08-01-2021 – “The LORD’S Supper: 1Corinthians 11:23-26”
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08-01-2021 - (full sermon notes)
The LORD’S Supper:
1Corinthians 11:23-26
The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover has been celebrated by Jews since about 1500 B.C., when God rescued His people (the Hebrews) from Egypt after 400 years of captivity. Passover is named for the event of the Death Angel Passing Over Egypt. God commanded that the door frames of the houses be smeared with the blood of a year-old lamb, that had been sacrificed to God, as a sin offering. In all the houses that did not obey God, the firstborn males, human and animal died.
Throughout Israel’s history Passover has been celebrated in remembrance of God sovereignly delivering them out of Egypt. The Jewish Passover celebrates the physical deliverance of the Hebrews from their slavery under Pharaoh, to their covenant with God under the Law.
The Lord’s Supper remembers the deliverance of all true Believers from the penalty of sin under God’s Law, to their covenant with God under Grace. Jesus transformed the Passover meal into the Lord’s Supper; He fulfilled the Law of God. The Lord’s Supper proclaims forgiveness for our sins and eternal life with God through Christ’s once for all sacrifice for all sins.
The Lord’s Supper [Lord’s Table, Communion] is a special occasion for every true Christian individually, and a sacred time for the Church of God corporately, to reflect back on and remember all that the Lord has done for us, but also it is a time of looking to the future, when we will be with the Lord forever.
Three of the Gospels (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-23) give a narrative account of the Passover meal when the Lord presented a New Covenant, payment for our sins, through His own death.
Read 1Corinthians 11:23-25…
The unleavened [leaven = deceit, evil] bread originally eaten during the first Passover meal when God freed the Jews from their bondage in Egypt, now represents the sinless and sacrificial body of Jesus Christ, through whom we have received freedom from the condemnation of sin, i.e., forgiveness and eternal life through Christ’s sacrifice.
No wonder Jesus says, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
The cup was filled with grape juice or diluted wine, this represented the lamb’s blood that was originally smeared on the doorposts of each house in Egypt; now it represents the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God, shed for the salvation of the whole world (John 1:29).
No wonder Jesus says, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
God’s Word declares that apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sins; only through the shed blood of God’s Son could the eternal payment for all sins be made; our punishment was put upon Christ, in Him God’s eternal forgiveness is given to all men, women, and children of age who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation (Hebrews 8:8-10, 13; 9:15, 22, 27-28; 10:5-10, 15-18)
The old covenant (before Christ) was under the Law, continual sacrifices and offerings for sin were given, but God says those sins (before Christ) were left unpunished.
The new covenant (through Christ) is under Grace, only one sacrifice for all sins: past, present, future.
Christ’s shed blood is God’s fulfilled payment for sin, and so it takes away the penalty of sin from every person who trusts in Christ’s forgiveness for sins, having received Christ’s payment on the cross, we are saved.
What had been celebrated as Passover for centuries before the coming of God’s Son, is now celebrated as the Lord’s Supper, until such a time as Christ returns to gather all true Christians to Himself.
The bread and the cup are taken in remembrance of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross through which He made the full and final payment for all sin.
When Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” we are to remember His birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and sovereign resurrection from the tomb.
When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we celebrate the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ: the Lamb of God; and this is to be observed by everyone who personally and genuinely trusts in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and the salvation of their soul.
But why did Jesus have to die for us?
Romans 3:10-12,
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
In fact, (Romans 3:23-24) says,
“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [i.e., everyone is a sinner, no one is acceptable to God], being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”
Therefore (Romans 6:23) says,
“the wages of sin is death [our payment for sin, what we deserve, is the death penalty], but the verse goes on to say, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [eternity in heaven with God, and all those who belong to Him].
Have you believed and received this “free gift” from God?
Romans 10:9-10 states:
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
2Corinthians 5:17,
”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come..”
We are forgiven all our sins (past-present-future), and we are granted eternal life. How should we respond to this?
Romans 12:1-2,
“I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The Bible teaches clearly that God changes people. You can come to God “Just as you are,” but you will not remain that way if you have truly been born of God. When you repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are a new creation, you belong to God, and your purpose is to bring honor and glory and praise to God.
Ephesians 2:10,
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
The Holy Spirit works to transform our life day by day, as we obey God’s Word
(2Timothy 3:16-17),
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man (or woman or child] of God may be [complete] adequately equipped for every good work.”
You and I make choices daily, we must
(Ephesians 4:22-24),
“lay aside [take off, remove] the old self, which is being corrupted [like dirty clothing] in accordance with the lusts of deceit, [as we are being] renewed in the spirit of [our] mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
James 1:25,
“But the man [or woman or child of age] who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.”
God's greatest demonstration of LOVE is Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 puts it this way,
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 10:11,
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
John 10:27-28,
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish.”
John 15:13,
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
1John 3:16,
“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Man’s greatest demonstration of love for God is to obey God’s Word and to tell others about God’s Son.
2Corinthians 13:5,
”Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?"
Are you a Christian? How can you tell whether or not Christ is in you?
John 14:21,
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
John 14:23,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
John 14:24
He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.” LOVE = OBEDIENCE
If the Spirit of God lives in you, you will desire to serve the Lord.
Read 1Corinthians 11:26…
The Lord’s Supper is a celebration for all believers and followers of Christ, remembering that we have been freed from the penalty of sin forever, by God’s grace, through the sacrifice of God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.
When Jesus began His ministry, He commanded His listeners
(Mark 1:15-17), “Repent, Believe, and Follow Me!”
Have you repented of your sins, believing in Jesus Christ as Savior, and are you willing to follow Him, to obey God’s Word?
Romans 6:23,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Acts 2:21,
“And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Acts 4:12,
“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
If you are not sure that you have received forgiveness for your sins and eternal life, through God’s Son, why not settle that issue right now?
Confess to Christ that you are a sinner. We all are!
Ask Him to forgive you. He turns no one away!
Believe in Him for salvation. He is the only Savior!
1John 5:11-13,
“And this is the testimony:
God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write this to you who believe so that
you may know that you have eternal life.”
Pastor Mike
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