WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.759 So my goal for us today is really to do two things. We're going to have two kind of portions 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:11.080 to this sermon. The first one is going to be kind of a general overview of what the meaning of the 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:15.500 supper is. And we're going to look at two different passages as we do that, maybe three, but at least 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:20.120 two different passages in that process. And then after that, we're going to go specifically to 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:26.740 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, and we're going to do just a brief exposition of what this means 00:00:26.739 --> 00:00:31.339 practically in the church. Okay, so are you with me on the goal? The goal is to first look and say, 00:00:31.419 --> 00:00:37.560 okay, in the grand scheme of the Bible, in the grand scheme of the redemptive narrative of the 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:42.619 scriptures, this is how the Lord's Supper fits in. And this is how we discern its significance 00:00:42.619 --> 00:00:46.859 and its importance for us and its meaning. And then after we have discovered that, 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:51.780 we're going to zoom in a little closer on 1 Corinthians 11 in particular, and we're going 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:56.459 to say, okay, this is what God has determined for us to do as a church. This is how we're going to do 00:00:56.460 --> 00:01:02.100 this practically speaking as a church in order to obey the Lord. Okay, you're with me? All right, 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:08.000 we're going to do that and pray that the Lord blesses it as we go. Okay, the first thing really 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:13.099 before we turn, in fact, actually, why don't you go ahead and turn to Exodus chapter 12. Exodus 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:19.280 chapter 12 is going to be our first place. Before we get there, it is maybe helpful for me just to give 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:26.120 a quick, just kind of simple definition of what this is in case you don't know, and especially maybe 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:32.780 for our kids here that are just learning these things. The Lord's Supper is one of two rights, 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:40.300 not R-I-G-H-T, but R-I-T-E, two rights that are in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament 00:01:40.300 --> 00:01:48.520 for the church. The other one is believer's baptism. And these are two things that we refer to as gospel 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:57.679 ordinances. Now, an ordinance is simply an act that Jesus Christ has ordained for his church to observe 00:01:57.679 --> 00:02:05.500 that is a means of visibly displaying the gospel. And when we say gospel in this sense, what we're 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:11.479 specifically referring to is the death of Christ on the cross, his atoning work in the crucifixion, 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:20.379 and his resurrection from the dead. Okay? So we're kind of zooming in on that specific portion of the 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:24.599 gospel message. Okay? The crucifixion, the resurrection. A gospel ordinance is something 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:30.500 that Jesus has specifically commanded in the scriptures that the church would observe in 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:37.639 order to visibly show the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so we won't talk about baptism 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:42.979 much, but if you think about it, the way that we practice baptism as a church, it is for believers 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:49.099 after they have made their profession of faith. And if you picture the immersion process as a person 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:54.199 stands in the water, as they go down, it is a representation of Christ's death, and it is our 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:59.739 death with him, putting our sin to death on the cross. And then as they are raised out of the water, 00:02:59.959 --> 00:03:06.159 it is a visible display of the resurrection to new life that we have through the resurrection of Jesus 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:12.379 Christ. So you'll see, Jesus has commanded that we do that, and in the process of commanding that we do 00:03:12.379 --> 00:03:19.620 that, it visibly shows his gospel. Well, the Lord's Supper does the same thing. In using covenantal 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:26.879 language of the Bible, we would say that these two ordinances are the signs of the new covenant. 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:31.120 And we're going to talk about it a little bit more in just a moment. But if you look at the scriptures 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.840 and you see every time God gives a covenant, he always gives a sign to accompany that covenant. 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:46.019 Baptism is the initial sign, and it is the initial inaugurating sign of the covenant. It brings us 00:03:46.019 --> 00:03:53.479 in in a public, visible way into the community of God's people, okay? It's that sign. The Lord's 00:03:53.479 --> 00:04:03.560 Supper, then, is that ongoing perpetual sign that a person is in this covenant with Jesus Christ, 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:11.420 this covenant of faith, this covenant that has provided eternal life. This is the sign that we are his. It 00:04:11.420 --> 00:04:21.620 marks us as a people. And so before we move on, we need to understand first that neither baptism 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:27.560 nor the Lord's Supper is capable of providing salvation. 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:37.620 It's impossible. It doesn't work. Just because you're baptized doesn't mean you're saved. 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:44.220 Just because you happen to take part in this supper today, that's not what makes you a Christian. It 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:50.319 doesn't provide salvation for you. And the other side of that equation is if you don't get baptized 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:56.019 and you don't take the supper, but you have genuinely trusted Christ by faith, that doesn't 00:04:56.019 --> 00:05:03.180 mean that your salvation is removed from you. These are not salvific. They're signs. They don't provide. 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:10.360 Neither do they take away salvation. They just point to the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and they are 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:15.980 visible signs of his gospel. And we have to remember that. Ephesians 2, it is by grace that we are saved 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:24.819 through faith and not of your own doing. It's the gift of God, not of works, even the works of baptism 00:05:24.819 --> 00:05:30.840 and the Lord's Supper, not of works lest any man should boast. Our boast is not in what we do. Our 00:05:30.840 --> 00:05:36.200 boast is in the grace of Christ and what he has given to us. And so it's important that we remember 00:05:36.200 --> 00:05:41.340 that. We don't come to the Lord's table today to gain salvation. We come because we have already 00:05:41.339 --> 00:05:48.159 received his gracious salvation. Don't do it to get anything from him. We do it as an act of worship. 00:05:49.119 --> 00:05:56.539 We don't come out of compulsion. We come first because we love our Savior. And we love what this 00:05:56.539 --> 00:06:04.519 represents in our Savior. And we also come out of obedience to our Lord who has told us to do this. 00:06:05.159 --> 00:06:09.099 And so let's walk through a few scriptures here. You're in Exodus chapter 12. And what we're going to 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:15.820 look at here is the Passover meal from the Old Testament. Okay, the Passover meal. Now to 00:06:15.820 --> 00:06:21.320 understand the significance of the Lord's Supper, we need to first study the institution of this other 00:06:21.320 --> 00:06:28.120 meal, which we know as Passover. If you remember back to this story in the narrative, if you know it, 00:06:28.400 --> 00:06:33.939 you probably will remember at least parts of it. The descendants of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:44.180 had spent just over 400 years mostly in slavery in Egypt. 430 years actually to be exact. And in the 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:49.819 process of that time, they'd become slaves. They were oppressed by Pharaoh and by the Egyptians. 00:06:50.659 --> 00:06:59.319 And Pharaoh was a ruthless taskmaster. He refused to let the people of God go. So God cursed Egypt. 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:04.379 And he did that through a number of plagues. You'll remember those 10 plagues as you have 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:09.300 studied them in your Bible, or perhaps you remember them from your Sunday school class as a kid. 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:18.579 He gave these plagues, each one an opportunity for Pharaoh to respond, submit to God through the 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:25.879 message of his servant Moses and Aaron. And finally, God said in the final plague, he was going to 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:36.019 kill the firstborn of every household in Egypt. And if Pharaoh didn't let the people go, well, Pharaoh 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:42.740 didn't let them go. And so the judgment night was coming. And so the night before the children of 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:50.279 Israel were freed from this bondage and slavery, God told them to observe a feast. And he gave them 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:55.439 specific instructions on how this feast was to be observed. And you can read all about it in Exodus chapter 12. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:01.240 They were to take a lamb of one year old, one without spot and without blemish. They were to 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.959 slaughter the lamb, and then they were to have it as a meal. And there was a particular way that they 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:10.800 were to dress during the meal that night. It was all symbolic to what God was about to do. But the most 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:16.180 significant part of this is after they slaughtered the lamb, they were to take the blood of the 00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:21.620 slaughtered lamb, and they were to display it on the doorpost of their house. And what was going to 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:27.220 take place is when God came through the land that night to judge the firstborn of every house. Whenever 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:34.860 he saw the blood, he passed over that house. It wasn't because the people in that house were worthy 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:41.419 of anything. It was because he saw the blood. When he saw the blood, he passed over. Now look at it with me 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:47.919 in verse 11. Maybe we can go there. Exodus chapter 12, verse 11. God says, 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:55.099 In this manner you shall eat it, with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand, 00:08:55.360 --> 00:09:02.059 and you shall eat it in haste. It's the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:08.699 and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And on all the gods of Egypt, 00:09:08.699 --> 00:09:16.319 I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are, 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:24.120 and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And no plague will befall you to destroy you when I 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:32.600 strike the land of Egypt. Now, you know where this is going, right? This is significant. This is pointing 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:38.920 to another sacrifice that would one day come. And we can look back on that sacrifice now and begin to 00:09:38.920 --> 00:09:43.740 make all of these connections and understand the significance of this. God specifically tells his 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:49.580 people, when I see the blood, I will pass over you, not because you're deserving, but because of the 00:09:49.580 --> 00:09:55.240 covenant I have made with you that has been ratified in blood. And now we look to the cross of Christ, 00:09:55.399 --> 00:10:00.560 and we see this perfect lamb, as John the Baptist said, behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin 00:10:00.560 --> 00:10:05.159 of the world. Well, how did he take away the sin of the world? Through his shed blood on the cross. 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:13.839 And when God sees that blood, he passes over those sins. It's amazing. But we don't know that yet 00:10:13.839 --> 00:10:20.899 because we're in Exodus 12. Okay, so let's go back to it. This day shall be for you a memorial day. 00:10:21.719 --> 00:10:29.240 You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations as a statute forever. You shall keep it 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:39.180 as a feast. So the Passover feast was to become an annual memorial whereby God's people would remember 00:10:39.180 --> 00:10:47.539 and proclaim the deliverance that God had provided in his grace. And again, it foreshadows a greater 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:54.680 deliverance that would be made available not merely to national Israel, but to all who would follow Christ 00:10:54.679 --> 00:11:03.639 in faith. It was a joyful celebration, such as the Lord's Supper. But it's also a serious occasion of 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:10.699 worship. And the people of God were not to take it lightly. They were to take it seriously. They were 00:11:10.699 --> 00:11:16.299 to follow God's instructions. In fact, there were many times within the history of the nation of Israel 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:23.099 that they were judged by God for not taking it seriously, for not observing it in the way that God had told 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:29.220 them to observe it. They were to teach their children the meaning of all of this. Look at verse 24. You're there 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:36.060 still in Exodus chapter 12. Verse 24, you shall observe this right as a statute for you and for your sons 00:11:36.060 --> 00:11:41.159 forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:49.639 And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? You shall say, it is the sacrifice of the 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:55.740 Lord's Passover. For he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt. And he struck the Egyptians, 00:11:55.980 --> 00:12:01.879 but spared our houses. And the people bowed their heads in worship. There's a specific command here. 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:05.879 Teach this to your children. Teach this to your children. 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:14.600 We all carry this command still. We're not necessarily focused on teaching our children 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:20.480 the significance of the Passover as much as we should be committed to teaching our children the 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:26.960 significance of this supper. Because in teaching them the significance of this supper, we teach them 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:33.220 the significance and the meaning of the gospel. We need to be bound to that. But it wasn't just that 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:38.300 they were to teach their children. Only the people of Israel were permitted to observe this feast. 00:12:39.160 --> 00:12:43.060 You couldn't just decide if you weren't a member of the nation of Israel, you couldn't just decide that 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:46.959 you were going to participate. It doesn't work that way. In fact, look with me at verse 43. 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:54.859 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, this is the statute of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it. 00:12:55.539 --> 00:12:59.859 But every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised them. 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:06.519 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house. You shall not take any of 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:12.219 the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:19.320 shall keep it. Shall keep it. All of them. And if a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:25.180 the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised first. Then he may come near and keep 00:13:25.180 --> 00:13:32.420 it. He shall be as a native of the land, but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. So it was 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:42.379 necessary for all of Israel to observe the Passover. And only the community of Israel could celebrate 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:49.740 this Passover. So God's people did so. Annually, year by year, they went through this in the way 00:13:49.740 --> 00:13:54.939 that God had commanded. I want you to flip over to chapter 13. Perhaps you're already on that page. 00:13:54.940 --> 00:13:59.880 And look with me at verse number eight. I want you to see another significance to this meal. 00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:07.260 Chapter 13, verse eight. You shall tell your son on that day, on the day that you observe this feast, 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:15.520 it is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall be to you a sign 00:14:15.520 --> 00:14:20.760 on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:27.240 For with a strong hand, the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:33.319 as it appointed from year to year. Now notice how personal of a memorial this meal was. Did you see 00:14:33.319 --> 00:14:38.899 the language there in verse number 13? You shall tell your son on that day, it is because of what the 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:47.519 Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. Now we of course understand that initially to be applied to 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:54.740 this first generation of delivered Israelites. But this was something that was repeated beyond that 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:59.500 first generation. For hundreds of years after that, as they would gather around their table in their 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:04.500 homes to observe the Passover, whoever's leading the Passover would look at their son and they would 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:12.079 say, this is to remind you of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Israel. It wasn't that they 00:15:12.079 --> 00:15:16.659 had to be a part of that first generation. That's not what made this significant to them. 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:22.100 It was the very fact that they were the people of God. That was the significance to them. It was 00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:27.079 personal. No matter how long the Passover went, no matter how many hundreds of years it went on, 00:15:27.219 --> 00:15:33.459 it was personal because they were God's people. And it marked the identity of the nation. 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:40.339 It was a significant mark on them. The nation that God had chosen, whom he had delivered from bondage, 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:47.740 its observance represented who they were. The Passover was just for them because they were a 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:54.340 peculiar people. The Lord's table is just for believers because we too are a peculiar people. 00:15:54.340 --> 00:16:02.040 And this is a peculiar thing. It's significant to us. As believers, it was significant to the nation. 00:16:02.139 --> 00:16:06.460 At Mark 2, they were. All right. Now we're going to go to another Passover passage. Okay. This time, 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:13.980 it's in the New Testament. I want you to go to Luke 22. Luke chapter 22. At this point, 00:16:13.980 --> 00:16:23.019 the nation has observed the Passover for thousands of years. And the scriptural narrative zooms in for us 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:31.259 on a specific Passover meal taking place with a specific group of people in Jerusalem. 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:39.080 Jesus is leading this Passover meal with his disciples. And we look at it in verse 14. 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:46.879 And when the hour came, he reclined at table and the apostles with him. And he said to them, 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:51.639 I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:59.480 Now it's not by chance that Jesus instituted the Lord's supper as he and his disciples gathered for 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:09.039 the Passover celebration. Notice the words that Luke records the Lord saying. He had longed to eat 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:16.960 this meal. He had had Passover with them before, but it was this Passover that he longed for. He 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:25.819 earnestly desired for this one because he knew that his suffering would provide salvation that was so 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:35.099 much greater than what the Passover represented. This is important. He was about to radically transform 00:17:35.099 --> 00:17:45.099 the meaning of that meal. When Jesus died on the cross, he was not instituting the Lord's supper in 00:17:45.099 --> 00:17:54.619 addition to the Passover. He was fulfilling the Passover. And then he was transforming the feast. 00:17:55.379 --> 00:18:01.819 He's transforming the memorial. Now when they would come together for this meal, it would mean something 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:08.720 totally different than it had meant up to that point. And he longs for this. He longs for this moment 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:14.159 because he understood the significance of what he was about to do. And he longed for it joyfully to have 00:18:14.159 --> 00:18:20.240 this meal. And then he began to transform it. Look at verse 19. And he took the bread. And when he had 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:28.880 given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you, do this in 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:37.240 remembrance of me. Now there's a particular structure and liturgy to how Jews go about observing the 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:41.500 Passover meal. It was true then. It's still true today. You'll find this in the Passover cedar. 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:47.680 There are various stages of this meal. It's very structured. There are various stages of the meal, 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:54.299 various cups that are used throughout the meal. And intertwined with all of that are statements that 00:18:54.299 --> 00:18:59.360 are repeated annually during the Passover. Lessons that are given. The story of the Exodus is told. 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:05.340 All of those things are happening in the course of this meal. Now what the disciples would have been 00:19:05.340 --> 00:19:11.420 accustomed to hearing when whoever was leading the Passover was holding the bread, taking the bread in 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:15.680 their hand at this point in the meal, they would be used to hearing this. This is the bread of 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:21.340 affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. If you went to a Passover cedar today, you 00:19:21.340 --> 00:19:25.299 would hear the same statement. When whoever is leading it holds the bread at a particular moment 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:30.060 in the meal, this is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in Egypt. And it goes on from there 00:19:30.060 --> 00:19:37.740 to say a few other things. Now imagine the disciples have participated in this their whole lives. 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:46.259 They've heard this statement every time the Passover has come. But on this occasion, Jesus takes the bread 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:51.460 in his hands and he does not say this is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate. It must have 00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:57.160 come as a surprise to them when now he changes the language and he says, this is my body. 00:19:57.160 --> 00:20:04.660 This is now my body. He's transforming the meal. We're not going to look at this meal anymore, 00:20:04.800 --> 00:20:07.980 fellas. And we're not going to look at Egypt anymore. We're not going to talk about bondage 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:12.720 from Egypt or deliverance from Egypt anymore. This no longer represents the bread of affliction. 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:21.580 This is my body given for you. It would no longer be a time to reflect on Egypt. 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:27.759 It would be a time to reflect on this deliverance that believers experience from sin and death. 00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:33.299 And how would they remember this salvation? Because that's what he said to do in the verse. 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:41.279 Do this in remembrance of me. Well, how would they do that? By remembering the sacrifice that he made 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:50.519 for their sins. Moving forward, they were to observe this new supper in memorial of what he was about 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:57.859 to accomplish in just a matter of hours. Now look at verse 20. And likewise, the cup after he had eaten, 00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:06.680 saying this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. He's continuing this 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:13.200 transformation of the meal. There were four cups of wine during the Passover cedar. And this would have 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:19.440 been the third cup that's referred to as the cup of redemption or the cup of blessing. Now, David 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:25.279 Brickner is a converted Jew. This is what he said about this cup. The cup of redemption stood for more 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:32.019 than the Hebrews' escape from Egypt. It stood for the plan and purpose of God for all ages. 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:38.440 Even the Israelite understanding, though they reflected on the deliverance from Egypt, 00:21:38.580 --> 00:21:44.880 they understood this to represent God's purposes of redemption and blessing for the people of God. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:52.260 And then later in the evening, after the supper, Jesus would go to the garden of Gethsemane 00:21:52.260 --> 00:22:00.980 and he would pray, let this cup pass from me, not my will, but thy will be done. Well, what is the cup 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:08.280 he's referring to? He's referring to the cup of wrath, the cup of God's wrath. Now, what's the 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:17.220 disciples supposed to do with this? He was enduring the cup of wrath in order that believers could look 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:26.539 back and take it as the cup of blessing. Do you see what Jesus is doing? Jesus doesn't drink the cup. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:32.599 He drinks a different cup that day. He drinks what the Old Testament said was the cup of God's wrath. 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:42.039 In that moment, he's preparing to take on himself to become sin for us who knew no sin, as Paul said. 00:22:42.899 --> 00:22:49.699 So that we could then take this supper and we could take this cup and we could legitimately call this 00:22:49.699 --> 00:22:56.599 the cup of blessing and the cup of redemption because he took for us the cup of wrath. 00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:02.679 That's what's happening here. That's what's happening in the supper. And then notably, 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:10.500 he links this to the new covenant. Jeremiah 31 talks about this new covenant. Here's what he says. 00:23:10.819 --> 00:23:15.179 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:22.579 I will put my law within them. I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God. They shall be my 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:27.799 people and no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each one his brother saying, know the 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:34.199 Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord, for I will 00:23:34.199 --> 00:23:43.079 forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more. Just as the old covenant in Moses was 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:51.500 ratified with the blood of the lamb, so God ratified this new covenant with the blood of the perfect lamb. 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:58.579 Jesus was linking this moment of his crucifixion to the inauguration of this new covenant. And the 00:23:58.579 --> 00:24:06.980 supper is to be the sign that calls our focus and our attention back to the fact that Jesus has borne our 00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:15.000 sins on the cross. In this new covenant, God can say, I will forgive their sins because Christ was punished 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:20.660 for our sins. Now we take the cup of blessing truly. 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:25.259 So what is the meaning of the Lord's Supper? 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:34.980 What's a memorial meal in which those who have been saved by God's grace remember and proclaim 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:37.440 the glorious gospel of Christ? 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:47.980 Christ. It's an identifying mark of God's new covenant people. And it's a visible witness of how 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:55.660 sinners are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus. You say, well, is this really that important? 00:24:55.660 --> 00:25:14.279 Yes. Yes. It marks us. It marks us as a people. It demands our reflection so that we remember and proclaim our Savior. 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:21.000 Now let's quickly look at the practice of the Lord's Supper. Okay, so we've seen the meaning of the Lord's 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:25.960 Supper. And there's so much more we could say that I'm going to refrain from saying. Now we're going to look at the 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:31.480 practice of it. And I want you to go specifically to 1 Corinthians. We're going to look at chapter 10 briefly, 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:39.160 and then chapter 11, mostly. And I'm going to do my best to make this as brief of an exposition as I can. 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:44.180 Okay, so we're going to look at the practice of the Lord's Supper. If this is what it means, and if this is what 00:25:44.180 --> 00:25:50.359 God has demanded, our Lord has demanded that we observe as his people, how are we then to observe it? 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:56.799 And so as we come to this passage, it may be helpful for us to remember that outside of the 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:01.720 gospel, when Christ instituted the supper, and then the book of Acts, when we see it really for the first 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:08.660 time being practiced, this is the only place in the New Testament where it's mentioned here in Paul's 00:26:08.660 --> 00:26:16.319 first letter to the church in Corinth. Now the very fact that Paul addressed it tells us that churches 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:21.740 did indeed regularly follow this after the ascension of Christ. Okay, so it's not like a question because 00:26:21.740 --> 00:26:26.879 it's not everywhere in the New Testament. It doesn't mean that it's not important or that we don't have 00:26:26.879 --> 00:26:31.639 to observe it. The very fact that Paul's addressing it means that this was a common thing. They were doing 00:26:31.639 --> 00:26:38.179 this, and they were doing it regularly. But rather than doing it like the annual Passover, it also tells 00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:45.680 us that they regularly did this, and they regularly did this as the church gathered together. And then 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:52.660 it also reminds us that this ordinance can very easily be corrupted, which is the context in which 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:58.160 Paul is writing this. It's not that he's laying out a manual here, for these are the steps that you go 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:02.519 through in the Lord's Supper. We don't have that in the scripture. We have grace to do that in different 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:08.119 ways. But what he's dealing with is correcting the manner in which they were coming to the table and 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:14.039 how they were perverting and distorting what it actually was. They had abused this time of worship. 00:27:14.879 --> 00:27:20.279 Paul even says, I think in verse 20 of chapter 11, that he could no longer even consider this the 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:25.059 Lord's Supper in their case because they had so abused it. And so we need to understand the larger 00:27:25.059 --> 00:27:29.980 context of this passage as we come to it, okay? And let's just go through it quickly. Just a few 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:34.740 things if you're keeping notes. First, this is a meal of communion. It's a meal of communion. Somebody 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:38.819 asked me, I think it was Michaela asked me, are your points alliterated today? Well, not really, 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:43.640 but they all end in ION. And so that may be helpful to you. It's a meal of communion. 00:27:44.360 --> 00:27:55.160 Look at chapter 10, verse 16. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of 00:27:55.160 --> 00:28:01.860 Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because 00:28:01.860 --> 00:28:09.080 there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Now, when we're 00:28:09.080 --> 00:28:14.380 talking about communion here, we're talking about a literal communion, a fellowship first vertically in 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:19.660 our communion with God, and then horizontally in our communion with others. Now, in the larger context 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:24.080 of chapter 10, what Paul is dealing with is not the Lord's Supper. What he's dealing with is idolatry. 00:28:25.220 --> 00:28:30.220 And it was a particular practice that the Corinthians had fallen into. He was warning them 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:37.920 about participating in pagan feasts, even though they were not directly worshiping false gods. 00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:44.100 So there was the temple in Corinth, and they would go and participate in these feasts that would take 00:28:44.100 --> 00:28:48.759 place there. As believers, they weren't worshiping the false gods, but they didn't mind being a part of 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:52.980 this whole kind of celebration process thing that was taking place. And Paul is writing to them, and he's 00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:58.839 warning them about this, warning them about this idolatry. And his point is this, that these feasts 00:28:58.839 --> 00:29:06.859 are not merely physical meals, but they are, there are spiritual realities at work through them. 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:13.200 And he goes on to say in chapter 10, these gods aren't real. It's not that they're real gods, 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:23.120 but what is behind these false gods are real demons and a real demonic influence that is going to shape 00:29:23.120 --> 00:29:30.340 you in a spiritual way. It could be spiritually shaping for those who participated. And Paul used 00:29:30.340 --> 00:29:39.279 this spiritual reality of communion as a means of making this point. So just as the supper has a 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:45.259 spiritual reality to it, so do these pagan feasts. So stay away from the pagan feasts. I don't want you 00:29:45.259 --> 00:29:51.960 to be a partaker with demons, Paul says. Why? Because you are a partaker with Christ. And that's his point 00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:58.839 here in verse 16. He uses this word participation. It's koinonia, which refers to fellowship and communion 00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:04.579 and sharing in something. You'll remember in our study of Philippians, Paul used this word actually 00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:09.859 quite a bit to talk about the way that the church had shared with him in the gospel and shared with 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:16.980 him in ministry and shared with him even in suffering and in giving. And so he wasn't saying 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:23.019 that the bread and the wine literally become the body and the blood of Jesus as the Roman Catholic 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:31.500 church would teach. That's not what he's saying here. His point is that in observing the Lord's supper, 00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:40.480 we signify that we are participants in the benefits of the gospel that this ordinance represents. 00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:47.960 That when you partake in this, you are communing as one who has shared in the benefits of Christ, 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:53.220 that has shared in the benefits of the gospel. In other words, the Lord's supper is not merely a 00:30:53.220 --> 00:31:02.120 physical act. It is a spiritual act of worship. And in this spiritual act of worship, we commune with 00:31:02.120 --> 00:31:10.160 our Savior. It's not merely a ritual. It's a time of fellowship with God. That's what this moment is. 00:31:10.339 --> 00:31:17.400 There's a spiritual reality to it, not a mystical reality, but a very spiritual reality. It's not just 00:31:17.400 --> 00:31:23.800 the mechanical motions of a religious observance. That's not what this is. It's also to be a time 00:31:23.800 --> 00:31:30.259 of communion with the church. Look back at verse 17. He uses this word bread. Bread in verse 17 is 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:37.100 symbolic of the gospel because, as he uses it there, reminds us that it is the gospel that brings us 00:31:37.100 --> 00:31:44.060 together in fellowship with one another. So the Lord's supper then is a visible reminder of our unity 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:51.179 in Christ Jesus because every true believer partakes of the same bread. And what is this bread? Not the 00:31:51.179 --> 00:31:58.960 cracker. The bread is Jesus. He's the bread. And as we come together in fellowship with one another, 00:31:59.079 --> 00:32:09.480 we are being united by his gospel. Why? Because of the bread. That's what this signifies. And it's for 00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:16.200 this reason that we do several things. We follow, as a matter of prudence, various things in our partaking 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:22.900 of this. It's for this reason that only those who have trusted Christ for salvation can participate. 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:30.920 An unbeliever cannot participate in this meal. It's not for them. It's also for this reason 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:36.720 that we understand the Lord's supper to be an ordinance of the gathered church. 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:43.660 church. It's not a time of personal private devotion. This is corporate worship as we partake 00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:49.019 in this. We don't take this at home. We don't take it with our families unless our family is our 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:54.319 church. If that's all we have, then by all means. This is an ordinance of the church. 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:59.480 church. Don't do this online. We do this when we gather. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:10.980 It's given to the church. It should be observed in the gathering of the church. Not at church camp. 00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:19.099 Not in your missions conference at your Bible college as I had participated in. This is for 00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:25.480 the church. It matters for the church. So it's a meal of communion. Let's move quickly next. It's a meal 00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:32.839 of commemoration. It's a meal of commemoration. Now, not all of these are ending in T-I-O-N. They are all 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:38.759 ending in I-O-N. So let's make that distinction. It's a meal of commemoration. Let's go to chapter 11 now 00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:46.279 and look with me at verse 23. Paul basically reflecting on what Luke wrote about, though 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:51.859 Paul probably wrote this first, says, for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. He had 00:33:51.859 --> 00:33:56.519 already taught them about this, that the Lord Jesus on the night that he was betrayed took bread. 00:33:56.779 --> 00:34:03.039 And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:08.400 remembrance of me. In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper saying, this is the cup of the 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:14.619 new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Now, we've already 00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:20.639 talked about this extensively. There's no reason for us to go much further here. But it is indeed a 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:26.240 time of spiritual communion with God and one another. But it's also memorial meal at its foundation. 00:34:26.240 --> 00:34:32.420 That's what it is, practically speaking. We are remembering Christ in the gospel. And Jesus 00:34:32.420 --> 00:34:37.639 specifically said, do this in remembrance of me, not to receive something from me, but to remember 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:43.199 what you have already received through me, specifically his death and resurrection. 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:49.139 So it means, it's a means of remembering salvation. Okay. One of the things that I would like to just 00:34:49.139 --> 00:34:56.879 note here before we move on is the emphasis on repetition in these verses. As often as you do it, 00:34:57.519 --> 00:35:03.199 remember me. It's something that's to be observed regularly. Now, what that means is going to look 00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:09.099 different in every church. What we're hoping to follow course beginning today is to take this once a 00:35:09.099 --> 00:35:15.279 month. And we could do this in a number of different ways. The point is not following a schedule. The 00:35:15.279 --> 00:35:21.159 point is that we do it often. And that we often come to the table. And that we often reflect on this. 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:26.739 It's a meal of commemoration. Thirdly, it's a meal of proclamation. It's a meal of proclamation. 00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:37.479 Look at verse 26. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do what? Proclaim the Lord's 00:35:37.479 --> 00:35:45.079 death until he comes. Now, Paul's not talking about the sermon here. And we come together for worship. 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:50.399 We always have a sermon. That's not what he's referring to. He's not talking about the sermon. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:58.500 He's talking about the supper itself. In this ordinance, the congregation does the proclaiming, 00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:05.420 not the elder. The congregation does. As we take of this in just a moment, you proclaim the gospel. 00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:12.180 The event itself proclaims this gospel. Now, we called this a gospel ordinance at the beginning 00:36:12.180 --> 00:36:17.639 because it visibly demonstrates the gospel. I think it was Augustine that referred to the Lord's 00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:23.879 Supper as the words of Christ made visible. That's what's happening here. We are proclaiming 00:36:23.879 --> 00:36:29.960 this gospel truth. And the event itself, when interpreted by the scripture, proclaims this 00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:35.299 glorious truth. And there's three elements to this proclamation. The first is the death of Christ. 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:43.639 The very picture of the broken bread is his death. His spilt blood is his atonement. That's 00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:49.079 significant. It's what it's teaching. As you observe this in just a moment, remember, 00:36:49.480 --> 00:36:54.159 this represents his death, his atonement for us. But then it represents his resurrection. 00:36:54.960 --> 00:37:00.500 Did you notice the second phrase? You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Well, until he comes 00:37:00.500 --> 00:37:06.719 assumes that he's no longer dead. Which means as we're proclaiming another coming, which is the third 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:12.559 element of it, his return, we are first proclaiming that he's not still dead. He has risen. And it's 00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:19.000 because he's risen that there is an atonement. His death on the cross meant nothing if he didn't 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:25.639 raise from the dead. And when we partake of this supper, we are visibly proclaiming as a congregation, 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:33.820 Christ is dead. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. That's what this proclaims. It's amazing. 00:37:33.820 --> 00:37:43.600 It's an amazing gospel. And it's what it represents for us. It's what it represents for those who gather to us who have no 00:37:43.600 --> 00:37:51.320 business taking this supper, but may at least watch us proclaim it as we take it. It matters. 00:37:52.700 --> 00:37:55.760 And so if you're an unbeliever here, this is not for you. 00:37:55.760 --> 00:38:04.520 This supper is not for you. But neither will you be dismissed from this service. We want you to see it. 00:38:05.560 --> 00:38:12.300 We want you to watch it. We want you to understand its interpretation from the scripture so that the 00:38:12.300 --> 00:38:18.700 Lord through this meal will proclaim his gospel to you and you might come to believe. 00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:26.619 And then finally, it's a meal of examination. Now, this is where I have often presented this 00:38:26.619 --> 00:38:33.679 poorly. And so I want to try to recover some of that without being too lengthy on this. Okay, 00:38:33.859 --> 00:38:35.319 look with me at verse 27. 00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:42.179 Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner 00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:46.460 will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 00:38:47.980 --> 00:38:54.159 Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 00:38:54.699 --> 00:39:01.539 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 00:39:02.579 --> 00:39:07.299 And we're not going to read this, but you can mark verses 17 to 22, and maybe you'll read them later. 00:39:07.300 --> 00:39:12.580 What it reveals to us is that the Corinthian church had wildly abused this ordinance. 00:39:13.600 --> 00:39:18.019 So much so that again, in verse 20, Paul says, what you're doing is not the Lord's Supper. 00:39:18.160 --> 00:39:19.680 That's not at all what this is. 00:39:20.700 --> 00:39:29.460 It had become a meal in Corinth that reflected the division in the church rather than the unity of the 00:39:29.460 --> 00:39:35.760 gospel in the church. The wealthy were gorging themselves. We get the picture here that the 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:39.560 wealthy were even showing up perhaps early and they were bringing all of this food with them. 00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:45.140 There was a matter of status that would have been consistent with the culture in Corinth and they 00:39:45.140 --> 00:39:49.580 were finding their place and they were having their meal. And then the poor folks in the church were 00:39:49.580 --> 00:39:53.580 coming and they were having to go to another place. They weren't together and they had nothing to eat. 00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:59.400 And they were gorging themselves on this meal. What was supposed to be a picture of unity and 00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:04.900 gathering around the table actually in Corinth became a picture of division because they had so 00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:15.300 perverted the supper. Some of them were even using it as an excess, as an excuse to feast extravagantly. 00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:21.700 It wasn't about reflecting on the gospel. It was about gorging themselves on food. And some of them, 00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:26.539 it seems in Paul's statements, were actually getting drunk in the process. Now, can you imagine coming 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:32.420 to a Lord's Supper service and Jack over here just eats a little too much and he drinks a little too 00:40:32.420 --> 00:40:35.840 much in the process of that? Can you imagine somebody getting drunk at the Lord's Supper? 00:40:37.700 --> 00:40:44.019 This is what was happening in Corinth. It was showing division. This was not the Lord's Supper 00:40:44.019 --> 00:40:49.860 that they were doing, but they were calling it that. And this is what led Paul to write this part. 00:40:50.659 --> 00:40:56.639 Now, I want you to notice in verse 27, Paul says an unworthy manner, 00:40:56.639 --> 00:41:06.719 not an unworthy person. Do you notice that? Look at it with me. Verse 27, whoever therefore eats the bread 00:41:06.719 --> 00:41:13.819 or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the 00:41:13.819 --> 00:41:20.699 Lord. It's not about whether a person deserves to come to the table, but whether an individual 00:41:20.699 --> 00:41:30.019 approaches it with indifference or an unrepentant heart, those who are guilty of observing the supper 00:41:30.019 --> 00:41:37.039 in an unworthy manner, as the Corinthians were doing, were guilty of dishonoring the Savior 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:46.439 that the supper represented. Because they had so perverted the ordinance, they dishonored their Savior. 00:41:46.440 --> 00:41:56.460 What Paul is not saying here is anything to do with being unworthy to partake of it as a person. 00:41:57.200 --> 00:42:07.579 Because none of us are worthy of that. None of us are deserving of this gospel. None of us are deserving 00:42:07.579 --> 00:42:15.360 of this supper. What he means to say here is that we take it seriously 00:42:15.360 --> 00:42:21.120 and truthfully the meaning and practice of the ordinance itself. 00:42:22.539 --> 00:42:27.120 And I want to just encourage you, if you come to the Lord's table from time to time, and I want to 00:42:27.120 --> 00:42:34.019 say how sorry I am if I have insinuated that this is true in times past, but I just want you to know 00:42:34.019 --> 00:42:39.099 if you have sin in your life and you are battling that sin and you come to the table today, 00:42:39.099 --> 00:42:45.259 you need not come thinking God will not take me because I am unworthy, because every one of us 00:42:45.259 --> 00:42:50.779 are unworthy. And you need to be reminded that there is more forgiveness in Christ than there is sin in you. 00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:57.019 This is not about you skipping out when the plate comes around because you messed up 00:42:57.019 --> 00:43:02.480 this morning on your way to church, or you really blew it this week. That's not what this is. 00:43:02.480 --> 00:43:13.440 We don't come because we're worthy. We come because he is worthy. That's the point of the supper. 00:43:14.659 --> 00:43:20.800 Stephen Um said this, one does not partake in the Lord's supper because he or she is considered worthy. 00:43:21.659 --> 00:43:30.139 The invitation is solely a gift of God's grace. His warning was not to those who were leading unworthy 00:43:30.139 --> 00:43:36.460 lives and longed for forgiveness, but to those who were making a mockery of that which should have 00:43:36.460 --> 00:43:43.779 been most sacred and solemn by their behavior at the meal. That's what Paul's talking about. 00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:52.599 Now look at verse 29. He says that anyone who hasn't discerned the body is in danger of God's 00:43:52.599 --> 00:43:56.699 chastening judgment. And he goes on from there to describe that. Now he's talking to believers. 00:43:56.699 --> 00:44:01.679 He's talking about the chastening hand of the Lord against believers. He's not talking about 00:44:01.679 --> 00:44:06.079 eternal judgment for unbelievers. That's not what Paul's dealing with in chapter 11. He's referencing 00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:11.619 believers who have been saved. And he goes so far as to say, God takes this so seriously that some of 00:44:11.619 --> 00:44:16.719 you are sick and some of you have even died because you continue to take the supper in an unworthy way. 00:44:17.019 --> 00:44:23.460 You dishonor the name of Christ. So it's serious. And he says, what, what, what is it that brings this 00:44:23.460 --> 00:44:27.500 judgment as well? When we come to the table without discerning the body? Well, what does that mean? 00:44:27.940 --> 00:44:36.599 It's possible that by body, he meant the gathered church and that those who were sinning against 00:44:36.599 --> 00:44:40.579 other believers without repentance were in danger of this judgment. It's possible that that's what 00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:46.179 Paul means by that. And certainly we can make that, that application. I don't think that's exactly 00:44:46.179 --> 00:44:51.240 the primary purpose of what he's saying. Here's what I think it is. I think that it's actually 00:44:51.239 --> 00:44:58.199 referring to taking the Lord's supper without any regard to its truth and significance. 00:44:59.399 --> 00:45:06.119 That those who treat the ordinance carelessly and dishonor the Lord will be disciplined, 00:45:06.119 --> 00:45:14.239 disciplined by the Lord for doing so. And so he says, therefore, let us all examine ourselves. 00:45:14.239 --> 00:45:22.799 Verse 28, repent, and then joyfully share in the meal. Now it could go either way with discerning 00:45:22.799 --> 00:45:27.099 the body and neither one of those applications would be inconsistent with what we understand 00:45:27.099 --> 00:45:31.899 about the supper. But I think in this context, he's really emphasizing the fact that we think 00:45:31.899 --> 00:45:37.219 thoroughly and truthfully about what this supper is and that to take it lightly and therefore to 00:45:37.219 --> 00:45:42.659 distort it in a way that the Corinthians distorted it by getting drunk and showing division amongst 00:45:42.659 --> 00:45:47.159 themselves was actually inviting the judgment of the Lord. Now here's how I want to conclude. 00:45:49.859 --> 00:45:57.960 Again, if you're an unbeliever here today, this supper is not for you, but it can be. And that's the point. 00:45:59.819 --> 00:46:03.599 Because every one of us sitting in this room at one time, we're not allowed to come to this table. 00:46:03.599 --> 00:46:11.639 But now we can. And what's the difference? That we've come to repent of our sin and follow Christ in 00:46:11.639 --> 00:46:18.539 faith. That's the difference. This can be a place for you at this table. It's open for anyone who will 00:46:18.539 --> 00:46:27.199 repent and turn to Christ. So trust him today. Believe him today. And be welcome to the table. 00:46:28.500 --> 00:46:32.639 Remember, we've talked the last couple of weeks about John chapter six, as we've looked at the feeding 00:46:32.639 --> 00:46:38.759 of the 5,000 and so on. Remember what Jesus said, John 6, 51. I am the living bread that came down 00:46:38.759 --> 00:46:44.339 from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the 00:46:44.339 --> 00:46:50.859 life of this world is my flesh, he says. What is this a reference to? Well, it's eventually what the 00:46:50.859 --> 00:46:58.039 supper comes to symbolize. And then he says, for this is the will of my father, that everyone who looks on 00:46:58.039 --> 00:47:03.900 the sun and believes in him should have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day. 00:47:04.980 --> 00:47:09.500 Before you can come to this table in a physical sense, you must come to it in a spiritual sense 00:47:09.500 --> 00:47:18.420 by feasting on the gospel of Christ, by turning to him in faith. And he will welcome you to this table 00:47:18.420 --> 00:47:26.700 for eternity. And then believers, church. This is a time of corporate worship. 00:47:28.860 --> 00:47:37.039 This is a time of worship that we joyfully celebrate. In just a moment, it's going to have 00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:45.400 a feeling of solemnity. And there's goodness in that. But remember, this is not about beating 00:47:45.400 --> 00:47:54.220 ourselves up over our sin. This is about rejoicing in the gospel. This is a feast. It doesn't look like 00:47:54.220 --> 00:48:02.400 much of a feast, but it's a feast. And what's the significance of that? We just take this little 00:48:02.400 --> 00:48:10.960 piece of bread and this little cup of juice, and it's just a foretaste of what we will feast on in 00:48:10.960 --> 00:48:19.320 eternity. At the marriage supper of the Lamb, when we commune with our Savior in perfection, 00:48:20.619 --> 00:48:28.860 perfect communion. So as we take this, we solemnly remember our sin, and then we joyfully celebrate 00:48:28.860 --> 00:48:37.980 the gospel that Jesus has forgiven our sin. And then we long for the day when we will have this meal with 00:48:37.980 --> 00:48:48.400 Him in His kingdom. That's what this meal is. So let's take it seriously, and let's take it joyfully, 00:48:48.639 --> 00:48:54.740 and let's take it regularly as a means of grace.