Ecclesiology
Ordinance of the Lord’s Table
Lesson XXIX
Introduction
The
word ‘ordinance’ means that which is ‘ordained’ or ‘ordered.’ As to Church Ordinances, we have reference to
those things ordered by the Lord.
There
are two major ordinances:
1) The Lord’s Table
2) Water Baptism
I
The Lord’s Table
There
are three passages of Scripture, basically, historical.
Matthew
26:26-30
Mark 14:22-24
Luke
22:14-20
Matthew 26:26-30
(26) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and
blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take,
eat; this is my body.
(27) And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it]
to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
(28) For this is my blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins.
(29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of
this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my
Father's kingdom.
(30) And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into
the mount of Olives.
Mark 14:22-24
(22) And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed,
and brake [it], and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
(23) And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks,
he gave [it] to them: and they all drank of it.
(24) And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new
testament, which is shed for many.
Luke 22:14-20
(14) And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the
twelve apostles with him.
(15) And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to
eat this passover with you before I suffer:
(16) For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof,
until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
(17) And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take
this, and divide [it] among yourselves:
(18) For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of
the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
(19) And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it],
and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in
remembrance of me.
(20) Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup
[is] the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
We
observe the two elements used:
Bread: symbolizing the ‘body given’.
Cup of wine: symbolizing the ‘shed blood’.
Not blood in the veins, but blood poured out, deliberately shed.
There
are other passages of Scripture basically, doctrinal.
John
6:47-48 The bread that came down
from Heaven
1
Corinthians 10:16-21 The communion
1
Corinthians 11:23-26 Detailed
instruction
John 6:47-48
(47) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on
me hath everlasting life.
(48) I am that bread of life.
1 Corinthians 10:16-21
(16) 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?
(17) For we [being] many are one bread, [and] one body:
for we are all partakers of that one bread.
(18) Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which
eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
(19) What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that
which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
(20) But I [say], that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye
should have fellowship with devils.
(21) Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
(23) 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:
(24) 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.
(25) 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.
(26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
When
was this ordinance, this memorial given?
1 Corinthians 11:23 “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:” He received this
instruction from the Lord not from the Apostles. It was on the night before Christ died.
Luke 22:7
(7) Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the
passover must be killed.
From
the time the first Passover lamb was killed (Exodus chapters 11 and 12 ) until this very night in which the Lord
was betrayed, Israel had kept the feast of Passover as a
memorial.
Leviticus 23:4-5
(4) These [are] the feasts of the LORD, [even] holy
convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
(5) In the fourteenth [day] of the first month at even
[is] the LORD'S passover.
That
annual feast pointed in two directions. Backward
to the night of the Passover (Exodus
Exodus 12:12-13
(12) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this
night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and
beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I [am] the
LORD.
(13) And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the
houses where ye [are]: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the
plague shall not be upon you to destroy [you], when I smite the land of Egypt.
1 Corinthians 5:7
(7) 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:
Luke 22:14 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles
with him .” What hour? We believe it means the hour for the last
memorial feast. My friend, Walter
Atkinson said: “The Jews still keep this
feast, they don’t eat lamb, they eat chicken, for it is a fowl supper!”
Luke
Matthew 26: 29
(29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of
this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my
Father's kingdom.
Mark 14:25
(25) Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the
fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
We
note that in Mark, he calls the cup “the fruit of the
vine.”
Luke 22:20 “After supper”, that is,
after the Passover memorial feast, it was then that the Lord instituted a new feast. The Old feast being for the Children of
Israel, the New feast being for the Church, He would be building (Matthew 16:18).
Matthew 16:18
(18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.
John 13:21-30 adds more
information. While they were eating the
Passover feast, Jesus said: “One of you shall betray me.”
John 13:21-30
(21) When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit,
and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall
betray me.
(22) Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting
of whom he spake.
(23) Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his
disciples, whom Jesus loved.
(24) Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he
should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
(25) He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord,
who is it?
(26) Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a
sop, when I have dipped [it]. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave [it] to
Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon.
(27) And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said
Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
(28) Now no man at the table knew for what intent he
spake this unto him.
(29) For some [of them] thought, because Judas had the
bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy [those things] that we have need of
against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
(30) He then having received the sop went immediately
out: and it was night.
Matthew 26:21-22
(21) And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you,
that one of you shall betray me.
(22) And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every
one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
Matthew 26:21-22 We are told that when He
spoke of being betrayed, “then began every one of them to say unto Him, “Lord,
is it I”? It would seem that only Peter
boasted that he would never deny His Lord.
John 13:36-38
(36) Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?
Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt
follow me afterwards.
(37) Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee
now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
(38) Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for
my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou
hast denied me thrice.
How
vain we are when we say “we shall never do such and such.”
John 13:24-26 Peter asked the one sitting beside Jesus (we believe it was the beloved apostle, John) to ask Jesus who the
betrayer would be. And Jesus said, “The
one to whom I give the sop (a piece of
bread dipped).” And then, Jesus gave it to Judas.
John 13:30 “and having received the
sop went immediately out: and it was night.”
Matthew 26:24 Jesus said, “It would
have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
The
point we want to make is that it was after the Passover meal was eaten,
before the Lord’s supper or table was instituted, that Judas had left the
room. He was not present when Jesus took
the bread and blessed it, this teaching us, that this supper, this table, this
ordinance, this celebration, is only for believers.
1 Corinthians
But
remember, there is no virtue in this table.
There is no saving merit in it.
There is no dying merit in it.
There is no physical healing in it.
It is a memorial feast.
II. From this ordinance we learn
Five Facts.
1)
Jesus took bread and wine.
Of the bread He said, “This is my body”. Of the wine He said, “This is my blood”. Surely he was using the bread and wine as
symbols.
Here is the doctrine of the Incarnation and death of
Christ.
When we partake of these emblems we
are saying: “We believe…”
John 1:14 … that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among
us.
Luke
2:11 … that He was born unto us, a
Saviour.
Hebrews 10:5 … that His body was prepared for Him.
1 Timothy
3:16 … that He was God manifest in human flesh.
cf Colossians 1:15 The image of the Invisible God
cf Hebrews
1:3 The express, or exact image of
God. If we want to see what God is like,
we must look to Jesus Christ.
2)
The bread was broken, the
wine was poured out.
Here is the doctrine of the death of Christ fulfilling
Old Testament types.
1
Corinthians 11:26 By this act we ‘‘show
the Lord’s death”
Hebrews
9:22 Without the shedding of blood there
is no remission for sin.
Isaiah
53:5 “ … he was wounded for our
transgressions…”
Isaiah
53:6 Someone has said: “Go in at the
first ‘all’ and come out at the last ‘all’.
Isaiah 53:6
(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.
When
we partake of the emblems of the broken body, and shed blood, we are saying: “We
believe that Christ gave Himself up to death for me.”
Galatians 2:20
(20) I am crucifed with Christ: nevertheless I live, yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.
3)
We eat the bread and we
drink from the cup. Both emblems are received individually.
Here is the doctrine of personal salvation.
We are testifying that we believe
Jesus Christ came and gave His life for me, and I personally have believed and received Him as Saviour. No one else can eat or drink for us.
John 1:11 Notice the words as many
as receive
Him to them He gives the power to belong, to become the sons of God.
Even to them that believe on His name.
John
3:14-16. We quote verse 15, “Whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
John
6:58 This is the bread which came down
from Heaven; he that eateth this bread shall live forever. When one partakes of these emblems one is
saying: “I have personally received Christ
as my Saviour”. So now “I belong to
Him”.
John 1:11
(11) He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
John 3:14-16
(14) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
(15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have eternal life.
(16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
John 6:58
(58) This is that bread which came down from heaven: not
as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall
live for ever.
4)
We eat, and we drink together.
Here is the doctrine of the Church.
1
Corinthians 12:13 We testify that we believe
that by One Spirit we have been baptized into one Body, the body of Christ.
Ephesians
1:22-23 The Church which is His body
Ephesians 1:22-23
(22) And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave
him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,
(23) Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth
all in all.
1
Corinthians
1
Corinthians 6:17-20 “He that is joined unto the
Lord is one spirit”, “…ye are not your own …”, “for ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”.
At
this table we are on level ground. All
are equals. What kernel of wheat is most
important in a loaf of bread? All have
been crushed into flour to make the bread. So at this table no one is above
another. We don’t need a priest nor an
ordained minister to serve the Lord’s table.
5)
We do this only “till He
comes”.
Here is the great doctrine of the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ. He
who came is coming again!
1
Corinthians 11:26 This table points in two directions. Backward
to the Cross, forward to the Coming.
1 Corinthians 11:26
(26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
This is the only picture Jesus left with us. By partaking of these emblems we are saying:
“We believe Jesus came as Saviour and He is coming back as
Sovereign. We believe He is Coming
again.”
Conclude:
This table speaks of a historical
Christ, a risen Christ and a returning Christ. And when we remember Him in this manner it
makes our hearts better.
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The
following outline entitled “The Lord’s Supper” are notes given in 1938 by
M.V.Brown.
I
By what terms was it designated in the early Church?
a) 1
Corinthians 11:20 “Lord’s Supper”
because it was instituted by Him
b)
1 Corinthians
c)
1 Corinthians 10:16 The table to which the Lord invites His
guests
d)
1 Corinthians 10:16 Communion, fellowship with all the
saints, one with another through Christ, and fellowship with Christ.
II
How is the sacrament defined?
The
essential points of this definition are:
a)
The elements, bread and wine, given and received according to the
appointment of Jesus Christ.
b)
They were to do this in remembrance of Him, to show forth His
death ‘till He come.
c)
The promised presence of Christ in the Sacrament by His Spirit and
not after a carnal sort.
III
What is the meaning of the term “wine” in the New Testament and how does
it appear that wine, and no other liquid must be used in the Lord’s Supper?
It is evident from the usage of the
word in the New Testament that it was
designed by the sacred word to designate the fermented juice of the grape.
Matthew 9:17, John 20:3-10, Romans
16:21, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Timothy 3:8, 1 Timothy 5:23 and Titus 2:3. (I am not convinced of this.-LOP)
That
wine and nothing else is to be used is clear from the record of the
institution.
Matthew 26:26-29
IV
What is significant by Breaking the Bread?
It represents the breaking of
Christ’s Body for us. 1 Corinthians 11:24
The
bread itself represents the communion of believer’s being many in one body. 1 Corinthians 10:17.
V
Who may partake of the Lord’s Supper?
Only those who are truly
regenerated will it benefit. But as many
who doubt, as to their being in Christ are nevertheless genuine Christians, so
if one is found doubting he ought to see the freshness of the gospel once
again, and come to the supper.
VI
What is stated in 1 Corinthians 8:6-10?
1 Corinthians 8:6-10
(6) But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom
[are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all
things, and we by him.
(7) Howbeit [there is] not in every man that knowledge:
for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat [it] as a thing offered
unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
(8) But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we
eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
(9) But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours
become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
(10) For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at
meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be
emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
Separation unto the One God from
idols. The Unity of the Godhead is a
fundamental principle of Christianity.
The
gods of the heathen have no divinity in them, nothing of real Godhead belonging
to them, for there is no other God but one.
God made all things and therefore has power over all. The Father, the Son and the Spirit is the God
of the Bible.
Separation unto God was the theme,
including the Lord’s Supper. Some
Christians were in the habit of accepting invitations to the idolatrous feasts
in the temple of the heathen gods (this was the cup of devils – 1 Corinthians
10:21) “Ye cannot drink this cup of the
Lord with the cup of Devils”. For this would mean ye have two gods.
It cannot be done. Paul argues with them thus - The cup 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? Thus to
partake of the Lord’s Supper is to profess ourselves His guests and covenant
people. This is the very purpose and
intention of this symbolic eating and drinking.
1 Corinthians 10:17
By partaking of one broken loaf , the
emblem of our Lord’s broken body we unite into one body and profess to become
members of Him and one another. Verse 17
explains verse 16. The (whole) Church is the one bread. But the Corinthians were dividing the Church
into parts and that too, at the Lord’s Supper.
Those who truly partake by faith
have communion with Christ and one another and those who eat the outward
elements make profession of having this communion. Thus the Corinthians were not eating the
Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. They
were acting a lie.
Paul confirms this fellowship at the
Lord’s table by saying; “Behold Israel after the flesh (after their carnal
ordinances) are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the
altar? Those who were admitted to eat
the offerings were able to partake of the sacrifice itself as made for them and
therefore they were in alliance or covenant with the God of Israel to whom the
sacrifice was made. This was a symbol or
token of holding communion with God.
This reveals one thing only. “The Lord’s Supper” is given for the truth of
the Oneness of the body of Christ, the Church, and its fellowship. Paul applies this fellowship of Christians
against feasting with idolatrous feasting.
When
the Gentiles sacrificed to Devils, and to feast with them upon these sacrifices
was to partake in the sacrifices and therefore to worship the gods to whom it
was made. Communion with heathenish gods
and with Christ could never be had at once.
One must be renounced if the other was maintained. There was no mixing
of contraries; it was by no means consistent.
They that have fellowship with other gods provoke the one true God to
jealously; and Paul asks them to beware, for it is a dangerous thing to provoke
God’s anger.
This many of them were doing and
that to their own condemnation and it was necessary that the anger of God be
kindled against them. Therefore there
was sickness and death of many at Corinth, who had so linked themselves with
sin and judgment that judgment of death fell upon them.
Are we stronger than God? Paul says; Are we His equal? If out of a heart of love for Christ we
cannot put away such evil there remains only one more remedy, to put it away
for wrath’s sake.
1
Corinthians 11:16-34 In the 16th
verse Paul sums up all by referring those who were contentious to the usage and
customs of the Churches. The common
practice of the Churches is what He would have them govern themselves by in the
matter of the hair, dressing, eating and drinking with sinners, the Lord’s
supper etc..
He does not silence their contentions by mere authority, but lets them
know they would appear to the world as very odd and singular in their humor if
they were to quarrel for a custom to which all the Churches of Christ were at
the same time, strangers. It was the
common actions of the Churches that was to control their usage in the
Assembly. Paul ends by saying they must
be very contentious who would quarrel with the custom of all the Churches
established by Paul.
1
Corinthians 11:17-22 Paul sharply
rebukes them for much greater disorders, in their partaking of the Lord’s
Supper, which was commonly done in the first age; as the ancients tell us, with
a love feast annexed, which gave occasion to the scandalous disorders which the
Apostle reprehends.
The
Lord’s Supper was intended to promote their Spiritual interests but it really
made them worse.
Note: The ordinances of Christ, if they do us no
good will do us harm; if they do not melt and mend they will harden as in the
case of the Corinthians.
Paul charges them with more than one
wrong. They fell into divisions. Instead of meeting together as one body there
were fractions.
Note: that people may come together at the same
Church and sit down at the same table of the Lord and yet be schismatics.
He
also charges them with disorder. The
heathens at their feasts used to drink plentifully and it appears the wealthy
Christians took the same liberty at the Lord’s table, or at least, at their
love feast which was annexed to the supper.
The rich despised the poor and ate and drank by themselves, and thus
some wanted while others had more than enough.
This was not fellowship. This was
corrupting a divine ordinance to the last degree. What should have been a bond of mutual
affection was made an instrument of discord and Division.
Note: there is such a careless and irregular eating
of the Lord’ s Supper which is as none at all.
It is to no account, but to increase guilt. It is a heinous evil for Christians to treat
their fellow Christians with contempt but especially at the Lord’s Table.
To rectify these corruptions, Paul
uses one rule in the reformation of abuses.
He sets out the true meaning of
the Lord’s Supper. He tells us how he came by the knowledge of it. It was made to him by revelation. The author, our Lord Jesus Christ. The time of the institution. just as Christ
was entering upon His sufferings which are then to be commemorated.
He also prefaces his argument with
an appeal to their own reason and judgment.
He says: “ I speak to wise men, judge ye what I say.” Verse 15. As if he had said- you are great pretenders of wisdom, to close
reason and argument, I can leave it with your own reason and conscience whether
I do not argue justly.
The subject matter here is
fellowship with the Lord and visible Church.
Some try to read into these chapters healing for the body. For illustration- men because they see the
word “water” in John 3:5 draw the conclusion it means water baptism, and from
that interpretation comes all sorts of errors regarding the New Birth, and a
flood of them have come on the Church this past 30 years through Apostolic and
Pentecostal teachings. Again, because
the words ‘sickly’ and ‘weak’ appear in
this chapter they draw their conclusion that Paul is speaking of healing of the
body.
To ADD to the Word of God is a
serious matter. The only safe ground of
Bible interpretation is to stick close to the subject matter of the
passage. Here in this chapter it is fellowship.
I
insert another quote from Dispatch, Volume 9, #4:
“We must reject inner
healing because of its roots.
The problem is exacerbated when we discover the source of inner healing
teaching.
Carl Gustav Jung the famous Swiss
psychologist taught that there is within each of us ‘a collective
unconscious’ Jung had a spirit guide
called ‘Philemon’ and he claimed that he was bringing up images from the
‘collective unconscious’. Agnes Sanford was much influenced by
Jung’s ideas (which came from evil spirits) and “Christianized” them,
introducing visualization and inner healing to an unsuspecting church. Her son Jack studied at the C.J. Jung
Institute in Zurich with Morton Kelsey, a charismatic. Dave Hunt and McMahon gave detailed proof of
the occult practices and strange teachings of such people as Agnes Sanford, Morton Kelsey, John and Paul
Sanford, Richard Foster, and other teachers of inner healing and
visualization.”
Here I record an outline I have
used many times
What then, is the Lord’s Table?
I. 1 Corinthians
11:24 It is a table of thanksgiving.
Philippians
4:6 We never truly pray without
thanksgiving.
We will not have a right attitude
at the table if we are not thankful,
Thankful for the Bread that came
down from Heaven. Bread, that when we
eat thereof we shall never die. So this
is a table of joy, not mourning
2 1
Corinthians 11:24-25 It is a table of remembrance. “Remember me”.
Not where you remember your sins,
but remember the Saviour who came to die for your sins.
It is like a picture given to
remember a person.
3 1
Corinthians 11:26 It is a table of proclamation.
‘show’ ‘proclaim’
‘preach’ Here we preach the Lord’s death.
We declare we believe the Bible history
of the cross.
4 1
Corinthians 11:26 It is a table of
prophecy
‘till He come’
Did He come? So surely will He
come again.
John
14:3 I will come again.
5 1 Corinthians 11:27 It is a table of sobriety.
This is not to be done lightly or
thoughtlessly, but reverently discreetly and in the fear of God . That is, reverence for God.
6. 1
Corinthians 11:28 It is a table of
examination
You examine yourself,
not your neighbor in order that you partake worthily. The word is not ‘worthy’. The blood makes you
worthy
“Worthily’ has to do
with your action, how you partake.
7.
1
Corinthians 11:29 It can be a table
of condemnation.
If your heart is not sincere, you
could condemn yourself. You apply 1 John 1:9, confess and believe in His
forgiveness and then eat.
8.
1 Corinthians 11:29 It is a table where we discern the Lord’s body.
9.
1 Corinthians 10:16-21 It is here we identify
ourselves with the Lord and the Lord’s people.
10. 1
Corinthians 11:30 -31 It is a table of self-judgment. If we do not judge ourselves we may bring
judgment upon ourselves because we belong to the
whole
body of believers.
11. 1
Corinthians 11:33 It is a table of fellowship. To be in fellowship with the Lord brings us
in fellowship with one another.
1 John
1:7 To walk in the light is to have
fellowship. We do not live unto ourselves.