The Lord's Supper

Introduction to Sacraments

What do you know about the Lord’s Supper?

What is a sacrament?

It is something that was instituted or created by Christ to strengthen the faith of the believer.

Every week we hear the word of God preached, the sacrament is the word of God that you see and taste.

The Lord’s Supper as a sign

We mean these in the most simple meaning.

Signs are use to point us somewhere. If i see a sign that says “Jackson 30,” what does that means?

Likewise, In the Lords supper, the bread and wine are signs that point to Jesus Christ

The Lord’s Supper as a seal

A seal is like a wax seal, it is a seal of authority.

Therefore, The bread and wine tell the world that you are marked by Christ’s authority.

It is a visible and real substance that shows that you belong to Christ.

What are the Sacraments in the church?

How many Sacraments are there?

Two, but other christians denominations see more. Roman catholics count seven: baptism, confirmation, penance, mass, matrimony, ordination, and unction.

While we could spend hours on Baptism or other views of Lord’s Supper, We will briefly learn about the Reformed Baptist and Reformed Presbyterian view. That should cover all us, Right! Hint, we have the same view.

Lord’s Supper

Lord’s Supper:

Turn to with me!

This will give a great introduction on the topic of the Lord’s Supper

English Standard Version Chapter 22

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

English Standard Version Chapter 26

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

26 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.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

When was the Lord’s Supper?

It was during Passover.

You remember passover with the Jews in Exodus.

The Israelites sacrificed a lamb without blemish and placed the blood over their doorposts.

The angel of death passed by them and spared their children.

If you did not place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of your house. The angel of death took the first born of the house.

This was a part of the ten plagues in Egypt. The son of Pharoah dies in this exchange.

The Jews celebrated this feast every year in remembrance of God redeeming them in Egypt.

Fast forward to the meal and Christ is reclined with his disciples. Why don’t we celebrate passover?

Passover was replaced by Christ at this meal.

You see the passover, as great as it was, pointed forward to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God that was slain to redeem you from your sins.

Passover was the sacrament of the Old Testament, and the Lord’s Supper is the sacrament of the New Testament. The work together!

Bread and wine

In this text we see the bread at communion represents the body of Christ

We also see that the wine represents the blood of Christ.

We continue the practice today, because Jesus tells us to continue this practice in remembrance of him.

What do you think we are remembering?

We remember his death and resurrection.

It is a physical reminder that Jesus Christ died for your sins.

I used to think that i had to eat the bread a certain way or pray a certain prayer, but the Lord is not interested in my hocus pocus, he seeks that i remember him.

So what happens at the Lord’s supper as the saints feast with one another?

We are spiritually nourished by Christ. It is an aid to our sanctification as we seek to become for like Jesus Christ.

We are united with him in faith.

We renew and remember our thankfulness for his sacrifice

We join together with the saints for the meal and it strengthens our bond.

This is important, many have wondered for years why they have not joined in this feast. It is a symbol that unifies Christ’s people together as one body. When you make your profession of faith, then you commune with the rest of the congregation at FPC. It is a physical reminder to encourage our covenant children to profess Jesus Christ as your savior.

I have often studied hard to figure our the perfect formula for how this works. I always thought that there was some secret formula to how Christ uses this sacrament, but there isn’t. He uses this sacrament to draw us closer to him through his Holy Spirit.

Context

You remember that the corinthians are divisive. Paul seeks to unify the believers in Jesus Christ. How does he do this?

By reminding them of the Lord’s Supper. Why does the Lord’s Supper unify us?

It is a meal that reminds us that we are in our Lord.

Let us read this text

English Standard Version Chapter 11

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.

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. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

English Standard Version Chapter 11

The Lord’s Supper

17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

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.

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. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

You remember that the corinthians are divisive. Paul seeks to unify the believers in Jesus Christ. How does he do this?

By reminding them of the Lord’s Supper. Why does the Lord’s Supper unify us?

It is a meal that reminds us that we are in our Lord.

What does this remind you of?

Paul is quotes from one of the gospel.

I love when we have stuff like this. Paul is quoting a gospel as Scripture and attributes the words to Christ.

We learn that we are not to eat in an unworthy manner.

What do you think that means?

We eat and drink judgement upon ourselves when we take communion in an unworthy manner. An unworthy manner is when you are in gross sin and unrepentant. In other words, we need to be repenting.

Example: a man cheats on his wife and saturday and takes communion on Sunday.

Example: you lie to your parents then you take communion.

Example: you get in a fight with your brother or sister. Maybe throw some punches, idk, you are unworthy to take communion. Repentance is vital to not brings God’s judgement upon yourself.

Therefore, this may shock you. When you are stuck in unresolved sin, you must let the bread and wine pass from you.

We are to examine ourselves. This is the reason that I decided to teach this text today.

Paul says each of you need to examine yourself. So the week before communion you are to reflect and repent of your sins. You are to right the wrong in your household.

You got in fight with your parents or your sibling, its time to make things right before you eat.

Paul says if you do not do this you may experience the wrath of God. God sees this as so important that people were getting sick and dying in Corinth for their blatant sin as they profaned the sacrament.

The simple aspect for this is that the Lord’s Supper reminds us of our need for Jesus Christ and God’s forgiveness in Jesus christ.

We are forgiven by the blood of Christ. Therefore, we respond by making things right in our relationships with everyone including God.

The passage closes by saying that we are to correct the sin in our lives before we come to the table. We our to right the wrongs in our lives and we are to confess our sins to God. Not just God forgive me for all my sins, but by specifically mentioning the sins in your life. The puritans used to pray before the Lord’s supper confessing their sins individually. They would conclude their prayer by asking for forgiveness for the sins they forgot to ask for forgiveness for. We are to do the same.

I used to think the the sacrament washed my sins away. I would confess my sins before God take the Lord’s supper and I thought that made me sinless. I was wrong, you know wife, I kept on sinning. I hope that you do not have the same misconception of the Lord’s supper as i did.

Do you have any questions?

there are really no dumb questions. I have thought of them all for you in my life. So, ask some questions, because this is a subject that needs a lot of clarity. Guys, i know it is complicated. I have been studying this doctrine for years. I wrote a paper on it last winter!