The Gospel IRL - Communion

The Lord’s Supper - Communion

We are continuing through our theme of The Gospel IRL. Last week Pastor Howie reminded us to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is

Colossians 1:28 CSB

We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Our goal is to be mature and present people mature in Christ. That is what it is about. When we are looking at the Gospel IRL what we are doing is seeing how we participate in the life of the Kingdom of God here and now so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

3 John 4 CSB

I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.

This week we will look at Communion. A few weeks ago we spoke about the communal aspect of Communion. That it is something we participate in together. We partake together. The early church took communion together.

This week I want us to look what Communion is.

As we look at the Communion in context of the Gospel IRL what I want us to understand today is that

Something real happens at the table of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:17–26 (CSB)

Now in giving this instruction I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse.

For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

Indeed, it is necessary that there be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

When you come together, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.

For at the meal, each one eats his own supper. So one person is hungry while another gets drunk!

Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you in this matter!

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,

and when he had given thanks, 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, and said, “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.

What is the Lord’s Supper or Communion?

Some people call it The Lord’s Supper, some call it Communion, and some call it the Eucharist. The term tells us some things but these are basically talking about the same thing.

To really understand it we need to back up a little to Exodus.

In the book of Exodus we find that God’s people had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. What was once a place of rest and security for them eventually became their bondage. They were slaves and had to work building the tombs and other buildings for the Pharaohs. They were treated incredibly harsh and felt abandoned by God.

God raised up a man named Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. Moses and His brother Aaron went to Pharaoh and told them to let me people go. Pharaoh did not listen so God sent 10 plagues. These various plagues were meant to be judgements on Egypts false gods. The 10 plague was the death of the first born. We can think this is harsh but Pharaoh was not going to listen.

It is like the Atomic bomb. It was destruction on a massive scale that had never before been seen. But many historians say that the Atomic bombs being dropped probably saved about 30 million lives. Something big was needed to stop the war and it worked.

Something big was needed to stop Pharaoh and it worked.

Before the 10th plague though God told Moses to have a meal and paint lambs blood on the door posts. When the angel of death saw the blood he would pass over that house. This meal became the passover meal. It was meant to be a reminder to the people that death passed over them. That God had spared them. They were now going to be free from slavery because God was good.

Not because of anything they had done. Not because they were deserving. Not because of them but because of Him.

For thousands of years the Jewish people would gather every year to celebrate the Passover it is right around our celebration of Easter.

On the night He was betrayed Jesus sat down with the disciples for the passover dinner.

This was the context in the disciples mind. This is why they were gathering. They thought ok, we are going to celebrate Passover and remember that God saved them.

On one hand Jesus was celebrating the Passover with the Disciples and on another hand He was giving them a new meal to remember a new Passover.

Death once again was coming for the first born.

Colossians 1:15 CSB

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

This does not mean Jesus was created but it is a positional title.

The original Passover meal reminded the people that death had passed them over in Egypt and now they were no longer slaves to Egypt.

The new Passover or Communion is the reminder that death is now defeated and we are no longer slaves to sin.

You, as a Christian, have been set free from spiritual Egypt.

The Bread

Luke 22:19 (CSB)

And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Mark 14:22 (CSB)

As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:26 CSB

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”

Jesus broke the bread because His body was broken.

His body was ripped and broken. His back stripped and his sides torn. The bread was broken because His body was broken for us. He took the penalty in His flesh that we deserved.

1 Peter 2:24 CSB

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

We were meant for wounds but He took them. So we receive healing where He took brokenness.

The Bread is in a very real way the body of Christ.

There is healing in the bread. This does not always mean physcial healing but it also does not not mean that. There are all sorts of things we need healing from and we are more than just bodies.

The Wine

Luke 22:20 CSB

In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Mark 14:23 CSB

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Matthew 26:27–28 CSB

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

The cup or the wine represents a few things. One it is the blood. There is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. All throughout Scripture we see this. We see that we need the blood. The proof has always been in the blood.

Go to a Dr for your annual physcial and they will take a blood sample to run tests. You can cover up a lot of things but the blood always tells the truth. The blood of Christ covers us.

Two, the blood is needed to institute a new covenant. We are no loner under the old covenant, but now under the new.

We have an exchanged life. We are adopted sons and daughters of the King of Kings. We have forgiveness, we have righteousness. We have redemption and have been redeemed.

Your old life is gone once you come to Christ.

If you were something you are now not that thing anymore.

2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

To take communion is to remember and to be reminded that you are new.

I am convinced the biggest problem we face in life as believers, as followers of Christ is that we are new creations that still act like old creatures.

We are new and still act old.

We have been freed from Egypt and still act like slaves.

Romans 8:15 CSB

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

The cup of Christ reminds us of our true position as sons and daughters of the King! It is the Gospel IRL. It is the proclamation that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ.

Who Takes Communion

By its very nature Communion is open to all who have received Christ as Lord and Savior.

It is for those who have received Him. Those who call Him Lord. Those who are His and have had their sins passed over.

There is a song called Restoring Eden by MBL Worship and it starts:

There's a place you made for me Where I was always meant to be By your blood its been redeemed The door's in front of me You've handed me the key

Communion is an invitation.

Communion is about intimacy. It is intimacy with Christ where we remember what He did and where we ask Him to examine us so that we can be closer to Him.

Psalm 139:23–24 CSB

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

This is why Communion is for the follower of Christ.

Communion is an Invitation

It is like a romantic dinner. I can have a nice candlelit dinner with my bride.

It is good for me to set a table for her.

It is good for me to bring out the table.

To set the chairs.

To put out the bread.

To pour the wine.

She is my bride, this is good, and this is right.

But only my bride and I sit at this table.

Jesus is inviting you to the table and saying dine with me. Receive my fullness.

He does not give Himself in partial measure.

Something real happens at the table of the Lord.

There is so much life at the table. At the table of Christ, there is hope there is healing. There is restoration.

If you need hope, healing, life, or a refreshing it is available at the table.

Examine Yourself

This is why we have to examine ourselves before we partake. We are sitting and dining with Christ. We are partaking in the life of our Savior so we cannot be hating our brothers or sisters while we do it. If we approach the table and bring unforgiveness we bring something to the table that does not belong.

1 John 4:20 CSB

If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

John 10:10 CSB

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

There is so much life at the table. At the table of Christ, there is hope there is healing. There is restoration.

If you need hope, healing, life, or a refreshing it is available at the table.