He was talking about being a vampire. But when He came to a point, He decided to bring it to their level. He said: “This is the bread!”. You will have the bread and have life, and the bread that sustain life. “This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” This is not counterfeit, this is the original. “He who eats this bread will live forever”, Jesus was not joking. He was not saying it, so that they could feel good, no, it is the truth. “He who eats this bread”, this is the conviction of a disciple. And if not until a disciple gets this, a disciple cannot live forever like Jesus lives.
“You are in this world, but you are not of this world.” Your identity, your conviction, must ring always. My life is not ruled by the elements of this world. The economy of the world, does not decide my health status, because I am in this world, but I am not of this world. That was a deep conviction, but see what happened in verse 61-63 of same chapter, the Bible says, “When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Jesus was going to scatter their theology, I am talking to you about eternal life, and you are looking surprised, what if you see me in glory, or ascending? “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” That is why, you must understand the realm in which Jesus was speaking. He was not speaking flesh, He was speaking Spirit, so it takes a spiritual discernment to understand what He was saying.
“But there are some of you who do not believe.” There were still some within who do not believe. What is your conviction as a disciple? Do you believe that you are of this world, that the system of this world, will guide and rule you? When the devil came to Jesus in Mattthew chapter 4, He was hungry, and the devil said, “Turn this stone to bread”, and Jesus replied back to him, “Man shall not live by bread alone”. He was not talking about the carnal man; He was talking about the spiritual man. the original man, as God designed, must not live by bread alone; sustenance of the flesh, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
As a disciple, what is your conviction? Because when the devil comes what will come out of you will be based on your convictions. Jessus didn’t run away in Matthew chapter 4, and say, “Look, the devil has come let Me run away, let Me panic and run”. No! He stood His ground and spoke forth His conviction. As a disciple, what are your convictions? When the enemies came against you like the flood, is there a spirit within you that can lay standard against them? The standards that the Spirit will raise are your convictions. They become your wall of defense. In verse 64 to verse 66, the Bible says, “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went [p]back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
As disciples, when challenges, issues of life come looking at us in the face, when the intimacy with Christ get tested, are we going to be standing on our convictions? In verse 60, many of His disciples went back, we were not told of the figure that went back, but many suggests a large number. They walked with Him no more, they believed in Him no more. The followed Him no more, how many of disciples are falling today? They are not following the Lord Jesus anymore; they are just coming to honor the social gathering. They come to fellowship, to church, but their conviction, believe, is far from the Lord.
In verse 67, then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” since the demand I am laying on your life is so critical, “Do you also want to go away?” Then Simon Peter in great conviction said in verse 68, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” And this must be our response as disciples. No matter what we faced as disciples, this must be our conviction: “Lord, to whom shall we go?” You, Jesus, “have the words of eternal life.” The Bible says, “Do not fear the one that can harm your body, but fear the one that can destroy the spirit, soul, body, the entire components, in hell.”
Simon Peter who has deep conviction of Christ made bold to say, “To whom shall we go, we have followed you to this point, we cannot afford to look back”. “We have laid our hands on the plough, and we can never look back”. “We are not of them that draw back to perdition, but of them that abide”. Jesus says, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” That is how we become one with Christ, it is not by singing, “I am married to Jesus Satan lives me alone.” It is not in the song, it is about the conviction, what is your conviction as a disciple? When you are hungry, when you are in need of glory, honour, or when you are in a desperate situation, and you need certain things to happen for you, will your conviction fall like pack of card?
That is why the Bible says: “And therefore, stand firm putting on the whole amore of God.” Am I actually feeding on Him? What is my conviction as a disciple? Jesus said, “those that feed on Me will live, because of Me”. Am I feeding on Him, or elsewhere? You can’t feed elsewhere, and live because of Christ.
