The Lord’s Supper
Notes
Transcript
1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Luke 22:14-23, Mark 14:22-25, Matt 26:26-29,
Christmas Eve 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 read the first 10 verses of the book of Genesis live on television. This led to a lawsuit by a grumpy secularist group that felt NASA was violating the constitutional separation of church and state. The case was dismissed. However, this had consequences a year later. On July 20th of 1969, the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Before Buzz Aldrin or Neil Armstrong left the space craft Buzz Aldrin did something special. Buzz Aldrin was a presbyterian elder. Aldrin had brought with him a small container of wine and some bread. Though Armstrong abstained, the first meal that was ever consumed on the moon was the Lord’s Supper.
When Aldrin did this, he requested by radio that there would be a moment of silence. Aldrin had desired for this to be broadcast by radio - though had been discouraged from doing so - instead he requested those listening to have a moment of silence and reflect. However, because of that lawsuit the year before NASA kept it quiet.
The General Assembly of the Presbytery had given him permission to do this, and to administer the sacrament to himself. Neil Armstrong, a deist, did not participate.
Super cool… but it’s wrong.
For what it’s worth Buzz Aldrin agrees…
In 2008, he stated: “Perhaps if I had it to do over again, I would not choose to celebrate communion. Although it was a deeply meaningful experience for me, it was a Christian sacrament, and we had come to the moon in the name of fall mankind - be they Christians, Jews, Muslims, animist, agnostics, or atheists.”
He took a Christian Sacrament and brought it in front of those who are outsiders.
I’ll explain why it’s wrong more as we go on…
However, as we did last week I want to return to looking at our historic statement of faith as we look into the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Supper.
XVI. Of Baptism And The Lord’s Supper
We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit; to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect, in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord’s Supper, in which the members of the church by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine, are to commemorate together the love of Christ displayed in His sacrificial death for His people; preceded always by solemn self-examination.
Today we will focus on the 2nd half of the statement though.
Summary of the assertions of the Lord’s Supper portion of this statement of faith.
Baptism is a prerequisite.
If you have not been baptized, and have questions:
Listen to last week’s sermon if you were not here
OR find me after service and we can schedule a meeting.
it is a privilege of church relation.
It is restricted to members of the church.
Bread and fruit of the vine.
It is to be preceded ALWAYS by self-examination.
You ought not to just carelessly stroll before a king to take food from his table.
I will make a few qualifying comments on a few of these statements. Namely, I will defend baptism as a prerequisite, I will define what members of the church means, in this context, and describe how we practice the Lord’s Supper. But I will also tie this into Paul’s instruction and warnings from 1 Cor 11.
Today, I hope to caution those who should not take of the Lord’s supper to remain seated, and instead proceed to take part in Christ, or make plans to be obedient to the issues that precede participation in the supper.
And to encourage baptized believers to rejoice in the Lord’s Supper as we look forward to when Christ will come again and Christ and the church will be reunited and celebrate the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.
Practice
Practice
Three methods of how churches administer the Lord’s Supper:
Open - any Christian can take.
2. Closed - only members of the local church take of the Lord’s Supper.
3. Close - cautions are given to fence the table and advise that only baptized believers receive the Lord’s Supper. This may also generally restrict communion to those who are members of a church, members of a likeminded church - or eligible to become members. (THIS IS WHAT MOST BAPTIST CHURCHES practice - and most baptism statements of faith).
We as a church practice what is called “close communion.”
Each First Sunday as we take of the Lord’s Supper we read from 1 Corinthians 11 as a caution and as a reminder of what the Lord’s Supper is, and who should take.
The letter to the church is Corinth is not really a nice letter. Paul is dealing with divisions in the church, he has to defend his apostleship, he is dealing with a man who has taken his step mom as his wife. He’s addresses believers filing lawsuits against each other. Then he’s dealing with idolatry, and whether or not it’s acceptable to eat at pagan festivals. The church in Corinth was a mess. In chapter 11 he speaks of them misusing the Lord’s Table.
The issue that is being addressed is that they came together to take of the Lord’s table - but it wasn’t edifying the saints it was instead harming the community. Many of the issues that Paul has dealt with previously in the letter come up again in chapter 11. The divisions among the community should not be at play when you take communion. 5 times in chapter 11 Paul speaks of the table as “when you come together.” If there are divisions in the community when you take the Lord’s Supper then it really isn’t communion is it? This is why every month when I give my warnings concerning the Lord’s Supper I advise that if there is an issue between you and another in the church you resolve that before you come forward.
But Paul continues in instructing that these divisions have led to one going hungry to the table, but another leaving drunk. This is why in verse 20 he writes to them “this isn’t the Lord’s Supper that you eat.” He’s telling them you’ve lost the meaning of the Lord’s Supper ad you’re practicing something else. You can eat and drink at home - don’t treat the table like some common meal.
The issue is not isolated to chapter 11, in chapter 10 Paul writes:
15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 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.
Chapter 10 is a text that is describe as a warning against idolatry. Paul is specifically warning Christians about participating in pagan feasts. Though in chapter 8 Paul stated that they are free to eat food that was offered to pagan gods, because those gods are impotent, however, they are not free participate in pagan festivals. He proceeds to state that though the food is whatever… the idol is another issue. This is why he then states:
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
The manner in which people are coming the Lord’s Table looks more like the pagan festivals that Paul has warned them about in chapter 10 than it does the fellowship of believers.
There are many different names that will appear in the texts that we will look at today so i think it’s appropriate to take a moment to address the names.
In 1 Cor 10, Paul calls it the Cup of the Lord and the Table of the Lord.
What should we call it?
What should we call it?
Catholics call it eucharist? This comes from the word for give thanks… coming from Jesus having taken the bread and the cup and gave thanks to God and then spoke to his disciples about the supper. However, I don’t use this language because Catholics mean something very different than we do, and because it’s not what the Scriptures actually call this.
(As a bonus, I would add that if you are here this morning and happen to visit a catholic church at some point you should not take the eucharist there.)
The most clear title is what Paul calls it in 1 Cor 11: the Lord’s Supper.
Communion is also in line with the Biblical language. In the Lord’s Supper we commune with God, and we commune with one another. The body of Christ, communes as we take together the bread and the cup to confess that Christ has died, Christ has risen and Christ will come again. We confess that we are sinners who need a savior. We confess that we have believed in Jesus as the only savior who can forgive us of our sins.
What does it mean?
What does it mean?
Looking at verses 23-26 tells us what it is - and what it means.
23 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, 24 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.” 25 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Jesus’ body and Jesus blood. Now we do not believe that the bread physically becomes the body of Jesus. We do not believe that the cup physically becomes Jesus’ blood. We reject what Catholics believe about this.
Unlike the Lutherans we do not believe that it contains the body and blood of Christ.
There have been many suggestions concerning how Jesus is present in the supper:
Jesus is spiritually present when believers take the Lord’s Supper.
Remember what we read earlier from 1 Cor 10 - It is a participation in the body of Christ, it is a participation in the blood of Christ. Jesus is spiritually present, and it is spiritually good for us. There is significance in this table - it is not just an empty routine, or a simple tradition. But this is a rich and meaningful symbol.
The Lord’s Supper is a sample of the wedding supper of the lamb that is described in Revelation 19.
The Scriptures teach us that we ought to use unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. Jesus at the passover feast - remember when God passed over those whose doorposts were covered by the blood of the lamb - took that meal and made it into his own meal. This was a meal when they were forbidden from having any yeast in the home - thus it was unleavened bread.
For the cup this was wine.
During Covid lockdowns I heard of people taking the Lord’s Supper in their own homes, and using substitutes. They didn’t have unleavened bread or juice so they grabbed milk and Oreos. Or apple juice and saltines.
Much like we are not free to baptize in pudding, we don’t get to make our own substitutes for the Lord’s Supper.
But there’s a second problem with this - it is not just the wrong elements - it’s also the wrong audience… it misses who the supper is for.
Who is it for?
Who is it for?
Last week I mentioned that Baptism is a church ordinance. It is the same with the Lord’s Supper. Taking the Lord’s Supper at home by yourself while streaming a service does not fit with how the Scriptures describe the supper. But rather it is to be observed by the church.
Which is why the appropriate response to the Lord’s Supper when everything was shutdown was to abstain - not to take at home. And then it made it all the more sweet when after those 6 or 8 weeks when the church gathered again.
It is for baptized believers to be taken among the community of faith. Those who are not committing unrepentant unconfessed sin. Those who are not under church discipline. Those who are members of a church or eligible to be members. You might have a conflict with church membership - but still eligible. This is demonstrated by Paul’s repeated use of the phrase come together.
I mentioned that the Baptism is a requisite for the Lord’s table.
This might seem shocking to some. But as I mentioned last week the first act of obedience that a believer shows should be baptism - not taking of the Lord’s Supper.
We see a pattern in the Scriptures concerning this:
First, Jesus instituted baptism early in his ministry (John 4:1-2) and the Lord’s Supper at the end of his ministry. Additionally we see the early church maintaining this pattern.
In Acts 2:41-42
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
They were baptized, added to the church, devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the breaking of bread. Breaking of bread here being a phrase to refer to the Lord’s Supper.
However, this also extends back in to the Old Testament. When Jesus takes the bread and breaks it before his disciples and says “Take, eat; this is my body”, when he takes the cup and says “Drink of it, all of your, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” He is stating this at the passover meal.
The Bible gives a prerequisite for the passover meal. Exodus 12:48 teaches us:
48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
Circumcision was the covenant sign that was required for access to the passover meal.
The meals that God promises to God’s people often have similar requirements. In the 3rd chapter of the Bible, we read that Adam and Eve were cut off from the tree of life because of their sin. Their holiness, and obedience to God was a prerequisite for access to the tree of life.
The covenant sign of the Old Covenant is circumcision. The covenant sign for Christians is baptism. The covenant meal of the old covenant was passover. The covenant meal of the New Covenant is The Lord’s Supper.
How should we prepare?
How should we prepare?
The final question that remains then is how should we prepare for the table.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Unworthy manner… this phrase is not about being perfect. This is about understanding the Christian faith. Taking in an unworthy manner would include two things. Partly, it would include those outside of the faith. However, Paul is MORESO addressing not those outside of the faith but those who callously stroll up to the table without consideration of what the table cost. Without any consideration for repentance. Jesus didn’t shed his blood so that you can sin freely, but rather that you might put sin to death and live to righteousness.
So first examine yourself. Come before the Lord in prayer. Are you approaching in an unworthy manner?
The table does not require perfection, but it does require obedience. That obedience to ought to also be partnered with repentance.
Discern the body is to one consider the body of Jesus that was broken to us, and his blood that was shed for us. To discern the body is also to consider the believers who surround you and resolve conflict that disrupts unity in our communion.
Before you get up to receive the elements examine yourself, and after you receive the elements but before we take you have time to examine yourself - and to discern the body.
When Vanessa and I were newlyweds were attended a church that took communion every single Sunday. This forced us to resolve conflict and sin before we came to the table. As newlyweds, we fought a bit more than we do now. However, I recall one Sunday before either of us stood up - I turned to her and apologized for my sinful attitudes toward her - confessed that I was wrong. Prayed the Lord concerning my sin - and then we stood up together to take. This was a grace to us. However, this also in part captures the idea of what Paul means in 11:28-29 concerning examining oneself, and discerning the body.
Before I conclude I want to wrap up with a few descriptions of who should not take:
If you are not a Christian. If you are not sure how you feel about Jesus this morning. If you are not sure if you believe the gospel. If you do not believe that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised him from the dead. Then I would ask that you do not participate in this part of our service, until you have participated in Christ.
If you have not been baptized as a believer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, then we would strongly urge you to remain seated when we administer the elements following the sermon.
If you are in unrepentant sin. Deal with that before you take. If you can’t do not take. It is more important for you to repent of your addictions, your immorality, your divisions, or drunkenness, or gluttony, than it is for you to take.
It’s okay to not take. Sometimes it takes more boldness to remain seated, and take the word of God seriously than it does to simply follow what everyone else is doing.
If you’re uncertain, or have questions about any of these things please come and speak with me after the service.
But if you have been baptized as a believe, and you joyously look to the Lord Jesus for your salvation, even though you are not perfect - you know that he is - if you have confessed your sins and are repenting of your sins - then come to the table with joy as we rejoice in the sacrifice of our King, who victoriously rose from the dead, and as we take this bread and cup we proclaim his death until he comes again.
