Devotional Reading: Colossians 1:9-20
Memories can be so beautiful. I remember every Sunday, after church, gathering at my great grandmother’s home for the family meal. The children sat at one table and grown-ups at another. I couldn’t wait to grow up so I could move to the next table. By the time I reached the age to sit at the grown-ups’ table, there were memories of relatives no longer sitting at the table. But I shall always remember the loving fellowship. I shall also note that each of our meals was set apart from the Lord’s Supper.
Our family would rush back to church on Sunday evenings for Baptist Training Union (BTU). We might miss some Sundays, but we never missed first Sunday because we had to partake the Lord’s Supper. It was part of our training that everything we do was to be done for the glory of God. However, over time, the practice of taking the Lord’s Supper on first Sunday evenings ceased. I guess the thought was that more people attend during church service on Sunday morning, and there is a greater need for us to reach out to the many with the Lord’s Supper. I can’t judge why a person does not avail his or herself to take the Lord’s Supper. But I do agree with the current policy that we should make it as readily available as possible and to as many persons as possible (1 Corin 11:25), having it during church service on first Sunday morning and every first Wednesday at the noon Bible study and the evening Bible study. The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is not for that fellowship meal we had. The purpose is solely for the glory of God.
We are in Unit III “An Everlasting Covenant” of the three units of the quarter. This is the fourth lesson of a four lesson study. We began the quarter by studying the tale of two priests, both named Phinehas and both heirs of Aaron, the first high priest and brother of Moses. That is where the similarities ended. God rewarded one priest named Phinehas who respected Him with exceeding zeal and fervor. Alternatively, He issued Judgments to priests Eli, Phinehas and Hopni who disrespected His Holiness and took for granted their priesthood. God is a Jealous God and demands respect and unwavering commitment. This was during the Mosaic Law, the old covenant.
We then shifted gears to study the establishment of the unconditional, unilateral new covenant that was written on the hearts of God’s people. The new covenant was sealed by God’s pure grace through the blood of Christ who bought all sinners forgiveness and the opportunity to eternal life.
Last week we examined the difference between the old and new covenant, in part, by comparing the terrifying Mt. Sinai (where the Mosaic Law was given) with the spiritual heavenly Mt. Zion (the New Jerusalem and the gospel church). The old covenant was made obsolete by the new covenant. Yet Christians must remember that God is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same tomorrow. Christians serve the same God who visited Mount Sinai. Our God is a consuming fire. (Deut 4:24; Heb 12:29 NKJV). The covenant changed, not God.
In our final lesson, today, we are focusing on one of the signs of the new covenant – the Lord’s Supper. The other sign is water baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the focus of Article 14 of our Baptist Articles of Faith.
This lesson is presented to us as the Apostle Paul expresses his displeasure of the conduct of the Corinthians after the institution of the Lord’s Supper. At 1 Corin 10:31 the Apostle stated, Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (NKJV) There are two great rules to guide us in all our Christian lives. The first is the glory of God seen in this verse, and the second is the welfare of our fellow men. These two rules remind me of the two commandments given by Jesus Himself in Matt 22:37b and 39b, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (NKJV) Christians are often faced with decisions as to whether a certain decision would be right or wrong. A good rule to apply would be to ask yourself whether the Lord would be magnified. Is there glory for God? For Christ is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Col 1:18 NKJV)
God judges how we observe the Lord’s Supper. The Apostle outlined the conduct of the Corinthians at 1 Corin 11:17-22 for which he found displeasure. He said, I do not praise you…(vs 17 NKJV). There were divisions and cliques within the fellowship making it more difficult for the spiritually discerned to be heard. Further, Paul had to be pleased they remembered to continue to take the Lord’s Supper. However, they were taking it immediately after they had completed their love feast or social gathering. The love feast was a common meal to be shared in a spirit of love and fellowship. The party spirit carried over into the Lord’s Supper. They did not wait for everyone to be present to share in the meal and the Lord’s Supper. Each one would take their own food in a picnic basket and not share. Some left the feast hungry because the food was not shared. Also, some of the members of the society felt they had to have another drink until they were in a state of drunkenness. The love feasts and celebration of the Lord’s Supper occurred on a weekly basis with the Corinthians, but not all were able to participate. Paul asked at vs 22, Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? (NKJV) The conduct of the Corinthians did not magnify the Lord. Neither did it show a love for their neighbors as they had been commanded.
Given that background of the conduct of the Corinthians in their observance of partaking the Lord’s Supper, we shall now begin to review the institution of the Lord’s Supper and the proper attitude in its observance. Beginning at 1 Cor 11:23-24 Paul was given a special revelation by the Lord. He writes, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” NKJV) The Lord’s Supper occurred on the same night Jesus was betrayed by Judas (Matt 26:23-25). It was a night to be remembered because it was it was His last night on earth before His death. Jesus took the single loaf of bread and gave thanks to God. The bread was typical to His body. Bread can be broken. The body of Jesus was abused for us. Jesus thanked God for a human body which would be broken to be able to take on the sins of the world. It is very important that we continue to take the bread and eat it to memorialize what Christ did for each of us.
Jesus continues to identify what He wants believers to remember regarding His sacrifice at verse 25, In the same manner He also took the cup after supper saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me”. (NKJV) The cup is put for what is in it. Never does the Scripture call what is in the cup wine. We know it to be the sign of the Lord’s blood. These outward signs are Christ’s body and blood, His body broken, His blood shed, together with all the benefits which flow from His death and sacrifice. It is the new covenant made by God (Jer 31:31) and ratified by the blood of Christ. When we drink the cup of the Lord’s Supper, we should remember that Christ’s death makes our forgiveness possible. The foundation of the new covenant goes back to the cross and to the future of His coming again in the New Jerusalem.
When the Lord instituted this memorial, His body had not yet been given and His blood had not been shed on the cross. It was symbolic for what He was to do. Yet the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church is that the symbolic bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Christ, with only the appearance of bread and wine remaining.1 https://forums.catholic.com/t/consubstantiation-vs-transubstantiation/264419/2 This is called transubstantiation. The teaching of the Lutheran faith is that the symbolic bread and wine coexists with the body and blood of Christ. This is called consubstantiation. When we take Communion, we are only to see the bread and wine as a symbol of the body and blood of Christ as we remember our deliverance from sin.
Jesus did not specify how often we should observe the Lord’s Supper. In their attempt to observe the Lord’s Supper, the Corinthians would partake it weekly at the end of the meal during the love feast that was criticized by Paul for other reasons. There are many churches, mine included, which observes the Lord’s Supper on the First Sunday. And there are still others that observe it quarterly. The Apostle Paul writes at 1 Corin 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (NKJV) Jesus instructed believers to partake Communion as often as, meaning whenever you want. The frequency of taking Communion is not as important as that we continue. The quality of taking the Lord’s Supper is of major concern. We are joining in an act to give glory to the Lord. It reminds us of what He did for us and how we are linked to Him in that sacrificial act of forgiveness. We have been given the opportunity to accept eternal life in the New Jerusalem with access to God and Jesus at His right side. These are things we are to remember and proclaim until He returns again.
There is a danger of receiving unworthily the Communion, prostituting its institution with love feasts, causing divisions among the congregants, allowing factions to creep in, and keeping up a covenant of sin and death while attempting to renew and confirm the new covenant with God. Paul is now moving from the corporate aspect of the Lord’s Supper to some implications for the individual participants and the church that hosts it. The Apostle writes at 1 Corin 11:27-29, Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (NKJV)
Do not provoke God by taking Communion unworthily. We are all unworthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper. In fact, we are unworthy of any of the Lord’s mercy or kindness to us. But that is not the subject here. The Apostle is not speaking of our own personal unworthiness. Because we are cleansed by the blood of Christ, we can approach God in all the worthiness of His own beloved Son. The Corinthians profaned the institution of the Lord’s Supper and have basically crucified their Savior over again. Instead of being cleansed by His blood, they were guilty of His blood.
I always knew If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NKJV) However, I never considered myself having profaned the Lord’s Supper because I failed to offer an apology, had been selfish, or failed to make a restitution, for example. I thought about the family that was bringing a lawsuit among other members of the family and wondered how they were coming to the Communion table worthily. We must judge ourselves sincerely in order that we do not come to the Communion table unworthily. I, for one, do not wish to be guilty of His blood.
So what if I took Communion unworthily and failed to examine myself? I would be guilty and God may chasten me for my behavior. Paul writes at 1 Corin 11:30-32, For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. (NKJV) Today God’s discipline takes many forms when we know we have done something we deeply regret to cause a problem in our relationship with Him. A careless and irreverent receiving of the Lord’s Supper may bring temporary punishments. Yet the connection seems to imply that even those who were given temporary chastening are in a state of favor with God. They are chastened of the Lord in order that they would not be condemned with the world. Failure to self-judge sincerely before taking Communion can cause physical illness and death. If we exercise this self-judgment, there would be no need for God’s chastisement. God is lovingly dealing with us and preparing us for a life in eternity not a life on earth or hell. For this reason we must be chastised to draw closer to Him. We must be corrected by Him when we fall short of taking the Lord’s Supper. It is better that we judge ourselves than we have God judge whether we came to the Communion table worthily. God does not want us to be condemned to a world of sin.
The Apostle finishes the chapter by giving the Corinthians two simple directives to help solve their problems with the Lord’s Supper. As indicated at 1 Corin 11:33-34 he writes, Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come. (NKJV) In case anyone thought Paul’s message was too cruel, he is yet calling them brethren as he lets them know the teaching was a necessary one from their brother. They are called to care for one another as the second commandment requires. Don’t eat as soon as you arrive, but exercise restraint until others have arrived. Wait to eat with the others as everyone can’t get to the gathering at the same time. If this is a problem with someone because he is hungry or he must eat because he has an illness such as diabetes, eat something at home before you come to the service with the brethren to partake of the Lord’s Supper. And the other minor matters that were mentioned to Paul in the letter to him from the Corinthians, he will address personally when he comes later. The Lord’s Supper was of utmost concern and had to be immediately addressed.
1https://forums.catholic.com/t/consubstantiation-vs-transubstantiation/264419/2
Deborah C. Davis
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