What Is The Difference Between The Ten Commandments And The Two Ordinances?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TWO ORDINANCES?  ~  Have you ever given thought to that question, that comparison?  So, what is the difference?  Are the Ten Commandments real commands and the Two Ordinances merely suggestions?  NO!  And in this blog I will tell you why.

God the Father, through Moses, gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, and through them to the whole world (Exodus 20:1–17).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, God the Son, breaks the Ten Commandments down into two easy to understand commandments.  The first and most important is our relationship with God the Father (Commandments 1 through 4).  And the others, according to Jesus Christ, is our relationship with our fellow man, (Commandments 5 through 10): 

(1)  Your relationship with God  ~  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" - Matthew 22:37

(2)  Your relationship with your fellow man  ~  "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself" - Matthew 22:39

Jesus was not giving us new commandments to supersede the Ten Commandments given by God the Father.  No, the Ten Commandments are written in stone, virtually, and cannot be compromised nor changed. 

In like manner, in the 1960s Chuck Smith and Mike McIntosh created Maranatha! Music to give the hippies and all the seeking and lost young folks of that generation Christian music they could relate to, easily understandable to their drug fogged minds.  This simpler presentation of God's Word in terms of music and Gospel they could understand - and over the years that simple to understand Gospel brought literally millions to the Lord through Calvary Chapel.

"Bill, if Jesus only explained the Old Testament Ten Commandments in easier to understand language, did He leave no new commands to the church He created in the New Testament?"  Glad you asked!  That is a very important question - and one which I would bet most believers would answer no.  

Yet Jesus DID indeed leave us two new commands.  But since He did not label them as commands - are they merely suggestions - OR - are they new commands which all believers should view as just as important as the Ten Commandments?  We call them the Two Ordinances.

What is an ordinance?  This answer comes from the Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: "an authoritative decree or direction : (an) ORDER.   Example:  On that day the king signed three ordinances, three new laws."

We are given the words of Jesus in Luke 22:19, "And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body, which is being given for you; DO THIS in remembrance of Me.' ”

Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 11:23-24, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; DO THIS in remembrance of Me.' ”

Then Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; DO THIS, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' ”

The English word "do" in Greek is poieo (poi-e'-o) which in Strong's Concordance means:   "to do, to act rightly, do well, to carry out, to execute."

The English word "this" in Greek is houtos (hü'-tos) which in Strong's Concordance means:  "this, these, etc."

In other words, the phrase found in all three Scripture passages above is:  poieo houtos - DO THIS!

So you tell me.  Does this sound like a mere suggestion?  Are the two Ordinances left to us by Jesus Christ only suggestions - OR are they commands? 

I suggest these are two new commandments left to the Christian church, the worldwide body of believers from the Day of Pentecost 33AD church until He comes again in His Second Coming in Glory to establish His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on earth, as a precursor to taking all believer into never ending Eternity to live with Him and all other believers forever. 

I feel comfortable showing the ELEVEN Commandments in the manner shown in my graphic below.

True, this blog is only my understanding, but I am convinced these thoughts and references come straight from the Bible, God's Written Word.

Given this is true, is your church honoring both the Ten Commandments AND the Two Ordinances?  Does your church teach the Ten Commandments?  Does your church teach and follow the Two Ordinances:  the Baptism of new believers and the timely meeting Jesus at the Lord's Supper Table?

I once was at a church which I knew had only celebrated the Lord's Supper, aka Communion, twice in four years, and those times when an elder raised a question about its absence in worship.  I had a chance to chat with the pastor during fellowship, and I asked him, "Pastor, in Luke 22:19 Jesus tells us to celebrate the Lord's Supper in Remembrance of Him.  Does your church remember Him?"  He just smiled and walked away.

And to the best of my knowledge, that church did not even have the utensils to celebrate the Lord's Supper.  We have to ask ourselves, "Why would a Christian church choose to not meet Jesus in celebration at the Lord's Table?"

I can only think of one reason they would want to avoid or ignore Communion:  Confusion over who in the worship service that day should receive Communion, i.e., celebrate the Lord's Supper - and who should not be invited to partake of the Lord's Supper. 

I have written and posted a rather comprehensive blog titled: "Should Communion, The Lord's Supper, Be Open, Closed, Or Close?"  You will find it at:  https://billdory-christian-ministries.blogspot.com/2021/03/should-communion-lords-supper-be-open.html

Let me offer you excerpts from that blog:  It begins:

SHOULD COMMUNION, i.e., THE LORD'S SUPPER be Open, Closed, or Close?  ~  What is the difference?  Glad you asked.

Open Communion:  All Christian believers present at the time the Lord's Supper is celebrated, local church members or visitors, can participate in remembering Christ through receiving the elements.  The individual person determines if he/she is spiritually ready to receive the Lord's Supper.

Closed Communion:  Only members of that local church fellowship may participate in the Lord's Supper celebration.

Close Communion:  Local church members and visitors from other church fellowships in the same denomination may participate in the Lord's Table celebration.

Confusing?  I agree.  And I do not believe Jesus Christ meant to confuse anyone when in Luke 22:19 we read, "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.' "

So what is the difference between the three Communion practices?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And my blog concludes:

In a given local church fellowship, who decides who can participate in the Lord's Supper?  Is it the pastor, the deacons or elders, their denomination?  Who makes that spiritual decision?

I ask myself, "When Jesus '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' -  who was He addressing when 'He gave the elements to them'?"   "Them" at that time referred to His apostles who were sharing the Passover Meal with Him in the Upper Room on that particular evening. 

But when He said, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me" - I am convinced His "you" was addressing all believers down through the ages.  Jesus Christ did not die just for His apostles - He did not die just for pastors, elders, deacons. 

He did not die just for Baptists, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, etc.  He did not die just for a given denomination.  No, Jesus Christ died on the cross to offer salvation and eternal life to ALL who will believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Nowhere in that Luke 22:19 verse, or anywhere in the Bible, do I see Jesus Christ telling any denomination, any church, any pastor, elder, deacon - that THEY should judge who is saved, who is a believer, who is spiritually fit to join Him at His Lord's Table. 

Think about it.  A person, a church, or a denomination which tells a person, "You cannot take the Lord's Supper with us, because you might not be a real believer" - is placing himself, his church, his denomination in the position of being God, of passing judgment on another - just because that person is not a member of his local fellowship. 

I must ask that person, church, or denomination, "Are you that SURE that all members of your local church, the ones with whom you are willing to take the Lord's Supper - are they ALL true believers?"  If not, then using your criteria, you must deny them Communion also.  How will YOU judge which in your own fellowship deserve to receive Communion?

How can you be sure?  The solution is simple.  Offer the Lord's Supper to all who are attending your Communion Service - and leave it to that individual, and to God, to judge who is fit to sit at His Table.  In my understanding of the Bible, in over 35 years of study, that is what (I believe) is taught in God's Word. 

.  .  .   .

More about the Lord's Supper  ~  The Lord's Supper is NOT a one time event.  Jesus tells us to do this "in remembrance of Him" (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25).  How often does your church remember Jesus Christ and what He did to offer us eternal life?   That is reflected in how often your church fellowship celebrates the Lord's Supper?

Should we call it Communion - or should we call it the Lord's Supper?  Either is correct, but let's examine both.  Calling it the Lord's Supper is probably most common and, for me, has a deeper meaning.  What is more personal and intimate than coming to the table to share a meal with friends and family? 

Jesus tells us in Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine (or sup) with him, and he with Me."  That is the ultimate intimacy, being at the Lord's Supper Table. 

That implies we are in personal communion with Him - just as when we sit, pray, and eat with our immediate family.  It is a form of Communion, but I personally prefer to consider it dining at the Lord's Supper Table - with Him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the years, most Christian churches where I have been a participant celebrated the Lord's Supper once a month, typically on the first Sunday of each month.  And we did it as a closing part of our normal worship service, i.e., as we finish our worship service and are all preparing to go back into the world for another week, we partake of our "spiritual vitamins" to sustain us through the coming month, no matter what the world throws at us.

Why once a month?  Some churches celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, others celebrate what they call the Eucharist daily, while many, if not most, celebrate Communion on a monthly basis.  Doing it daily or weekly, this celebration might tend to become more of a ritual or habit, which can make it just that, a ritual we do without giving any thought to what was paid on our behalf to make our salvation possible.

I will close with this very important question:  If your church is not celebrating the Lord's Supper, Communion, on a timely schedule?  Are you sure you are in a Christian church?  Think about it, and do what your believe God would have you do.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge: