The
sacred ordinance | Communion (Sermon
by Pastor James Xote)
In order to see Jesus Christ,
the eyes of our heart needs to be open!
Isaiah 53:6
“All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
In these verses is an account
of the sufferings of Christ; also of the design of his sufferings. It was for
our sins, and in our stead, that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned,
and have come short of the glory of God. Sinners have their beloved sin, their
own evil way, of which they are fond. Our sins deserve all griefs and sorrows,
even the most severe. We are saved from the ruin, to which by sin we become
liable, by laying our sins on Christ. This atonement was to be made for our
sins. And this is the only way of salvation. Our sins were the thorns in
Christ's head, the nails in his hands and feet, the spear in his side. He was delivered
to death for our offences. By his sufferings he purchased for us the Spirit and
grace of God, to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our
souls. We may well endure our lighter sufferings, if He has taught us to esteem
all things but loss for him, and to love him who has first loved us.
When you worship God only for
finances, arrangements, promotion etc, and when you are not blessed by these you
will be discouraged. But if you worship without any demands, He will bless you
abundantly.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“For I have received of the
Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night
in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it,
and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in
remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft
as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.”
There are two things we must
understand:
1-Transubstantiation - Transubstantiation (in Latin,
transsubstantiatio, in Greek μετουσίωσις metousiosis) is, according to the
teaching of the Catholic Church, the change of substance by which the bread and
the wine offered in the sacrifice of the sacrament of the Eucharist during the
Mass, become, in reality, the body and blood of Jesus the Christ.
The Catholic Church teaches
that the substance, or reality, of the Eucharistic offering (either bread
alone, or bread and wine) is changed into both the body and blood of Christ.
Catholics believe that, in the
offering of the Eucharist, the whole presence of Christ exists in:
- Transubstantiated bread,
even in small fragments.
- Transubstantiated wine, even
in a single drop.
2- Consubstantiation - Consubstantiation is a theological doctrine
that (like Transubstantiation) attempts to describe the nature of the Christian
Eucharist in concrete metaphysical terms. It holds that during the sacrament,
the fundamental "substance" of the body and blood of Christ are
present alongside the substance of the bread and wine, which remain present.
The doctrine of
consubstantiation is often held in contrast to the doctrine of
transubstantiation. While some Lutherans use the term
"consubstantiation" to describe their doctrine, many reject it as not
accurately reflecting the eucharistic doctrine of Martin Luther, the
sacramental union. They reject the concept of consubstantiation because it
replaces what they believe to be the biblical doctrine with a philosophical
construct and because it implies that the body and blood are physically present
in the same way as the bread and wine, rather than being present in an
"illocal", supernatural way.
Illustration: It was 1553,
when the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I, later known as “Bloody Mary” for her
execution of so many reformers, came to the throne. Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop
of Canterbury), Nicholas Ridley (Archbishop of London), and Hugh Latimer
(Bishop of Worcester) were summoned to appear before a commission in the Church
of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford to be examined for their alleged Protestant
heresies. They would not admit to a belief in transubstantiation, the Catholic
belief that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper literally become the body
and blood of Jesus, and they were all found guilty. Ridley and Latimer were
separated after their condemnation in St. Mary’s Church. They had to stay in
separate houses as they awaited their execution in two weeks. , she killed over
288 Protestant Christians for the issue
The apostle describes the
sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As
to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called
bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly
showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh.
St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all drink of the cup, ch. Mt 26:27, as
if he would, by this expression, provide against any believer being deprived of
the cup. The things signified by these outward signs, are Christ's body and
blood, his body broken, his blood shed, together with all the benefits which
flow from his death and sacrifice. Our Saviour's actions were, taking the bread
and cup, giving thanks, breaking the bread, and giving both the one and the
other. The actions of the communicants were, to take the bread and eat, to take
the cup and drink, and to do both in remembrance of Christ. But the outward
acts are not the whole, or the principal part, of what is to be done at this
holy ordinance. Those who partake of it, are to take him as their Lord and
Life, yield themselves up to him, and live upon him. Here is an account of the
ends of this ordinance. It is to be done in remembrance of Christ, to keep
fresh in our minds his dying for us, as well as to remember Christ pleading for
us, in virtue of his death, at God's right hand. It is not merely in
remembrance of Christ, of what he has done and suffered; but to celebrate his
grace in our redemption. We declare his death to be our life, the spring of all
our comforts and hopes. And we glory in such a declaration; we show forth his
death, and plead it as our accepted sacrifice and ransom. The Lord's supper is
not an ordinance to be observed merely for a time, but to be continued. The
apostle lays before the Corinthians the danger of receiving it with an
unsuitable temper of mind; or keeping up the covenant with sin and death, while
professing to renew and confirm the covenant with God. No doubt such incur
great guilt, and so render themselves liable to spiritual judgements. But
fearful believers should not be discouraged from attending at this holy
ordinance. The Holy Spirit never caused this scripture to be written to deter
serious Christians from their duty, though the devil has often made this use of
it. The apostle was addressing Christians, and warning them to beware of the
temporal judgements with which God chastised his offending servants. And in the
midst of judgement, God remembers mercy: he many times punishes those whom he
loves. It is better to bear trouble in this world, than to be miserable for
ever. The apostle points our the duty of those who come to the Lord's table.
Self-examination is necessary to right attendance at this holy ordinance. If we
would thoroughly search ourselves, to condemn and set right what we find wrong,
we should stop Divine judgements. The apostle closes all with a caution against
the irregularities of which the Corinthians were guilty at the Lord's table.
Let all look to it, that they do not come together to God's worship, so as to
provoke him, and bring down vengeance on themselves.
We need a sound doctrine in
our heart. Paul's says, let us not be feeding on milk anymore. Why many of us
are confused, because we don't take the word of God seriously.
When God said, "This is
my body, that's a presentation." He wants us to remember what He has done
for us.
John 6:63
“It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they
are spirit, and they are life.”
The human nature of Christ had
not before been in heaven, but being God and man, that wondrous Person was
truly said to have come down from heaven. The Messiah's kingdom was not of this
world; and they were to understand by faith, what he had said of a spiritual
living upon him, and his fulness. As without the soul of man the flesh is of no
value, so without the quickening Spirit of God all forms of religion are dead
and worthless. He who made this provision for our souls, alone can teach us
these things, and draw us unto Christ, that we may live by faith in him. Let us
apply to Christ, thankful that it is declared that every one who is willing to
come unto him shall be made welcome.
When Jesus says "It is my
body and blood?" It is a memorial. We are directly making a communion with
God.
Those words were first used in
reference to the Lord’s Supper by Jesus himself. The apostle Paul recorded them
in 1 Corinthians 11.
He quoted Jesus as saying of
the broken bread and the cup of the covenant,
"Do this in remembrance
of me."
Those words remind us of two
basic facts: that Jesus wants us to remember him and that we are prone to
forget.
The Lord’s Supper makes it
clear to us that Jesus wanted his followers to remember that His ministry on
earth was completed on a cross, where he suffered and died for the sins of the
world.
He wants us to remember the
cross as the ultimate demonstration of his love for undeserving, self-centered
sinners.
And he wants us to remember
that following him means being identified with him.
It means taking up a cross —
suffering as he suffered, forgiving as he forgave, loving as he loved, and
dying as he died.
Let’s make the Lord’s Supper a
memorable celebration and not just a routine ritual.
We need Preparation and
Participation.
I. Through preparation.
Let your mind travel back to
that night when Jesus was betrayed.
Remember the setting of the
supper and the meaning he gave it.
We are not just casual
observers we are part of what happened that night.
Walk with Christ, sit with
Christ on the night when he instituted the supper.
II. Through participation.
For a memorable observance of
the supper, we need to come in the right spirit.
Be still.
Remember the God we bow before
is our creator, our redeemer, Our sovereign Lord.
Approach him in a spirit of
reverence and humility.
Count your blessings and thank
him. Open your whole life to God.
Remember that you do not come
alone to the supper the supper.
Your brothers and sisters in
Christ are here.
Pray that we will all sense
God’s nearness, His love, His strength, His purpose.
For a memorable observance of
the supper, we need to examine ourselves and confess our sins to God.
For a memorable observance of
the supper, we partake of the elements in faith and meaningful remembrance.
We believe the bread and the
grape juice received in faith remain bread and grape juice.
We believe that partaking of
them in the spirit Jesus demonstrated will heighten our awareness of God’s
presence and of his call to us to follow him.
Gathered around the Lord’s
Table, we remember we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper, conscious of the
Lord’s presence, the Lord’s power, and the Lord’s purpose.
From the table, we look back
to the cross on which Jesus died and we look forward to his coming in glory.
There are so many covenants
mentioned in the bible, but the one at Mt. Sinai is as important as it exposes
the sin. It is easy to become morally stiff rather than being spiritually
active.
The Lord's Supper is a very
memorable service as it reminds us what God has done for us and what God will
do with us.
Illustration: When I was
pursuing my Masters in Theology, during the completion my classmates gave me a
lungi (authentic cloth, as observed worn by majority of men in southern states
of India), I will remember it for some times or maybe I might forget that over
time. God doesn't gives us such gifts which we may forget. He gave His life for
me (us) that I will never forget.
We hope you enjoy this encouraging song by Matt Redman - "Once Again "
Let God continue to speak to
us that we don't become fools. We hope you enjoyed today's sermon. See you next week, God bless!
We hope you enjoy this encouraging song by Matt Redman - "Once Again "
Image source: The Rock, Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Originally uploaded at: http://therockpca.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/lordssupperbreadcupword.jpg
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