{"id":1762,"date":"2010-06-21T01:00:32","date_gmt":"2010-06-21T09:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=1762"},"modified":"2013-03-25T10:28:35","modified_gmt":"2013-03-25T17:28:35","slug":"understanding-the-lords-supper-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2010\/06\/21\/understanding-the-lords-supper-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Lord\u2019s Supper (part 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Richard Shin<\/em><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This is the 4th and final part of an ongoing series. Parts 1, 2, and 3 can be found here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s Supper as Communion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, we look at how the Lord\u2019s Supper acts as a means of communing with one another and with Christ. Some people have contended that the bread and wine are somehow really the body and the blood of Christ, subconsciously committing the sin of idolatry. But in the Great Commission, we see that Christ exhorts His disciples by saying that He is always with us (Matt. 28:20). And Paul teaches us that Christ is the head and the church is the body (Eph. 5:23), indicating that the Church is always led by Christ Himself. Then, the idea that Christ is somehow more present in the believers\u2019 life during the Lord\u2019s Supper than at any other time seems entirely wrong. <\/p>\n

Rather, we experience the presence of Christ through the proclamation that Christ is united with His people, the church. We, through faith, confess the identity of the people of God and our union with the crucified Messiah. Much like the Passover was a unified act to commemorate God\u2019s deliverance of Israel from judgment and Egypt, the Lord\u2019s Supper is an act of bringing together the body of Christ to commemorate His death on the cross for our deliverance from God\u2019s wrath. <\/p>\n

Paul teaches the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 that they are partaking in the Lord\u2019s Supper \u201cnot for the better, but for the worse\u201d (v. 17). They were not \u201cdiscerning the body\u201d, eating and drinking however they pleased (v. 29). These people were using the Supper to feed their individual appetites rather than to care for one another (v. 20-21). This form of eating the Lord\u2019s Supper was repudiated because of the way the Supper forms the identity of God\u2019s people as a whole (1 Cor. 10:17). Paul, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, drives this point home even further (Eph. 2:11-22).<\/p>\n

Also, when we partake in the Lord\u2019s Supper, we are fellowshipping with Christ through the Church in the same way the Israelites fellowshipped with fellow covenant people. The eating of the Supper points back to the Old Testament imagery of the worshiper \u201cfellowshipping\u201d with God through the meal of sacrifice, a meal the meat of which the worshiper actually consumes (cf. Deut. 32:32-33). The idea of a shared meal as fellowship sheds light on Paul\u2019s warning in 1 Corinthians 10:18-22 that partaking of a sacrifice offered to an idol or a demon is in effect having fellowship with it.<\/p>\n

This concept of union in Christ is precisely why we are asked to resolve any conflicts within the church before partaking in the Lord\u2019s Supper. Any conflict existing between the brethren is equivalent to a division in the church. By not resolving the issues before eating the Lord\u2019s Supper, we are saying the gospel is not enough to resolve our conflicts. Essentially, we would rather let our pride consume us and eat and drink in a manner that defiles the table. <\/p>\n

So, What Now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given what the Scriptures say, I don\u2019t think I need to stress how important the Lord\u2019s Supper is. So, I won\u2019t. But like all theology, it must be transferred from our thoughts to our actions (I hear Stephen screaming, \u201cTheopraxis! Theopraxis!\u201d). There\u2019s no point in having theology if we don\u2019t actually apply it to our lives. Many of us, including myself, have been far too ignorant about the implications this ordinance has in regards to Christ\u2019s crucifixion and the Church itself. This is part of the reason Paul cautions us to examine ourselves before we eat (1 Cor. 11:28). So, next time we partake in the Lord\u2019s Supper, let us remember the paramount significance of the meal, and approach the table in a manner that is holy and acceptable to God. Let us remember and declare that this meal is a visible act of our obedience to God and that we are committed to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever we go. Let us do all this united with one Spirit and as one Body, aimed at one thing: giving God the glory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Richard Shin Editor\u2019s Note: This is the 4th and final part of an ongoing series. Parts 1, 2, and 3 can be found here, here, and here. The Lord\u2019s Supper as Communion Finally, we look at how the Lord\u2019s Supper acts as a means of communing with one another and with Christ. Some people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":307,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel-and-culture"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1762"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7740,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions\/7740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}