Noordzij — Hamartology
Slavery of the Flesh
The heart of Noordzij’s hamartology in “Bread and Wine” lies in the distinction between the “old” (natural, fleshly) and the “new” (spiritual). Egypt symbolizes the slavery of the flesh:
The “land of slavery”, “Egypt”, symbolises the “slavery” of the “flesh”. God now desires our redemption, our liberation from the power of the “flesh”, to serve Him in spirit and truth.
This slavery is not merely physical, but spiritual. Redemption comes through Jesus’ offering, in which He refused to be led by human needs but focused entirely on God (Isa. 53:12, Rom. 7:24).
Poneria — Baseness and Earthiness
Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 a clear characterization of sin as “baseness” (Greek: poneria):
Old leaven is “base”, “earthly” religiosity with “old” rites and tradition, as the “Pharisees” practised (Matt. 23, Mark 7:13).
Sin is not merely evil, but base — an earthly, natural religious disposition without spiritual truth. This “old leaven” must be entirely abandoned.
Fleshly-Soulish Disposition
The core of sin lies in the “fleshly-soulish disposition”. Noordzij distinguishes three levels: flesh, soul, and spirit. The soul with her desires and longings (soul-life) is the medium of sin:
“Blood” points to the soul-life with its desires and longings. Jesus poured out His soul-life in death (Isa. 53:12). He refused to be led by human-soulish needs and focused so completely on God that He could experience His Father’s feelings.
We must pour out our soul (“all its desires, longings and feelings”) and drink in the new blood of Jesus — that is, accept the desires and longings from God (1 Pet. 4:19).
Redemption from the Flesh
Redemption is not merely a doctrine of justification, but an actual liberation from the power of the flesh:
How we eat Him cannot be expressed in words. Spiritual knowledge comes through revelation, not through intellectual effort. To eat the true bread anew in His kingdom, we must be from above, born again (John 3:3-6).
This connects to Romans 7:24, where Paul cries out:
Who will deliver me from this body of death
The fulfillment lies in a daily, spiritual eating of Christ (John 6:57-58).
Truth versus Tradition
Noordzij warns against superficial religiosity that clings to traditions and visible rites without spiritual reality. Israel rejected Jesus because they:
preferred the visible rites of the law of Moses to their spiritual fulfilment (Rev. 3:17-18)
This same danger threatens followers of Christ.