Epaggelia

When Jesus told his disciples to “DO THIS” (Luke 22:19) He was speaking as the Lord, and proved by giving his body & blood, to be the Lord of lords in the resurrection of that body and blood. How dare anyone treat the LORD’s Supper as an option! His Apostles & disciples continued steadfastly in observing it, Acts 2:42. The Church in Troas shared every Lord’s Day, Acts 20:7 and the Church in Corinth shared, “often”, 1^st Corinthians 11:26, not as some Churches practice observing it as every once in a while.

Jesus established His Supper as a memorial for us, giving us an opportunity to do three things with him. In each of these activities, we are in fellowship/communion with him.

1. Give Thanks for his powerful & sacrificial love.
2. Remember Him in his suffering and victorious death.
3. Examine our self as unworthy and participating in a privileged memorial.
4. Publicly proclaim His death

The environment, context and background for establishing and maintaining the Lord’s Supper is solemn & respectful, NOT frivolous, casual or ritualistic. Here are the reasons.

1. He established it the night he was betrayed, 1st Cor. 11:23
2. The elements, bread & wine are blessed in prayer, and sanctified by His Spirit. This is holy fellowship/communion, it should never be treated in a common, unholy way. 1st Cor. 11:24-25
3. It is pointing to his death, 1st Cor. 11:26
4. If respect and meditation are not part of His Supper we condemn ourself, 1st Cor. 11:28-29. A worthy manner must involve a sincere, prayerful gratitude.

This Memorial defeats idolatry from living in our heart, 1st Corinthians 10:14-17, we can not have a higher love than this, if we believe his body suffered and bled to death for our sins, then He took our punishment, freeing us from the consequence of our sin. The Communion is not ours, it belongs to Christ as His Spirit shares a priceless and powerful gift with us. Are we grateful?

The most important sharing we have in the Body of Christ is this:  His flesh & blood!  His Spirit shares Himself with each of us personally as much as we will let Him share with us in obedience to Him, Acts 5:32. God has appointed every individual Christian to come together in worship on the Lord’s Day to share in the Body of Jesus, his flesh and blood.  Why?  Because we are human and our human hearts are deceptive, Jeremiah 17:9.  We are self-willed and it’s too easy for us to swell up with pride throughout the week, thinking we can make ourselves acceptable, instead of remembering that it’s only the sacrificed and risen body of Jesus that can make us worthy in the presence of God. 

John 6:43-65 Is the passage which best explains why the Lord’s Supper is not an act of transubstantiation. It is an actual spiritual experience, not a physical one. The physical bread and wine, are truly and prayerfully emblems that represent the reality of what Christ did on the cross for us. His teaching points us to a spiritual reality, not a physical one. Do you believe this?