The Biblical Perspective of Communion

Transcript

GRM 809
9/22/2002
The Biblical Perspective of Communion
1 Peter 1:13-17 & Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

I'm going to focus your attention to the book of 1 Peter 1. I just want to share a few thoughts with you around this table and its significance. Much misunderstanding. Many different views on the communion service on what takes place when you partake of this. Yet the Scripture is very clear on the issues. The confusion comes when we move outside the Scripture and bring men's ideas and men's thoughts and try to mix them in with what God has clearly instructed.

We're all familiar with the apostle Peter and the very key and prominent role that God gave him. He was very prominent during the earthly ministry of Christ, being part of the inner circle: Peter, James and John. Those men were privileged to serve and live in the closest of relationships with Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. To him was given the privilege and responsibility of declaring the Gospel of the resurrected Christ to the nation Israel in Acts 2, to the Gentiles for the first time in Acts 10. The Spirit of God used him to write two of our New Testament letters. They have been preserved in the plan of God as part of His Scripture to continue to encourage, strengthen and instruct us.

In his first letter in the first chapter. Peter talks about the work of God in bringing us to salvation in Jesus Christ and he starts right at the beginning to declare that salvation is a sovereign work of God. His salvation is bestowed upon those that He has shown His special grace in choosing them for Himself. Their salvation will involve in verse 2 that sovereign work of God. That also will include the work of the Spirit of God in sanctifying those who would believe or setting them apart from sin for God. The blood of Christ is applied to them. That's the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, drawn from the Old Testament picture where the blood was applied, indicating that that death took place on your behalf.

Then he says in verse 3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Indeed, if we are to experience God's salvation. If we are to experience true forgiveness of sins. It will take a new birth. No one is ever saved, apart from the work of God in causing them to be born again. Peter is writing to those who have been blessed of God. It was an act of mercy. It's not something you could earn or merit or deserve that you would be saved. So, he's writing to those who by God's grace have entered into His salvation. He's encouraging them under the pressures and trials of life to live in a holy and godly way.

Come down to verse 13. "Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." In the wonder of God's plan, His salvation not only includes the complete forgiveness of all my sins and His present enabling power for me to live day by day, but it includes the future glory of His presence for all eternity. That's the grace that will be brought to me at the revelation of Jesus Christ. When we experience that marvelous transformation of our bodies to complete in every way our salvation. We are glorified.

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance." Now note this. "But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior." What a standard. The standard is God's very character, God's very holiness. You understand that is what began the problem. That is why we need to talk about being born again, having salvation, having Christ died for us. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That sin which causes us to come short of the glory of God and the holiness and righteousness that He requires has brought us under the penalty for our sin which is death. The wages of sin is death. Now by His redeeming work on the cross, in His grace in bringing us to believe in Christ as our Savior. We have been cleansed, forgiven and set free. Now we are to live, manifesting the very character of God because we have become partakers of the divine nature. Peter also wrote that. We are to be holy as He is holy.

The great difficulties in understanding and appreciating the significance of the death of Christ is a failure to appreciate the reality of our sin and the character of the God that we are dealing with. We want to look around and measure ourselves by others. We can always find others that are worse than us, people who don't think are doing as much good as we are doing, and we're sure no matter what happens to the worst of people in this world, we will be OK before God and acceptable to Him. The standard is His very character, His very holiness. For those who have been redeemed through faith in Christ, we ought never to forget that God has redeemed us, not just to spare us the torments of hell; wonderful as that is, but also to have for himself a people who manifests His character, His righteousness and His holiness.

Peter declares, quoting from the Old Testament, "You shall be holy for I am holy." God's children partake of God's character and are thus to manifest that character in their conduct. "By this the children of the Devil and the children of God are obvious," 1 John 3 says. The children of God manifest the righteous character of God. The children of the Devil manifest the sinful character of the Devil. Now don't get confused. We're not saying you can become a child of God by trying to do good or righteous things. You must be born again. Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom of God. You will not enjoy the glory that God has prepared for those that are born again.

Note the motivation for this. Verse 17, "And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work”. You cannot be saved by your work. For the penalty for sin is death but you will be judged by your works because your works reveal your true character and God judges impartially. Don't be deceived into thinking well he'll understand. He'll make an exception in my case. He judges impartially.

"Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth." Even the redeemed are to live their lives in a proper fear and a reverential respect and awe of God that causes us to fear sin because we fear God. We know that we are accountable before Him, and His standard is His own holiness. We are to live our lives with a reverence and a respect and a fear. He is my Heavenly Father. But we're all aware of that comparison. That there is a proper reverence or respect even in the human relationship. There is a closeness that as a family. I always recognize that my father is to be respected and I have a holy fear in the human sense of disobedience in rebellion.

So that's what we're talking about here. Why? Verse 18, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile, empty way of life which you inherited from your forefathers. But you were redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." We come to talk about the work of Christ on the cross, His payment for sin. We are talking about God's provision for our salvation. God's provision for us to live now as His people, honoring Him with our lives.

You can't be saved by the things you get from your parents. You have to be saved by believing the Gospel. Many people, they're raised in homes where their parents go to church, they go to church, whatever the church. They're sure because they're going through those routines they will be saved. You understand what you inherit from your fathers are emptiness. Peter's writing to Jews. They at least had the Old Testament law, but it was empty regarding its ability to provide salvation. You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, the perfect, unblemished lamb of God. You understand the price of your redemption. It is to shape all that we do, the way that we live.

Come back to the Old Testament. We have a passage referred to in Exodus 12. This memorial service was instituted at the time of Passover. Passover in Israel was a time of remembrance. They had a memorial service, if you will. A time of remembering what God had done in delivering them from the slavery and bondage in Egypt. Exodus 12 records the account and we won't take the time to read it all. They are instructed in verse 3 on the tenth of the month to take a lamb for each household and there are instructions for the lamb. You'll note in verse 5 it must be an unblemished male. Remember what Peter said. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb unblemished. This lamb in Exodus 12 why unblemished? It was a reminder, a picture, of what it would take to take care of sin. One who would be unblemished, unmarred by sin. Then on the 14th day of the month was to be killed at twilight. Then they were to put the blood, verse 7, and put it on the doorposts and on the lintel of the houses. So, around the door, why? Because the blood would be a protection because the angel of the Lord was going to come in judgment and destruction and so that he would not, if you will, come through the door of their home to bring judgment. They would be protected by the blood.

Then down at verse 13, "The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." Now note what he says, "Now this day will be a memorial to you." You continue to practice it down through the generations. Every year you would have the Passover observance as a memorial, as a reminder, drawing their attention back to what took place in Egypt so they would not forget God's great deliverance and they would be reminded that they need a Passover lamb to protect them from the wrath of God.

That will be followed, verse 15, with seven days called the Feast of Unleavened Bread and they were to have no leaven in their houses. Then Moses gives the instruction down in verses 21 and 22. We're told in verse 23, "For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. When He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts. The Lord will pass over the door. Will not allow the destroyer to come in your houses to smite you. You shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children." When your children ask why are you doing this? Because God delivered us out of the land of Egypt. This is memorial time for the nation. A reminder. That feast of Unleavened Bread will portray as it comes out the fact that now following God's gracious deliverance, sparing them from judgment and in effect bringing them His salvation. They were to live lives holy to the Lord.

Come over to 1 Corinthians 5. The apostle Paul is writing about an issue of sin that had come up in the church at Corinth. The sin must be dealt with and removed, and this will necessitate the removal of the person who persists in practicing the sin. You'll note verse 7, "Clean out the old leaven that you may be a new lump just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed." You see the events established back in Exodus; the Passover lamb is as a sacrifice. That's followed now by the feast of Unleavened Bread. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. The picture has come to fruition. The blood of bulls and goats couldn't take away sins. That lamb offered at Passover couldn't take away the sins of human beings, but it was a reminder the penalty for sin is death. Only by believing in your God will you have deliverance and prepared them for the coming of the One who would be the lamb.

"Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore, celebrate the feast not with old leaven nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." You see Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. That deals with sin. We are now to live as a redeemed people, as a delivered people, not indulging in sin, not participating in sin, but living for Him by virtue of His redeeming, saving grace. It's in the context of this letter that the Spirit of God will direct Paul to move on and address the issue of the significance of the Lord's table.

Come over to chapter 11. In verse 23 he says that the Lord gave him special revelation regarding this event; and we have it recorded in the history books, the Gospels, as the Last Supper, as we know it familiarly. "The Lord Jesus in night which He was betrayed. He took the bread. Then He took the cup”. Down in verse 27 and following, "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup because he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason, many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep. But if we have judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged but when we are judged we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we might not be condemned along with the world." He's addressing believers here. That's where we start. Peter was writing to believers. Be ye holy for I am holy, says the Lord. This service is a reminder in Christ God has provided the beauty of His character for us and we are to live now as His people, as those who have been redeemed.

Remember, we are to pass the time of our sojourning, our living here, in fear because the Lord judges impartially. Some in the Church at Corinth didn't conduct themselves that way. For that reason, some were weak, some were sick, and some had experienced physical death as the divine intervening of God in judgment in their lives - severe chastening. They were God's children who were rebelling, so His discipline was necessary.

So, this is a serious matter with the Lord. This service is a serious service, but we ought not to misunderstand. You cannot be saved by partaking of these elements, being involved in this service. This service does not communicate grace to you. It is not a sacrament, a means of grace. There is not forgiveness for you in partaking of this. This service is a memorial.

Sadly, there has been disagreements over the significance of the service among Catholics and not only between Catholics and Protestants but between Catholics and Protestants and Protestants and Protestants. There are three basic views of the service: transubstantiation, consubstantiation and praise the Lord, the one we hold, is the simple one. It's a symbol. You don't have to learn transubstantiation. You don't have to learn to learn consubstantiation. You just have to learn it's a symbol. We would understand this simply symbolizes something. Just like the Passover did originally. It was to be repeated. Why? As a memorial. So you could remind your children God delivered us from Egypt by having a lamb sacrificed and the blood put over the door of our house. The angel of the Lord passed over. It was memorial to continually remind them.

Roman Catholics, Roman Catholicism teaches that transubstantiation occurs in this service. Let me just read you what transubstantiation is. The word transubstantiation means a change of substance. The church of Rome teaches that the whole substance of the bread and wine is changed into the literal physical body and blood of Christ. A rather prominent Roman Catholic who is now deceased, Fulton Sheen, wrote this, "When the priest in obedience to the command of our Lord at the Last Supper to do this in commemoration of me pronounces the words over the bread "this is My body" and over the wine "this is My blood." The primary significance of the words is that the substance of the body of our Lord and the substance of the wine is changed into the substance of Christ." The Roman Catholic position is this, "By the act of consecration, nothing whatever of the substance or essence of the elements remains. Only the sensible properties as the form, color, taste, odor, specific gravity, nutritive quality, so far as the senses or physics are concerned no change." In other words, when a Roman Catholic comes to this service, they recognize that the wafer doesn't change in its appearance in the sensible properties, in what you can touch, taste and so on. The wine doesn't change in its sensitive properties, what you can touch and taste, but if you will, that's all a delusion because it has changed. The wafer is now the exact physical body of Christ. The blood is the exact physical blood of Christ. So even though your senses might deceive you, the reality is that's no longer bread, that's no longer wine. That is the body and blood of the Lord. This became Roman Catholic doctrine, not until the 13th century and it wasn't until the 16th century, the middle of the 1500s, that the Council of Trent formally defined it and elaborated that doctrine.

Fulton Sheen builds what he says on the Council of Trent. He says, "The mass is the sacrifice of the body of Christ." He appeals to the Council of Trent. "The mass in other words is a supertemporal reality." It's beyond time. It's above time. "By which the glorified Christ in heaven prolongs His sacrifice on the cross by and through us. The mass according to the Council of Trent is therefore a veritable sacrifice."

Let me read you from the Council of Trent. The Council of Trent is the authoritative statement of Roman Catholic doctrine. It's never been changed and if you read the modern catechism of the Roman Catholic church, it will tie itself to those things established at the Council of Trent.

"If anyone denies that in the sacrament in the most holy eucharist are contained truly, really and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus, consequently the whole Christ, but says that he is only there in a sign or figure, let him be anethama." If you deny that this actually becomes the body and blood of Christ; I’m not this because I'm not a consecrated priest. I cannot bring about that change. When the priest does it and he holds it up to heaven, what he is doing is bringing Christ down from heaven and now he holds Christ in his hand. After that consecration that wafer remains the body of Christ. It has to be guarded and kept and wherever it’s taken it is the body of Christ and so on.

The Council of Trent continued, "In as much as is in this divine sacrifice, which is celebrated in the mass, is contained and eliminated in an unbloody manner, the same Christ who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, the holy council teaches that this is truly propitiatory. The mass, this sacrifice of Christ as it is repeated, is truly propitiatory." You know the Bible says Christ is the propitiation for our sins, 1 John 2. It means He is the satisfaction. Now you see it's not just His sacrifice on the cross, but it is that sacrifice is repeated and continued when you partake of these elements in Roman Catholic doctrine. Your sins are being propitiated. This becomes a serious matter. "For abese," this is still the Council of Trent, "for abese by this sacrifice, the Lord grants the grace and gift of penitence, pardons even the gravest crimes and sins. For the victim is one and the same." Victim means Christ, the one and the same. "The same now offering by the ministry of priests who then offered Himself on the cross. The manner alone of offering being different. The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, it is well understood, are received most abundantly through this unbloody one." So how do you receive the benefits of the death of Christ on the cross by partaking of His unbloody sacrifice, the sacrifice at the mass. "Wherefore according to the tradition of the apostles it is rightly offered not only for the sins punishments, satisfactions and other necessities of the faithful who are living but also for those who are departed in Christ but not yet fully purified." So, you can offer a mass for dead relatives because they are not yet completely purified. Then they go on to pronounce their anethemas. If you deny these things which I have said, then you are cursed of God. Canon 1, Canon 3, Canon 4 all pronounce curse upon anyone who would deny that.

That doctrine cannot be substantiated by Scripture. Now they say well, we take a literal interpretation of Scripture. "This is My body." "This is My blood." We sometimes feel like boy, we thought we were the ones who took scripture literally. But Jesus said also said, "I am the Vine. You are the branches." Do you take that literally? In other words, you mean Jesus became the substance of a grapevine and we become the substance of a branch of a grapevine. Or Jesus said, "I am the door." He became a door, swinging on a hinge. He said, "I am the light of the world." That meant that the light of the world is no longer the sun. The light of the world is Jesus. We have the sun, and the light of the world is Jesus. But you know what? We understand all these things literally in the context of figures of speech. We understand when Jesus said, "I am the door," He's talking about a way of access, using a figure of speech. You understand a real problem with transubstantiation, Jesus had this meal and instituted this memorial, as we understand it, the night before He was betrayed. Now if the mass is a continuation in an unbloody manner of the bloody sacrifice, what do you do with that sacrifice that was offered the night before the sacrifice. In other words, the real sacrifice took place the night before Jesus died on the cross. When He gave them His body and blood? I mean it becomes ridiculous.

Figures of speech are clearly understood in Scripture. Jesus never implied a literal change. In fact, those disciples would have never given a thought in that sense of drinking the physical blood of Christ and especially at that last supper. The Jews were forbidden to drink blood. They would have never thought on that occasion Jesus means this is actually become His literal physical blood and we're going to drink it. At that point they're still living under the law, and they had no concept. In fact, the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 still says to abstain from blood. The idea that you were drinking the physical blood and eating the physical body is in total conflict with Scripture.

What it does is try to reduce the salvation work of Christ to physical activity and grants great power to the priest and to the church over the people. Because now if you do not partake of these elements under my authority as the priest and the authority of the church, you are literally out in the cold. Because how are you going to get propitiation. You are literally cursed, in a desperate condition. No, it's not these elements change. You can't be saved by going through physical actions whether its baptism, communion and on you go with other things that are called sacraments.

The Lutheran church and other high church like Episcopal hold to consubstantiation. This started with the reformers. Luther, particular and some other associated with him. You know they are leading Roman Catholicism. You've got transubstantiation. What happens? We know transubstantiation's not right. We have consubstantiation. Christ is present, the elements don't change but He's present. So, this is still a means of grace. When you're partaking of the elements, you're partaking of Christ. That was developed with the reformers' new position in response to Roman Catholicism.

Again, the simplicity of the Scripture stands. You're saved by grace through faith. When you believe in Christ your salvation is complete. By one sacrifice Jesus offered the sacrifice, paid the penalty for sin for all time. He sat down at the right hand of the Father. There's no more work to be done regarding dealing with sin. There's no more sacrifice to be made. By one sacrifice for all time the issue was settled. The penalty was paid in full.

This, so you understand it, we come to this service. We are at a memorial service. It serves a real significant purpose. It is proclaiming the greatest truth. You do proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. It doesn't say you repeat the Lord's death. You proclaim it. It's a way of declaring to all everywhere the wages of sin is death but Jesus Christ Son of God has paid the penalty for our sin.