THE PURPOSE AND WEIGHT OF THE LORD'S TABLE

October 21, 2021

Christ instructed the church to regularly practice two primary, symbolic acts or ordinances: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both of these picture the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul gives two reasons for the Lord's Supper.

TO REMEMBER

"...do this in remembrance of Me...do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (vs. 24-25)

We are world-class forgetters. We lose sight that everything we are is because of Him and His incredible sacrifice for us. We lose sight that the "new covenant" was made through Christ's blood. And we need the regular reminder of the Lord's table to bring us back to center.

TO PROCLAIM

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (Vs. 26)

The bread tells of the broken body of Christ on the cross and the juice of his life's blood ... both reminders that there was the highest price paid for our redemption. That's why Paul follows this teaching with a warning:

"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup." (vs. 27-28)

In other words, the most sacred reminder of the most sacred moment in human history by the most sacred One should be treated with sacred respect, not flippantly. And the most disrespectful way we can treat it is to partake of the supper while ignoring His Lordship over our lives, paying no attention to what His life bought for us—freedom and deliverance from sin.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son to deliver us. Thank You for His willingness to do this at the highest cost. Each time we think of this holy work, let us remember and proclaim it to ourselves and others. And may the moment drive us back to humble, grateful surrender to You.

 

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