The Continuing Ordinance

The Continuing Ordinance

1 Corinthians 11:23-32

I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgement.  When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

he ordinances of the church too often become battlegrounds between the churches.  Gravely misunderstood in these closing days of the second millennium since our Saviour’s advent, these church rites are twisted to fit the fertile imaginations of mortal minds.  Too often these rites have been stretched to meet our expectations instead of moulding us to fit the Lord’s ideal.  Surely it is time that we who name the Name of Christ return to the ideals of the New Testament in our observance of these ordinances.

The ordinances of the church are, of course, two.  The initial ordinance is baptism, administered to those who have received Christ Jesus as Master of their life and as a testimony of their transformation.  We cannot, then, baptise infants or those who are incapable of confessing faith in Christ, but rather we baptise those who have by faith accepted His sacrifice in their place.  The continuing ordinance is the Communion Meal.

Referred to by various terms (Communion, the Lord’s Supper, or The Eucharist) the ordinance was delivered to the churches to be observed on a continuing basis.  It is the Lord’s Supper, since He gave the ordinance and since He is the One who determines who is invited to the meal.  It is the Communion Meal since it is a declaration of fellowship or communion of believers … communion both with one another and with the Lord Jesus.  It is the Eucharist, the Meal of Thanksgiving, as we rejoice in the love of God and our freedom from condemnation in Him.

Join me this morning in a brief examination of this second ordinance, the continuing ordinance, the Lord’s Supper.  To accomplish our aim of understanding the Lord’s will, I invite you to open your Bible to Paul’s first letter to the Church of God in Corinth.  This was a church which had severely distorted the observance of the Communion Meal, inviting the rebuke of God’s Apostle.  Fortunately for us, their rebuke serves to instruct us so that we may know how to please the Lord.

The Origin of the Observance — I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.  The Lord’s Supper originated in God’s direction to His people concerning the manner in which they should honour Him.  We have in this meal an ordinance given by the Risen Son of God Himself.  It is vital that we observe it according to His directions.

The meal has roots in the Passover.  It was at the conclusion of the last Passover observance that our Lord instituted a new observance.  Note Matthew’s language in Matthew 26:26: While they were eating…  The disciples would have known by heart the ritual associated with the Passover Meal.  Every Jew from earliest childhood watched this ritual and each was instructed in its significance.  They did not often, however, realise that the ritual was pointing forward to the final Passover; and it is that one great sacrifice which we have in view in the Communion Meal.

On one occasion I worked with a Jewish Evangelism Team in the city of San Francisco.  Visiting the homes of Jewish people in the city, I knocked on one door and having introduced myself I asked if the family was Jewish.  The man pointed to the mezuzah on the door and said he was Jewish.  Since the Passover was near I asked if he had a lamb.

“A lamb!” he scoffed.  “This is the city.  You can’t have a lamb in the city.”

“You can’t observe the Passover without a lamb,” I reminded him.  “You are to keep the lamb penned up, observing it carefully for any defects.  Then, only if the lamb is proven to be perfect may you slaughter it and your family must eat the entire lamb.”

He was intrigued since these facts were well known to him.  “Do you have a lamb?” he asked.

It was the opening I had sought and for which I had prayed.  I told him of the Lamb of God who provided a sacrifice for all who will receive it.  I pointed to Yeshua the Messiah who is God’s Passover.  Though I did not see him embrace Christ, he invited me to tell him more and promised that he would discuss the matter with his rabbi.  Others did turn to the Messiah, discovering that though they no longer kept the Passover as God dictated a better provision has been made in order that none need fail to honour God.

Jesus kept the Passover and at the end of that last Passover He did something strange and new.  The disciples must have been startled.  The remains of the Passover were yet on the table when Jesus reached out His hand and took bread.  Lifting His eyes to heaven He gave thanks and broke the loaf.  Then He gave the bread to His disciples and with these words invited them to eat it: Take and eat; this is my body [Matthew 26:26].  Dr. Luke adds the information that the Master instructed the disciples that they were to maintain this observance in remembrance of Him [Luke 22:19b].

If that action seemed odd to the disciples, His next move must have confused them more, for He reached out and took the cup, again gave thanks and offered it to them with these words: Drink from it all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom [Matthew 26:27-29].

The disciples had witnessed the Master honour that which the Father had instituted through Moses, but they had also seen Him display divine prerogative in giving them an act which superseded and fulfilled the ancient rite.  The Lord’s Supper was, then, given by the hand of God and we who have been born into the Family of God through faith in Christ are enjoined to remember Him through this meal which He instituted.

Paul, in our text, tells us that he received knowledge of the Meal through divine communication.  Christ Himself instructed the Apostle in the significance of the Meal and in the manner in which it was to be observed.  Mark in your minds, then, that this is a divinely instituted meal.  We dare not change either the purpose or the observance itself if we will please God.

The Declarations of the Observance — The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Quite often people approach me asking if they may participate in our Communion Service.  I make every effort to discover their purpose in raising this question since many people hold a sacerdotal view of the meal.  They think the meal is a vehicle to make them acceptable to God.  They see the Meal is a means of making them more holy—as somehow conferring grace on them or as a means of fitting them for heaven.

Those individuals who were baptised in a communion which teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation seem quite naturally to think that the continuing ordinance is also necessary for maintaining the state of grace they suppose they have received in their baptism.  However, since baptism is a testimony of grace and not a means of receiving grace this Communion Meal must also be seen as a testimony of relationship and not as a means of enhancing relationship.  Knowing that man would distort the declarations of the meal the Spirit of God gave us instruction through the Apostle so we would know what we are to do and the manner in which we were to keep this observance.

The meal itself is simple in design.  It is the eating of bread and the drinking of wine together with those whom we fellowship.  It would seem that the early practise was to observe the Communion at the conclusion of a potluck meal which was known as the ajgavph.  The ajgavph was similar to any potluck meal we might observe in our own church.  The people would unite for a common meal, each one bringing whatever they were able to contribute and all alike shared in the ajgavph meal.

This is the background to the Apostle’s rebuke which begins in verse seventeen.  In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.  In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.  No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.  When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.  One remains hungry, another gets drunk.  Don’t you have homes 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 praise you for this?  Certainly not!

It is healthy for the church to see the meal as Communion, and as one means to assist in that understanding to plan for a potluck meal during which the Lord’s Supper is observed as a testimony of fellowship.  That is the meaning of the word communion.  The word koinwniva which is used in 1 Corinthians 10:16 was actually translated communion in older translations of the Word.  The cup of thanksgiving and the bread we break are a communion in the blood and body of Christ—a declaration of fellowship in His Body.

Take a moment to make one crucial observation: this is a church observance.  When you come together as a church…  The Greek reads rather differently in this instance: When you come together ejn ejkklhsiva/.  It is as the church came together in assembly, united in worship, that they observed the meal.  I cannot simply decide that I will have a Communion Meal by myself.  I cannot in concert with a group of fellow saints decide to hold a Communion observance.  It is a church ordinance and the entire church must be invited to participate that the declarations set forth in our text might be made.

The church does have the right to dismiss from this building announcing that the Lord’s Table will be observed at some other place so long as each of the members is welcome to participate there.  The church can announce that it will commemorate the Lord’s death at a certain place and that any of the Body wishing to join in that commemoration is welcome to come.  The meal cannot simply be held for a few to the exclusion of the most, however, as it is in assembly that the ordinance is to be observed.

When we come to the Lord’s Table we declare our fellowship with Christ, but we also declare our fellowship with one another.  By participating in the meal we declare on holy oath before the Lord that we are in fellowship with one another and with Him.  We invite Him to examine us to discover any falsity in that fellowship.  Therefore, this is what it professes to be—Communion, a declaration of fellowship.

May I say that we are to examine ourselves in part to insure that there exists no breach in fellowship.  If I am angry toward a fellow believer and there has been no repair of the damage resulting from that breach and I yet attempt to partake of the meal I invite the Lord’s discipline.  If I hold a grievance in my heart against some fellow saint I invite the Lord’s discipline.  Are we stronger than the Lord?  Dare we imagine that we can ignore His direction without His loving intervention?

‘Ere the Meal is observed there is opportunity for and encouragement to engage in personal examination.  If you know you hold hostility or malice or even irritation in your heart against another believer, go to that believer now and make it right.  If it is not possible to speak to that believer at this moment, resolve in your heart to repair the damage at earliest opportunity.  If the injury is deep and the anger holds sway over you, refrain from the Meal until you have resolved the issue, for we are to be a fellowship, sharing our lives and caring deeply for one another from the heart.

This is a Meal of Remembrance.  Jesus, as He broke the bread, commanded that we do this in remembrance of Him [Luke 22:19], and Paul here iterates the Lord’s command [verse 24].  As the bread is broken we are reminded that His body was broken for us.  As we see the wine in the glass we are reminded that His blood was shed for us.  Above all else, this is a meal of remembrance.  The believer is called to remember our Lord’s great love for us—a love which led Him to give Himself in our place.  Jesus said, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends [John 15:13].

While each of us participating in this Meal will doubtless focus on the sacrifice of our Lord, I challenge you to remember that His sacrifice was above all else evidence of His great love for us.  In the encyclical we know as Ephesians, Paul urged believers to live a life of love.  Take note that the basis for this enjoinder is the singular fact that Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God [Ephesians 5:2b].  That is a humbling thought … Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.  We must ever remind ourselves of His great love for us.

That one who has never trusted Christ cannot remember His sacrifice since he has not yet received that sacrifice.  The Meal is set before you, and if you have not been born into the Family of God, let the bread and wine serve to convict you of your need and to convince you of the love God has for you.  The Word declares: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son [John 3:16-18].

The Lord’s Supper is a Communion—a declaration of fellowship, and it is a Meal of remembrance.  It is also a Meal of anticipation.  Paul said we were to keep this observance until He comes [verse 26b].  Jesus, on the night He instituted this Meal avowed, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom [Matthew 26:29].

One of the great truths obscured by a cynical age is the doctrine of the Lord’s return.  Jesus, as He departed this earth, promised that He would come again.  The apostolic church lived in the hope of that promise and that hope energised the saints, enabling them to stand in the face of the severest persecution.  Paul wrote of the transformation which yet awaits the saint.  These are his words found in Romans 8:18-30.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved.  But hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

No doubt you, like me, sometimes become discouraged as you walk through the world.  I read of young mothers who kill their newborn infants, of fathers who abuse their little children for their own gratification, of men and women living only for themselves, and I become disheartened.  The church is ridiculed and the holy Bride of Christ is treated as a cheap trollop by the world, and I become discouraged.  Christians so-called ridicule and disregard the Word of God and see service to the Body and before the Lord as a means to seize power over others, and I am sore pressed to want to continue in this world.  “How long, O Lord?  How long until you return and set matters straight?”

If the injury to the soul is somehow insufficient to cause the saint to lose heart, the opposition of sinners will surely accomplish that dire task.  Though many will listen if we go to them with the message of life, others are offended that we would dare shine light on their bondage.  I read that men loved darkness because their deeds were evil [John 3:19].  Enslaved by their own passions and in bondage to forces they cannot control they resent the light which reveals they are chained, and the child of God who speaks in love to them will ofttimes be despised and abused.  A few such incidents and the child of God may easily grow discouraged without some refreshment.  The Lord’s Supper provides just such refreshment, a soft pillow for the weary head.

Christ has promised to return and as I partake of this Meal I cannot help but remember that we shall not always share in this way.  There is a day known but to God when all the ransomed church of God shall be gathered together to Him.  One last time we shall sit down to the table and Christ Himself will serve us.  O blessed day!  It is as though my soul is soiled by the contamination and filth of this world and in my despair I approach this table and renew my hope in His return.  He is yet Lord and He shall return to receive us who long for His coming.

Recall the Apostle’s words found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.  There is encouragement in the knowledge that Jesus is coming again, and the Meal before us serves to provide that encouragement.  Amen.

The Warning Associated with the Observance — Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgement.  When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.  The Meal serves as a means of self-diagnosis.  Examining ourselves we may be restored to fellowship with Christ and with His people.  Examining ourselves we are reminded of His great love for us, and we are thus led to give thanks.  Examining ourselves our hope is renewed and we are equipped to once again confront the world as befits those who are redeemed.

We are not made more holy if we partake of the Meal, but we are suited to better serve the Master.  Anyone who views the Meal as a sacrament must be cautioned against thinking that this act in some way makes them acceptable to God.  We are not somehow saved if we participate in the Meal, but if we are saved we are invited to join in the Meal.  The directions Paul provided are not given to debar any from the Meal, but they are given to lead us to approach the Lord’s Table in a manner worthy of Him who calls us.

On occasion an individual will keep himself or herself from the Meal, thinking, “I am not worthy to share in that Meal.”  Come, sinner, join with other sinners who have been made perfect in Christ.  None of us is worthy to be called a child of God nor even to come before Him, but the One who redeems us invites us to come in an attitude worthy of His calling.  The word unworthy is not an adjective but an adverb.  It is not the person who is in view but the attitude of the person which is in view, and that is the reason the Master calls us to examine ourselves.  I do not mean to be cavalier in inviting you to the Meal, but I call you to see this observance as the means by which our Lord confronts us in our sin and calls us to receive His restoration.

Some here today cannot legitimately partake of the Meal because they are estranged from other believers.  You harbour bitterness toward another fellow saint—perhaps even a member of this particular congregation.  Set aside your bitterness.  Before you partake of the Meal you may find it necessary to go to that one in whom you are offended and seek forgiveness.  Take the initiative that you might enjoy the Communion of saints and that you might truly declare your fellowship with the Lord of love.

Among us may be some fellow believer who is so discouraged by events that they doubt they can ever again partake of the Meal.  Lift up your eyes, brother.  Encourage yourself, my sister.  Christ is coming again, and this Meal declares that truth.  Refresh your spirit by looking again to the Living Lord who has conquered death having gone down into the tomb to make it a pleasant place to await the resurrection.  This Risen Lord of Glory is surely coming again, and you can take heart in that knowledge.

Others here today cannot partake of the Meal because they have yet to know the Saviour as Master of life.  You who are yet unsaved, do you not see the love our Lord has for you that He should give Himself for your sin.  We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone [Hebrews 2:9].  Even now where you sit I invite you to confess your sin to Him and to receive Him as Lord of life that you might join the saints of God in remembering the love of Christ.

Perhaps you will ask what you must do in order to be saved.  The Word declares, if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].

What if I participate and my motives are unworthy?  What then, preacher?  What if I am yet angry toward a fellow saint and I still participate?  What if I refuse to humble myself and seek restoration of fellowship with a fellow believer?  What will God do?  What if I refuse to listen to the Word and continue to think that I will somehow make myself more holy or somehow be saved through sharing in this rite?  What will God do?  What if I fail to recognise that the Lord Himself is present with us and simply go through the motions of participating?  When then, pastor?

It is an awesome word which the Apostle has written, and our unbelief does not change the impact of those arresting words.  Anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself.  To refuse the Lord’s instruction, to come before Him with our own ideas of what the Meal means, is to invite His judgement.  Our Lord is gracious, and we are not struck down instantly on every occasion because we act in ignorance, but can we claim ignorance if we know His will?  Can we, after this word today, insist that we do not know what He would have us do?

Paul speaks of weakness and sickness, even of death resulting from the actions of some who, though knowing better, chose to ignore the Lord’s instruction.  How much of our spiritual and physical afflictions is the result of divine judgement?  That one under judgement knows that the Lord’s hand is against him.  I seek to spare you today as I urge you to see the Lord’s call to enter into a fresh relationship with Him, walking in fellowship with Him and with His church and in renewed confidence in His love.

In a few moments we will observe the Lord’s Table—the continuing Ordinance.  Our invitation is a call to self-examination for each of us.  Should you have need to seek restoration of fellowship—with the church or with a fellow saint—seize this opportunity to deal with the matter.  Perhaps you need to get up from your seat now and go to another to ask forgiveness and to ask that fellowship be renewed.  For Christ’s sake and for the health of the Body, do so now.  Perhaps that one in whom you are offended is not present.  Before the Lord, resolve that when you shall leave this place you shall go to that one to seek forgiveness and restoration of fellowship.  Doing this you will restore fellowship with the Saviour and again enjoy that peace which He alone can give.

Should you be discouraged, do take advantage of this time of self-examination to cry out to the coming King asking that He encourage your heart.  Remind yourself that He has promised and that in light of His coming we must prepare ourselves to serve until He has fulfilled His promise.  Ask that He might remove discouragement and distress and that you might again walk in renewed hope.  As you are renewed in hope you will be a source of rich encouragement to others.  As you are thus blessed you shall bless others.

You have been confronted by the message and have thus discovered that you are yet unsaved, I point you to a Saviour who will remove all your guilt and give you a place in His forever family.  I present to you the only One who can remove your sin and make you pure before the Living God.  I call you to place your faith in Him.  If you are uncertain what to do, I would urge you to hear this Word.

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].

 Having heard this call I invite you, in the quietness of your heart to simply pray.  Perhaps you would say, “Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and unworthy of your love.  I do believe that You died because of me and I accept Your sacrifice in my place.  Forgive me of all my sin, for You alone can forgive my sin.  Receive me into Your family and give me the confidence which comes from Your love.  Amen.”

Now join me in a time of silent self-examination and silent contemplation of our Lord’s mercies and love.  Amen.