Yesterday
morning my little sister in Alabama, Pat Lovell, posted the graphic
below depicting the Lord's Supper. And, as was intended, it made me
think. Why, How, and When - do we partake in the Lord's Supper?
We are reminded in Luke 22:19, "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me' "
We should consider the question, "How Often Should We Do This In Remembrance Of Him?"
I suppose the answer would be, "How often are YOU grateful for what He has done for YOU?"
The apostle Paul explains in more detail:
Various churches have different views and beliefs regarding the Lord's Supper and when, why, and how it should be celebrated. The Roman Catholic church celebrates the Lord's Supper, which they call the Eucharist, daily at mass.
According to the Pew Research Center: In Communion, Catholics receive bread and wine. The church teaches that when the bread and wine are consecrated by an ordained priest, they become the actual body and blood of the risen Christ; a theological explanation for this process, known as Transubstantiation, has been supported by official church teaching since the 16th century. The church recommends that Catholics receive Communion every time they attend Mass - and considers it a Sacrament.
Lutheran churches practice Consubstantiation, the view that the bread and wine of Communion or Lord's Supper are "spiritually" the flesh and blood of Jesus - but not the actual body and blood. In their theology, the bread and wine are still actually only bread and wine - but represent the "spiritual" aspect of Christ.
In this way, it is different from transubstantiation, in which the bread and the wine are believed to actually become the body and blood of Jesus. This theology was first formally and publicly confessed in the Wittenberg Concord in 1536. This Lutheran doctrine of the "Real Presence" but not the Real Body is also is also considered a Sacrament.
In Reformed theology (most Reformed and Presbyterian churches), the Lord's Supper or Eucharist is similar to the Lutheran's theology of Consubstantiation. To them it is a "spiritual" Sacrament The outward or physical action of the sacrament is eating bread and drinking wine. Reformed confessions, which are official statements of the beliefs of Reformed churches, teach that Christ's body and blood are really present, i.e., the "Real Presence," in the sacrament, but that this presence is communicated in a spiritual manner rather than by his body being physically eaten. The Reformed doctrine of Real Presence is sometimes called "Mystical Real Presence" or "Spiritual Real Presence" (from Wikipedia).
In Baptist churches, as well as most other mainstream Protestant churches, we celebrate the Lord's Supper as a Remembrance Of Him and His "paid in full" atoning sacrifice on the cross to offer eternal life to all who will believe and receive His precious gift of life.
In churches which celebrate the Lord's Supper/Communion as a Remembrance, we believe that Christ left us two Ordinances: Baptism and Communion.
As you have seen above, the Roman Catholic church, Lutheran church, and most other liturgical churches view the Lord's Supper/Communion/Eucharist as a Sacrament.
What is the difference between a Sacrament and an Ordinance?
Sacraments: The Liturgical churches typically teach Sacraments - which includes all or most of the following: baptism, confirmation, holy communion, confession, marriage, holy orders, anointing of the sick - as means of attaining saving grace. According to their teachings, these Sacraments are necessary for salvation, for they convey the grace through which people are saved.
Yet in the Bible we find that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone - not through Sacraments, any works, or any church:
Ordinances: Baptists and other Protestants and Evangelicals view the two Ordinances (Baptism and Communion) as acts of obedience we do in recognition of the Gospel message - that Christ lived, died, was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven where He is our Mediator before the Father, and He will one day return in Glory.
Rather than these Ordinances being requirements for salvation, they are spiritual acts of obedience which help us better follow Christ and acknowledge what Jesus Christ accomplished for us in His redemptive work on the cross.
Ordinances are determined by three factors: (1) They were instituted by Christ, (2) They were taught by the apostles, (3) They were practiced by the early church.
Since baptism and communion are the only practices which qualify under these three criteria, there can be only be these two ordinances - neither of which are requirements for salvation. Both are acts of obedience which are the result of our salvation, not the reason for our salvation.
Note that the Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation was instituted at the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563.
The Lutheran / Reformed church doctrine of Consubstantiation was instituted at the Wittenberg Concord in 1536.
Neither of these meet the three requirements which determine Ordinances and nowhere in the Bible are we told that we are saved through Sacraments.
A final note on the Why and How - It is obvious that in John 6, when Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life, He is speaking metaphorically:
So far we have discussed the Why and How of celebrating the Lord's Supper. Now let's take a look as WHEN do we celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Since we take the Lord’s Supper in Remembrance of Him and His Redemptive Work on the cross - it would seem that we should take it fairly often. Since becoming a believer in 1987, I have been in different Filipino-American Baptist churches in Southern California - and we have always celebrated the Lord's Supper once a month, as part of our regular worship service. Typically, at the end of a normal worship service once a month we will close that service by having the elders pass the elements to the congregation and our pastor will review and share Scripture relating to the Lord's Supper:
Our pastor will explain that the Lord's Supper is a time for all believers to do a spiritual examination of himself or herself, that it is a time to for all believers to renew our focus on Christ, our Christian walk, and our Christian obedience. Then our pastor will remind the congregation present in our worship service that day that the Lord's Supper is only for those who have believed and received Him as Lord and Savior.
We will not look down upon anyone who is not yet a believer and cannot partake of the celebration. But we will, in love, try to help all non-believers understand why each individual should seriously consider what Christ has done to provide eternal life for all people. And in Godly love, we will encourage those who have not yet believed, to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them, to move them to better understand the Gospel story - then to love, enter and seal them as believers. That we will do because we love each non-believer as Christ loves them.
While there are churches which teach that only members of that local church fellowship can partake of the celebration - I personally believe that when our Lord told us in Luke 22:19, "do this in remembrance of Me" - He was speaking to ALL believers, not just a local fellowship.
So, how often does YOUR church fellowship "Do this in remembrance of Him"?
Daily, weekly, monthly, once a year? Once again, my personal feelings are that it should be done frequently enough to stay in faith with His teaching, yet not be so frequent that it becomes a ritual and loses its flavor. Taking Communion every day or every week, for me, would bring it into the realm of being a ritual.
Yet only partaking of the Lord's Supper every six months or once a year - gives me the feeling that we place no real value on His "do this in remembrance of Me." Again it is a personal view and belief, but I believe that the Lord's Supper should be celebrated on a monthly basis in every church - and that ALL believers present that day should participate. Food for thought? I pray this has given you sincere Christian food for thought.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
We are reminded in Luke 22:19, "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me' "
We should consider the question, "How Often Should We Do This In Remembrance Of Him?"
I suppose the answer would be, "How often are YOU grateful for what He has done for YOU?"
The apostle Paul explains in more detail:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."
Various churches have different views and beliefs regarding the Lord's Supper and when, why, and how it should be celebrated. The Roman Catholic church celebrates the Lord's Supper, which they call the Eucharist, daily at mass.
According to the Pew Research Center: In Communion, Catholics receive bread and wine. The church teaches that when the bread and wine are consecrated by an ordained priest, they become the actual body and blood of the risen Christ; a theological explanation for this process, known as Transubstantiation, has been supported by official church teaching since the 16th century. The church recommends that Catholics receive Communion every time they attend Mass - and considers it a Sacrament.
Lutheran churches practice Consubstantiation, the view that the bread and wine of Communion or Lord's Supper are "spiritually" the flesh and blood of Jesus - but not the actual body and blood. In their theology, the bread and wine are still actually only bread and wine - but represent the "spiritual" aspect of Christ.
In this way, it is different from transubstantiation, in which the bread and the wine are believed to actually become the body and blood of Jesus. This theology was first formally and publicly confessed in the Wittenberg Concord in 1536. This Lutheran doctrine of the "Real Presence" but not the Real Body is also is also considered a Sacrament.
In Reformed theology (most Reformed and Presbyterian churches), the Lord's Supper or Eucharist is similar to the Lutheran's theology of Consubstantiation. To them it is a "spiritual" Sacrament The outward or physical action of the sacrament is eating bread and drinking wine. Reformed confessions, which are official statements of the beliefs of Reformed churches, teach that Christ's body and blood are really present, i.e., the "Real Presence," in the sacrament, but that this presence is communicated in a spiritual manner rather than by his body being physically eaten. The Reformed doctrine of Real Presence is sometimes called "Mystical Real Presence" or "Spiritual Real Presence" (from Wikipedia).
In Baptist churches, as well as most other mainstream Protestant churches, we celebrate the Lord's Supper as a Remembrance Of Him and His "paid in full" atoning sacrifice on the cross to offer eternal life to all who will believe and receive His precious gift of life.
In churches which celebrate the Lord's Supper/Communion as a Remembrance, we believe that Christ left us two Ordinances: Baptism and Communion.
As you have seen above, the Roman Catholic church, Lutheran church, and most other liturgical churches view the Lord's Supper/Communion/Eucharist as a Sacrament.
What is the difference between a Sacrament and an Ordinance?
Sacraments: The Liturgical churches typically teach Sacraments - which includes all or most of the following: baptism, confirmation, holy communion, confession, marriage, holy orders, anointing of the sick - as means of attaining saving grace. According to their teachings, these Sacraments are necessary for salvation, for they convey the grace through which people are saved.
Yet in the Bible we find that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone - not through Sacraments, any works, or any church:
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
Ephesians 1:13, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Ordinances: Baptists and other Protestants and Evangelicals view the two Ordinances (Baptism and Communion) as acts of obedience we do in recognition of the Gospel message - that Christ lived, died, was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven where He is our Mediator before the Father, and He will one day return in Glory.
Rather than these Ordinances being requirements for salvation, they are spiritual acts of obedience which help us better follow Christ and acknowledge what Jesus Christ accomplished for us in His redemptive work on the cross.
Ordinances are determined by three factors: (1) They were instituted by Christ, (2) They were taught by the apostles, (3) They were practiced by the early church.
Since baptism and communion are the only practices which qualify under these three criteria, there can be only be these two ordinances - neither of which are requirements for salvation. Both are acts of obedience which are the result of our salvation, not the reason for our salvation.
Note that the Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation was instituted at the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563.
The Lutheran / Reformed church doctrine of Consubstantiation was instituted at the Wittenberg Concord in 1536.
Neither of these meet the three requirements which determine Ordinances and nowhere in the Bible are we told that we are saved through Sacraments.
A final note on the Why and How - It is obvious that in John 6, when Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life, He is speaking metaphorically:
John 6:48-51, "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
So far we have discussed the Why and How of celebrating the Lord's Supper. Now let's take a look as WHEN do we celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Since we take the Lord’s Supper in Remembrance of Him and His Redemptive Work on the cross - it would seem that we should take it fairly often. Since becoming a believer in 1987, I have been in different Filipino-American Baptist churches in Southern California - and we have always celebrated the Lord's Supper once a month, as part of our regular worship service. Typically, at the end of a normal worship service once a month we will close that service by having the elders pass the elements to the congregation and our pastor will review and share Scripture relating to the Lord's Supper:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."
Our pastor will explain that the Lord's Supper is a time for all believers to do a spiritual examination of himself or herself, that it is a time to for all believers to renew our focus on Christ, our Christian walk, and our Christian obedience. Then our pastor will remind the congregation present in our worship service that day that the Lord's Supper is only for those who have believed and received Him as Lord and Savior.
We will not look down upon anyone who is not yet a believer and cannot partake of the celebration. But we will, in love, try to help all non-believers understand why each individual should seriously consider what Christ has done to provide eternal life for all people. And in Godly love, we will encourage those who have not yet believed, to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them, to move them to better understand the Gospel story - then to love, enter and seal them as believers. That we will do because we love each non-believer as Christ loves them.
While there are churches which teach that only members of that local church fellowship can partake of the celebration - I personally believe that when our Lord told us in Luke 22:19, "do this in remembrance of Me" - He was speaking to ALL believers, not just a local fellowship.
So, how often does YOUR church fellowship "Do this in remembrance of Him"?
Daily, weekly, monthly, once a year? Once again, my personal feelings are that it should be done frequently enough to stay in faith with His teaching, yet not be so frequent that it becomes a ritual and loses its flavor. Taking Communion every day or every week, for me, would bring it into the realm of being a ritual.
Yet only partaking of the Lord's Supper every six months or once a year - gives me the feeling that we place no real value on His "do this in remembrance of Me." Again it is a personal view and belief, but I believe that the Lord's Supper should be celebrated on a monthly basis in every church - and that ALL believers present that day should participate. Food for thought? I pray this has given you sincere Christian food for thought.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on the image to enlarge:
No comments:
Post a Comment