The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Q102-104)

Introduction

Connection:

When you come to eat you don’t just come to remember your food—you also come to be filled and nourished by it. This is the same in a spiritual manner with the Lord’s Supper. It is more than a memory—it is a blessed means of grace and spiritual nourishment in the Christian life by the spiritual presence of our Risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Baptism is the sacrament of your union with Christ, and your entrance into the Body of Christ. The Lord’s Supper is the sacrament of your communion with Christ, and your nourishment in the Body of Christ. In both cases, the Gospel is signified and sealed to you as the ground for your entrance and perseverance in the New Covenant of Grace. Where the sacraments are esteemed by faith, the Holy Spirit draws near with sanctifying grace.

Theme:

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (102-104)

Need:

More than a memory.

Purpose:

To instruct in the nature, benefits, subjects, and requirements of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; to comfort the saints in the Gospel signified through the Sacrament; and to stir the saints to a greater appreciation for this blessed means of grace.

Hear something of it’s sweetness from Thomas Watson:

Having spoken to the sacrament of baptism, I come now to the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper is the most spiritual and sweet ordinance that ever was instituted: here we have to do more immediately with the person of Christ. In prayer, we draw nigh to God; in the sacrament we become one with him. In prayer we look up to Christ; in the sacrament, by faith, we touch him. In the word preached, we hear Christ’s voice; in the sacrament we feed on him [spiritually].

PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY

Q102. What is the Lord’s supper? A102. The Lord’s supper is an ordinance of the New Testament, instituted by Jesus Christ; wherein by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to his appointment, his death is shown forth, and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace (Mt. 26:26, 27, 28; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 10:16).

The 1689 puts it this way:

Chapter 30; Paragraph 1: The supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night wherein he was betrayed, to be observed in his churches, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance, and showing to all the world the sacrifice of himself in his death, confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits thereof, their spiritual nourishment, and growth in him, their further engagement in, and to all duties which they owe to him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other.

The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance or sacrament of the NT, instituted by Jesus Christ.

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Spurgeon writes this on how often we should partake of the Lord’s Supper:

Shame on the Christian church that she should put it off to once a month, and mar the best day of the week by depriving it of its glory in the meeting together for fellowship and breaking of bread, and showing forth of the death of Christ till he come. They who once know the sweetness of each Lord’s-day celebrating his Supper, will not be content, I am sure, to put it off to less than every Sunday. Beloved, when the Holy Ghost is with us, ordinances are wells to the Christian, wells of rich comfort and of near communion.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of the NT with the elements of bread and wine/juice.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:20–21 ESV

When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of the NT whereby his death is shown forth, and worthy receivers are by faith nourished by the benefits of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.

1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV

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?

The 1689 likewise gives a beautiful summary of our souls spiritual nourishment at the blessed Table:

Chapter 30; Paragraph 7: Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this ordinance, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually receive, and feed upon Christ crucified, and all the benefits of his death; the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally, but spiritually present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses.

Q103. Who are the proper subjects of this ordinance? A103. They who have been baptized upon a personal profession of their faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance from dead works (Acts 2:41, 42).

The proper subjects of the sacrament are those who have been baptized upon a personal profession of their faith.

Acts 2:41–42 ESV

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 11:33 ESV

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—

Who is the Lord’s Supper for? Is it for all Christians generally? Or for local churches specifically? Our church statement of faith, the BF&M2000 says:

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

The proper subjects of the sacrament are those who have been baptized upon true repentance from dead works.

Acts 2:38 ESV

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. Waldron writes:

The Lord’s Supper symbolizes Christ Himself and the benefits of His salvation. When we take it by faith, we are taking Him in His saving power. The Lord’s Supper, then, points to the fact that we need Christ all the time. We were saved by spiritually eating Christ, and we continue as Christians by spiritually eating Christ. Salvation is not merely a one-time event. Salvation is also not a private or personal affair. You get Christ in company with the church, and no other way. A purely private relationship with Christ is not sufficient to prepare you for the day when you will be judged on the basis of whether you publicly confessed Christ before men” WALDRON

Q104. What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s supper? A104. It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body (1 Cor. 11:28, 29), of their faith to feed upon him (2 Cor. 13:5), of their repentance (1 Cor. 11:31), love (1 Cor. 10:16, 17), and new obedience (1 Cor. 5:7, 8), lest coming unworthily they eat and drink judgment to themselves (1 Cor. 11:28, 29)

It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body.

1 Corinthians 11:28–29 ESV

Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

The sacrament will not benefit us if we do not come with faith to feed upon Christ, repentance to cling to Christ, and love to delight in Christ. We must come bewailing our sins, and we must come praising Jesus for his sufficient grace. Watson adds this about the need for spiritual preparation, and not merely a formal going through the motions.

The sacrament will no farther do us good, than as it is blessed to us. We ought then, before we come, to pray for a blessing on the ordinance, that the sacrament may be not only a sign to represent, but a seal to conform, and an instrument to convey Christ and all his benefits to us. We are to pray that this great ordinance may be poison to our sins, and food to our graces. That, as it was with Jonathan, when he had tasted the honey-comb, his “eyes were enlightened,” 1 Sam. 14:27., so that by our receiving this holy eucharist, our eyes may be so enlightened, as to ‘discern the Lord’s body.’ Thus should we implore a blessing upon the ordinance, before we come. The sacrament is like a tree hung full of fruit; but none of this fruit will fall, unless shaken by the hand of prayer.

It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper that they examine themselves of their faith to feed upon him.

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper that they examine themselves of their repentance, love, and new obedience.

1 Corinthians 11:31 ESV

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 ESV

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? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

1 Corinthians 5:7–8 ESV

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Leeman says this about the corporate, local-church function of the Lord’s Supper:

Jesus establishes the Supper in Matthew 26. He gives it as a sign of inclusion in the new covenant. Paul then connects the Supper with the church: ‘Because there is one bread, he says, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread (1 Cor. 10:17; 11:29). Therefore, he tells us to wait for one another when we come together as a church for the Supper (1 Cor. 11:18, 33). Partaking of the bread shows that we are one body. It reveals who the body of Christ is. It makes us visible to the world and each other. The Supper, we might say, makes the invisible church visible” … The Lord’s Supper is a meal reserved for Christians, since the Supper is, at the ver least, a way of symbolizing the fact that they have partaken of his body and blood … And when one submits to Christ through conversion they should immediately submit to a local church through baptism, then the Lord’s Supper is a meal reserved for baptized members of churches. For a Christian to partake of the Lord’s Supper without having first submitted to the authority of some local church through baptism is to claim an authority that Jesus never gave to the lone Christian … In short, partaking of the Lord’s Supper without being a baptized member of a local church is an act of presumption and disdain for the authority of Christ himself

It is required of them that they do all of these things, lest coming unworthily they eat and drink judgement to themselves.

1 Corinthians 11:28–29 ESV

Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

But when we come to the Sacrament with pure hearts, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we come to find consolation and comfort in what the Lord’s Table signifies and what it communicates to our souls. Watson again writes:

Christ’s body and blood in the sacrament is a most sovereign elixir or comfort to a distressed soul. Christ having poured out his blood, now God’s justice is fully satisfied. There is in the death of Christ enough to answer all doubts. What if sin is the poison, here is the flesh of Christ an antidote against it! What if sin be red as scarlet, is not Christ’s blood of a deeper colour, and can wash away sin! If Satan strikes us with his darts of temptation, here is a precious balm comes out of Christ’s wounds to heal us! Isa. 53:5. What though we feed upon the bread of affliction, as long as in the sacrament we feed upon the bread of life! So that Christ received aright sacramentally, is an universal medicine for the healing, and an universal cordial for the cheering of our distressed souls.

Conclusion + Big Idea

Read the Q+A’s Again:

Amen, let’s pray.