Comments Concerning the Lord's Supper

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What Did He Ask For? (A Christmas Message) | Blood of Jesus | Ready, Willing and Able
Power in Combining Our Lives | By the Will of God
Physical and Spiritual | Spend and Be Spent | Give Yourself Fully | Daily Choices | Rainbow | A note to our visitors

What Did He Ask For?

He didn't give us a Christmas list; He gave us a dying request. The night before He was crucified, He instituted the Lord's Supper and ...He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,

"This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)

What a simple request. What a simple remembrance. The bread is His body; the juice is "the new covenant in [His] blood. (v. 20) We "do this" every week, the same as the early disciples.

The religious observance of Jesus' birthday is simply a "yo-yo." It's not what Jesus asked for. The winter solstice is the reason for the season, and some people, in their human reasoning, attached religious significance to it. In the eyes of some, I suppose the "Christianized" celebration was a fitting replacement for pagan practices.

But Jesus is the "reason" for LIFE!

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Today, as every Sunday, we offer worship to Jesus that He requested. May we remember His death, in His way, by doing this. And may we examine ourselves and purify our hearts before Him and take this "Lord's Supper" in a worthy manner.

The blood of Jesus is Powerful! - so powerful that it ...

Cleanses the conscience (Hebrews 9:14) and
Cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7)

But this cleansing does not happen automatically.

Jesus died "for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) So if the cleansing happened automatically, the whole world would be saved!

Therefore, the cleansing must happen only when we meet certain conditions set forth by God. (As with the blood of the Passover lamb, the blood must be "applied.")

Belief in Jesus as the Son of God is necessary. (John 3:16, etc.) But the cleansing is not offered to everyone who believes in Jesus. (Remember that the demons believe.. And tremble! James 2:19) God expects more than "faith only." (Mark 16:16 )

Repentance. Turning from sin demonstrates our desire to start following Jesus. (Acts 2:38)

Confession of faith. We claim Jesus as our Lord and our willingness to submit to any and all instructions He gives us. (Romans 10-9-10)

Baptism. The blood of Jesus first cleanses our conscience when we are baptized into Christ. Compare the only two passages that speak of a cleansed conscience: Hebrews 9:14 (about the blood), and 1 Peter 3:21 (about baptism):

Baptism . now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This fits with Romans 6:3-4, that we are baptized "into His death," which would obviously involve His blood. (Remember what a bloody death Jesus died.)

After baptism, His blood continues to cleanse us as we meet further conditions:

Repentance and prayer for forgiveness (Acts 8:22),
which would include confession to God of our sins (1 John 1:7), and
our forgiveness of others. (Matthew 6:14 -15)

We celebrate His promise of cleansing and this spiritual fellowship with our Lord in the Lord's Supper.

Jesus Was Ready, Willing and Able to Go to the Cross.

Ready:

Before the foundation of the world,

The Father loved the Son (John 17:24),

God chose us in the Beloved Son (Ephesians 1:4), and

The kingdom was prepared (Matthew 25:34)

Jesus - who shed his "precious blood. like that of lamb without spot or blemish" - was foreknown before the foundation of the world, and was "slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8, NKJV)

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; . 7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" (Hebrews 10:4-7)

Willing:

[Jesus said,] "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. . 27 "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (John 12:23-32)

Able:

Able to die for others, because He lived sinlessly. (Hebrews 4:15) He did not have to pay any penalty for Himself.

"Able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25)

There is Power in Combining Our Lives

We are described (in Romans, Ephesians, and 1 Corinthians) as the "body of Christ." We are NOT a "Lego-Man," assembled only on Sunday, disconnecting, interchangeable, insignificant, lifeless. Rather, we are a living, organic body, with Christ as our head and us as members. We share life, energy, purpose, and mutual activity, support and edification.

This is at the core of why.

Paul tried to join himself to the disciples in Jerusalem , even though that was a very uncomfortable situation

Each of us needs to be an active and vibrant member of the body, and

Our visitors - while very welcome and welcome to take the Lord's Supper - are encouraged to progress to the next level and become members of this congregation.

This communion symbolizes the life we share as a body, and, in a sense, this Lord's Supper is one way in which we "feed" the body:

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

So, let's take this Lord's Supper and commune with Christ and draw strength from each other.

By the Will of God

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God , as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" (Hebrews 10:4-6)

Jesus taught people how to live and please God, performed miracles by God's help, in short, "went about doing good." (Acts 10:38 ) But we see the core purpose of His mission toward the end of His (earthly) ministry "w hen the days drew near for him to be taken up, (and) He set his face to go to Jerusalem ." He said three times things such as, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem . And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."

Jesus was born to die . for us, according to the will of God.

(Continuing back in Hebrews) 6 . 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God .. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

For those of you who have been buried with Christ through baptism into death, please meditate on the sacrifices that Jesus made in order to do God's will and to make possible the taking away of our sins.

If you have haven't died with Christ in baptism, please meditate about your soul's condition and the will of God in your life while we take the Lord's Supper.

Physical and Spiritual

In the Lord's Supper, we take simple, physical items - crackers and juice - and we eat and drink. The items remind us of what happened in this physical world - that Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. But we remember more than that! The bread, representing Christ's body, is unleavened, as was the bread used during Passover, and symbolizes the purity of Christ. (Exodus 12:8; 1 Cor. 5:6-8) Perhaps the unfermented juice, representing His blood, also symbolizes His purity. We meditate on the fact that, through that physical suffering, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and satisfied the Creator of the universe by one sacrifice for sin, for all people, for all time.
So, what He did on the cross echoed in the heavens, and what we do in this physical act echoes in the heavens, as well! It unites us in purpose and strengthens the fellowship we have with each other and with Jesus Christ. And while some may "eat and drink condemnation" to themselves (1 Cor. 11:27 -34), we remember the Lord's body and blood and we take those elements in, as a reminder of our responsibility to become like Him.

May God bless each of us as we eat and drink.

Spend and Be Spent

Think about that phrase, "I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls" (2 Corinthians 12:15) and apply it to what Jesus did.

In His Life:

"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matthew 8:20)

In His Death:

He left the Father, with all His riches. Came down from heaven and gave His life-blood to make the vilest sinner clean. He gave His life-blood for even me. (What a Savior, v. 2 and Refrain)

Out of the ivory palaces, into a world of woe, only His great eternal love made my Savior go. (Ivory Palaces, Refrain)

He spent.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

He was spent.
He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

Give Yourself Fully

Perhaps I would've given myself fully to UT Austin (University of Texas at Austin) if they had done more for me.

Even though they waived my out-of-state tuition (huge in TX!), and conferred on me a degree, they did not sacrifice for me.

Did not seek me out (even with letters).

Did not help me move.

Did not change me. (I resisted the character influences.)

Give me life (rather, knowledge and skills).

And they did not know me.

I don't even know what organization they have. I never met their President. (Chancellor? I don't even know, and they may have changed since I left.)

Jesus, on the other hand,

Left glory/Came here

Lived sinlessly

Allowed Himself to be tortured

Gave His life blood

Made Himself known to us

Called each of us through the gospel, and

Knows the number of hairs on our heads and the thoughts of our hearts before they leave out lips.

Hopefully that's enough to motivate you to give yourself fully to Him, seeing that He gave Himself fully for us.

Daily Choices
From eternity the plan was made, and it was "written in the volume of the Book: I have come to do Your will, O God." (Hebrews 10:7) Jesus' eternal priorities translated into daily choices.

At 12 years old, He said, "I must be about My Father's business." (Luke 3:42, 49)

After His baptism, He made daily choices while preparing to be tempted in the wilderness. (Matthew 4)

He made daily choices throughout His earthly ministry. (Luke 19:47 ; 22:53 )

He made daily choices when He set His face to go to Jerusalem , knowing in perfect detail the suffering that was awaiting Him. (Luke 9:51-53; Matthew 16:21)

His long-term goal kept Him going. "For the joy that was set before Him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. 12:2)

We have a long-term goal of being welcomed into the very presence of God. We need endurance (Hebrews 10:36) for making our daily choices.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "TODAY," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.. (Hebrews 3:12-14)

Let's consider Jesus' daily choices - and ours! - as we become "partakers of Christ" in the Lord's Supper at this time.

Rainbow

The Bible does not refer to the Lord's Supper as a "sign." But consider this comparison:

The rainbow is God's sign, reminding us of the terrible price of sin and a lasting covenant between God and the earth, with a promise to never bring another world-wide flood.

The Lord's Supper reminds us of the terrible price of sin, and of the new and "everlasting" (Heb. 13:20) covenant made between God and believers who have been baptized into Christ, with a promise to never require another payment for sin.

A note to our visitors

(Visitors, you may participate in this, if you feel comfortable doing so, or you may simply watch. Again, thank you for being here among us today.)

Written by Ink Man

Quotes are from the English Standard Version or the New King James Version of the Bible.