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I Corinthians
11:26, "For as often as ye eat thisbread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death
till he come."
This morning, different seasons of our life are
marked by certain calendar occurrences. This past
weekend commemorated an occasion when we, in this
country, typically call to remembrance the sacrifices
made by our faithful soldiers that have given their
lives in the defense of our freedom and liberty.
Their sacrifice kept he liberty that we experience
every week in assembling to public worship without
fear of local or civil authorities. Because of their
efforts and pains, we have not been overrun in
different wars that would have seen the cessation of
these and our many other blessed freedoms and
liberties. Yet, I believe all would attest that these
sacrifices are due more service and remembrance than
this one time of the year. We have set aside this
time (by our custom) for such thoughts, but the work
performed is due more thought than that.
Transitioning to a higher and nobler plane, no man,
woman, or child could possibly sacrifice to the level
that Christ did. While our lives can be given in His
service (with our enemies taking our lives from us),
we have not the ability to save ourself from our own
sins. How much more are we less able to save our own
families from their sins? The whole family of God?
Indeed, the work of Christ and His sacrifice goes
beyond anything that we can fully comprehend: the
depth of the riches of God! (Romans 11:33-34) But,
Paul brings to light an occasion that commemorates
this great and noble sacrifice. He brings to
remembrance the first communion that Christ had with
His apostles, and quotes the Saviour's exhortation to
us (even to this hour) about how we should view the
Lord's supper.
Paul discusses the table items in the previous
verses, and brings to bear in the reader's mind that
the unleavened bread signifies the perfect, sinless
flesh that our Lord assumed while walking this earth.
Even though our sins were laid upon Him and borne by
Him in His body on the tree of the cross, His flesh
had no sin of its own, and the angelic announcement
heralds this great truth in Luke 1:35. So, when we
eat the bread, we should remember that sinless body
that was broken for us. The sinless One bore the
guilt of the sinners, of whom I am chief.
Then, Paul describes the wine, which typifies the
precious blood that washed us from all our iniquity.
Again, the wine shows forth purity in the blood, much
like the unleavened bread shows purity in the flesh.
What is interesting about the wine (in contrast to the
bread) is that the bread is kept away from leaven
completely. Nowhere in the process of preparation,
baking, etc is leaven conveyed. However, the process
of wine in fermentation necessitates an introduction
of leaven. The wine is considered complete and ready
when the leaven is overcome completely. When all the
leaven is purged out, the wine is ready. When all the
sins of the Lord's elect family were paid for, we see
the significance of the wine that shows forth the only
blood that could redeem us from all our many and
varied crimes. This blood washes us white as snow in
the sight of God Almighty, and when He appeared in the
holy places made without hands with His own precious
blood, all the leaven (our sins) that were imputed to
Him were stamped out by His blood.
So, Paul makes it imperatively clear that our
partaking of these two things brings to mind this
sacrifice and noble work of Christ. We show forth His
death for us by taking the picture of His body and
blood to us: showing in action that we believe it was
done for us. While the picture is not what makes the
thing so, the picture does give great hope and
consolation for the morrow that we believe these
things to be so. For example, someone may not have
seen a loved one for many years, and one day, a
picture of them arrives in the mail. The picture does
not make their existence a reality, but it bears
testimony to the receiver that they are still alive.
Likewise, the communion supper is not what makes
Christ's sacrifice and victory a reality, but it bears
testimony to us (the receivers) that we feel it to be
a reality unto us.
We remember the Lord and His work during this time,
but is this the only time we remember that sacrifice?
Is the communion service the only time a preacher
preaches about it? As we mentioned about service
personnel that have given their lives, the Memorial
Day holiday is set aside for that purpose, but they
deserve more thought than that one day. How much more
thought does our Lord deserve for His sacrifice?
Indeed, we should think about nothing else during
communion, but may we think upon that most blessed
subject more often than that. It does us good to have
these things called back to our remembrance. It does
us good to pause from all the things we are doing (and
should be doing) to remember that He stooped down to
lift us up. He left heaven and immortal glory, to be
humiliated and marred more than any man ever has, but
thanks be unto God that He ever lives now at the right
hand of the Father!
Paul ends the verse by saying that when we partake
of communion we "shew forth the Lord's death till he
come." May our steps in life shew forth the Lord's
death until He come. May they also shew forth the
Lord's life till He come. One of the things I find
simply amazing about the Lord's wisdom in that first
communion is that the first two things (bread and
wine) were elements that the Lord used in a new way
from the old Passover elements. The old Passover
called to mind being spared from death. The Lord's
passover (communion) should bring even more to mind us
being spared from death by the Lamb of God. But,
right after that, the Lord brings out the washing of
feet, which is completely new to the disciples. What
did that show forth? That act showed forth the Lord's
life, whereas the former showed forth His death. He
served in His life, and His service was borne out of
love. May our service today be borne out of love that
we show forth both the Lord's death and life till He
come, always seeking to keep this remembrance with us.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
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