Church Unity

Oblio said:

Did you mean why didn't He ... ?

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Yes I did, thanks and the error has been corrected.

Oblio said:

He was demonstrating that each Apostle, and through succession, Bishops and their priests should break the bread, with prayer and thanksgiving.

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Ture He did pass the pieces out but could He not just as easily had blessed the loaf or whole and passed it out as a unified body if it was His intent to keep His body intact or as a whole, in unity?
My point is this.
It was Christ who divided the body not the disciples. If the whole loaf were passed out then each would have to break it themselves to eat of it. After Christ had blessed it as the whole and they would have broke it for their own desire as you have so rightly said;

Oblio said:

To just pass it around would allow the Apostles to do whatever they wished with His Body in the Mystical Supper. Christ is the Head of the Church, and guided the Apostles in the proper praxis of the celebration of the Eucharist.

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Sense Jesus did bless the whole then broke it before He served it He divided it for His purpose.
Can the body that has been divided make itself whole again?

Neeter said:

He did it to let everyone know that He is the One that will provide everything we need, we don't have to do anything, He has done it all.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 6:48 I am that bread of life.

Love in Christ,
Nita

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He did it to show that His body is going to be divided and that He was in control over its division hence the blessing before He broke it. If He passed the whole to each disciple each would have been in control of the body's division and not Christ.
We have division and denominations of His church because of His blessing and breaking of the body. These divisions and denominations will continue up to and until His ressurection of His divided body the chruch. It is at that time, by Him and Him alone, He will reunite the body that He figuretivly divided at the table before His death.
There are those of this Forum that are praying and striving for the unity of the body of Christ. Well praying for it is to ask for and long for His appearing. But to think that it is our attempts to unite as one body that will summon His appearing is a futile attempt. This is an act that He has reserved unto Himself just as He reserved the breaking of the bread (that He refered to as His body) before He served His disciples.

Oblio said:

I have to totally disagree in the Spiritualization of Christ breaking Bread in the Mystical Supper to be the affirmation of the sinful schisms and splits that have occured in His Body.

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John 17:20-23 RSVA "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, (21) that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (22) The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, (23) I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
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Thanks for the reply Oblio and I agree that it is sin that has brought about so many divisons and schisms. However it is apparent that many of the body of Christ are not under on roof. Dose the fact that the body is divided into Catholic, Baptist, Methodist etc. automaticly puts one out of the will of Christ?

Oblio said:

(21) that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (22) The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, (23) I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.

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There is no doubt in my mind that everyone that confesses from the heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is of the body of Christ. In this we do have unity. We do not have to be under one roof.

Philip said:

There is more to it than confession. If one is able, one must do more than confess Christ.

Matthew 8:28-29 (RSVA)
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

Luke 4:41 (RSVA)
And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
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Surely these demons were not part of the Body of Christ.

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I agree whole heartedly!!
For one to make the confession of the heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Is to confess or (as us Baptist like to repeat) repent of ones sin. Satan and his demons can and will confess but they never repent of their rebellion. Sure Phillip you'll not find me in disagreement with what you've posted.
Can we then say that we are of the same body but divided?

Philip said:

There is more to it than confession. If one is able, one must do more than confess Christ.

Matthew 8:28-29 (RSVA)
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

Luke 4:41 (RSVA)
And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
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Surely these demons were not part of the Body of Christ.

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Phillip,
About my post to the "Are Catholics different than Christians" thread. I stand admonished for my post and would like to openly apologize for my accusations. It is not my place to judge my brother. I should have avoided it and not even looked at the subject of this string. The Moderators have sense shut it down and rightly so. Mean while I'll be more loving to those that have a different view of the gospel than I do.
But please don't ask me to do any hail Marys.
Our divisions do run deep don't they?