Would you please open your Bible to the book of First
Corinthians? And in Chapter 11, we're going
to pick up where we left off last week out of Chapter 11.
The title of tonight's message is The Lord's Table.
It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit just
orchestrates what we focus on in our teaching through God's Word.
You know, just with the different things that have
perhaps disrupted our our Sunday evenings as we've been
progressing through First Corinthians and we found
ourselves partaking of communion this morning.
And it wasn't planned that tonight I would be teaching out
of this passage on it. So clearly the Lord wants us to
learn and to grow in our understanding and knowledge of
what it is we partake of when we are involved in communion or the
Lord's table or the Eucharist or whatever background you might be
familiar with terminology wise, and we'll explain it.
But if you're unfamiliar with where we're at or you're new to
us teaching through First Corinthians, this is very much a
corrective letter that Paul the apostle is writing to the Church
of Corinth. In fact, many suggests that this
is actually the second letter that Paul wrote to them and the
first that they had received from him.
They were so irritated and annoyed by it that they tore it
up. That's an interesting
speculation. But today people sometimes are
the same when it comes to correction or or feedback, even
on on areas and things that they need to alter or to adjust or to
change. And a lot of us don't like to be
corrected. I know it's a source of
irritation for me. And I think my parents will
testify of that character trait in my life growing up of that
defiance in like, you know, who are you to tell me what to do?
Top thing where your parents, but you know, there's something
that that is within us and sometimes people can come to
God's word, the Bible and say, well, isn't it supposed to be
good news and I want to hear the good news and the message of
that and yes, that is true. That is very much what is the
reality when it comes to the scriptures, but there are also
other parts of it that are that are corrective for us, that are
beneficial for us to hear. And we need that.
And sometimes people are looking for like a a therapeutic sort of
moralistic teaching out of God's word, maybe like a feel good
message. And and we have those at times.
But really it's more akin that if that's what you're
gravitating or or driven towards of what Paul wrote to Timothy
of, of people chasing after teachers who are just scratched
their ears, that itch that they have out of second Timothy
chapter 4. And there's plenty of other
places you can go to where you'll receive that.
And some like to call themselves churches and give that, but but
the Bible also brings conviction.
And that's what we know when we read it.
You can't help but but read God's word and and feel like
sometimes that it is a A2 edged sword that pierces asunder,
digging into, oh man, that's got me again.
And I need to forgive, seek the Lord's forgiveness and
repentance on that. And and that's not just to non
believers. That's that's to us as
believers. And that's certainly Paul's
heart here and his purpose in writing this letter to the
Church of Corinth. But I don't know about you, but
there might be many times when you're reading God's Word and it
and it kind of runs against the grain of your flesh.
Why did that have to be in there?
And it brings conviction. And you know who needs to
change, right? It's us.
We need changing. And how you handle correction,
how you handle this is actually a mark of maturity in your life.
And that's really what Paul has been after in in the Corinthians
is his desirous of them to move out of infancy, of being baby
Christians, of what he called them as being carnal Christians,
to now becoming more mature and solid and stabilised in their
faith. And part of that requires us to
receive correction and to respond to that rather than than
soak and throw all the toys out in the cot like a kid does and
leave it. Well, you know, that's it.
I've had it with this Bible and, and God's word and all of this
sort of stuff. And it was kind of like when
many people were following Jesus as we read through the Gospels
and there was a hard word that he delivered one time and, and
they said that now this is a hard word, Jesus.
And many left. And Jesus then turned to his
followers, the, the disciples, and said, now what about you
guys? What are you going to do?
Are you going to leave too? Are you going to be like all of
these others who found it too difficult to follow me?
And they said, Jesus, we've abandoned everything and
everyone and where are we going to go?
And now we're with you all of the way.
But he turned and he challenged them with the same correction
that the others had left by. So this is what Paul had to do.
The Church of Corinth is, is some five years old in their,
their walk with the Lord and he's correcting them because he
loves them. He's like a father towards his
children and he wants the best for them.
He wants maturity out of them for them to, to like I say, not
be carnal Christians anymore. And so he's correcting the
church at Corinth. Yes.
But as we're reading, haven't you found that he's also
correcting us then as, as we've been reading through it, it's
like, wow, that is so relevant for me, for us as a church.
And the question in all of it when we read it is how will you
respond? How will you react to it?
Are you going to look for ways out?
You know, is the, the little defence lawyer in the brain
going to come out with all of the suitcases and pop them open?
And here's Exhibit A and Exhibit B as to why I'm I'm exempt from
needing to follow this Or will you hear the Holy Spirit's
loving voice through Paul's words to the church at Corinth
and go, thank you, Lord, I, I need that I received that now
please help me to live that out and to change that in my life
and to grow as this correction takes place.
Now the background to the letter is all through chapters one to
six, Paul has been dealing with very known sins in the church at
Corinth, a very common knowledge in in what's called Asia Minor
and in the other churches. And word had gotten back to Paul
of the division in their midst. Some were bragging about being
followers of Apollos and we're followers of Peter and we're
followers of Paul and and some were even even hyper
spiritualizing and said, well, we're followers of Jesus and and
sort of setting themselves above any others.
And where are you at in it? And there was immorality in the
church. We learnt of that and such that
wasn't even named amongst the pagans.
And Paul corrects and breaks them for that.
And there was this serious immorality through the Church of
sexual sin. In Chapter 7, Paul kind of
switches gears a little bit and answers some of the questions
that they had written to him about with respect to marriage
and singleness and divorce and, and wondering what what what
they were to do now, you know, no longer being pagans where it
used to be one way of, of acting and behaving.
And now what do we do as Christians, Paul and he writes
to answer that in chapter 8. What we saw was that he was
addressing what we would call Christian liberties.
When we first read it, we go, it's not really relevant to us,
this idea of eating meat that's sacrificed to idols, but the
connection is to those things in our lives that are permissible
or not permissible that we have liberty, freedom, grace to
participate in or not. And and Paul gave for us some
some clarifiers that we need to abide by that we need to
consider our love for God in it and our love for others in that.
And he used himself in Chapter 9 as an example that though being
an apostle and having a right to receive remuneration, a salary
from them, he, he decided not to take it in this particular
instant and had other churches support his ministry as well as
working as a tent maker to be an example to not cause a stumbling
to others. And then in chapter 10, he
pointed to Old Testament Israel as an example of what not to do
in our Christian liberties in case we go so far as to make
them become idols in our lives and to flee from them.
And he said over all of this, I really want you to understand
that whether you eat or you drink, that whatever you do, you
do all for the glory of God. That's been his priority and the
prominence in that. And now Chapter 11 last week we
looked at the focus and it shifts from 11 into Chapter 1213
and 14 into very much a focus on order, harmony, unity within the
church and the gatherings after Mother's Day, when we return,
we'll start looking at the gifts of the Spirit because they were
abusing them in Chapter 12 and in 13 and 14.
And So what he writes is to to guide them when they would meet
and us when we would meet as to how the gifts of the Holy Spirit
are to look and to function and be in operation.
And overall of it. Chapter 13 sits as the pivot
that you could do all of these things, but if you have not
loved, then then what does it matter?
That's where we're going, That's where we've been, that's that's
where we're at and that's where we're headed.
But this evening it's the importance of communion.
And since the beginning of the church in the 1st century, when
Jesus ascended into heaven and he commanded his disciples to
wait for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to come upon them,
that they would gather together and they would meet.
And at the end of Acts in chapter 2, we get this, this
explanation that emphasises how it was that they would meet and
they would often distribute goods amongst one another and
they would commune and and eat together.
That was a big part of it. And their their gatherings and
their meals. Typically on a Sunday, they had
given the name of Agape feast. We might call it a love feast,
almost like a, a church potluck dinner.
And then after they would participate and partake in, we
call it communion, the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Table.
Maybe you're familiar with, like I said, the Eucharist, depending
on your background. But what was happening in
Corinth was even something so simple as sharing a meal
together became problematic. It caused division in their
midst, and some were abusing it to the point that they were
using it as an opportunity towards gluttony and drunkenness
in their meetings. Could you imagine that in a
church gathering? And the idea was that as the,
the practise was back then, when you would eat with someone,
there was this, this unity and coming together that was taking
place. And, and that's the purpose of
these, these feasts. But it was causing the exact
opposite to happen. People were being left out.
People were elevating themselves above, above others and it was
causing division in their midst. And what Paul says in fact, in
verse 17, that this thing that as simple as coming together and
sharing a meal and then partaking of communion, he said
that when you come together, it's not for the better, but
actually for the worse. He says, I'd rather you not meet
instead of what's happening and going on.
And could you imagine such a sad statement to make of a church
that it'd be better that you don't meet then you do for all
the problems that are caused in your gathering?
I hope the Lord would never say that about us, about our
gatherings. You know, it's better off that
those folks at Calvary Chapel, Secret Harbour had never gotten
together. God forbid that would be true of
us. And so to avoid that issue, that
comment about us, let's look at Corinth, the church there, and
what was going on. And the problems consisted of
three things which Paul outlines for us in verses 18 to 21.
Let's go back to verse 17 of chapter 1.
Now, in giving these instructions, I do not praise
you, since you come together not for the better but for the
worse. For first of all, when you come
together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among
you. And in part I believe it.
In other words, what Paul says, I know you guys well enough that
when I'm hearing rumour of this, I don't think it to be rumour
that is made up as, as fictitious, but I think it's
reality because I, I know your character.
I, I know your reputation. And then he, he uses the, the
gift of sarcasm here in the next verse.
He says, verse 19 For there must also be factions among you that,
that those who are approved may be recognised among you.
He says, well, after all, if there weren't these division,
how would we know who's more important than the others?
That's kind of what he's conveying there in that verse.
Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not
to eat the Lord's Supper, though you pretend it is and though you
label it as such, that's not what's happening.
For in eating verse 21, each one takes his own supper ahead of
others, and one is hungry and another is drunk.
What? Do you not have houses to eat
and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of
God and shame those who have nothing?
What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this?
I do not praise you. We'll stop there, and that'll be
our focus initially. First, what we see is that Paul
said that there were divisions, factions among them.
He'd identified that earlier. And and now another example of
it being in existence comes up practically here.
What was meant to be a great time of fellowship and of unity
and of sharing and of coming together and, you know, just a a
glorious kind of heartfelt experience turned out to be
anything but that for for some in the congregation.
And again, like I said, the purpose of the meal and of
coming together is supposed to unite, but it was causing and
having the opposite effect. And Paul said, verse 18, I've
heard of these things and I believe it.
He knew these people well enough that he knew it was possible
that this this is actually happening.
And again, man, I pray that that would never be the case of us in
our gatherings, You know, that that the Lord would so work in
our lives, that our flesh would be so crucified.
That when when people speak of Calvary Chapel, Secret Harbour,
that they would speak of this place of being a people who are
so in love with Jesus and and so affectionate towards one another
that it'd be evident that if a rumour were to start about
divisions taking place here, that their reaction wouldn't be.
Oh, yeah, I believe that. Yeah, I know those people in
Calvary Chapel, Secret Harbour. Yeah.
And they're a divisive lot. No, that rather they would go.
No, I don't believe it. I know that to be a place where
they love Jesus and where they love one another, where that
unity is present, that couldn't be said of the Church of
Corinth. John McArthur, preacher and a
Bible commentator. He said one of the most fearful
things in a church is division because it is one of the 1st and
surest signs of spiritual weakness and sickness.
One of the first symptoms of worldliness and backsliding in a
church, which often shows up before it is seen in compromise,
doctrine or lifestyle, and it's dissension in a congregation.
Now, the reason that this division, that this dissension
was apparent was really a dependence on and a priority of
self and the flesh that that's at the heart, that's at the root
of, of such symptomatic kind of things that we can look at.
And, and the root cause is selfishness in the heart of
believers in such a gathering, you know, where it's all about
my agenda, my plan, my feelings, me, me, me.
It's interesting that that mindset, that attitude starkly
contrasts the example and the mindset that Jesus displayed,
who it is that we're following. You know, in John chapter 13,
Jesus washing the feet of the disciples and they were blown
away by it because that was that was the role of the lowliest of
household slaves and servants back then.
And then Jesus said in John 13 that I have given you an example
in this that you should do as I have done to you.
And it was just mind blowing for them to even see that displayed.
And it set the tone for the disciples, the very beginning of
the church. And Paul writes in Philippians
chapter one, verse 27, and I'll read a little bit out of his
epistle to the Church of Philippi in chapter 1 and
chapter 2. Later chapter one verse 27 he
says only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ
so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent.
I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
See what he prioritised that the unity the common mind of being
in Christ in in their gatherings in our gatherings.
Later in Philippians chapter 2 verses one to four, he says
Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, and is
there, if there is any comfort of love, and is there, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, and is there.
These are rhetorical statements because the answer is obvious.
He goes on, If any affection and mercy fulfil my joy by being
what like minded, having the same love, being of 1 accord of
one mind, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or
conceit, but in loneliness of mind.
Let each esteem others better than himself.
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but
also for the interests of others.
That is the lifestyle modelled for us by Jesus Christ.
That is the lifestyle commanded and taught by Jesus and the
apostles to the church. And that's why Paul writes this,
because the exact opposite was taking place in the gathering in
Corinth, that their lives weren't marked by this common
goal of unity in Christ Jesus. There was division and and there
were people who who who thought themselves better than others
and would prioritise their own selfish desires to the detriment
of others in their midst. And it was evident in these
agape feasts that would be prior to their participation in the
Lord's Supper and communion. Instead of having lives marked
by a common heart, a servanthood, following the
example of the Lord, they were being selfishly motivated.
You know, it's really so simple when we gather there's no
superstar Saints, we are all just servants serving our
servant king and one another, it said.
Here's an illustration. A hospital visitor saw a nurse
tending the sores of a leprosy patient and commented saying I'd
never do that for $1,000,000 to which the nurse responded
answering neither would I, but I do it for Jesus for nothing.
Now unfortunately that wasn't the case in Corinth.
The believers were divided because of selfishness became
evident in their gathering and in this instance of communion.
And so the second problem in Corinth in regard to the love
feast really is a symptom out of the 1st and it was insensitivity
towards their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord sharing
in a meal. Understand in the 1st century
was considered one of the most intimate things that could take
place. Culturally speaking.
It was it was a big part of hospitality.
We tend to think of eating more to just meet our needs for
nutrients and for fueling our bodies.
But then back then, literally there was this idea that that
oneness was taking place because as you would eat of food and I
was eating of the same food, that which we're participating
in is now absorbed into US, and what has become a part of you
has become a part of me. So they believe this idea of the
the physical nature of what was happening and transpiring in the
eating created this oneness across those gathered around the
same table. That's interestingly why it was
that Jesus was often criticised by the Pharisees and religious
leaders for eating with those who are sinners.
How could you do that, Jesus? Don't you know what's happening
and taking place here when you're doing that, that you're
becoming like them and you're being contaminated with that.
And so all of this was to create oneness that's wrapped up in in
the significance and the symbolism of eating together.
And so they're eating together in currents should have been all
of us in Christ coming together and, and it being an expression
of unity and a celebration of Christ's work upon the cross.
But it was, like I said, creating the exact opposite.
It was dividing, it was causing barriers, it was seeing people
left out and it was causing some to even sin in front of others.
You see, when they came together, it seems that the rich
people are eating all of the food and that the poor people
were going hungry, gluttony was taking place, people actually
getting drunk. Paul said in verse 22, don't you
have houses to eat in? Do that at home.
Purpose wasn't to stuff yourself silly in the public gathering of
the church, but to come together for fellowship and sharing.
And that's not what you're gathering for.
And if that's what you're gathering for, Paul says, stay
at home. Don't let that be a part of your
gathering. I don't want to praise you in
this verse 22 in the second part or do you despise the Church of
God and shame those that have nothing?
What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this?
I don't praise you guys. This isn't good.
It's not a good thing that's happening here.
And I don't give you any commendation for what's taking
place. And the third problem out of
this that he highlights as a result of the second in these
love feasts was leading to a bigger problem in the flow on
into their partaking of communion.
As I mentioned, these love faeces like Galpe feasts would,
would end with what we would call communion.
And so instead of coming together around the Lord's
table, that which Jesus died for to create unity, that separation
between a holy righteous God and man and and brothers and sisters
in the Lord, that separation to no longer be there.
The contrary was taking place and some were drunk, some having
just participated in gluttony and then partaking of the Lord's
table in an unworthy manner. He says in verse 27, jump ahead.
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. What does this mean?
What does it mean to come to the Lord in an unworthy manner?
Because rightly you might be thinking, aren't we all
unworthy? And some people get kind of hung
up a bit on this verse 27 here and they go, I'm so unworthy to
take communion. You know when when we do so and
notice that it does not say are you worthy to take communion.
It says, don't take communion in an unworthy way, in an unworthy
manner. The issue isn't are you worthy
to be safe because none of us are worthy to be saved.
That's not what Paul is saying. It's not are you worthy to be in
God's presence because again, none of us are.
The idea is the manner, the heart in which you take it in an
unworthy manner. Basically, it's not giving
appropriate worth to the Lord. He is worthy of our prayers, of
our focus, of our devotion and not being flippant, irreverent
in our attitude, in our involvement, in what we call the
Lord's Table communion. We'll unpack this a little bit
further. How do we do that?
How do we not give worth to the body of Christ?
One way which was their problem is by having this careless,
irreverent spirit which many of them were doing by being drunk,
by by being gluttonous in their behaviour prior.
They were just simply not taking this seriously.
Oh, another opportunity to pass me the cup.
You know, I'll have another one. It was just like ordinary
eating. There was nothing special.
There was nothing sacred about this moment, nothing holy,
nothing important, nothing significant to them in their
involvement, in their participation in it.
Another characteristic of their partaking in an unworthy manner
was the bitterness and the hatred that was among them as a
consequence of the divisions in their midst, of the factions.
They're again, they're supposed to be celebrating something that
is supposed to unite, something that speaks of Christ's
selflessness and of his love for his people.
But if your heart is filled with selfishness, if your heart is
filled with bitterness, then you're making a mockery of the
very thing that Jesus died to do away with.
And they were celebrating this, it seems in their midst.
They weren't united. They didn't have that common
union in Christ. Hence we get the name of
communion from effectively undoing the death and suffering
that Jesus Christ came to achieve when they were together.
And remember this, you know, another way that we can
participate in communion in an unworthy manner is when it
becomes ritualistic for us, when it's just lost its meaning and
it's just, oh, is it Communion Sunday today?
Is it? And that's something that we
need to be conscious and mindful of that, you know, because we
have that rhythm in our gathering of a a Sunday morning
like it was, Yeah, the the first Sunday of each month.
Oh, it's communion Sunday. Oh, here we go.
It's the the cup and the the bread.
And yeah, I'll have that. It's been a while, a little bit
and we've become sort of blase and flippant about it.
We need to be careful that the significance doesn't get lost in
in the schedule, in the ritual of that in our lives and the
result of their partaking in an unworthy manner.
It's it's a pretty heavy statement as we read in verse 29
to 30 for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and
drinks judgement to himself, not discerning the Lord's body and
for this reason, many are weak and sick among you and many
sleep. Now that's not sleep like we
understand it literally, which maybe some of you are doing
tonight nodding off Now this was actually the euphemism for
dying. That's a heavy statement, isn't
it, that by them partaking of communion in an unworthy manner,
some had actually died. Could you imagine that happening
in the modern church? And maybe it does and we're just
not giving it that label. But here this this word
judgement is is literally chastisement.
And what does the Bible tells us?
The Bible tells us that God loves God.
God rather chastens those whom he loves.
The result for them was that some were sick, some were weak,
some had even died. That's heavy for us to consider
and to think about. And I don't know about you, but
that statement sobers me up a fair bit.
Not to make us sombre in our participation in communion, nor
fearful of that, but to realise the importance and to be
reminded of the significance of it.
So when we gather in communion like we did this morning and and
heading into future, you know, our participation in the Lord's
table or the Lord's Supper communion.
Then let's look at three things out of this to bring this
through in our understanding out of the text here that we should
remember and consider and be reminded of and put into
practise and learn from Paul's instruction to the church at
Corinth. Verse 23 go, go there with me.
It says I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to
you. And the Lord Jesus on the same
night in which he was betrayed, took bread.
When he had given thanks, he broke it and said take, eat.
This is my body, which is and some translations have which is
for you and the new King James that I have which is broken for
you. Now the Bible tells us there was
not a bone in his body broken but we understand the symbolism
of the brokenness through what he went through on the cross.
But really understand where it says for my body, my body for
you that it's a life giving element here.
And we'll explain that a moment in connection with the bread and
do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, verse 25, he
also took the cup after supper, saying this cup is the new
covenant in my blood. This do it as often as you drink
it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till
he comes. So first what we can learn out
of this is that we must look back when we partake of
communion. Do this, he said, in remembrance
of me. As Marlon said this morning,
we're forgetful people, but I found it interesting that Jesus
never said, here's what I want you to do.
I want you to when I'm gone, I want you to build me a
mausoleum. If you could just erect a little
monument to me in the place where I was raised from the
dead, that would be, oh, that would be momentous.
I'd really appreciate it. I'd love that when I'm gone,
when I ascend. He never said build a monument
to me where I preached the Sermon on the Mount, though.
That's very significant and important in conveying, you
know, the Kingdom of heaven and what it's like, he said.
The only thing I want you to do to raise up as a memorial, or is
that a reminder as a remembrance of me, is take the bread, take
the wine. And when you do that, Remember
Me. Remember Me.
That's the mausoleum. That's the monument that Jesus
said he wanted put into place when he ascended into heaven.
Now, most of us, when a loved one passes, especially if they
suffered quite a bit in that, we want to forget that experience,
that trauma, that pain. That's the last thing that we
want to remember about them. We want to remember the good
times, to celebrate those fond memories with them, to celebrate
their life, not remember their death, but Jesus Christ
specifically mentions remember my death.
And so remember back on the shores of the Galilee when I
preached that sermon. Remember that time when we're up
on the mountaintop and we were gathered around the campfire.
Once you remember that, no, they were significant moments, yes,
don't get me wrong. But he said, I want you to
remember my death, my body, my blood, as often as you take this
bread, as often as you drink this cup.
Because everything that we have, everything that we enjoy,
everything that we we know and experience as Christians is
centred on his death. That's the power.
It's the power of the cross. So what are we to remember in
that? Let's look at a few things, and
you can see in the slide here, we're to remember what, who,
why, and how. As we look back, we're to
remember what he did. His body bruised and beaten, His
bloodshed, the intense pain, the misery that he experienced, all
of that. Why?
Because He loved us and He left heaven for the very purpose of
coming to give his body and to shed his blood for you and I.
Jesus said this is my body. Now, unfortunately, some have
taken that to mean that he was teaching here that the bread
literally becomes his body in that moment.
Maybe you've heard of something called transubstantiation.
The Catholics are Big Island and some in other parts of the
Orthodox Church. I think it's very clear that he
meant this in a symbolic sense here and instead Jesus was
saying this represents my body, which is for you.
So when we gather, when we partake of the Lord's table,
when we when we break the bread, when we pass it amongst
ourselves, we are reminding ourselves of this, that Jesus is
our life. In those days bread very common
a staple part of their diet, but they would pass it around at the
the love feast going on into communion the the unleavened
bread in a basket and even more. Now this, this clarity in the
symbolism here, just as bread was a staple daily for them, our
participation, their participation, our involvement,
their involvement in it was a testimony, a reminder, declaring
that it is by Jesus body symbolic in this bread that we
have life. Just as bread sustains us, just
as bread nourishes us, just as all of these, these grains that
make up this bread that have come together and now we as a
part of the body have all come together because of Jesus body
broken now as we remember it is the life that he died for that
we experience and enjoy. As Paul says, I am crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I,
but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and
gave Himself for me. Galatians 2 verse 20.
This is what the bread symbolises, that He is to be our
power by which we obey the demands of God, The word of God,
that because His life, represented by the bread through
His body is now in us. Then the Bible's instructions to
love one another, the Bible's commands to forgive one another,
the Bible's instructions to be tender and merciful, kind and
courteous to one another, to not return evil for evil.
We're now empowered by Christ in us to live that, and to do that.
His life in US enables us to be what God asks us to be.
We live by means of Christ in US and following that, the same is
evident in the Lord taking the cup, the wine of the cup,
symbolising his blood. You know, when you're unwell,
what do you need? Often times if you've lost a lot
of blood, a blood transfusion. And, and think of that with the
symbolism of the cup, that when we drink of it, we're not
literally consuming Jesus blood, but it's symbolic of the fact
that that Jesus life giving blood is, is doing that and
having that effect in US. The way once our blood was
contaminated with sin, that now his righteousness pulses through
our veins and spiritually infuses us to be empowered
supernaturally to live the Christian life by his body and
his blood in US symbolised by the bread, symbolised by the
cup. It is his life force that now
animates us. So we remember what he did and
we also need to remember who he was.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with a statesman called Daniel
Webster is one of the first statesman's out of the US in the
early 1800s, but he was dining with a company of a very
literate men in Boston. During the course of the dinner
conversation it turned to the subject of Christianity, and he
frankly stated his belief in the deity of Jesus Christ and his
dependence upon the atonement of Jesus as Saviour.
And one man responded and said to him, How can you, Mr Webster,
comprehend how Christ could be both God and man at the same
time? To which he promptly replied, No
Sir, I I cannot comprehend it. If I could comprehend him, he
would be no greater than myself. I feel that I need a superhuman
Saviour. And so it is.
We need to remember who Jesus was, who he is, 100% man, yes,
but 100% God. God in the flesh.
He left the glory of heaven and, and and came in humanity and
lived a human life. But he was God.
And we need to remember not only what he did, not only who he
was, but why he died. He died as our substitute.
He paid the price that we owed. He paid the penalty for the
wages of sin. His death.
DL Moody, the famous evangelist, tells the story of a young man
during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte's army, who, having
been drafted a friend actually volunteered to go in his place.
The substitution was made, but sometime later the surrogate in
the course of battle was killed. The same young man who had
originally been drafted through clerical error was drafted
again. You can't take me, he declared,
telling the started officers, I'm dead.
I died on the battlefield. And they argued that they could
most definitely see him standing right in front of them.
But he insisted that they look on the roll to find the record
of his death. And sure enough, there on the
roll was the man's name with another name written beside it.
Well, the case eventually went to the Emperor Napoleon himself,
and after examining the evidence, Napoleon said these
words through a surrogate. This man has not only fought,
but he has died in his country service.
No man can die more than once, therefore the law has no claim
on him. It's an, I think, an insightful
illustration of what has happened and transpired with us
2000 years ago. Jesus came to the cross to bear
the penalty that rightly belonged to you and I.
He died in our place and through him.
Our names are written in the book with His name written
beside ours. Additionally, remember when we
look back how He died again, not just the brutality of it, but
the willingness of his death, that meekly he went to the
cross. It displayed his love.
It was love that held Jesus to the cross.
And so our remembering is not just a recollection of
historical facts, but a participation in spiritual
realities in our lives. And when we partake of communion
at the Lord's Table, we're not. Walking around the monument,
we're not just in awe of it, but we're having fellowship with our
living Lord and saviour in and through it.
Came across a pretty cool story that illustrates why we need to
look back. The stories told of a British
soldier in the First World War who had lost heart for the
battle and deserted trying to reach the coast for a boat back
to England. That night he ended up wandering
in the pitch black night, hopelessly lost in the darkness.
He came across what he thought was a signpost, and being as
dark as it was, he began to climb the post, to be able to
read it, to get some sense of direction and bearing.
And as he reached the top of the pole he struck a match to see
and found himself looking squarely into the face of Jesus
Christ. He realised that rather than
climbing up a signpost, he had climbed up A roadside crucifix.
Then he remembered the one who had died for him, who had
endured, who had never turned back.
And the next morning the soldier returned back to the trenches.
True or not, an interesting story.
But you see, we are in a battle and that is the Christian life.
It's been said, the Christian life.
It's not a playground but a battleground.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, the Bible tells us, and
looking back to Jesus death helps us to keep going, moving
forward in the victory that he won on the cross.
To persevere in the midst of that battle in the intensity of
it, to know that the victory has been won in him, that our
salvation is secure, is guaranteed in him, and that we
can hang in there because Jesus hung upon the cross for us.
So first, look back. 2nd, we need to look forward verse 26
for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.
And when we partake of communion, we, we look back, we
reflect on his death, yes, and it's heavy for us and it can be
sobering and sombre, but it's also to be a time of celebration
because his death wasn't the end of the story.
Three days later he rose again. He is very much alive.
The Bible tells us that he is seated at the right hand of the
Father, that he's interceding for us.
And in John 14, Jesus said that he goes to prepare a place for
us, that where he is, we may be also that one day very, very
soon, he is coming back to take us to be with him and to never
be separated ever again. That is what we look forward to.
So we look back, we look forward to that moment.
And then thirdly, we should look within verse 28.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread
and drink of the cup. 4 verse 31, If we would judge ourselves,
we'd not be judged. But when we're judged, verse 32,
we're chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the
world. So we need to examine look
within when we partake of communion to see that our hearts
are right if we're partaking in an unworthy manner, any
unconfessed sin, any compromise, any bitterness in our hearts,
any division with others as was the issue in Corinth.
You know every time that we participate are involved in the
Lord's Supper, the Lord's table should examine ourselves.
That's why we'll often pause and we'll have that moment for, for
you to just reflect, to, to seek forgiveness and repentance
again, to examine our motives, our attitudes towards the Lord,
towards his word, towards his people, towards the communion
service itself, and to go through that process.
And I think that our each time we are involved in the Lord's
table, it's a means by which Jesus instituted the the
purifying of his church continually a constant
reflection for us that each time that you eat my body, each time
that you drink my blood symbolic in the bread and in the cup.
It's to be a time of examination of coming together before me and
of seeking repentance and and restoring that sweet fellowship
with me. The psalmist said Psalm 139,
verse 23 and 24. Search me O God, and know my
heart, try me and know my anxieties and see if there is
any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.