Pastoral letter about the Lord’s Supper

Dear Madam,

Now that I am set down to write to you on some religious subject, it occurs to me that the usual season for administering the Lord’s Supper within the town is approaching; and making no doubt of your having sat down at the Lord’s table several times, I have chosen to drop a few words on that important duty of the Christian life. By no means do I pretend to offer you instructions in that matter, but only my view is to put you in mind of some things you have already been taught; and in these great truths may you and I be taught inwardly and feelingly by the great Teacher, the Spirit of Christ.

 

This ordinance of Christ represents him in the most immediate manner. In other ordinances of the word read and preached, we have directly to do with some truth, some particular benefit of Christ; but in this we have to do with Christ himself, and to converse with him as one doth with his friend; yea, it is an entire Christ, a whole Redeemer, in his person, offices, benefits, and promises.

 

Here is a symbol, not only to ratify his promises, but an instrument whereby God doth really exhibit and give forth Christ and salvation to believers. The elements are the deed of conveyance, to assure them of their interest, and confirm them in possession of the purchased blessings. This is Heaven’s real security to true Christians, that Christ is wholly theirs, as certainly as bread and wine is in their hands or mouth; as a seal affixed to writings conveys to a person lands or goods mentioned in the writing, so we must by faith look to the institution, and the promises to which the seal is annexed, and to Christ in the promise making offer of himself and his whole purchase. It seals not the truth of our faith, nor the truth of the death of Christ; it supposeth both these, but it seals the right and interest of faith in God’s word and promise. Many persons mind little more than their engaging and vowing to Christ, but look not on it as Christ’s promising and engaging to them, fancying the ordinances to be a seal for ratifying their promises and resolutions to God, and quite forgetting that it is appointed to seal God’s promises to them.

 

Farther, in this ordinance is represented and confirmed the union of the members of Christ’s body one to another in a communion of saints. As our spiritual union and communion with Christ the head is evidently set forth to believers in this ordinance, so we have in it the clearest outward representation of the union and communion in the body of Christ mystical (1 Cor. 10:17). The elements in their nature were separated into several grains and grapes, yet they are moulded together, and made up into one artificial body. Great is the efficacy of the death and Spirit of Christ, to cement and unite their heart in Christian love; this union and fellowship is expressed by the very act of eating and drinking; and here we make a profession of brotherly love to our fellow-communicants, looking upon them as saints in Christ Jesus, and that upon the ground of their visible Christianity.

We do likewise show forth and declare the death of Christ in the church. In the face of the world, we glory in and boast of a crucified Christ, not ashamed to own and avouch him to be our Lord and Saviour. And we are not only to shew forth his death unto men, but we are to shew it forth unto God, and commemorate before him the great and glorious works he hath done for us. We keep this feast to the honour of the Redeemer’s blessed memory, and are humbly to claim, on his account, the accomplishment of all the contents of his promise. Now the Christian may be confident, that when God sees his Son’s body and blood presented to him by faith, he will have mercy, and grant the desire of the heart. The name of our Redeemer, which is in so high repute in heaven, we can never mention to the Father with so much advantage, as when in faith we commemorate his death.

In this ordinance we are in a special manner to remember the death of our Lord Redeemer, a demonstration of astonishing love, both of the Father and of the Son.Such a friend and lover of souls as Christ has shown himself to be, ought never to be forgotten, and yet naturally we are ungrateful forgetters of Christ. How afflicting is it that our hearts should be so cold towards him, when his was so warm to us!

Now, to assist our memory, and cure us of that wretched disease of forgetfulness, this ordinance is instituted as a sacred and standing memorial of Christ’s dying love. Herein we are not to look to Christ’s dying only, but to the end, meaning, and intent of God and Christ in all his sufferings. It is not the pain and agony of his death, the tragical part of the history, that we are to consider, but it is the heart and mind of Christ in all his sufferings. In it, as in a glass, manifesting the glory and harmony of the divine perfections, infinite wisdom shines. Hence Christ crucified is called the Wisdom of God. In him sin is punished, and the sinner saved; justice satisfied, mercy glorified, death inflicted, and life purchased. Satan brought in death as our misery, Christ by death procured our happiness. Pride at first ruined us, while man aspired to be as God; humility recovers us, while the most high God became a man, a servant, a sacrifice to redeem us. The devil is destroyed by that very death by which he thought to have destroyed Christ and his interest for ever. O the amazing wonders, not only of wisdom, but of grace, mercy, and love, which are displayed in our Lord’s death!

A greater gift than Christ grace could not give, nor could it bestow that gift with greater love and freedom. When man’s salvation is completed, it will be with the greatest acclamations of Grace, grace unto it! The truth of God maintains its honour in our salvation by a crucified Redeemer; both the truth of the promise, and the truth of the threatening is preserved and glorified in Christ’s death. Holiness and justice shine forth with such untainted glory in the cross of Christ, as had never been before, and will never be again.

In his death we have a most glorious example. Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example of the highest exercise of grace. In him patience had its perfect work; an absolute resignation to the Father’s will, an infinite zeal for his glory, the strongest faith and hope, the warmest love of God and mankind, a forgiving spirit toward his enemies, and a profound humility and condescension. Astonishing meekness!

We are to look on Christ’s death as a sacrifice, by which the sin of man was expiated. This is the language of the institution itself. The ordinance is an allusion to the Jewish passover, and in it faith feeds upon a crucified Christ, as the great peace-offering. The end of his death was to bring in an everlasting righteousness, a perfect conformity to the law of God in its demands. He wrought it out, and brought it in (Dan. 9:24).

Another great design of his death was to make an end of sin, our old man was crucified with Christ. In his death is contained the ruin of the whole of sin, in its guilt, power, and being. The death is not only the ransom, the price of redemption, but the purchase money paid down for the blessed inheritance, all the blessings for time and eternity.

We are, farther, to look upon Christ as a martyr or witness, a martyr to the truth of his own doctrine. He is the chief, and holds the first rank in that number, in point of dignity. This should put us in mind of the disposition of the Christian, viz . a readiness of heart to part with and sacrifice every thing for the truth’s sake, life itself not excepted.

Farther, this is the death of a Conqueror. Christ was not only a Priest, but a King, on the cross. It was not only the instrument of his execution, but the Conqueror’s triumphal chariot. It is not simply a death, but a victorious death, spoiling principality and power, making a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. The guilt of sin being expiated, and the curse of the law taken out of the way, Satan's plea is defeated, his power and empire broken down and destroyed. This was done by a very unlikely mean, and seemingly weak; Christ was crucified in weakness, that he might destroy Satan’s power. How doth this contribute to his shame and disgrace, and Christ’s honour!

And by no means is it to be forgotten, that Christ died as a testator to confirm the great and precious promises. His death purchased these promised blessings, the sure mercies of David. This cup is the New Testament, saith Jesus. The Father hath made the Son heir of all things. Christ made his will and testament, and sealed it with his own blood; he died to put it in force.

This death of Christ, and the great ends of it, we are believingly to remember, not only in general that he died, but with faith, accounting that it was for us in particular, with an applying memory. In this ordinance, in a special manner, we are believingly to plead his death with God. Christ is pleading it in heaven with the Father; this same argument doth faith use, presents him with the promise sealed with his Son’s blood, and offers it as an answer to every charge that law and justice, Satan and conscience, produced against us. 

The death of Christ, remembered by faith in this ordinance, cannot miss, sweetly and strongly, to constrain us to a life of gospel holiness. The whole of the Christian life should be a remembrance of Christ’s death; in heaven there is to be an eternal memorial of it (Rev. 1:5, 6). In that blessed assembly, the highest notes of the new song will be, ‘Worthy is the Lamb…’ Oh! that he might dwell in our hearts by faith and love, till we arrive in the world of vision!

Yours, etc.

Thomas Davidson

Sermon on the Lord's Supper by John Fraser (1)

 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (Psalm 63:5).[1]

It is a great mercy to enjoy divine ordinances in their purity; but it is a greater mercy to have our souls feasted in them. And we should not content ourselves with an external attendance, without drawing near to God in the institutions of his grace. The pure ordinances are precious to believers, and a day in his courts is better to them than a thousand; but they are not satisfied with the enjoyment of these ordinances, without enjoying their God and their Redeemer in them; and this is one thing by which they are distinguished from hypocrites and formalists.

David was in a wilderness, and deprived of the public institutions of religion, when he composed this Psalm: he was detained by persecution from the courts of God; and we find him expressing his high esteem and vehement desire of them. But it was not merely the external ordinances his soul desired; he thirsted after that communion with God which he had formerly experienced in his courts. He therefore says, in the first and second verses, ‘O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is: to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in thy sanctuary.’

And as he had an ardent desire for this privilege, so he had an assured and well-grounded hope of it, which he expresses in verses 3, 4, 5: ‘Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.’

In the words which I have chosen as the subject of discourse, the Psalmist expresses his humble expectation of having his soul feasted in the sanctuary. I intend, first, to show how the Lord satisfies the souls of men as with marrow and fatness; and, secondly, to point out the reason which believers have to conclude that they shall be thus satisfied in the ordinances of divine worship.

I will endeavour, then, in the first place, to show how the Lord satisfies the souls of men as with marrow and fatness. And, in general, it may be observed, that he imparts such satisfaction by condescending to hold communion with them. This is the feast which our Lord promises to every sinner who opens his heart to receive him: ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Rev. 3:20). This was also the banquet to which the spouse of Christ was admitted, when she said, ‘He brought me to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love’ (Song 2:4).).

More particularly, 1. The Lord satisfies the souls of his people as with marrow and fatness, by feasting them with the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The Son of God became incarnate, shed his blood, and fulfilled all righteousness, that he might be food for our souls. ‘The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14).

And in his incarnate person he is living bread to us, bread that gives spiritual and eternal life to our souls, and effectually prevents them from perishing. Hence these declarations of our Lord himself: ‘I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed’ (John 6:51, 54, 56).

It is the mercy of sinners to have this heavenly food presented to them in the gospel; for in the mountain of the Gospel-church the Lord hath made unto all people a feast of fat things, and of wines on the lees; of fat things full of marrow, and of wines on the lees well refined. And God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. But it is the distinguished privilege of believers to have their souls feasted with the flesh and blood of Christ, and thus to be satisfied as with marrow and fatness.

The Lord feasts a sinner with the flesh and blood of Christ, when he first reveals his Son in him, when he calls him into the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord and gives him faith in his person and righteousness. Then the soul eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of God, and so he dwells in Christ, and Christ in him. And afterwards the Lord feasts the believer, by favouring him with renewed manifestations of the glorious person of Christ, as an incarnate God, and of the suitableness and excellency of his righteousness; by enabling him to make fresh application of Christ to his soul; and by assuring him of his interest in his person and righteousness. Sometimes the Christian is enabled to say, with the assurance of faith, ‘My beloved is mine and I am his.’ ‘He loved me and gave himself for me.’ And this is to eat the bread of God, and to drink the wine which cheers the heart of God and man.

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[1] Fraser was born near Inverness in 1745. Sermon was preached before the dispensation of the Lord's Supper at Auchtermuchty, February 5th, 1792

The Lord's Supper Again

As a congregation we have the Lord’s Supper several times a year. In addition we may have taken part in the Supper in other places. It is possible for us to become used to the Lord’s Supper or to treat it as if it is so high that we cannot understand what is going on during it. 

The one thing that we should not be at the Lord’s Table is lazy. If I sat at someone’s table and did not use my eyes, hands and mouth to enjoy what was provided, it would be my own fault if I had nothing to eat. At the Lord’s Supper, our minds and hearts should be active in considering spiritual things.

At the Supper, we express our affection for Jesus. We are to use the elements of bread and wine to say why and how we love him. This is one reason why the Supper is called a communion. The bread reminds us of his body, and we should think about it and what he did with it. The cup of wine reminds us of his blood poured out for us on the cross. Looking at the bread and the wine should affect our hearts and bring about fresh love for Jesus.

Moreover, at the Lord’s Supper, we also reveal our choice of people with whom to be identified. Eating together has throughout history been an occasion for bonding. There are many reasons why we should not sin, and one of them concerns causing pain to any of God’s people. In fact, if we have wrong thoughts or actions against other believers we should not be at the Table, and Jesus knows that.

Taking part in the Lord’s Supper also includes anticipation of glory. The Supper is never a destination, but only one of a set of stations on a journey. Each occasion brings us closer to the destination, which is the presence of God. Of course, this will occur at the resurrection. Until then, it is good for us to remind ourselves that we will yet be like the glorified Saviour, and so too will those believers sitting with us at his Table each time we are there.

Robert Bruce and the Lord's Supper

Robert Bruce (c. 1554-1631) was an Edinburgh minister and his sermons on the Lord’s Supper, when published and grasped, became a crucial source in Scottish Presbyterianism of discovering the meaning of the Lord's Supper. In the main he followed the view of Calvin. We need help in understanding what takes place at the Lord's Supper and Bruce's comments should help us. Here is a summary of what he said.

Four purposes

For Bruce, the Lord’s Supper had four purposes. First, it was ‘appointed chiefly for this end, to represent our spiritual nutriment, the full and perfect nutriment of our souls; that as he who has Bread and Wine lacks nothing for the full nourishment of his body: so he, or that soul, which has the participation of the body and blood of Christ, lacks nothing of the full and perfect nourishment of the soul.’

Second, the sacrament is an act of witness both to hostile onlookers and to fellow Christians. It was instituted in order ‘that we might testify to the world and to the princes of the world, who are enemies to our profession; that we might openly avow and testify to them our Religion and our manner of worshipping; and that we might also testify our love towards His members our brethren’.

Third, the sacrament is designed to provide spiritual medicine, to help those tempted to fall or who have already fallen. It was instituted ‘to serve for our special comfort and consolation, to serve as a sovereign medicine for all our spiritual diseases, as we find ourselves either ready to fall, or provoked to fall, by the devil, the flesh, or the world; or, after we have fallen and are put to flight by the devil, and would fain flee away from God; God of his mercy, and of His infinite pity and bottomless compassion has set up this sacrament, as a sign on a high hill, whereby it may seem on every side, far and near, to call them again that have run shamefully away: and He clucks to them as a hen doth to her chickens, to gather them under the wings of his infinite mercy.’

Fourth, the sacrament is an occasion for thanksgiving: ‘render to Him hearty thanks for His benefits, and that He has come down so familiarly to us, bowed the heavens as it were, and given us the body and blood of His own Son; that we might render unto Him hearty thanks, and so sanctify His benefits to us.’

Visible and invisible things

Bruce claimed that there are both visible and invisible things in the Lord’s Supper. The visible things are the bread and the wine. The invisible things are signified by the bread and wine; what is signified is Christ, ‘in this respect, that His body and blood serve to nourish my soul to life everlasting’. It is not just the benefits of Christ’s death that are signified, but also the person of Christ from whom these benefits come.

In the sacrament of baptism, the fruits are forgiveness of sins, mortification of sins, and the sealing of adoption, but the substance out of which these fruits grow is the blood of Christ. Similarly, in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, the fruits are growth of faith and increase in holiness, but the substance out of which they grow is the body and blood of Christ. Christ is to the soul what bread and drink are to the body. Bread must be eaten before hunger is relieved and drink must be taken before thirst is removed; so Christ must be taken at the Supper before his benefits are experienced.

According to Bruce, the bread in the Supper has a power given to it by the institution of Christ, whereby ‘it is appointed to signify His body, to represent His body, and to deliver His body’. This power remains with the bread as long as the Supper lasts.

For Bruce, it was essential that the ceremonies of breaking the bread and pouring the wine should be done, because they signified what had happened to Christ. Similarly, the distribution, and giving and eating, are essential, as they signify the ‘applying of the body and blood of Christ to thy soul’. Bruce even says that to leave one of them out perverts the whole action.

Real contact with the risen Christ

Because the conjunction between the elements and Christ is secret and spiritual, he must be received by faith. Bruce recognizes that faith does not receive a greater Christ in the Supper than it does from the preaching of the Word, but he does say that it receives Christ better in that the receiver obtains a greater and surer hold of Christ through the sacrament. This happens each time a person takes part in the Supper.

In addition to faith, Bruce argued that the Holy Spirit must be involved in giving Christ to the believer. He notes that the believer has a title to the body of Christ and the blood of Christ, a title that is not negated by their being physically distant, in heaven. Faith is the cord that covers the distance between the believer and Christ and couples them together. Bruce uses the illustration of the sun — we cannot touch the sun, yet are conjoined to it by its rays. The sun is like Christ, and the rays are his virtue and power flowing from his body. These are conveyed to the believer by the Holy Spirit, whom Bruce also likens to a ladder joining the believer and Christ.

The purpose of the Lord's Supper

What is the point of the Lord's Supper? As a congregation we had our quarterly celebration this evening. 

It is clear from the Bible that the Lord's Supper should not be participated in unthoughtfully. We can see this from Paul's instruction that all intending to take part in the Lord's Supper should examine themselves beforehand. Why should they examine themselves? The main reason is to assess the state of their current devotion to Jesus. How warm are their affections for him? How delighted are they in his forgiveness of their sins? How determined are they to serve him in their daily lives? Self-examination should not be used as a reason for not taking part in the Lord's Supper. If I discover defects in my heart, the proper response is to confess them to God and thank him that the Lord's Supper is for penitent sinners.

Moreover, it is very important to realise that the Lord's Supper is communion. The communion is twofold: through the enabling of the Holy Spirit we have communion with Jesus (which means that we speak to him in our hearts and he speaks to us from his Word, mainly via his promises) and through the Holy Spirit we have communion with one another (which is why we should have our eyes open at the Lord's supper and is also why we sing words that exhort one another). The Lord's Supper is not a private meeting between Jesus and me! Instead it is a communion involving Jesus and us.

Another feature of the Lord's Supper is that it is a time of consumption. We have heard many times that it is a feast, and one reason for a feast is for the participants to enjoy plenty provision given by the host. It can be an insult to a host for a person to nibble when he should be eating plenty. What would cause a person not to eat plenty at a feast? One reason would be ill health and loss of appetite, another reason would be that the individual had filled himself with other food. We can easily see how those reasons illustrate spiritual problems. I can create a loss of spiritual appetite by not engaging in the regular activities that provide spiritual health, such as prayer and Bible reading. I can also fill my inner life with other things, which may be all right in moderation, but if pursued too much they replace Jesus in my heart. It is best to come to the Lord's Supper having prepared by prayer and Bible reading and having refused to fill our minds and hearts with other things. When we do so, we will discover that we can consume a great amount at the King's table.

The Lord's Supper is also a time for consecration. Like all the other means of grace, the Lord's Supper brings potential for the future. In ordinary life, eating a good meal gives strength for the activities we need to do. Similarly the Lord's Supper strengthens our souls, especially with regard to our affections. The outcome of participating in the Supper is that we should love Jesus more and love one another more. We know that the proof of eating a good meal is the strength we have for the tasks at hand. But in doing the tasks we don't think about the strength. Instead we just do them. If we spent the time thinking about where the strength would come from, others would think that we had forgotten we had eaten the meal that provides the strength. We should come away from today's remembrance meal strengthened for serving Jesus. This does not mean that we can ignore the daily sustenance we get from Bible reading and other means of grace. But the Lord's Supper does strengthen us for service.

Remembering the Lord

Our evening service is a communion in which we gather to remember the Lord’s death until he returns. Why do we call it ‘communion’? The answer to that question is twofold: (1) we call it ‘communion’ because those remembering the Saviour share the same spiritual blessings that are depicted in the bread and wine; (2) we call it ‘communion’ because we are interacting with God at the same time.

One of the distinctives of the Scottish Presbyterian church is that it has insisted on describing the place where we meet to have the Lord’s Supper as a table. A table is where we share food and drink with one another; in a higher sense, the Lord’s Supper is God’s table on which he lays out many spiritual benefits for our souls. We can list them as various ingredients in the meal that he has provided: among them are his love, forgiveness, promises of heaven, and many others. A good way of preparing for participation is to list in our minds the various ingredients found in the Lord’s provision. Then at his table, we all eat of his provision.

At the same time, we have to interact with God, whether we speak to the Father or to Jesus or to the Spirit. Each of the divine persons can respond to us by bringing words from the Bible to our minds, sometimes with great power. We should ask each of them beforehand to come and meet with us at the table, and ask them again at the table to speak to us. It is a great blessing when the heavenly Provider stresses the ingredients in his meal, and stresses them in such a way that greatly comforts his people.

Perhaps some will say, ‘It does not matter if I go to the Lord’s Table. After all, I am converted and I can rest there.’ Such a response is like a man looking in the window of a restaurant and observing a family having a happy meal together. He is not part of it, is not sharing their fellowship, and does not know what is going on. What would make it even sadder is to discover that the man looking in is actually a member of the family but he has refused the invitation to come and share in the meal!

The Lord's Supper

This evening we as a congregation will have a service that includes the Lord’s Supper. The Supper is a family meal in the sense that those who will take part in it profess to belong to the family of God. There are many ways of looking at the Lord’s Supper. We can view it as an Eucharist or Thanksgiving; we can see it as a Communion in which we interact with Jesus and he with us; we can regard it as a Memorial in which we remember what Jesus did for us; or we can consider it as a Covenant occasion in which we renew our dedication to the Lord – of course, we can use all these ways, even simultaneously.

One of the most helpful ways of participation that I have found was told to me many years ago and no doubt most of you will be familiar with the method as well. The individual who informed me of it told me to take five looks when at the Lord’s Table.

First, he told me to look back and recall what Jesus did when he was here in this world. Looking back, we can think of his teachings, his miracles, his disciples, but above all his death and resurrection. He did not die as a helpless victim of stronger powers. Instead he was the sinbearer who performed the amazing achievement of paying the penalty for our sins.

Second, he told me to look up to where Jesus currently is, seated on the throne of God. The Saviour has been exalted higher than we can imagine, than human words can describe. Although he is so high, yet he will remember us as we sit at his Table. We are in his heart and on his mind as he governs all things.

Third, he told me to look ahead to the time when Jesus will return. That day will be a marvellous one because it will be the occasion of the resurrection of the dead, of the reunion of believers who have died, and of the commencement of the new heavens and new earth. Faith is like a telescope that brings those future events closer to our spiritual vision.

Fourth, he told me to look around at the others who are also sitting at the Table. The Lord’s Supper should not be taken with our eyes closed; instead we should observe who is sitting beside us. Perhaps in heaven we will yet speak about this occasion.

Fifth, he told me to look within in order to find a personal reason for gratitude to Jesus. A short look there will reveal how sinful I am, and therefore give a reason for grateful participation in the Supper. But he told me to spend less time with the fifth look than with the other four.

The Lord's Supper as Communion

Today we have a communion service. In the Supper the Lord Jesus has fellowship with his people. The Supper is not merely an occasion for remembering what Jesus did, it is also an occasion for feeding on him in a spiritual way. This aspect of feeding is illustrated by the eating of bread and drinking of wine as symbols of his body and blood. The connection between Jesus and his people at the Table is brought about by the Spirit who brings believers to Christ in a spiritual and not a physical way.

This meeting between Christ and his people is to be recognised by faith. It is not their faith that brings about the encounter, but their enjoyment of it is enhanced by a spiritual understanding of what is taking place. By faith, they are to think about what is occurring at the Supper. I would mention briefly two blessings that we should receive from Jesus at the Supper – Christlikeness and assurance.

The purpose of spiritual feeding is to make us spiritually strong, to develop into mature Christians marked by Christlikeness, which is helpfully depicted by the various details listed as the fruit of the Spirit. These details are found in Christ and they are transferred to believers as they meditate on them as they were and are displayed in Jesus. As they think of his love, they become loving; as they focus on his peace, they experience his peace; as they reflect on his joy, they become happy; as they consider his gentleness, they become mild and kind.

The symbols of bread and wine point to the person and work of Christ. When we think of the bread, we should think of his humanity and not just his physical body. Think of the way he displayed love to needy sinners, think of his gentle manners as he interacted with them, think of the joy he experienced when they responded to him, think of the peace he knew in the company of his disciples. When we focus on the wine, which depicts his death, we can think of his sacrificial love, of his gentle response to the soldiers who crucified him, of his delight in rescuing the penitent thief as a picture of how he rescues all condemned sinners, and of the peace he had as he committed his spirit to God.

If our minds and hearts are active in considering Jesus at the Table, he will meet with us and give to us progress in the spiritual life. By receiving from him through this channel of grace, we will become more like him.

Some might say that these benefits will be given through other means of grace, such as preaching and prayer. In a certain sense, that is true. Yet the Lord’s Supper is the only occasion when the family of God share publicly in a means of grace that is exclusively for them. At the Supper Jesus meets with them corporately as a family and gives them the assurance that they are children of God and that he is their Elder Brother. Fresh assurance is therefore also received by taking part in the Supper.

Aspects of the Lord's Supper

Yesterday we celebrated the Lord’s Supper in our congregation. What did it involve? One answer is to focus on externals and say that it required a sermon, a table, and the elements of bread and wine. Each of these are necessary for a biblical enacting of the Lord’s Supper. Yet we should also focus on other essential features, some of which take place before the Supper and some during it. Here are four aspects.

First, the Lord’s Supper is a communion. It is not only a communion between an individual believer and Christ, it is also communion between his people as they meet together. This means that they cannot come to the Lord’s Table with wrong attitudes towards other believers. If they do, they will not receive spiritual blessings. For example, it is important for any believers who are not speaking to one another to sort out the matter before they come to the Lord’s Table.

Second, the Lord’s Supper is a confession. Those who sit at the Table are confessing many things and here are a few of them: (1) they are confessing that they are sinners who have trusted in Jesus for salvation; (2) they are confessing that they are sorry for their sins and desire to forsake them; (3) they are confessing that they have chosen the children of God to be their friends and companions; (4) they are confessing that they are looking forward to heaven.

Third, the Lord’s Supper is a channel of grace; believers go to the Supper in order to receive spiritual benefits. If a believer chooses to stay away from the Table he or she will miss out on spiritual blessings. There is no point in pretending otherwise. Obviously if their absence is caused by legitimate reasons, then the Lord will provide them with other spiritual comforts. Yet it is the case that Jesus expects and commands all his followers to make attendance at the Lord’s Supper a priority. This applies both to those believers who have not yet made public their trust in Christ as well as to those believers who have professed for a period of time.

Fourth, the Lord’s Supper is a sign of commitment. By coming to it, a person is stating that he is determined to continue following Jesus. Such an individual is also saying that he is committed to the spiritual life of a local congregation and will show that commitment by attending its other services. He is also saying that he is committed to living for Jesus day by day in the community, in the workplace, in the family, in fact everywhere.