Many churches rarely teach on the new covenant ordinances of baptism and the Lordâs Supper. The biggest concern is how to fit them in without disrupting the weekly service. Itâs little wonder, then, that baptism is viewed as optional by many Christians while the Lordâs Supper is either misunderstood or ignored. In this sermon David Platt explains the meaning of these two ordinances and answers the following questions: Why should I be baptized? How should I be baptized? Who should be baptized? When should I be baptized? Who should participate in the Lordâs Supper? Where should we have the Lordâs Supper? When should we have the Lordâs Supper? According to Scripture, baptizing believers and regularly taking the Lordâs Supper are crucial aspects of what it means to be a New Testament church.
This series has been preached multiple times. For the newest version of this message, see 12 Traits of a Biblical Church.
If you have a Bibleâand I hope you doâlet me invite you to open with me to Acts 2. Itâs good to be together as a church around the Word. Today weâre looking at the seventh of 12 biblical traits of a church. Remember our purpose in this. As followers of Christ, joined together in the church, we donât want to do church our own way, which we are prone to do according to whatâs popular in our culture. We want to do church Godâs way, according to Godâs Word, for His glory and for our good.
Over these past few weeks weâve seen how God has designed that every follower of Christ should commit his or her life to a church where the Bible is taught, the gospel is proclaimed and where discipleship is happening. Itâs a place where theyâre praying together, seeking the Lord not just individually but together, and where theyâre pooling their resources, giving together. This leads to the seventh trait weâre going to see today: biblical ordinances.
Kind of like church membership, that topic may not sound particularly thrilling to you. I donât know how many of you hear that and immediately think, âYes! Biblical ordinances! This is going to be awesome.â Many of you probably think, âWhat in the world are biblical ordinances and why in the world do they matter for my life?â In Lonâs words, âSo what?â
Speaking of Lon, he and I are in touch all the time, and he is involved this month in a major evangelism initiative overseas in an undisclosed location. I want to ask you to be praying for him and for that initiative specifically, that God would bring much fruit from it.
Back to biblical ordinances. My aim in the next few minutes is to show you two biblical ordinances God has given to the church, and I want to show you that they are extremely significant for your life and our life together in church. I should warn youâwe have a lot to cover, so weâre about to go âSecret Churchâ speed. If youâve not been to Secret Church, just think, âOpen mouth, insert fire hydrant.â Here we go.
What in the world is an ordinance? Basically that word means a prescribed practice. Itâs an activity God has told us to do together as a churchânot just individually, but when we come together. The two ordinances in the Bible weâll dive into today are baptism and the Lordâs Supper. I want to show them to you in Scripture, and I want to show you what they mean for your life. If you have not been baptized as a follower of Christ, then today Iâm going to encourage you to do that as soon as possible. This is a practice, as Iâll show you, that Jesus prescribes. So if you are a follower of Christ who has not been baptized, then you are directly disobeying God.
Then weâre going to celebrate the Lordâs Supper today. Before we do, I want to make sure we understand what weâre doing, because there is a lot of misunderstanding about what the Lordâs Supper means. Just to give you a heads up, weâre about to see how the Bible warns that if you participate in the Lordâs Supper wrongly, God may take your life. I would say thatâs a pretty sufficient reason to pay attention today.
So letâs start with Acts 2, which describes the start of the New Testament church. Jesus has died on the cross, risen from the grave and has ascended into heaven. We looked at the beginning of chapter two a few weeks ago when we were talking about prayer. Jesus sent His Holy Spirit upon His people and they began proclaiming the gospel. Thatâs where weâll pick up in Acts 2:36, which is the end of the first Christian sermon.
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.â Â Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, âBrothers, what shall we do?â And Peter said to them, âRepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.â And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, âSave yourselves from this crooked generation.â So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Â And they devoted themselves to the apostlesâ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
As soon as these first Christians put their faith in Christ, they were baptized. Then the Bible says these new believers in the church in Jerusalem immediately devoted themselves âto the apostlesâ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.â Most biblical scholars believe that reference to the breaking of bread is a reference to the Lordâs Supper, which was a regular part of the churchâs gathering.
Iâm going to point you many places in the Bible that we wonât take time to turn to, showing you the basics of what the Bible teaches about these two ordinances that we see from the very beginning of the church.
What is baptism?
Starting with baptism, we need to ask: what is baptism?
Baptism Is A Public Demonstration of Our Initial Identification with Christ & His Church
Every word in this definition matters. Baptism is a public act. Itâs not something you do alone. Itâs an initial act. Notice that in the Bible baptism was actually part of the initial invitation to follow Christ. âRepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christâ (Acts 2:38). New believers were baptized immediately. âIn the name of Christââthatâs a phrase we see again in Acts 8, Acts 10 and Acts 19. It indicates our identification with Christ. In its essence, the church is the community of men and women who are identified with the name of Jesus and the life of Christ. So baptism is our identification with the church. Letâs dive into five quick questions about baptism: why, what, how, who and when?
1. Why should I be baptized?
The Bible gives three reasons why we are to be baptized. First, we should be baptized to follow the example of Christ. Look with me at the beginning of Jesusâ ministry in Matthew 3:13â17:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, âI need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?â But Jesus answered him, âLet it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.â Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, âThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.â
We learned earlier in Matthew 3 that baptism is a picture of repentance, of turning from sin. Jesus of course was sinless. He had no sin that He needed to repent of. What Heâs doing here is giving an example of righteousness to all who would follow Him. He is identifying with all people who will repent of their sin and trust in Him. See the gravity of grace and humility here as Jesus identifies with sinners like you and me, even though He has no sin, to set an example for us.
Second, we should be baptized to obey the command of Christ. So Jesusâ ministry starts here in chapter three and ends in Matthew 28. We quote Matthew 28:19 to one another at the end of our gatherings: âGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.â That command from Christ is why we see everyone who puts their faith in Christ in the book of Acts being baptizedâwithout exception.
We talk about Matthew 28 all the time around here, that every disciple of Jesus in the church has been commanded to make disciples of Jesus. We are disciple makersâthatâs what He has called every one of us to do. How can you carry out the command to share the gospel and lead other people to be baptized if you are not willing to be baptized yourself? Donât miss this. Baptism is an obedience issue for every follower of Christ, including the newest follower of Christ. Thatâs why I said earlier that the Bible
clearly teaches that if you are a follower of Christ and have not been baptized, then you are disobeying God.
Weâre baptized to follow the example of Christ, to obey the command of Christ, and then third, we should be baptized to unite with the body of Christ. Hereâs what Paul writes to the church at Ephesus: âThere is one body and one Spiritâjust as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your callâ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in allâ (Ephesians 4:4â6).
Do you see how baptism is one of the things that unites us together in the church? Itâs foundational. It makes no sense to be in the church but not be baptized. An unbaptized church member is an oxymoron in Scripture. Itâs like jumbo shrimp or Microsoft Works. [SorryâI shouldnât have gone there. Please donât be offendedâIâm not trying to create disunity.] But the point is this: an unbaptized church member makes no sense. Baptism is a prescribed practice for uniting us in the church. It would be contradictory and would mar our unity in the church to say, âOne Lord, one faith, but not one baptism.â One baptism is on the level with âone God and Father of all.â
Baptism is part of our unity and identification, not just with Christ, but also with the church. We talk about being a biblical churchâthatâs why we talk about baptism. The reasons we should be baptized are to follow the example of Christ, to obey the command of Christ and to unite with the body of Christ. This leads to our second question.
2. What is the meaning of baptism?
First, baptism is a celebration of the grace of Christ as explained in Romans 6. I want to say loud and clearâand I want you to hear this loud and clearâthat baptism is not necessary for salvation, specifically justification before God and forgiveness of your sins. Baptism is absolutely an important part of our relationship with Christ. Itâs one of the first things weâre supposed to do in our relationship with Christ, but it is not necessary to be made right before God as some people teach. Catholicism officially teaches that you are justified before God by faith and through baptismâand other works, but thatâs not what the Bible teaches.
As one of many examples, looking at the thief on the cross makes this plain. He was not baptized, but he was absolutely with Jesus in paradise when he died. Baptism is not earning Godâs grace in salvation. That would actually undercut Godâs grace in salvation. Itâs not grace if you earn it. We are saved from our sin by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Baptism is a physical celebration of that internal spiritual transformation. Think of Romans 6:3â4:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Hereâs the picture, as Paul talks about in Romans 5. Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for us in our sin. Then He rose from the grave as our Savior. Baptism is a celebration of that reality applied to our hearts. When someone is baptized, they are not being made right before Godâthey are celebrating the reality that they are right before God through faith in Jesus.
Baptism is a celebration of the grace of Christ, and itâs an illustration of the gospel of Christ. Romans 6 teaches that baptism is a picture.
Here is a picture of my wife on our wedding day. Now, as you look at this picture, I hope you realize: that is not my wife. That is a representation of my wife. My wife right now is teaching fourth grade girls in Kidâs Quest. In the same way, baptism is not your salvation. It is a representationâa pictureâof your salvation. And it is a glorious picture!
When we go into the water, we show our identification with the death of Christ for our sins. We illustrate that we are no longer slaves to sin and the penalty of sin which is eternal death. We are dead to sin. Then we donât stay under water very long, for a variety of reasons, but mainly because Jesus didnât stay in the grave very long. When we come up out of the water, we show our identification with the resurrection of Christ. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we have been raised to walk in an entirely new life. This is what baptism gloriously illustrates.
That leads to the last reality. Baptism is a celebration of grace, itâs an illustration of the gospel, and it is a declaration of the glory of Christ. When Paul talks about baptism in Colossians 2:11â15, he explains that Jesus took our sins away and made a public spectacle of sin, triumphing over sin and death at the cross. So when we are baptized, we are proclaiming the glory of Christ in the church. This is why we love celebrating baptism in the church, because every time somebody else is baptized, we remember that we are united together in Jesusâ death and resurrection. We proclaim to one another that Jesus has conquered sin and death, and we have new life in Him. This is what baptism means. Itâs a celebration of the grace of Christ, it is an illustration of the gospel, and itâs a declaration of His glory.
3. How should I be baptized?
These next two questions involve areas where youâre likely to get different answers in church history. We donât have time to exhaustively summarize all of church history today, but suffice it to say, some of my heroes in the faith would disagree on a couple of these things. This is where we want to take an honest look at Scripture and ask, âWhat does the Bible teach?â Iâm saying that humbly. Iâm not saying that my heroes of the faith in Christian history ignored Scripture, or that anybody who comes to different
conclusions is ignoring Scripture. But our goal is always to look at the Bible and say, âOkay, what does the Bible say about how we should be baptized?â
We believe the answer to that question is that the most biblical mode of baptism is immersion. Almost all biblical scholars would agree that the dominant term for baptism in the New Testament, baptizo, literally means to immerse or submerge or dunk. This is how John got his name, âJohn the Baptistâ âJohn the Baptizer. Or John the Dunker.
Look at Scripture on a few different levels. Look at the precedent of Christ. Jesus âcame up out of the water.â He was not sprinkled with it. It was not poured over Him. He was immersed in it. Look at the pattern of the early church leaders. Think of Acts 8, with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip didnât say, âLet me go get some water and come back up and baptize you.â He went down into and came up out of the water with this Ethiopian believer.
Then think about the picture of the gospel we just talked about. How is Romans 6 most clearly portrayed? Itâs through this picture of immersion. Now, there are certainly situations where, maybe for physical reasons, a follower of Christ is not physically able to get in and out of water. Then we would still want to baptize them in the best way we can to carry out baptism. But the biblical precedent, pattern and picture is immersion.
4. Who should be baptized?
The Bible teaches that everyone who has been born again should be baptizedâand the key word there is âagain.â Not just born. This is very different from what Catholicism teaches on so many levels, including how baptism relates to salvation. This is also different than what our Presbyterian brothers and sisters would say about baptism. They believe the same gospel we believe, yet they baptize infants soon after birth.
But if you think about all weâve seen in the Bible about baptismâhow this is an act of obedience to the command of Christ, uniting with the body of Christ, celebrating the grace of Christ, identifying with Christ and His churchânone of these things are possible without faith in Christ. Infants cannot have that faith. That faith comes when we are born again, when we become followers of Christ, when we confess our need for Godâs grace in our lives and place our faith in Jesus.
Now, that is not intended in any way to minimize the significance of parents saying, in faith, âI want to commit my child and our home to raising this child to know and love Christ. Thatâs why we do parent-child dedications. But that is very different from what the Bible teaches about baptism.
5. When should I be baptized?
I would submit that the answer the Bible gives is twofold. One, you should be baptized as soon as you trust in Christ for salvation. In Acts, believers were normally baptized immediately. I could show Looks at verses in Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18 and 22 where this is repeatedly happening. As people come to Christ, they are baptized. This is not something a Christian grows into; this is something you do as soon as you trust in Christ for salvationâand only then. So itâs not something you do again and again and again. Once youâre baptized as a believer in Christ, you donât get baptized again. The Bible knows nothing of re-baptism.
Now, sometimes I hear people use that word âre-baptize,â or they say, âI need to be baptized again,â and usually itâs whenâfor a variety of reasonsâa person realizes that they had been baptized before they actually became a follower of Christ. If thatâs the case, then those people werenât really baptized as followers of Christ. They just went for a quick swim. Baptism is a believerâs initial identification with Christ. It only happens after you follow Christ. It happens once, as soon as you can, after you trust in Christ for salvation.
The second thing I would add, besides being baptized as soon as you can following salvation, is you should be baptized as soon as you can publically proclaim your salvation. So remember, baptism is a public demonstration of your initial identification with Christ and His church. You donât come to Christ and then just find the nearest pool or bathtub you can and do this. You come to the church and say, âI want to be baptized.â We then walk through a process with you designed to make sure youâre clear on what baptism means. The last thing we want to do is baptize anyone who thinks this is going to save them from their sins or who just wants to please someone. We walk through the process so that as soon as possible you can publicly proclaim your salvation.
With all of that said, I know there are many followers of Christ in our congregation who have not been baptized. Youâre a follower of Christ, but you have not been baptizedâfor all sorts of reasons. I donât presume to know what every single one of those reasons is; I would just submit today that none of those reasons outweighs what we have just seen in Godâs Word. Amidst all those reasons, this is at the core an obedience issue. God is calling you to be baptized, to publicly declare that you belong to Jesus. My hope is that youâll hear that and think, âOkay, this is serious.â But then I donât want you to say, âIâll do it because I have to.â I want you to see the beauty of this.
Think about a wedding ring. I mentioned last weekâI never had a date before I met my wife. Five years later, I stood at an altar next to her and we pledged our lives to each other. We put rings on each otherâs fingers and we united our lives together. Now, my ring is not my marriage. Itâs a picture of my marriage, but really itâs even more than that. My wedding ring is a declaration that says to every person I meet, âI belong to Heather Platt.â If you look at the rock on her fingerâwell, itâs more of a pebble, but it sure felt like a rock when I bought itâshe is declaring she belongs to me.
So, brothers and sisters, in a much deeper way, the God of the universe has pursued you with passionâa passion that drove His Son to die for all your sins. Through Jesusâ death and resurrection, God has forgiven you of all your sin, brought you into a relationship with Him, and united your life with Himself. Heâs given the church an ordinance, a practice, a picture that tells the world you belong to Jesus. And when you were baptized, you celebrated this grace that God has freely given you. You illustrated that the gospel is more precious than anything else on this planet. You proclaimed to the world that Jesus is God, He is good and He will bring new life to anyone who trusts in Him. Why would any follower of Christ not want to say, âI belong to Jesusâ? That would make no sense.
I want to invite you to obedience as a follower of Christ. Let us know of your interest before leaving here today. Or even if youâre not yet a follower of Christ, but youâre exploring Christianity, weâd love to talk with you about what it means to follow Christ.
This leads us to the second ordinance: the Lordâs Supper.
The Lordâs Supper Is A Celebration of Our Continual Identification With Christ And His Church
Baptism is a public demonstration of our initial identification with Christ and His church. Then the Lordâs Supper is a celebration of our continual identification with Christ and His church. The Lordâs Supper is different from baptism, but I want you to see the relationship between them. Itâs not something we do once, but rather something we do over and over and over again. Itâs continual. Think about it this way. If baptism is like a wedding ceremony that celebrates initial identification with Christ, then the Lordâs Supper would be like anniversary celebrations, where we renew our vows continually before God. If you ask any wife if itâs important that her husband remembers their anniversary, you will realize this is something we should not neglect.
Did you know that the Lordâs Supper is the only act of worship in the New Testament that we have been given specific instructions for? Itâs called communion in 1 Corinthians 10. Itâs called the Lordâs Table. Itâs called the breaking of bread, in Acts 2:42 and Acts 20:7. In Luke 22:14â23 we see that Jesus celebrated this meal with His disciples before He went to the cross. Then, as we see in Acts, this meal is practiced repeatedly by the early church.
Then Paul reminds the church of its importance in 1 Corinthians 11, starting in verse 23. Paul writes to the church in Corinth:
For I received from the Lord what 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, âThis is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.â In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, âThis cup is the new covenant in
my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.â For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
So our questions again are similar.
1. Who should participate in the Lordâs Supper?
The Bible teaches that followers of Christ share in the life of Christ as they partake of the Lordâs Supper. Jesus shared that meal in Luke 22 with His followers. Every time we see the Lordâs Supper in the New Testament, it only involves followers of Christ. âFollowersâ is the key word. Even if you call yourself a Christian, but you are deliberately disobeying Christ in your life, then you should not partake of the Lordâs Supper. Weâll talk about that more in a minute.
There are people here today who would readily admit they are not followers of Christ. Some of you are exploring Christianity right now so you should not partake of the Lordâs Supper, but that does not mean you need to leave the room. Those who are not followers of Christ see the love of Christ as they watch the Lordâs Supper. So in a few minutes, when the followers of Christ are taking the Lordâs Supperâwhich Iâll explain the meaning ofâwe want you to see the love of Christ for you. Our aim is not to be inhospitable. Our aim is to have a celebration of Godâs love that might open your eyes to the depth of His love for you.
I have prayed that today, even as weâre talking about baptism and celebrating the Lordâs Supper, that some of you might realize in your own heart the depth of Godâs love for you. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. You can have forgiveness of all your sins and eternal life in relationship with God through faith in Christ. As we talk about baptism and as we celebrate the Lordâs Supper, I pray that you would see that reality and you would want it in your own heart. We are so thankful you are here in this gathering of the church. Which leads to our next question…
2. Where should we have the Lordâs Supper?
The only biblical requirement is that it be in the gathering of the church. In 1 Corinthians 11âif we were to study it more in depthâfour different times Paul talks about the church âcoming together.â In
fact, if you look at verse 29, Paul says, âAnyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.â The Lordâs Supper is not something we do alone, privately. Itâs something we do together publicly.
Again, there are exceptions to this. If someone is bedridden and unable to come to church, or if theyâre in a circumstance where they are not able to gather together with the church, then there are pictures of the church going to brothers and sisters like this and celebrating the Lordâs Supper. But the normal practice is in the gathering of the church. Which leads to the next question…
3. When should we have the Lordâs Supper?
On that question, Scripture does not give an explicit answer. The New Testament doesnât say, âDo it at these intervals.â The Bible certainly says here in 1 Corinthians 11, âAs often as you drink this cup and as often as you eat this bread…â I think weâre on safe ground when we see the early church in Acts 2:42 continually devoting themselves to this. We also see in 1 Corinthians 11 that Scripture is calling us to observe it often. Jesus commands us to celebrate the Lordâs Supper. So, like baptism, this is an obedience issue as well. If itâs an ongoing practice, an ordinance, for Christ followers in the first century, we also should observe it often.
That leads some people to ask, âWhat about weekly?â Some of you may come from backgrounds where the Lordâs Supper was celebrated weekly. The Scripture doesnât command this. We have a possible hint at it in Acts 20:7. This verse seems to imply that the disciples in Troas were observing the Lordâs Supper weekly. Some of you who have not come from backgrounds where the Lordâs Supper was celebrated weekly may think, âWell, doesnât it just become routineânot quite as specialâif you do it that often?â Sure, I guess that could be a danger. But if weâre going to use that rationale, should we only sing once a month? Pray once a month? Study the Bible once a month, because we want it to be special? Certainly not, according to Scripture.
Weâre supposed to gather together often. If the Lordâs Supper is the only act of worship for which we have prescribed instructions, it should be a central component in our worship. We should anticipate itânot as a special event once in a while, but as a regular component of our continual identification with Christ and His church in worship. The reason for that leads to the final two questions.
4. What is the meaning of the Lordâs Supper?
This takes us to something that is extremely important. Itâs a traditional misunderstanding of the Lordâs Supper that it involves a change of substance that results in salvation. The big theological term for this is transubstantiation, which is the official Catholic understanding of the Lordâs Supper. According to the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, in the Eucharist (the Mass) the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ.
This is one of the primary reasons why for centuries the Catholic church didnât allow anybody but the priest to drink from the cup, for fear that the blood of Christ would be spilled. That changed with Vatican II. But this whole picture of the body and the blood of Christ being actually present in the elements raises the stakes. Because now, if Christ is actually present in the elements, then to receive communion is to receive Christ. Thatâs an exact quote from the catechism of the Catholic Church.
Communion then has huge ramifications for salvation. I want you to see why this is so important. Iâll quote directly from the catechism of the Catholic Church: âTo receive communion is to receive Christ Himself, Who has offered Himself for us.â Hereâs what they teach happens when you take communion: âCommunion with the body and blood of Christ increases oneâs union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins and preserves him from grave sins.â Did you catch that? âForgives his sins.â Take the meal, receive Christ, obtain forgiveness. One more quote: âAs sacrificed, the Eucharist is offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.â
The reason I quote from these places is just to make clear that this is so much more than just a theological discussion of big words like transubstantiation. How you view the Lordâs Supper, much like baptism, is key to a biblical understanding of the gospel and salvation. If the Lordâs Supper, or baptism for that matter, is a means by which we actually receive Christ to experience salvationâif they are necessary for salvationâthen we are fundamentally altering the gospel.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are not saved by anything we do. We are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith in Christ alone. Which means there is much at stake in whether or not someone believes these elements actually become the body and blood of Christ. A traditional misunderstanding sees the Lordâs Supper as a change of substance that results in salvation. A biblical understanding of the Lordâs Supper is that it is a symbolic meal that reflects salvation.
So when Jesus says, âThis is My bodyâŚâ the verb He uses there often means represents. When He said this to His disciples, His body was still in person in front of them. His blood was still in His veins. There is nothing in Scripture to point us to this actually becoming His body and His blood in such a way that when we receive Christ, we have forgiveness through eating and drinking the Lordâs Supper. I want to be careful, because even here, in an attempt to make clear that Christ is not physically present in the bread and the cup in that way, we can go too far and start to look at the Lordâs Supper like Christ isnât present at allâwhen He is, in a very real way. Which leads to the last question….
5. Why should we celebrate the Lordâs Supper?
Why has God put such an importance on the Lordâs Supper? The Bible gives many reasons why. Iâll summarize them with four Râs:
- We remember…the body and blood of Jesus. At the core, the Lordâs Supper is about remembering. First Corinthians 11:24â25 says that when we take the bread, we remember the body of Jesus. We remember that God became Man for us. He suffered and died as a Man. We remember His body, given for us. When we take the cup, we remember the blood of Jesus that covers over our sins. We remember the price Jesus paid so that we could be forgiven for all our sins.
The Lordâs Supper is not just about imagining something in our minds. Itâs about remembering a real time in real history. Itâs not about dreamingâitâs about deliberately directing our thoughts back 2,000 years to a body given and blood shed on a cross. Itâs about remembering the past with such vividness that it affects us in the present. In the Lordâs Supper, weâre directing our minds toward the cross.
- We reflect…on our sin and on Godâs forgiveness. We reflect on the effects of our sin, which is what is being expressed at the cross. Did you notice in 1 Corinthians 11:27â32 that Godâs Word warns us not to come to the Lordâs Table in a callous or careless manner? You are to come humbly, as you reflect on your need for Christ. Examine yourself, the Bible says. Lay your heart, your life, your thoughts, your desires, your actions, your entire life before a holy God. Donât skip over this. Because if you doâif you are not willing to be honest before GodâHe will expose your sin.
This is in 1 Corinthians 11. You will eat and drink judgment on yourself (verse 29). Paul says you may even lose your life, because God in love will discipline you. You donât get much stronger language than this. God says, âDonât take the Lordâs Supper lightly.â Teenagers, moms, dads, kidsâ donât take this Supper lightly. Mom or dad, donât think, âWell, I know my child hasnât come to faith in Christ. Iâm just going to let them take the bread or a drink.â Donât do it. They need to see the seriousness of this through you. Teenager, man, woman, I urge you not to sit there and think, âIâm just going through this religious routine.â Do not approach the Lordâs Supper like that. Reflect honestly on every area of your life thatâs not pure and holy and honoring to God.
Hereâs the beauty: when we reflect on our sin, we also reflect on Godâs forgiveness. So remember, youâre reflecting on your sin before a God Who loves you, Who has sent His Son to pay the price to cover over your sin. So the beauty is if you confess your sin, the Lord brings to the surface areas of sin and disobedience in your life. The picture in the Lordâs Supper is Jesus saying, âIâve covered it.â If you start thinking about what youâve done this last week and where youâve fallen short, at the Lordâs Supper Jesus reminds you, âI have covered it.â When you think about all your struggles with sin, in the Lordâs Supper Jesus reminds you, âI love you. I forgive you. As far as the east is from the west, I remove those sins. I remember them no more.â This is where this meal just comes alive, as we feast on Jesusâ forgiveness of us and His faithfulness to us.
- We renew….our commitment to Christ, our commitment to each other and our commitment to His mission. We donât take the Lordâs Supper to earn salvation before God. I hope thatâs clear. But when we take the Lordâs Supper, we do renew the surrender of our lives to God. When you take that bread and cup, youâre saying, âYes, I belong to Jesus. Jesus, Youâre my Savior, my Lord, and I want to follow You.â
This is key in the context of what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11. People were thinking that if they just ate the bread and drank from the cup that God would be pleased with themâeven if their lives didnât reflect commitment to Christ. But this misses the whole point. We should come before Jesus saying, âYou are my Lord.â
We renew our commitment to Christ and we renew our commitment to each other. One of the reasons why we take the Lordâs Supper together and not alone is because itâs an expression of our unity in Christ. Thatâs what they were missing in 1 Corinthians 11. They were getting together for a meal and the Lordâs Supper would be kind of the capstone of that meal. In that meal, the rich were gorging themselves, even getting drunk, and the poor were going without food. Paul said, âWhat are you doing? Youâre a body. You come together around the table as a body. Thereâs no room for economic, racial or social barriers between you.â At the Lordâs Supper, the plain is level and there is no room for preference of one over another.
This is why, if there are barriers between you and another believer in the church, then you should go and be reconciled to that believer before participating in the Lordâs Supper. You should examine your heart when you come to a worship gathering, saying, âIs there anything hindering my relationship and fellowship with other believers in Christ that I need to address before I worship and participate in this meal?â
We renew our commitment to Christ, we renew our commitment to each other, and we renew our commitment to His mission. First Corinthians 11:26 says the Lordâs Supper is a proclamation of Christâs death until He comes. So first, there is a proclamation element in the Lordâs Supper. Weâre not just eating and drinking, weâre proclaiming. Thatâs what mission is all about. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we are proclaiming that Jesus has died on the cross, Heâs risen from the grave, and weâre bought by Him from every nation, tribe and tongue on earth. Then second, there is a time limitation here in the Lordâs Supper: ââŚuntil He comes.â What does that mean?
That leads to the last R that we do in the Lordâs Supper.
- We rejoice…because Jesus has set us free and because He is coming back. Some of the things weâve seen in Scripture often cause people to perceive and participate in the Lordâs Supper in a very solemn, serious and contemplative tone. Thereâs a sense in which it should and must be that way. We donât want to treat it casually. The Lordâs Supper beckons us to self-examination. But it doesnât stop there.
We donât just think about our sin and then walk out of here engrossed in how horrible our sin is. No, we feast on the forgiveness of God and the freedom He has given us from sin and its power and its penalty in our lives. That then leads us to rise to our feet rejoicing. In that sense, this should be the happiest meal. We are celebrating the new life we have in Christ every time we do this.
We rejoice because He set us free and we rejoice because Heâs coming back. Coming back to the time limitation in the Lordâs Supper, we proclaim the Lordâs death until He comes. Jesus said back in Luke 22:18, âFor I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.â In the Lordâs Supper, weâre not just looking back. We are also looking forward. Weâre looking forward to the day when Jesus will return for His people and we will drink this cup together with Him in His kingdom. This is huge. Feel its significance.
Suffering brothers and sisters in this congregation, amidst the hurts in your life, amidst your struggles with sin right now, amidst the sorrow and the pain you are walking through, amidst the challenges of this world, the Lordâs Supper is a reminder to you that one day all those hurts and struggles, all that sorrow and all that pain will be no more. Jesus is coming back. Every time we take the Lordâs Supper, we remember the challenges of this world will one day come to an end. That is reason to rejoice!
With that set up, I think itâs time to celebrate the Lordâs Supper. We have taken in enough from the fire hydrantânow we need to eat and drink. One other note, sometimes people get caught up with how the elements are passedâwhether we go to a tableâor what the elements are like. For example, our Adults with Disabilities program takes pride in putting packets of the bread and juice on trays that will be distributed from other tables.
I would just say that if, in your mind and your heart, you are bothered by what the bread or the cup looks like or how it gets to you, then you have completely missed the point of the Lordâs Supper. Before we celebrate this meal, I want to lead us in prayer.
O God, even as we bow our heads together right now, we realize weâre not just about to do a religious routine. You are here with us and we want You to be honored in us as Your people, as Your church. As we take this meal and as we reflect on our sin, we pray that You would bring to the surface the areas of our livesâour thoughts, desires, actions and relationshipsâthat are not pleasing and honoring to You. As soon as You do, God, we pray that You would bring to our hearts reminders of Your promises of grace and mercy in Christ and Your love for us. We want to feast on Your forgiving love toward us.
Jesus, we praise You for the cross. We fix our minds and hearts now on that event 2,000 years ago when You paid the price for our sins. We celebrate Your grace and we anticipate Your return. We say together to You now, âYou are our Lord and our Savior and our King, and we want to follow You in obedience.â Help us, we pray, to follow You in obedience. Be honored, we pray now. Help us to take this Supper in a worthy manner. In Jesusâ name we pray. Amen.
How can we apply this passage to our lives?
Question 1
According to the sermon, what is an ordinance? What two ordinances do we partake in with the church?
Question 2
What is the meaning of baptism? Does the mode of baptism matter?
Question 3
Where are Christians to partake in the Lordâs Supper? How has this been misconstrued among Christians?
Question 4
What is the danger of seeing the Lordâs Supper as a special event that only happens occasionally?
Question 5
What are three commitments we renew when we observe the Lordâs Supper?
Acts 2:41 – 42, ESV
Acts 2:36 â 42
âLet all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, âBrothers, what shall we do?â And Peter said to them, âRepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.â And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, âSave yourselves from this crooked generation.â So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostlesâ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.â
Baptism is a public demonstration of our initial identification with Christ and His Church.
WHY should I be baptized?
1. To follow the example of Christ.
Matthew 3:13 â 17
âThen Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, âI need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?â But Jesus answered him, âLet it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.â Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, âThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.ââ
2. To obey the command of Christ.
Matthew 28:19
âGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .â
WHY should I be baptized?
3. To unite with the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:4 â 6
âThere is one body and one Spirit â just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call â one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.â
WHAT is the meaning of baptism?
1. A celebration of the grace of Christ.
Romans 6:3 â 4
âDo you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.â
2. An illustration of the gospel of Christ.
3. A declaration of the glory of Christ.
HOW should I be baptized?
The most biblical mode of baptism is immersion.
WHO should be baptized?
Everyone who has been born again.
WHEN should I be baptized?
1. As soon as you trust in Christ for salvation.
2. As soon as you can best publicly proclaim your salvation.
The Lord’s Supper is a public celebration of our continual identification with Christ and His Church.
Communion (1 Corinthians 10:16)
The Lordâs Table (1 Corinthians 10:21)
The breaking of bread (Acts 2:42; 20:7)
1 Corinthians 11:23 â 32
âFor I received from the Lord what 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, âThis is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.â In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, âThis cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.â For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lordâs death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.â
WHO should participate in the Lordâs Supper?
- Followers of Christ share in the life of Christ as they partake of the Lordâs Supper.
- Those who are not followers of Christ see the love of Christ as they watch the Lordâs Supper.
WHERE should we have the Lordâs Supper?
The only biblical requirement: the gathering of the church.
WHEN should we have the Lordâs Supper?
The command: Observe it often.
The question: What about weekly?
WHAT is the meaning of the Lordâs Supper?
- A traditional misunderstanding: a change of substance that results in salvation.
- A biblical understanding: a symbolic meal that reflects salvation.
WHY should we celebrate the Lordâs Supper?
1. We remember . . . the body and the blood of Jesus.
2. We reflect . . . on our sin and on Godâs forgiveness.
3. We renew . . . our commitment to Christ, our commitment to each other, and our commitment to His mission.
4. We rejoice . . . because Jesus has set us free and because He is coming back.
Revelation 19:6 â 9
âThen I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, âHallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pureâ â for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, âWrite this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.â And he said to me, âThese are the true words of God.ââ