As the apostle Paul begins the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, let us assume that he is not guilty of a radical lurch as he changes subjects, deciding finally to come back to the subject of the Lord’s Supper in v. 17. The culmination point of Christian worship is the Supper, and every disorder in …
A Pious Cocoon
The apostle tells us to do whatever we do to the glory of God. We cannot really understand this unless we have been disciplined by His table. Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, he says, whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. But this comes at the end of a detailed …
Our Table Fellowship
Our Father and God, we bless Your holy name, and we ask You to prepare us for worship tomorrow as we do. You have called us to Yourself, and have established us here in this community so that the kingdom of God might grow and flourish. We pray that Your kingdom would come, Your will …
Learning to Eat
The apostle Paul does not draw the kind of antithesis we might expect between the table of the Lord and the food we eat throughout our daily lives. In this passage from Corinthians we have been considering, he talks about the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament, the manna and water of the wilderness, meat eaten …
Faith is Exegetically Indefensible
Introduction: In all the various controversies we have seen recently, what is common to them all? The common theme is confusion with regard to the intersection between Scripture and the world, and the role faith plays in understanding this rightly. Suppose a precocious young boy, after his father has finished saying grace over the evening …
Christ in Others
Let no man seek his own, St. Paul says. This is an essential part of discerning the Lord’s body. We are to discern the Lord’s body, among other ways, in one another. As you partake of the Supper, do not close yourself up into a little private spiritual room. Feel free to look around at …
Table Allegiance
We have no right to legislate morality in any area unless God has spoken to that issue clearly and directly. Apart from this, all things are lawful in their substance. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it. We have already considered that all men are covenantal partakers of something. God has embodied …
Israel After the Flesh
As we come to the Table, Paul tells us to “behold Israel after the flesh.” Look, he says, at Israel in the Old Testament, and take special care to note how their condition was similar to yours. We partake of Christ in the bread and wine. They were partakers of the altar as they ate …
Foundation Stones of Grace
Gracious Father and God, Your kindness toward Your people is an everlasting river, and we thank You that we will never arrive at the end of it. We know that You call us to worship You before all things, and that You summon us to this for our good and Your glory. We praise You …
Do Communion? Or Have Communion?
As we come to the table, we are charged to flee from idolatry. We do this in two ways. The first is that we leave all pagan idols behind. Whether these idols are actual gods made of wood or stone, or are idols of the heart and mind does not matter. We leave them behind …