"It is the Lord’s table. HE is the honored host, and HIS people are HIS invited guests. HE gave it as an ordinance to HIS Church, whereby the members of HIS body remember HIM in HIS death, burial, and resurrection until HE returns, I Cor. 11:23, 24.
"The unleavened bread is a symbol of Christ’s perfect, sinless body. It is not actually the body of our Lord, nor does it become so at any time. The Lord Jesus is present at the table, by His Spirit, revealed in the hearts of His chosen, redeemed, justified and called out people. The bread is a memorial of Christ’s body that was crushed and bruised by God the Father, on behalf of the Church, and baked in the fire of God’s judgment for the sin of His people--Isaiah 53:10.
"The wine is a symbol of Christ’s blood that He shed. It is not the actual blood of the Lord Jesus, but represents the death that He died on our behalf. Our Lord called it “the new testament in my blood,” showing that by His one death, He ratified and completely fulfilled the old covenant which was that of the blood of animals only, Exodus 24:8. Wine was often used for medicinal purposes in Scripture and is an appropriate symbol of what the death of Christ accomplished for the Redeemed. By His one offering, they have been sanctified forever!
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
"The Lord’s Table is only for the Church. Christ’s death is not a general atonement (covering) for sin. He died for the Church, made up of elect sinners from every tribe, nation, and tongue-Acts 20:28. Here are four biblical criteria essential to partaking of the Lord’s Table.
· You must be redeemed by Christ, Ephesians 1:7
· Regenerated by the Holy Spirit, John 3:3, 8
· Immersed in water in submission by faith to God’s one true righteousness imputed in Christ’s death- Acts 2:41
· Walking in fellowship with the Lord and His people, I Cor. 5:7, 8, 11.
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup,” I Corinthians 11:28." -- Ken Wimer, Shreveport Grace Church Bulletin, September 24, 2006
2 comments:
Ken Wimmer makes the same mistake that many, many do by equating the Spiritual birth in John 3:3 & 8 to that of regeneration. If Christ had intended to equate the two HE would have left clear cut wording; but to the contrary, HE left clear cut wording that shows that regeneration and the Spiritual birth are not the same. Hoyt Sparks
Bro. Hoyt, despite your concern about Bro. Wimer's use of the John 3 proof text with the subject of regeneration, I assume you would agree that regeneration (whatever you believe it to be) is a prerequisite to partaking of the Lord's Supper?
Anyway, your comment got me to thinking about something. I am convinced that being born of the Spirit is prerequisite to the Lord's Supper and the true spiritual communion of it. But we do not have a spiritual stethoscope with which we can listen to the heart sounds of inner life in the child of God. So, from the church's perspective -- it is a credible profession received by the church as part of the evidence of the effects of regeneration that is prerequisite to the Lord's Supper. With this is the assumed status of spiritual life, which we cannot know infallibly.
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