|
As for the
Lord’s Supper, Paul wrote to the saints who were at Corinth: “For I have
received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord
Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had
given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is
broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he
took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often
as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew [proclaim] the Lord's
death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this
cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the
Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation [judgment] to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For
this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we
would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we
are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1
Corinthians 11:23-32)
|
|
Now, since
whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper we proclaim the Lord’s death till He
comes, that is to say, we proclaim His atoning sacrifice, I need to speak to
you, first of all, about the benefits we received from the offering of the body
and blood of Jesus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
●
Jesus offered His flesh as a sacrifice to God to make us alive (for we all
were dead in our transgressions), for Jesus said: “I am the living bread
which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for
ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world” (John 6:51); and also to sanctify us, as it is written
that “by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10 – NKJV). Therefore, if we are
spiritually alive and sanctified before God it is because Jesus gave His body
for us.
|
|
●
Jesus offered His body as a sacrifice for our sins in order to put away sin
in our life, for Paul says to the Romans that Jesus “condemned sin in the
flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4). Therefore, through
the offering of His body we died to sin, for sin, which had dominion over us,
was condemned in His flesh. Paul explains this concept to the Romans in this
way: “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them
that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he
liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound
by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead,
she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband
liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law;
so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from
the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:1-4). Let me
comment on these words briefly. We know that the law has dominion over a man
as long as he lives, because after he dies the law no longer has dominion
over him. How can the law have dominion over a man who has breathed his last?
Surely it can’t. Likewise we also had to die to the law, that we might be
delivered from the bondage of the law, and that’s what happened when we
believed in the death of Jesus. Therefore, the crucifixion of the body of
Jesus Christ is of great importance for us because by faith in Him we were
crucified with Him; that’s why the law no longer has dominion over us, for we
died with Christ, as it is written: “Therefore, my brethren, you also have
become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to
another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to
God” (Romans 7:4 – NKJV). Therefore, thanks be to God who, through the body
of Christ, caused us to die to the law (that is, to what we were held by). Yes,
we died with Christ to sin which had dominion over us through the law (which
is the strength of sin) that we might belong to Christ and we should live for
Him.
|
|
●
Jesus, through the offering of His body, reconciled us to God, as Paul wrote
to the saints in Colosse: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in
your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh
through death ….” (Colossians 1:21-22 – NKJV). Therefore, brothers, we, who
once were enemies of God because we were lovers of the pleasures of sin and
we loved to think evil thoughts and to do evil things, now have been reconciled
to God through the body of Jesus Christ, who was sent by God into this world
to die on the cross for us, in His great love that He demonstrated toward us
while we were still sinners. Therefore, having been reconciled to God through
the body of Jesus, we have peace in our heart for the chastisement for our
peace was upon Him, as Isaiah said: “The punishment that brought us peace was
upon him” (Isaiah 53:5 – NIV). Beloved, consider this: we should have been
punished for all our iniquities, we should have received the due penalty for
our transgressions, for we were wicked, but Jesus did nothing wrong, as it is
written that Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed
by the devil” (Acts 10:38 – NKJV) - thus He was not deserving of death - yet
He was crucified on the cross as an evildoer, they rewarded Him evil for
good, and hatred for His love. But all this happened so that it might be
fulfilled what God’s purpose had determined before to be done that we might
be reconciled to Him and become His friends. To Him be
the glory now and forever. Amen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
●
Jesus forgave us our sins by His blood. For on the night He was betrayed, He
took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, saying: “Drink
from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28 – NKJV). As you can
see, the blood of Jesus is the blood of the New Covenant through which we
have received the remission of our sins.
|
|
The
principle according to which it is the blood that makes atonement for sins is
expressed by the law in this way: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. …. For it
is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore
I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall
eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood
thereof… ” (Leviticus 17:11,14). Therefore,
according to the law, it was the blood that made atonement for the sins of
the people (that’s why God forbade the Israelites to eat blood). Here is what
God commanded the Israelites to do when the whole congregation of Israel
sinned unintentionally: “And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through
ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have
done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things
which should not be done, and are guilty; When the sin, which they have
sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young
bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the
bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. And
the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the
tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall dip his finger in some
of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the
vail. And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is
before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the
congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of
the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar. And he
shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so
shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an
atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. And he shall carry
forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first
bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation” (Leviticus 4:13-21).
However, the blood of those animals, which were offered for the sins of the
people, could not cleanse the conscience of those who offered those atoning
sacrifices because “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats
could take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4 – NKJV). For the blood of those animals
foreshadowed the blood that Jesus Christ would shed in the fullness of the
time to make atonement for our sins, which – unlike the blood of bulls and
goats – would blot out all sins from the conscience of those who would accept
by faith His atoning sacrifice. Therefore, since we are of those who have
believed that He died to atone for our sins, we believe and proclaim that our
conscience was cleansed from dead works through the life (that is, the blood)
of the body of Christ. It was necessary for Jesus, therefore, to shed His own
blood because without the shedding of His blood we couldn’t have obtained the
remission of sins. So now since the blood of sprinkling has been shed by
Jesus, all those who believe in Him are cleansed from all their sins through
His blood.
|
|
●
Jesus Christ, with His blood, has redeemed us from our aimless conduct, as it
is written: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as
silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down
to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ ….” (1
Peter 1:18-19 – NIV). The redemption worked by Jesus Christ is of great
importance because through it our life has ceased to be a life without a
purpose and above all without a reward after death, that is, a vain and empty
life. For we have been delivered from vanity, which had dominion over us for
a long time, and we now live for the cause of the Gospel, which is the best
cause for which a human being can live because when we appear before God on
that day every thing which we have done in the name of Christ to honor the
Gospel will be rewarded by God.
|
|
In the law
we have several examples of redemption which foreshadowed the redemption of
Christ. One of these examples is the following one: “Now if a sojourner or
stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by
him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to
you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, after he is sold he may be
redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; or his uncle or his
uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family
may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself” (Leviticus 25:47-49 -
NKJV).
|
|
We had
been sold to our aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers, and
we have been redeemed from it, but not with silver or gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, so it was fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah said:
“You shall be redeemed without money” (Is. 52:3 – NKJV). Therefore, the blood
that Jesus shed on the cross is the ransom He had to pay to set us free;
therefore, it was necessary for the Son of God to come in the likeness of
men, partaking of flesh and blood.
|
|
● With
His blood Jesus purchased us for God, for John says that he saw the four
living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall down before the Lamb and
they sang this song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its
seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be
a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (Revelation
5:9-10 – NIV). Paul also confirms that Christ purchased us with His blood, as
he says: “You were bought at a price … ” (1 Corinthians
6:20
– NKJV).
|
|
Brothers, the
adversary had all of us in his hands, the enemy held us in his hand (and he
manipulated us so that we might hurt both ourselves and our neighbour), but
Jesus Christ, our great God, redeemed us from the hand of the enemy, for it
is written in the Psalms: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for
his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he
hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy” (Psalm 107:1-2).
|
|
Jesus
Christ, in the days of His flesh, knew that He would redeem by His own blood
the elect from the hand of the enemy, for He told the following parable to
show that He came to redeem those who were under Satan’s dominion: “When a
strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a
stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him
all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Luke 11:21-22).
Therefore, in order to deliver us from the power of Satan, Jesus had to fight
against the prince of this world, and as we know He triumphed over the enemy.
Jesus Christ defeated the wicked one by dying on the cross for our sins and
by shedding His own blood for us, as Paul says: “And having disarmed the
powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15
– NIV). The Son of God, through His death, destroyed him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil, and delivered us from the fear of death. Thanks be to God, through Christ Jesus, because we no longer are
afraid of death: we now desire to depart from the body and be with Christ,
death no longer scares us for Christ destroyed it. The devil, through death,
makes those who are under his power live in fear, while Jesus makes those
whom He redeemed from the power of Satan live in peace and safety because He destroyed
both death and the devil. Jesus Christ overcame the devil by giving His life
for us, and thus we also, who are in Christ Jesus, have overcome the devil. We
have not overcome the devil by our strength or by some personal merits, but
by the blood of the Lamb; our victory over the devil is the direct result of
Christ’s suffering and not the reward for some good works we have done.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now I want
to speak about the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. First of all I need to say
something about the feast of Passover because the Holy Supper was established
by Jesus on the night He ate the Passover with His disciples and He was
betrayed, and because the Holy Supper draws its meaning from the Feast of
Passover.
|
|
The Feast
of Passover was established by God when the Israelites were still in Egypt; let us
look at the circumstances on which it was established and its meaning. The
Israelites dwelt in the land
of Egypt
as God had said to Abraham, and the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve
with rigor; the Israelites groaned because of the bondage and they cried out,
and God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham,
with Isaac, and with Jacob. So He sent Moses to be a ruler and a deliverer.
God brought terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who had oppressed
the Israelites; the plague which forced Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of
Egypt
was that of the killing of all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. And when
God foretold Moses this last plague He established the Passover. Here is what
the Scripture says: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one
plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards
he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust
you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every
man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold. And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight
of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the
sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said,
Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of
Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there
shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as
there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the
children of Israel
shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how
that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down
themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow
thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great
anger. And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that
my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And
Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened
Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of
his land. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first
month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel,
saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a
lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if
the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto
his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according
to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or
from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same
month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall
kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on
the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they
shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire,
and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it
raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his
legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain
until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall
burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes
on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it
is the LORD's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night,
and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast;
and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And
the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when
I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you
to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this
day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the
LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance
for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye
shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread
from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in
the first day there shall be an holy convocation,
and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner
of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only
may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for
in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt:
therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for
ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye
shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at
even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever
eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the
congregation of Israel,
whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye
shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened
bread. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said
unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to
your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop,
and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the
two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go
out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass
through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel,
and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not
suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall
observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it
shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land
which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall
keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say
unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the
sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children
of Israel
in Egypt,
when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed
the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went
away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it
came to pass, that at midnight
the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the
firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive
that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up
in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was
a great cry in Egypt;
for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for
Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get
you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go,
serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye
have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon
the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they
said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was
leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their
shoulders. And the children of Israel did
according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour
in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as
they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. And the children of Israel journeyed
from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men,
beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks,
and herds, even very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the
dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because
they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared
for themselves any victual. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who
dwelt in Egypt,
was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four
hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the
hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a
night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is
that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their
generations” (Exodus 11:1-10; 12:1-42). The feast of Passover is still
observed by the Jews, it is a memorial to them, they observe it every year,
and through it they remember their coming out of Egypt and the fact that when
God struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt He passed over the houses
of the children of Israel.
|
|
Therefore,
if Jesus established the Holy Supper when He ate the Passover with His
disciples, this means that by the Holy Supper He wanted His disciples to
remember His atoning sacrifice, through which He has obtained for us a salvation
which is more important than that accomplished by God for the Israelites, for
through His atoning sacrifice Jesus saved us from sin, who were slaves of it.
Therefore, while the Jews, through the feast of Passover, remembered and
still remember their exodus from the land of Egypt, we,
through the Holy Supper, remember the death of Jesus, by which we have come
out of this present evil age to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and
our Lord Jesus Christ. And now we, as priests of God and of Christ, are secure:
just as the Israelites felt secure in their houses for they had taken some of
the blood of the Passover lamb and put it on the top and on both sides of the
doorframe, so we also feel secure because we have been sprinkled by the blood
of the Lamb who was slain and thus when God pours out His fiery wrath upon
the world of the ungodly we will be delivered from His wrath (for He will see
the blood of Jesus), as it is written: “Much more then, having now been
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9
– NKJV). This is why Paul said to the Corinthians: “For indeed Christ, our
Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7 – NKJV); for Christ is
the Passover Lamb who was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was sacrificed in these last times for our sins so that by His blood we
might be saved from sin and from the wrath to come. To Him be
the glory now and forever. Amen.
|
|
The Lord Jesus
on the same night He was betrayed, as He was eating the Passover with His
disciples, took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to the
disciples, saying: “This is My body which is given for you; do this in
remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19 – NKJV); then He took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying: “Drink from it, all of you. For this is
My blood …. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (Matthew
26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25
– NKJV). According to the above mentioned words of Jesus and the words Paul
wrote to the Corinthians about the Lord’s Supper, it is clear that whenever
we eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord, we proclaim the death of
Christ till He comes, that is to say, we remember the death of Jesus Christ
which took place many centuries ago. To us the day on which we eat this bread
and drink this cup of the Lord is a memorial day which we are glad to observe
to the glory of God. Not a day on which the sacrifice of Christ is repeated,
as the Roman Catholic Church teaches falsely, because Jesus offered Himself
once for all (Hebrews 10:10) and His sacrifice can by no means repeated but a
day on which Christ’s atoning sacrifice is remembered, and in remembering
this tragic event, which is the death of Christ, we have communion with the
body and blood of Jesus, which are represented by the bread and the wine, as
Paul says: “The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that
one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Why do we have communion with His body and His blood? Because we
have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ and we have
been sprinkled by the blood of Jesus, and thus we are one spirit with Him, as
it is written: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians
6:17 – NKJV). Therefore, it is clear
that those who are not joined to the Lord, not being members of the body of
Christ, cannot have communion with the body of Christ, which is symbolized by
the bread we break; nor with His blood, which is symbolized by the wine which
is in the cup of the Lord.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Those who are
not born of God cannot partake of the Lord’s table because they are
foreigners and uncircumcised in heart. In order to show you that they have
not the right to eat this bread and to drink this cup of the Lord I remind
you of what God said to Moses and Aaron about the Passover: “This is the
ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it …. And when a stranger
dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover of the Lord, let all his males
be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a
native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it” (Exodus 12:43,48
– NKJV). Notice these words ‘no uncircumcised person shall eat it.’ In that
case it was the circumcision of the flesh that was required to eat the
Passover. Therefore, just as under the law the uncircumcised in the flesh did
not have the right to eat the Passover, so under grace those who are
uncircumcised in heart do not have the right to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
As a stranger who wanted to eat the Passover had to be circumcised in the
flesh; so now those who are uncircumcised in heart must be circumcised in the
heart (that is to say, they must repent of their sins and believe in Jesus
Christ) and be baptized (1) in order to have the right to partake of the
Lord’s Supper.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paul says
that “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” (1 Corinthians 11:27 – NKJV),
and thus he “eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s
body” (1 Corinthians 11:29
– NKJV). That means that he who partakes of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy
manner will be judged by the Lord. Let me expound briefly on this point.
|
|
We, as
sons of God washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, have the right to eat the
bread and to drink the cup of the Lord by the grace of God, not by our own
merits, but only by the grace of the Lord Jesus, we recognize this and we
proclaim it. However, if a son of God does not conduct himself in a manner
worthy of the Gospel of Christ and eats the bread and drinks the cup of the
Lord, he eats and drinks in an unworthy manner and he will be guilty of
sinning against the body and blood of the Lord, and surely the judgment of
God will come upon him.
|
|
In the Church of Corinth there
were some believers who, as they ate, despised the Church of God and
humiliated those who had nothing, for Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Therefore
when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For
in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry
and another is drunk” (1 Corinthians 11:20-21
– NKJV). The believers of that Church came together not for the better but
for the worse; first of all, because when they came together as a church
there were divisions among them, and secondly because as they ate, each one
of them went ahead without waiting for anybody else, and one remained hungry
while another got drunk. The wrong that the Corinthians did was that they got
drunk and in that state they partook of the Lord’s Supper, so they were
guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord because they
were not able to recognize the body of the Lord. And God judged those who did
not discern the body of the Lord, for in the Church of Corinth many were
sick and many had fallen asleep (that is, they had died) because they had
partaken of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. The Lord has not
changed, and He still judges those who partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy
manner. Therefore, brothers, knowing that “the Judge is standing at the
door!” (James 5:9 – NKJV), let us take heed to ourselves lest we be judged by
the Lord.
|
|
Under the
law, with regard to the Passover, there was a rule which shows us that in
order to eat the Passover men had to be pure. God gave this rule after
certain men were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the
Passover at its appointed time. God said that those men were allowed to eat
the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month, that is, one month
later (Numbers 9:1-11), after they had purified themselves. For according to
the law, he who touched the dead body of anyone was unclean seven days, and
he had to purify himself with the water of purification on the third day and
on the seventh day, then he would be clean (the water of purification
sanctified for the purifying of the flesh). Therefore, we who are under grace,
before we eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord, ought to examine
ourselves and confess our sins to God so that we may be cleansed from all
unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus. Therefore brothers, before partaking
of the Lord’s Supper, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit” (2 Corinthians 7:1 – NKJV), lest we be judged by God.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) Keep
in mind that – according to the Scripture - a person must be baptized
immediately after repenting and believing in Jesus
|
