The Lord's Supper
Fundamentals 2021 • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
The theme of this year’s Sunday morning sermons is “Fundamentals” with the focus on growing up into salvation through the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
We started a few weeks ago looking at a “sub-theme” if you will, concerning “worship.”
We studied what it means to worship in spirit and truth according to God’s Word.
We studied what prayer is and how to pray according to God’s Word.
Today, we are going to examine another vital aspect of worship when we all come to one place (1 Corinthians 11:20) which is the memorial feast of our Savior also know as “The Lord’s Supper.”
In this lesson I want our focus to be two-fold.
First, the authority for the Lord’s Supper.
Second, the godly principles of partaking the Lord’s Supper.
With this in mind let’s examine our lesson for today.
Authority For The Lord’s Supper
Authority For The Lord’s Supper
Jesus Authorized Our Partaking.
Jesus Authorized Our Partaking.
After partaking of the Passover meal (Matthew 26:17-25) Jesus institutes the only religious “memorial feast” in the New Testament.
There were many “memorial feasts” in the Old Testament.
The Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits Feast, Feast of Weeks...
In the New Testament there is only the “memorial feast of Jesus” or 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.”
I know of no one that doubts this or tries to say Jesus didn’t authorize this feast.
The question has always been “when to partake” and more recently “what emblems to partake of.”
Jesus Authorized The Emblems.
Jesus Authorized The Emblems.
To understand this one must grasp proper biblical hermeneutics (science of studying the Bible) which we covered earlier in the year concerning “Examples.”
If you recall, God authorizes through direct statements, examples, and implications.
When it comes to what emblems to use during the Lord’s Supper, we know Jesus used unleavened bread and grape juice thus the example authorizes.
The Passover required no leaven in the house.
15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
Why is this passage significant?
First, because it tells us the type of bread the Passover had, and Jesus used when He established the Lord’s Supper.
It had to be unleavened bread.
Second, because it tells us the type of grape liquid the Passover had, and Jesus used when He established the Lord’s Supper.
It had to be unleavened wine i.e., grape juice.
This is why we never see the liquid in the cup called “wine” but rather “fruit of the vine” (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18).
People can used leavened bread and fermented wine all they want just like they could use stake and potatoes and coke as well, but none of that is authorized.
They only authority we find is that of unleavened bread and grape juice.
Jesus Authorized A Weekly Memorial.
Jesus Authorized A Weekly Memorial.
Once again when we find authorization for how often they eat and drink the memorial feat by way of example.
When we look at the New Testament church, we are left with only one conclusion and that is that they were partaking of it on each and every Sunday.
Notice that actions of the apostle Paul in Troas.
He waited seven days just to worship with the brethren with the focus being on “breaking bread together” i.e., partaking together of the Lord’s Supper.
6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. 7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
Also notice the only other example of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament, which concerns the church in Corinth.
We find that the church in Corinth was meeting every first day of the week.
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
When we look closer, we find that the church in Corinth was meeting every first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper, but they were doing it all wrong, which Paul was trying to correct.
20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.
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.
Now here we find two examples of the church partaking of the Lord’s Supper and both are on Sunday and one is clearly showing they were partaking every Sunday.
Once again you can have the Lord’s Supper however and whenever you want if you want to partake of it in an unauthorized manner and in a way that is unpleasing to God.
Summary
Summary
Brethren it isn’t difficult to find authority for partaking of the Lord’s Supper with unleavened bread and grape juice on each first day of the week (Sunday) if you know what to look for.
Let us be a people confident in God’s Word and how we are authorized to worship Jesus in His memorial feast.
As important as it is to worship by way of this memorial feast we would be remiss if we didn’t examine the…
Godly Principles Of Partaking
Godly Principles Of Partaking
Before We Partake We Must Prepare.
Before We Partake We Must Prepare.
This means making certain we are pure of heart and mind.
28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
The time and place for asking of remission of sins is before one partakes of the memorial feast of Jesus.
Why, because…
While We Partake We Must Focus.
While We Partake We Must Focus.
We are to focus on the body of Jesus while partaking of the bread.
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
We are to focus on the death of Jesus on the cross at Golgotha while partaking of the fruit of the vine.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
We are to also focus on the resurrection of our Savior on that third day while partaking of the fruit of the vine.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
Summary
Summary
The Corinthians struggled with understanding the proper focus of this great memorial feast of our Lord and Savior.
Let us make certain we never “eat and drink judgment on ourselves” (1 Corinthians 11:29).
Conclusion
Conclusion
Worshiping our Lord properly in His memorial is no flippant matter.
Paul would go on to say to the Corinthians that some, because they worshiped wrong in this, had become weak, ill, and even died (1 Corinthians 11:30).
Let’s worship in this memorial feast as intended physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.