The Word and the sacrament go together. Without the sacrament, the Word by turns gradually evolves into mere lecturing, or, if it is excited, a hectoring of God’s people. On the other hand, the sacrament without the Word gradually turns to superstitious and blind observance, at the end indistinguishable from rank paganism. The two go …
Partaking
As we have considered in the course of the message, there is no such thing as a nature/grace dichotomy. Nature is grace, and grace, rooted as it is in the very nature of God, is entirely natural. When we come to this table, we are certainly partaking of Christ. But we are not doing this …
Feeding or Devouring
When we come to this Table in the demeanor of faith, we are not just nourishing ourselves. Rather, the entire Body is being nourished and built up to the extent that various parts of the Body are receiving this gift in true evangelical faith. Coming to the Lord’s Table rightly is not a way for …
The Central Table
This is the Table, and it has its rightful place at the center of our lives. What we do here sets the tone for what we do at every other table. This Table is the rudder; it guides and directs all our other table fellowship. If we are hypocritical here, we will be hypocritical around …
The Empty Chair
In their celebration of Passover, the Jews keep an empty chair for Elijah, the forerunner of the Messiah. As Christians, we confess that both Elijah and the Messiah have come, and we mark that coming in faith by our participation here, at this table. And so, in a very real sense, this table has no …
Christ As Manna and Water
Our Jewish fathers in the wilderness were followed and fed by Christ. He was the Rock that accompanied them, and they all drank from that Rock. St. Paul says that this was written for us, as an example, lest any of us destroy ourselves, as many of them did. In the wilderness, the solution to …
Objectively Submitting
The table before us is set by God Himself. He invites us to it, and as we sit down with Him (in the person of the Lord Jesus), He deals with us. We cannot prevent this, we cannot manipulate it, we cannot turn it to our own ends. This table means what God says it …
Partaking in the Covenant
The world is covenantal. This is because the God who Himself is eternally covenanted, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the Creator of this world. He could not fashion a world in which He was not the God of it, and the heavens declare His glory. In other words, the universe must display the characteristics …
For All the Saints
The Lord’s Supper was instituted by the Lord Jesus Himself the night He was betrayed. The next example of it being observed was over a month later, on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples broke bread together. In the first, Jesus was alive and physically present with His disciples. In the second, He had …
Distinctions Within the Covenant
God makes distinctions between particular congregations. He does not divide the world into two great categories, the baptized and unbaptized, and treat them all accordingly. But neither does He treat everyone according to their individual status alone. It is true that everyone stands or falls at the Last Day one at a time, and God …