3. 1 Corinthians 10:14-22: More than a Memory: The Lord’s Supper as a Means of Grace

Scripture Reading

Isaiah 25:6–9 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Intro

How does the Lord’s Supper grow and nourish your faith?

For most of us we grew up being taught that the Lord’s Supper was merely a memorial… merely a remembering of Christ’s Death.

That there was no grace or spiritual blessing that came with it beyond our own remembering and stirring up of our own affections…

And this was in large part due to a reaction to the Catholic doctrine that taught there was real, bodily presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

And so to distance ourselves from that, most Protestants unfortunately started to deemphasize real, spiritual presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper and how the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace.

My hope for today is to show you how the Lord’s Supper is more than a memorial but a means of grace in your life.

How it is a blessing and a gift given by Christ for your good and spiritual health.

Something through the ministry of the Holy Spirit… nourishes, strengthens, and grows your faith.

So we are going to look at how the Lord’s Supper is biblically a means of grace just as it is with preaching, prayer, the Lord’s Day Worship….

And then we are going to see at what that actually looks like?

Is that some vague spiritual experience or something more?

Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 10:14-17 where we see that the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace because it is a …

I. The Lord’s Supper is a Real Communion with Christ and Participation of His Grace

1 Corinthians 10:14–17 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 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.

Allow me to give you some context for 1 Corinthians.

The Corinthian church was a little jacked up.

You had Sin… division… spiritual bafoonery…

And one of the main issues in the church was what to do about eating food that was offered to idols.

And so Paul gives them some very practical advice.

Food sold in the market place after it was offered to an idol?

Don’t worry about it.

Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience (1 Corinthians 10:25).

What if your at an unbeliever’s house and they serve you meat offered to an idol?

Well just like the food in the market place don’t worry about it, but if they tell you it was offered to an idol don’t eat it to give no appearance of idolatry but a testimony to your sole devotion to the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:27-30).

But he starts that section off by saying under no circumstances are you to participate in pagan, idolatrous feasts.

He says Therefore my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Paul’s point is that Christian’s must be distinct… in the world but not of it (John 17:14-18).

This has application for us today.

In no way are we to bow down to the idols of the day and look like the rest of the world.

Christians obey the Word.

We are separated from the world unto the Word of God in sole devotion to Jesus Christ.

And to make that point… that there should be a hard line of separation between the Church and the World where the church devotes themselves to Christ and unto the Word of God… Paul goes into the Lord’s Supper.

He says I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 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?

Now to understand Paul’s argument, we need to figure out what Paul means by using the word “participation.”

What is “participation” and what is participation in the blood and body of Christ?

Elsewhere, Paul uses that word in 1 Corinthians 1:9… the very same book… to say God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our word “participation”there is translated as fellowship just as it is in 2 Corinthians 13:14 where Paul talks about the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

So a participation is a fellowship or a communion in something.

Its a shared mutual interest and mutual enjoyment where all involved that fellowship reap the benefits of that fellowship.

It can also be translated as a partnership so a joining together and sharing in all the good things and blessings of that common aim or fellowship… hence participation (2 Corinthians 8:4, Philippians 1:5).

So you can think of it as an active and vested interest in that thing where you have a part or share of that thing as your own.

In business terms you have a part or share of something and you reap the gains of that something as your own… you share in the profit.

And the idea here is that you have an active and vested interest in the the blood and body of Christ.

A part or a share where the benefits of the the blood and body of Christ are yours and the Lord’s Supper is how you share in and enjoy them.

Now what does that mean?

Paul shows us in 1 Corinthians 10 verses 18 and 20.

He uses two examples to flesh out what a participation in the blood and body of Christ means.

Number 1… We Share in the Blessings and Benefits of the Body and the Blood.

And Number 2… We Share in Fellowship with Christ Himself.

1. We Share in the Blessings and Benefits of the Body and the Blood

1 Corinthians 10:18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?

The altar was where the Old Covenant Sacrifices were made.

And with some of the sacrifices offered to the Lord you would take some of the sacrifice and it would be eaten by the priest and the people.

And that eating was like a fellowship meal with the Lord.

A meal that said our sins were atoned for… we have peace and fellowship with God through the sacrifice on the altar.

Essentially just as we eat food that sacrifice becomes one with us and we are accepted by God by the virtue of that sacrifice.

And so being a participant of the altar meant in some way being identified with the altar and receiving all the spiritual benefits that altar portrayed.

It made you a participant… a sharer… a beneficiary of that sacrifice on that altar and all that it represented.

The forgiveness… grace… atonement… fellowship.

So when Paul says The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? [and] The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?… He’s saying that in the Supper we are identified in some way with the sacrifice of Christ share in the benefits of that sacrifice(1 Corinthians 10:16).

The grace… forgiveness… atonement… peace and reconciliation.

Participants in the Altar.

Those blessings and benefits become real to us.

Not in the sense that we didn’t have them and now we do…

But in the sense that we remember and celebrate them anew…

In the blood our sin is atoned for and in His body we have eternal life.

Jesus said I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst… If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (John 6:35, 51-52).

In the Supper we spiritually feed on Christs body and blood and in so doing spiritually share or participate… remember and celebrate… in the benefits of Christ’s saving work…

The forgiveness of sins and the blessing of eternal life.

Number 2… We also share in Fellowship with Christ Himself.

2. We Share Fellowship with Christ Himself.

1 Corinthians 10:19–22 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 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. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

In verse 19 Paul answers a potential objection.

In 1 Corinthians 8:4 Paul said Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

So the thought is, “Well, which is it? Is an idol nothing or is it something?

Why does it matter if we go to a Pagan feasts if idols aren’t real?”

And Paul says, “Well… Idols aren’t gods but they are real.… their demons.”

Demons stand behind idols to enslave people to unbelief… false hope… and to rob God of His glory as those made in His image give their glory to another.

And that’s every religion… every philosophy… every worldview that does not worship the Triune God revealed in Jesus Christ… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Every other religion is demonic.

Now notice what Paul says here… I do not want you to be participants with demons.

I don’t want you to fellowship with them… commune with them… have any part with them!

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.

Now here’s the point.

To say that that the Lord’s Supper is merely a memorial where we remember Christ’s death and that there is no real spiritual significance… or spiritual benefit… or spiritual communion happening in the Lord’s Supper turns Paul’s argument on its head.

If He’s saying that in idol feasts you participate… have a share in… and commune with demons…

The idea is that you participate… have a share in… commune with… Christ Himself in the Lord’s Supper.

That Christ draws near and in the Supper we commune with Him.

Think of it like prayer… in prayer we draw near to the Lord.

In the Lord’s Supper we draw near to the Lord, and Christ draws near to us.

In a real and spiritual way we commune with Him.

That’s the idea behind “the table of the Lord.”

The picture here is of Christ as the Head of a feast.

Its His table…

He welcomes us…

He serves us…

He feeds us His body and His blood.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (John 6:55).

And in the Supper Christ communes with us and feeds us afresh all His blessings and benefits.

So we’re not saved by the Supper and the Supper does not give grace in an of itself…

But in the Supper Christ feeds us and we have a renewed enjoyment of that grace.

Reminder of the Gospel

Remember how we defined the Lord’s Supper:

In the Lord’s Supper we remember the Christ’s Suffering and Death and Celebrate the salvation we hav in Him.

You can think of it as a remembrance and celebration of the Gospel.

So its not a renewal of the Gospel… we are saved once and for all by the once and for all perfect sacrifice of Christ.

But it is a renewal of the sweetness of it… the grace of it.

Its a participation in the blood and body of Christ.

Its a means of grace.

The point I wanted you to see was that there is something spiritually significant about the Lord’s Supper.

Its not merely a memorial.

In Paul’s argument it is a real participation in Christ’s sacrifice… like those that eat at the altar…

And it is a real participation… communion… fellowship with Christ Himself… you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

And that takes us to point number 2…

II. The Lord’s Supper is a Soul-Satisfying, Soul-Nourishing Grace

Now that language of the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace or talking about the Lord’s Supper as a Sacrament can make us a little uncomfortable.

Sounds a little Catholic.

Like I said… most of us grew up treating the Supper as merely a remembrance.

But it is part of our Reformed Baptist Heritage.

When we say that the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace we are not saying that it that saves you or that it gives grace in and of itself.

As we are going to see… its an exercise of faith.

Just like preaching… for the Lord’s Supper to give grace you must received with faith and by faith.

With Preaching… the unbeliever and the believer both hear the same sermon… they both hear same exact words!…

But only one receives the benefit.

Only one spiritually grows and is spiritually benefited by that preaching.

In the same way… you can even have two Christians… but only the one who is spiritually engaged in listening… the one who is actively trusting and receiving the Word… grows in grace.

It doesn’t work automatic… an active faith and engagement is required.

By a means of grace what we mean is that the Lord’s Supper is one of God’s ordained means… hence why we call the Lord’s Supper an ordinance… of strengthening… nourishing… and growing your faith and devotion to Christ.

Nourishment and growth.

Its not a saving means of grace… its a sanctifying means.

Prayer

We’ve used the example of prayer.

Prayer spiritually grows you.

Sanctifies you.

Nourishes you..

Its a delivery system God has ordained to help you grow in spiritual power… spiritual change… and spiritual strength… (Barcellos, Lord’s Supper as a Means of Grace, Introduction).

Prayer is a means of grace.

Something that strengthens and grows your faith in Christ and even you’re communion with Him.

That’s all we mean.

Its the same with preaching… singing… fellowshipping and gathering with the saints on the Lord’s Day…

All these things help you grow in Christ.

Why would the Lord’s Supper be any different?

1689

To show you the history of this view… look at how our Reformed Baptist forefathers defined the Lord’s Supper in chapter 30 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession.

Clearly they saw the Lord’s Supper as something more than a memorial.

1689 30:1. 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 shewing forth 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.

Notice that it says that the Lord’s Supper is a confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits thereof.

That’s that participation in the blood and body of Christ idea from Corinthians.

By confirmation of faith, what they mean is that the Supper… the remembering of Christ and His death… is a confirmation that we are truly His.

That we His people… His sheep… and partakers… participants in the grace of Christ.

In the Supper… we have God’s own testimony that in the blood and body of Christ we really do have…

Full Atonement.

The Forgiveness of sins.

Reconciliation with God.

Justification.

Adoption.

Freedom from Sin.

God’s kindness… Favor… and steadfast love.

All the blessings of Salvation…

And we feast on those promises in Christ.

That as sure as we hold the bread and cup in our hands we have Christ as our Savior and Mediator.

And then it says their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him.

There’s that means of grace idea.

In the Supper… just like prayer… just like preaching… just like Sunday Worship… we grow in our faith in Christ.

Paragraph 7 even says…

1689 30:7 Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this ordinance, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed,…spiritually receive, and feed upon Christ crucified, and all the benefits of His death; the body and blood of Christ being… spiritually present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses.

Now I edited some of the anti-Catholic stuff out so that you could see what our Reformed Baptist forefathers positively believed.

It says we really and indeed… inwardly by faith… receive Christ and all the benefits of His death.

We spiritually feed on Christ crucified.

So the Supper is a communion… a fellowship with the Lord and a participation… a sharing in all the blessings… benefits… and graces of His death.

Its a feast of grace.

Its a fellowship meal with the Lord who laid down His life for our sins.

So how the Lord’s Supper nourishes and strengthens us is that in the Supper… Christ… His Person and Work… all the benefits of His sacrificial death…

Become sweet to us.

Like 17th Century Baptist Benjamin Keach (1640–1704) who was one of the signatories on the 1689 London Baptist Confession said, “The sacrament is a feast for our souls … a soul-reviving cordial”

That’s a medicine and healing balm that revives, cheers, and gives new life.

(Footnote 108, Keach, Preaching from the Types and Metaphors of the Bible, 632, 637. cited in Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology: Church and Last Things, vol. 4, Reformed Systematic Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024), 592).

The Lord’s Supper is a soul-satisfying, soul nourishing grace.

It is a fresh feast of grace from the Lord Himself that feeds our souls… that nourishes and strengthens us in the Lord and in our faith.

But then comes question how?

How does this happen?

What’s that actually look like?

And that’s point number 3…

III. What Does the Lord’s Supper as a Means of Grace Actually and Spiritually Look Like?

This I think getting at the most difficult part of understanding the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace.

Its easy to see that it means something more but if we don’t know what that is how do we actually benefit from it.

I think what can happen is that we think for the Lord’s Supper to “work” the heavens have to open and we are carried up to the Lord in a chariot of fire.

So I want to get really practical and not just tell you that the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace and leave it as a spiritual, etherial concept somewhere out there.

So here’s what we are going to do.

We are going to answer the how the Lord’s Supper operates as a means of grace.

What are the mechanics of it.

And then we are going to look at what that spiritually looks like… what that’s supposed to feel like.

Let’s start with the how.

The Spirit

Look at Ephesians 3:14-19.

Now this passage is not about the Lord’s Supper but it is about how we grow in grace which is what we are talking about in the Lord’s Supper.

Ephesians 3:14–19 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

What Paul prays for is that the Ephesians would be strengthened with power in their inner being… that is in the inner man… in their inner spirit…

For the purpose that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… sounds like a nearness and a communion…

And that they in their inner being… that is spiritually in their spirit… know the height and depth and length and breadth of love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge… that goes beyond all understanding.

So that in that knowledge, they may be filled with all the fullness of God.

In other words Paul is praying that they would commune with Christ… know His love… and grow in grace… all the things we are doing in the Lord’s Supper.

Think about it… he prays that Christ may dwell in their hearts, but they’re already Christians…

Isn’t Christ already dwelling in their hearts?

Well, this isn’t talking about salvation.

Its talking about continually renewing of experience of His presence.

A continual and renewing dwelling… abiding… and communion with the Lord.

A nearness of Christ and His grace… a greater understanding of His love that results in being filled with all the fullness of God.

A fullness of Christ Himself that shows forth in Christlike maturity.

These… for us… are all the goals of the Lord’s Supper.

Well how does this happen?

Paul says through His Spirit… that is The Holy Spirit.

This is the Holy Spirit’s ministry and work in response to prayer.

So the way we experience this spiritual nourishment… spiritual growth… spiritual vitality… the spiritual presence and nearness of Christ…

The sweetness of all His saving work…

…is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

As Jesus promised… He will take what is mine and declare it to you… He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you (John 16:14; John 14:26).

It’s the ministry of the Spirit in the Lord’s Supper that brings spiritual grace and the sweetness of Christ.

Its His work to bring the Gospel to bear on our hearts just as He did the first time in the New Birth.

The Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ… the body and the blood… and declares them afresh to us.

In the Supper He illuminates the glories of the Gospel just like He illuminates the Scripture when you read God’s Word.

Well ok… what does that mean.

Do I just sit around and wait for something to happen?

Do I just sit here and wonder if this is the Sunday the Holy Spirit is going work in me?

That the Supper is finally going to mean something?

Prayer

No… we need to spiritually engage and the way we spiritually engage in the Lord’s Supper is through prayer.

Paul prayed… For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named… (Ephesians 3:14–15).

The Holy Spirit does this work in response to prayer.

As Christ said in Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

It doesn’t just happen automatically… we spiritually engage in the Lord’s Supper.

We spiritually feed on Christ.

You can’t just go through the motions… you can’t just eat the bread and drink the cup.

Remember what the confession said… we inwardly by faith receive and feed on Christ.

Its a spiritual exercise!

So you don’t just take the bread and take the cup and sit there.

You pray… Preach to yourself.

This is Christ’s body and Christ’s blood.

He saved me.

Lord Thank you!

Thank you for grace!

Thank you for laying down your life.

Thank you for saving me from all my sin.

Remember: In the Lord’s Supper we Remember and Celebrate.

Not just intellectually… but an all of heart… all of soul… all of mind… all of strength kind of remembering.

The whole man… the inner man… to say Christ died for me in faith that the Holy Spirit in response to those prayers will make the gospel and Christ sweet to us.

Feed us afresh… to nourish and grow us in Christ.

So just as you would with the preaching of the Word… you take the bread and wine… body and blood… and you treat it as a visible sermon.

You take hold of all that they mean and respond to God in prayer.

You receive them by faith… you spiritually feed on them…

Prayer is the fork and the spoon to remember and celebrate that Christ died for me and forgave me of all my sin.

What Does it “Feel” Like?

Now what does it actually feel like?

Look like?

What are we supposed to experience.

And I say this because I don’t want you looking at the Supper being confused or turning the Supper into an unending search for some vague spiritual experience.

Now these might not all be at once.

They might be one or two…

Stronger… weaker…

But these are the kinds of things we should experience in the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace.

Number 1…

1. A Nearness to Christ

In the Supper we commune with Him.

That we are close to Him.

Near to Him.

That He is Our Good Shepherd and Our Great Savior.

Now sometimes people assume this fellowship or nearness to Christ looks like some kind of great joy or a stirring up of our affections… which it definitely can.

But sometimes Christ might meet with us to give us a greater conviction of our sin.

Or He may meet with us in strength giving us a profound sense of our own weakness to give us a deeper sense of our need and our dependance on Him so that He might draw us nearer to Himself.

They aren’t always what we might call “positive” feelings but they are always the Good Physician giving just what we need to grow in grace.

Number 2…

2. A Treasuring of Christ and Gratitude for His Work

The Lord’s Supper is a meal of thanksgiving.

There should be a thankfulness for Christ and all that He’s done.

Number 3…

3. The Forgiveness of Sins

There should be a sense of God’s grace and forgiveness.

We come to the Supper with Heavy Burdens and leave reminded those Heavy Burdens have been carried by Christ and nailed to the Cross.

That the burden has been lifted off and we receive the easy yoke of Christ for weak and weary sinners. (Matthew 11:28-30).

Four…

4. A Confession and Repentance

A turning away and forsaking those sins that nailed Christ to the cross.

Five…

5. An Assurance of Salvation and God’s Love

The Supper is a confirmation of the faith of the believer.

A testimony by Christ’s own body and blood that we are saved… beloved… and sealed for Heaven.

And Number 5…

6. A Renewed Devotion to Christ and the Sole Worship of Him

Paul said, You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21).

Part of the Supper… part of our prayers is that Christ and Christ alone is our God.

He is the One we worship and all of our life belongs to Him.

Conclusion

This is a Spiritual Meal and a Spiritual Feast.

One that nourishes and grows our faith.

So hear me…

Its not magic.

This is the thing I need you to walk away remembering here today.

The last thing I want you to do is hear that the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace and then turn the Lord’s Supper into some kind of ethereal, spiritual experience that only does something if you feel something.

Its through the Spirit in response to prayer.

And when we say the Lord’s Supper helps us grow in Christ its not some kind of magical jack and the beanstalk type growth.

How the Lord’s Supper continually grows us in Christ is that it recenters and refocuses our lives.

Its an anchor that again and again drives our life in a Christ-ward direction.

Its a regular reminder and recentering our lives on Christ and the sweetness of His grace.

As we take the Lord’s Supper again, and again, and again we are continually remembering and celebrating Christ.

We are fixing our eyes on Him…

Laying aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and running after Him (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Until we are so satisfied with the grace of Christ in the Lord’s Supper that we lose our appetite for anything else.

The growth happens by focusing on Christ and truly repenting of our sin.

The more we focus on Christ and His grace…

The more we confess and repent of our sin… week after week… year after year… the more we grow in Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

How can you not if you are truly repenting of your sin and treasuring Christ?

The Lord’s Supper is a means of grace.

Not by anything in the Supper in and of itself or some fantastical experience but by a slow, regular practice of the Supper focusing our eyes on Christ and the grace that we have in Him.

Let’s Pray