The apostle Paul tells us that this bread represents the unity of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16-17). How so? Remember that the Lord’s way of unity is one, one divided, and two restored into one. That is what He did in the Garden. Adam was one, then he was divided into two, so …
Chalcedon and Communion
When we come here to partake of the body and blood of the Lord, we use that language—because Scripture does. But at the same time, we want to guard against a crass literalism that throws out something else that the Bible teaches with equal clarity. Christ assumed a human body, and He did so forever. …
The Spirit’s Work
You have often been reminded that in this meal we partake of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. We do not do this because He is somehow locally present on this Table—for He is at the right hand of the Father, and not here. But Paul is very clear that we are made partakers …
The Right Kind of Rarity
In the Lord’s Supper, God meets with us in very ordinary things. It is the same with the sacrament of baptism—what is more plentiful than water? Bread is common, a staple. And wine is abundant—virtually every human society has rejoiced in that particular gift of God. So what does this mean? In Deuteronomy, Moses tells …
Never Walk Away
In the two sacraments, God presents spiritual realities to us in physical form. Unbelief looks at the physical form only—whether water, bread, or wine—and faith looks upon Christ. Some forms of unbelief look at the physical form only and deny that Christ has anything to do with it. Other forms of unbelief identify Christ with …
Swallowing in the Heart
We worship and serve Christ, who is the Incarnation of the God of all grace. We come to partake of Him here, and this means that we come to be partakers of His grace. Now this table is all grace. The cup is a cup of blessing, and the bread is the bread of life. …
Cup and Platter
When the Lord Jesus is chastising the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, He speaks to them with the image of a cup and platter (Matt. 23:25-26). We would do well to apply what He said to our use of the cup and platter here. He said that the scribes and Pharisees liked to make a fair …
Deference of Death
In Matthew 20, the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus and asked if her two sons could sit on Christ’s right hand and left in the kingdom. He asked if they could participate in His baptism, and if they could drink the cup that He would drink. He replied that they would …
Sin Crushed As Well As Broken
Last week we saw that God breaks the idols, and He breaks all sin, and He breaks it for our salvation in the body of Christ. And so we, as that body, are enabled by God’s grace to partake of His forgiveness. The wine is made by crushing the grapes. This kind of crushing is …
Breaking Bread, Breaking Sin
This bread is the sacrament of the body of the Lord, as He put it. And when He picked it up in the institution of this meal, He took the bread that represented His own body, and He gave thanks, and He broke it. The remarkable grace and love that we see here is striking, …