“Another thought is clear here; namely, this Melchizedek was in the body, not a spiritual form as some suppose, for he brought bread and wine to nourish Abraham after his long struggle with the kings; and Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth part of the spoils that he had taken from the kings. So, Melchizedek not only offered unto Abraham material nourishment, but he, in turn, received from Abraham material substance for himself and for his people.
We find in Genesis 17:1, the following words: “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Yahveh appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Whatever this appearance may have been, whether it was a man in the body or a God-man from the heavens, we have no absolute knowledge, but that it was one who talked to Abraham as a man talks to another man, face to face, is unquestionable. And this is further evidenced in chapter 18 verses 1-8:
“And Yahveh appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant; let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on; forasmuch as ye are come to your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hasted to dress it, And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.”
There are several points that we ask you to note in this account. The first is that Yahveh appeared to him, and then it is said that three men stood by Abraham, not three angels – evidently the ones whom he called Yahveh; although if the account had said angels, as the word “angel” merely means messenger of God, it would not imply that they were not messengers in the body. That these were men, there is no doubt, for in verse 3 Abraham said, “My Lord”, or “My Master”; the word here is Adonai, which means master, one to whom authority has been delegated from a higher source.
That Abraham recognized their superiority as masters is shown in the words, “If now I have found favor in thy sight”, and in the fact that he bowed himself before them. Another evidence that they were in the body is the inference that Abraham brought them water with which to wash their feet, they having walked a distance in the dust, and also in the emphatic declaration that, “they did eat” the bread which Abraham set before them. If all three had not eaten, probably the account would have so stated, but the words are, “And they did eat”; and after they had eaten, they delivered their message. Please read the entire chapter.”
Hiram Butler
The Mark Of God: Understanding Your "I AM Presence" 