Paul
the apostle continued to share with the church members in Corinth
about “the Lord's supper”,
and he reminded them how Jesus took the “bread”,
“gave thanks”
and “broke it”,
“and said, take, eat, this is my
body, which is broken for you”.
Jesus “took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood”.
Paul continued with Jesus' words, “this
do you, ... in remembrance of me”.
In
chapter eleven and verse twenty-six of First Corinthians, Paul shared
with the church members how by observing “the
Lord's supper” they did, “show
the Lord's death till he comes”,
where we read:
For as
often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the
Lord's death till he comes.
The verse begins, “For
as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, ...”.
Paul began
with the word, “for”
which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and
therefore” “as often as you eat”
or
“whenever the church members devoured or consumed” “this
bread”
which means “the bread of communion”, “and
drink” which
means “and imbibe” “this cup”
or “the drinking vessel used in communion”. Paul referred to the
time when the church members would partake of the “bread
and cup”
of “the Lord's supper”
together.
The
verse goes on to say, “... you
do show the Lord's death till he comes.”
Paul
continued with the words, “you do
show” which
means “the church members demonstrate, announce, declare,
promulgate and make known” “the
Lord's” or
“he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of
deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah” “death”
which means “the separation of the soul and the body by which the
life on earth is ended” “till”
or “until or up to the time” “he
comes” or
“Jesus appears, arises and becomes known”. Until Jesus returns,
the church members were to partake of “the
Lord's supper”
which would “demonstrate and announce” the “Lord's
death” on
their behalf.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we see the importance for
observing “the Lord's supper” because it not only reminds
participants of what Jesus did for their sin, but also shows Jesus'
return by “eating and drinking” the elements involved. When the
church members participated in “the Lord's supper”, they
“showed the Lord's death” to everyone, and they were to
observe this “sacrament” until Jesus “comes” again.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ provides salvation for all
who believe, and “communion” reminds them of not only of Jesus'
sacrifice, but also His promise to return. May all who read
understand and observe “the Lord's supper”.
Next
time Paul shares what happens if a church member “eats
or drinks”,
“unworthily”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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