Continuing, the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10: 21 clarifies, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” Meaning that you cannot have it both ways; you cannot be in, of and for Christ, and be of the sinful, God-rejecting world at the same time. You either walk away from God in the rebellious sinful desires of the flesh or you walk towards God in the Spirit following Christ, Jesus Christ died and paid the price for the remission of the sins of the world to those who believe in God as all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present sovereign Creator and Divine Sustainer of all, see their sin as cosmic treason against this just and holy God, repent of their grave sin, believe that penalty for sin is eternal damnation in Hell and justified, believe that Almighty God in Heaven is merciful and sent sinless Jesus Christ as a free gift to redeem all repentant sinners who by an all-embracing belief and saving faith accept this free gift offered by dying on the Cross in their place to pay the price for their iniquity in full. Therefore, the light of Christ and the darkness of sin and unbelief cannot co-exist.
Ephesians 1:4-8 explains that “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”
The true Communion with God is a serious salvation matter, remembering a serious truth explained in Ephesians 2:1-8, where the Apostle Paul proclaims, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” With Christ in you, do you take Communion seriously, examine your life and your salvation, truly meditate and reflect upon what Christ [the Bread of Life] dying for you ultimately represents, what the shedding of His innocent blood that your sins may be covered and forgiven means, or do you ignorantly or casually partake of it in an unworthy manner?
1 Corinthians 11:23-29 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you:
that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will 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. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
Sixteenth century British minister and Bible commentator stated that the external acts of the blessed sacrament of Communion are not the whole nor the principal part of what is to be done at this holy ordinance; each of them has significance. Our Savior, having undertaken to make an offering of himself to God, and procure, by His death, the remission of sins, with all other gospel benefits, for true believers, did, at the institution, deliver his body and blood, with all the benefits procured by His death, to His disciples [the union of professing Christians], and continues to do the same every time the ordinance is administered to the true believers to receive Christ and feed upon Him, meaning His grace and benefits, and by faith convert them into nourishment to their souls. We are to take Him as their Lord and life, yield themselves up to him, and live upon him. Jesus, as our accepted sacrifice and ransom is our life and Lord, for to a born-again disciple to live is Christ.
Remember Jesus.
Brian
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