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| On the Lord's terms, the Lord's Supper is open to all. This
means that whoever takes or administers the supper must do so
according to God's design. To do otherwise is to profane the purpose
and thereby invite the judgment of God upon that group or individual.
The church at Corinth desecrated the supper, and the results were
sickness and death upon its membership. It is not something to be take
lightly nor irreverently, but to be entered into with proper motive of
heart.
What is the Lord's Supper? It is one of two ordinances given to the Lord's church, the other being baptism. An ordinance is "(1) an authoritative rule; decree; (2) a religious rite or ceremony; (3) a municipal statute." It is a symbol of what Christ did, is now doing, and will do in relation to our deliverance from sin. Monday What is the Purpose of the Supper? In Matthew 26:1-2, 20-29 is the record of Jesus eating the last Passover feast with his disciples. This annual "feast" celebrated the deliverance of Israel from the captivity of Egypt some 2,000 years earlier, and symbolized the slaughtered "lamb" that Jesus would become when he was crucified. After the Passover feast was finished, Jesus took the same bread and the wine used in the Passover celebration, and instituted his Supper. The Lord's Supper is NOT the same thing as the old Passover feast, for according to 1 Cor. 5:7-8, Christ became our Passover. The old Passover feast is no longer celebrated because its picture became a reality when Christ died on the cross. The purpose of the Supper is to remember what Jesus did on Calvary for us. We are the ones who do the remembering. "The ordinance is a simple memorial of Christ's work and love for us, a photograph He has left His betrothed Bride till He comes again to marry her; and he asks her not to worship it, but to look upon it as oft as she pleases, with the sole purpose of remembering Him and no one else, on the earth or in the heaven." Old Landmarkism, J.R. Graves, p. 68 It is a memorial ordinance -- "this do in remembrance of me". (1 Cor 11:24,25). Unlike flowers or photographs that will decay or crumble with time, this "picture" will remain constant because prior to Christ's departure He gave it into the hands of the church, an institution that would exist forever. (Matt. 28.19-20) It is a declarative ordinance -- "...ye do shew the Lord's death till he comes." (1 Cor 11:26) The word "shew" (show) in this verse means to declare, announce, proclaim. We declare to the world, to God, and to our brothers our relationship with the Lord and his return for us. It is NOT a token of our fellowship with each other. (Let it be noted that without fellowship the supper cannot be taken.) We do not "commune" with one another, but with Christ. It is not a love feast nor a social function, but a time that the bride looks at the picture of her Savior and remembers what he did for her, and that he will one day return for her, and then they will be married. 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as ____________ as ye __________ this bread, and __________ this cup, ye do ____________ the Lord's ________________ till he come. 1 Corinthians 11:24,25 And when he had given _____________, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my __________, which is ___________ for _________: this do in ____________ of me. After the same manner also he took the __________, when he has supped, saying, This ________ is the new testament in my _____________: this do ye, as oft as ye __________ it, in ____________ of me. questions:
To Whom Was the Supper Entrusted? The Supper is a church ordinance -- it belongs to God. He has entrusted it to the assembly; it is regulated by the assembly, guarded by the assembly, and extended ONLY to the assembly. To reach beyond the membership of the assembly will annul its efficacy as a church ordinance and make it either a denominational or individual ordinance. The 12 men who attended the first Supper (11, excluding Judas Iscariot) were entrusted with continuing the tradition by passing it along to the rest of the church, which would be passed down through time until Jesus comes back. (See Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22.) The other time that the Supper is mentioned is in I Corinthians 11. Paul addresses his letter to "the church of God in Corinth," and never calls into account any other body, group, or individual to be responsible for its administration.It was not given to individuals (ministers or elders or bishops or popes), but to the church -- a body of baptized believers organized under the commission of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:22-23 What? have ye not houses to _____ and to ______ in? or _____________ ye the ____________ of God, and ___________ them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I _______ you in this? I praise you not. For I have ___________ of the Lord that which also I _____________ unto _______, That the Lord Jesus the same ___________ in which he was ___________ took bread: 1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I __________ you, brethren, that ye ____________ me in all things, and keep the __________, as I ____________ them to you. Questions:
Wednesday To Whom Can the Church Offer the Supper? A. A person who takes the Supper must be "saved," or born again. If you have never accepted Jesus' blood and body as your sacrifice for your sins, there is nothing for you to remember. What does "saved" mean? When we as Baptists use the terms "saved" or "born again," we cannot be sure that everyone understands what we mean. Many people think they are "saved" by being baptized, by doing good works, or by eating the supper itself. To be saved or born again, one must repent of his sins, acknowledge that what Jesus did on Calvary paid for those sins, and accept by believing what he did there as a payment for those sins. B. A person must be baptized. If a person is truly saved and yet he is unwilling to follow the Lord in the next step of obedience -- baptism --, how can he say that he is in harmony with the Lord and ready to take the Supper? How can he drink of the cup that "is the new testament in my blood" (1 Cor 11:25)? Few groups would administer the supper to an "unbaptized" individual. C. A person must be a member of the church taking the supper. There is a popular belief among many Christian groups that everyone who is saved is in the "universal church" and, therefore, has the right to take the supper with whatever church they are with at the time. Actually, there is no such thing as a "universal church," the two words being mutually exclusive. This belief is in direct contradiction to 1 Corinthians 5:4 D. A person must be in fellowship with the church that is taking the supper. 1 Corinthians 5 describes those whom you cannot take the supper with, EVEN THOSE OF YOUR OWN CHURCH! God excludes many from participating on the grounds of unrepented sins in their lives. E. A person must take the supper for the right reason. To do otherwise would destroy the picture and nullify the reason for the Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that ________ and drinketh ___________, eateth and drinketh _____________ to himself, not ____________ the Lord's body. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 For what have I to do to _________ them also that are __________? do not ye __________ them that are _________? But them that are _________ God _________. Therefore ________ _________ from ____________ yourselves that _________ person. Questions:
What Other Criteria Must be Met to Take the Supper? A. The church must judge its members. To judge means "to make a decision" -- in this case to decide between right and wrong. We are never allowed to judge using our own criteria -- all judgments must be based upon God's standards, and not our own. Part of our responsibility as church members is to be accountable to, and to hold accountable our brothers and sisters. Knowing that we are answerable to the church, the Lord's Bride, keeps us from doing things that are wrong. B. The church is forbidden to eat with a known sinner. "...with such an one no not to eat." (1 Cor 5:11) The reference may be to eating a meal in your house or in a restaurant, but if it were wrong on those occasions, think how wrong it would be to invite him to the table of the Lord's Supper! "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 1 Cor. 5:7-8 "Leaven" means "sin" -- in this case, the sinner who needed excluding and the sin of the church who refused to do it. We are forbidden to associate with such -- and should "put away from among yourselves that wicked person." (1 Cor. 5:13) An open invitation to anyone who judges himself, but has not been judged by the church, might lead the most unworthy person to think he was in good standing with God and his church. If only individuals make the determination as to their worthiness, then whatever a person decides or convinces himself of would determine if he could take the Supper. This was one of the very sources of abuse in the Corinthian church. Each person thought that he was pure before the Lord, and each acted as an individual, rather than a church and a fellowship. Each person had examined himself, decided he was pure before the Lord, and as a result failed to identify individual sins, thus demonstrating the disastrous results that occur when judgment is left only to the individual. While it is certain each must judge himself (discussed below), he must also allow the church to judge him. (1 Cor. 5:12-13) C. Individuals must judge themselves. After the church has fulfilled its responsibility in screening participants in the supper, the individual must examine himself for the right motives. Intent is something only the person himself can know. "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of that cup. For he [that] eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many {are} weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." 1 Cor. 11:28-31 This admonition was given to the church at Corinth, and she was perverting the supper itself. That is, instead of the simple supper it was intended to be, they had made a big production out of it, even to the point of some members getting drunk. They completely forgot the reason for the supper, which was to picture Jesus' blood and body. Paul exhorted every person to ask himself if he were taking the supper for the right reason before he took it. There are serious consequences for abusing the Lord's Supper. The church is able to judge on the basis of what they see (a person's actions) and what they hear (a person's testimony), but since they cannot judge a person's thoughts, each member must do that himself. The full load of examining qualifications does not rest on the individual; the church is equally responsible for examination. 1 Cor. 11:28-31 But let a man ___________ ____________, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh _____________, eateth and drinketh _______________ to ________________, not discerning the Lord's ________. For this _______ many are _________ and ____________ among you, and many _____________. For if we would ___________ ourselves, we should _________ be judged. Questions:
Logical Conclusion of the Matter Unity Eating the Supper demonstrates our unity as one body. (1 Cor. 11:17-21) Paul condemned the church at Corinth for TRYING to take the supper while there were divisions among them. (1 Cor. 11:18-19) We are forbidden to eat the supper if we, like the Corinthian church, have divisions or heresies among us. "For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." Fellowship "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16 The very word "communion," which means "joint participation," makes unity as a prerequisite to the Supper. Division prohibits the taking of the supper. "I hear that there be divisions among you...." (1 Cor 11:18) Division within the church prohibits the taking of the supper. The question is this -- if the Methodists, Pentecosts, Lutherans, Mennonites, or whoever else we choose to name, do not agree in doctrine, principles, or practice with what Baptists believe, how then can they be in agreement with us and there be no division among us? How can we be united enough to take the supper together? How can those who are non-members be a part of the body? God speaks of his church as a body "fitly framed together for an habitation" of God. Some members he describes as "eyes," others "hands, " and some as the more "comely parts." Yet, the local assembly is ONE body. If we are united together and are one body, how can an outsider be a part of the body he has never joined? He cannot be a part of the body until he joins with that body. (1 Cor 12:14-22) If all the saved were given the right to the supper by virtue of the new birth, then they need not assemble nor unite with any one to partake of the ordinance. In the confines of their own homes, fathers could administer the supper to their families or friends. If this were true, why would you want or need to partake of the Supper in our church service, when you could just as easily take it at home after the service? To what purpose do we wish to extended the Supper beyond our members? No church can scriptually offer its supper to those it cannot discipline. For what reason would we have such a desire? Too, why would an individual desire to eat the supper with someone it had no desire to be a part of? What Biblical proof do you have that the Supper is open to all? Assembly of the body is imperative to partaking of the supper as 1 Cor. 11:18,20 indicates. A universal church cannot assemble to eat the Lord's Supper. Why do non-members expect to participate in the Supper, a church ordinance, and not also have the right to vote in the business meetings of that body? Why would we extend anyone the "courtesy" of the Supper and not extend to them "courtesy" of voting? This is inconsistent! Each person is responsible for helping meet the financial need of the church of which he is a member. If we can extend the supper to non-members, why can we not extend the requirement of supporting her ministry, and why should they not be willing to do so? The nature of the Supper would be polluted. As previously stated, if the Supper is in fact the "Blood of the New Testament," then it stands to reason that any deviation from this would contaminate the supper. The symbolism was, and is, the shed blood and broken body of the Lord -- for the remission of sin and the ushering in of the New Will of God, complete with ALL its ordinances and doctrines. To say "yes" to Christ and "no" to the doctrines of this New Will (by becoming part of his church) is to destroy the symbolism of the supper. We live under a New Testament and this New Testament was sealed by the blood of Christ. Taking of the Supper without being a part of the New Will of God would destroy its nature. Any individual who is saved and refuses baptism is out of the will of God. Any saved, baptized individual who refuses to join his church is also out of the will of God. You have mocked what was accomplished on the cross. Not only did Christ die for us, but he also died for his church. 1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of _____________ which we bless, is it not the _____________ of the blood of Christ? The bread which we _________, is it not the _______________ of the ________ of Christ? 1 Corinthians 11:31 For if ________ would _________ _______________, we should not be ______________. Questions:
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