The Three-Fold Meaning of The Lord's Table - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Let's pray as we open up God's word. Father, we simply ask that by the spirit of God, you would make Jesus Christ real to us through the scriptures. Give us that mind that will focus on him. Give us that heart that will rejoice within. Give us, Lord, the ability to receive what you have to say with total submission, knowing that through obedience there is great joy.

We come to you and say yes and amen. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. When it comes to certain scriptural practices that we as a community, participate in, it is safe to say that there are different types of individuals that are a part of that experience. Some are completely unaware, uninformed of what a certain practice is all about.

There are others who have a misunderstanding of what a certain ordinance signifies. And then there are others who have a full understanding, who at least started with the right heart, but over time, this practice or this teaching or this command or this tradition has become something of casual, common, and unfortunately, it brings them into a place of lifeless participation, thoughtless participation. And this is certainly true concerning one very component, very important component rather of our church experience as a body, and that is the Lord's table. You can safely say that there are some who have a lack of the depths of what this really means. There are others who have a misconception of what it really symbolizes.

And then there are some, maybe many, who know what it means, but unfortunately are mishandling it and are not approaching it with the right heart. This was certainly true with the Corinthians church. This is something that we see here as you turn your bibles to first Corinthians chapter 11, beginning in verse 23. The Corinthian church is a strong example of a community of believers that it needed a sobering reminder of what this ordinance signified and how they were to approach it with reverence and awe. And Paul writes here in verse 23, for I received from the Lord what I also deliver to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and we had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, you also took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Now this message is not going to be able to cover every single angle of the Lord's supper, but let's just cover some basics here. The first thing we need to understand about this practice, this ordinance is that the Lord Jesus Christ himself instituted it.

This was something that he has given as a charge to the church. There's an authoritative order that he has given, and it's something that the church should keep forever. And this alongside with baptism, water baptism, are the two practices that the Lord has given his church to observe. Both of these ceremonies are to be kept by those who have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and exclusively to them. Water baptism, the Lord's table.

The water baptism is that confession of faith, that public confession, that step of obedience that a believer takes after he confesses faith, and that is the initial, and the only time. There's only one time that you get baptized. But when it comes to the Lord's supper, it is a practice that a believer continually participates in. So one is initial and final. The other is something that you continue to walk in as a Christ follower.

And it's important to know that not only did the Lord Jesus Christ institute this, he instituted on a specific night, at a specific moment in his ministry. And when was that? On the night when he was betrayed. This timing is not random. It's not by happenstance.

The Lord Jesus Christ strategically and prophetically institutes this ordination on a specific institutes this ordination on a specific moment. When did he do it? The night he was going to be betrayed. The night he was going to suffer. The night he was going to be given up over to his enemies.

And they did something on that night, did they not? They were eating the Passover. They were eating a specific feast. They were participating in something that God had given long ago, concerning his own people, the nation of Israel. And he has given this feast, the Passover, for what purpose?

That the people that were delivered from Egypt would come together and remember that deliverance. They would reflect on the the salvation that God had brought about from what? Egypt and their wicked task master, pharaoh. They would reflect on how the blood of that spotless lamb was the very source and the very means by which they could avoid the wrath of God. Not just avoid the wrath of God, not just escape his judgment, but be brought into the wilderness where they could walk with God and worship him.

And you think as they're doing this, as the disciples are sitting at that table with their Lord, reminiscing and worshiping God while eating this lamb, reflecting on God's powerful salvation for his people from Egypt, at that moment, Jesus took bread. At that moment, Jesus took the cup. And in prophetic fashion, he institutes a new ordinance where his people from that moment on would be able to now realize that he is the true Passover lamb. And they would forever from that moment on reflect on a greater salvation, a salvation from sin, and a greater deliverance not from Pharaoh, but from Satan. This is why Jesus said in Luke twenty two fifteen, and he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

There's this eagerness. I was waiting for this moment where I can can skip with you and eat this Passover meal. Why? Why was he so eager? Why did he have this desire?

Because he was going to make a statement in that moment. He was going to make a very profound statement. What statement? That every single time your people have eaten this Passover, it pointed to this moment. Every feast including the Passover pointed to me, and I'm here to fulfill what that feast signifies.

Not only that though, Christ himself would birth a new way of celebrating, birth a new way for his people to remember and to reflect on God's ultimate act of love and salvation through him by the Lord's supper. And so we have to understand very quickly that this serves a very weighty and serious meaning. In fact, I would argue that the Lord's supper has a threefold meaning for us every time we partake of it. There's something to reflect. There's a message for the past, there's an experience for the present, and there is hope for the future.

Here's the first thing that we have to understand this threefold meaning with the Lord's supper. Number one, that it stirs us to remember the love of Christ. It stirs us to remember the love of Christ. Why did God give the Israelites the Passover feast amongst many other feasts? What was his wisdom in that?

Very simple. They would forget. Through the busyness of life and all their other dealings, they would come to a place in which they would probably forget what God had done originally in their lives, what God had done in history. And so he says, keep this feast as a yearly reminder so that you can be sober and realign in your thinking of who I am and what you are in me. And this is the very same thing that he does with the Lord's supper.

He realizes that we are forgetful, so he says, I'm gonna institute a celebration, a ceremony for you to reflect and reminisce on my love for you. By these elements, you and I would be able to see Jesus. Jesus himself identified the bread as a symbol. That's very important. As a symbol of his body, and the cup as a symbol of his blood.

In other words, communion, the Lord's table, this bread, this cup does not turn into the physical body and blood of Jesus Christ. Nor does it spiritually turn into his body or spiritually turn into his blood. The Lord's table does not give you forgiveness of sins. They're simply emblems that provide a deep significance to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. And when you take that bread this morning and you take it in your hand, you know what Christ wants you to see?

He wants you to see his body. He wants you to see his body bruised, whipped, ripped. God who came in the flesh for the sole purpose of dying a gruesome death for your salvation. And when you take that cup in your hand this morning, you know what Christ wants you to see? His blood, pure without blemish.

The only source for you and I to receive a cleansing work from the record of sin that keeps us condemned before God, but makes us white as snow before the father. Every time you and I come to this table, we feast on the love of Christ. Every time you and I come to this and partake of it as a church, we are reminded that it is not by what you do in your body or by what kind of blood you shed for your salvation. It is complete what he has done with his body and what he has done with his own blood. It is the gospel being preached to you and me every single time.

But there's another sobering work that the Lord's table has for you and I. It's not simply something from the past or to reflect on, it is something for the the present. If number one, this stirs us to remember the love of Christ, then number two, this invites us to experience and express fellowship with Christ. Turn your bibles to chapter 10 of first Corinthians verse 16, and see what the apostle Paul says here. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?

The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? The apostle Paul in this simple verse is showing us that when we partake of this, it is way more than just commemoration or memorial thing. We step into something very real when we partake of this table together. The eating and drinking is not only a reflection on Christ's death, but is in itself a way in which you and I commune with the living Christ himself. Unique experience of fellowship with God.

What do we mean by that? God established this practice as a means for you and I to to know a unique type of fellowship with Christ the same way one might experience God in exchange of communion through prayer or singing. I believe the very act of eating and drinking itself speaks of that. That when you take that bread and you take that cup and you in in a sense become one with those elements, you are expressing a desire for Christ to be in you and for you to be in him. We are in essence desiring and determining that the Lord would be the source of our sustenance and satisfaction, and fulfillment.

And the Lord himself is very present in that moment. And the reason why we can believe this, that there is an experiential communion happening when we partake of this, is because of the context in which Paul wrote this. In this short little paragraph, these surrounding verses, you know what the apostle Paul is trying to do with this He's trying to steer them away from participating in pagan feasts. He's trying to convince them, listen, when you go with these false religionists and you participate in their celebrations to these false gods in which many times they would eat food and sacrifice meals and have all these things happen. It was don't think that's just some light thing because you have freedom in Christ.

You're actually engaging with demons. You are fellowshipping with evil spirits when you go to these places. And in contrast, he's saying the same way that it's very real when you go to those things and participate in those pagan celebrations, in contrast, this is very real because you're fellowshipping with the living God. Look at verse 21 of chapter 10 and see what he says. You cannot drink the cup of the lord and the cup of demons.

You cannot partake of the table of the lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? When you and I partake of this, we are declaring a unity and a loyalty to Jesus Christ. Every time.

And which makes this act very sacred, does it not? There's something really happening when we do this. And Paul's saying, when you choose to come to this table weekly, monthly, whenever you do it, frequently, when you choose to come to this table and you go out there and you fellowship at other tables, you're provoking the lord to jealousy. Because in one sense, you're coming and you're fellowshipping with him and you're declaring an act of worship, and then you're eating at another person's house and committing spiritual adultery. I hope we feel the weight of this today, which connects to the next point.

Number one, it stirs us to remember the love of Christ. Number two, it invites us to experience and express fellowship with Christ. And number three, it causes us to look forward to a future promise. Matthew twenty six twenty nine. Look what Jesus said in Matthew twenty six twenty nine.

I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. There's a future aspect, a future element to this. And what he's saying is as much as you're gonna remember me, you're also going to look forward to something. The Lord's supper has us looking back, it has us experiencing something in the present, and it causes us to hope for a future. Communion is simply a rehearsal of what we're gonna do in glory.

When we do this, we are looking through the keyhole of a door of something that we're gonna experience with Christ. You and I, when we hold those emblems in our hands, need to understand that there is a time coming where we will physically sit with the Lord Jesus Christ himself and sup with him. In other words, there is a seat waiting for you in a heavenly table. Christ is saying this in Matthew 26 as though to say, there is a reservation for a banquet for you and I to fellowship. And every time we do this, we go, I'm gonna be with him one day.

Every time we do this, we go, one day. This is simply just a just a picture. This is just a symbol of me feasting, fellowshipping with Christ, unfiltered, unhindered, bliss and glory. Does your heart experience that every time you take communion? Christ wants you to feel that.

He wants you to see that. And when we do this, it means that there's a declaration of hope that provides healing. There's healing in communion when we realize that it points us to a future hope. And when we understand this threefold meaning, and we can go in-depth with each one of them, we realize that this means a lot to the Lord. With that being said, then how do we respond to it?

If there's so much significance, if this is a holy sacred act, what is it that you and I need to do to approach it rightly where we don't grieve the heart of God? And the apostle Paul back in first Corinthians 11 tells us just that. When you turn back to that chapter, see what he says concerning our instruction. Verse 27 of chapter 11. 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.

You and I this morning have heard the threefold meaning of what this ordinance is all about. And Paul says right out of listen. If you come to this table in an unworthy manner, you are guilty concerning the body of lord and the blood of the lord. And if we're concerned, we should be asking, what does it mean to come to the table in an unworthy manner? And again, the answer is in the context.

Go up to verse 18 and see what the Corinthian church was struggling with. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, this tells us that when we partake of this, it's a it's an assembly thing. It's a communal thing. As a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I believe in part. This has nothing to do with the message, but I just wanna bring it up because it brought so much joy to me.

For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. Don't you love that? What is he saying there? You know, whenever there's division or problems in church, people tend to freak out, even leaders in the church. You know what Paul is saying?

These things have to happen. You know why? Because when it happens, the genuine Christians show up, and the false ones show up too. Because this has to happen, divisions among you, because we're gonna see who the true peacemakers are. We're gonna see who the true gossips are.

We're gonna see who truly wants to live for the unity of the body. So these things have to happen. Let them happen. And let's see who the genuine ones are. Besides the point, there's division.

There's issues. There's problems. There's disunity even more as we read on. There's drunkenness. There's selfishness.

There are clicks and divisions. In other words, to come to the lord's table in an unworthy manner is to come with undealt with sinful conduct while participating in this practice and not dealing with it, especially when we treat one another in a certain way. And Paul says, be careful. Be careful of doing this in an unworthy manner. Why?

Why? What is the fact of you and I treating each other right have to do with this? What's the connection? Because when you go back to first Corinthians ten sixteen and seventeen, verse 17 tells us another symbolic meaning that this bread has, and it's concerning the body. That the same way the bread is one loaf, you as the church are one.

That's a whole another message in itself. Because as much as it is a vertical thing when we partake of this, there is a real horizontal expression. That when we come here, we're saying to God, and we're saying to one another, and we're saying to the world that we are one like this bread is one loaf. And Paul's saying, how is it that you are partaking of this one loaf, but your lifestyle and the way you conduct yourselves is in contradiction to the symbol that you're participating in? It doesn't work.

So you're coming in an unworthy manner. You're contradicting the whole thing, Which is why he says this in verse 28, let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. You and I have to think before we do this. In other words, if you want a little slogan for you to remember, before you eat, examine. And this is what we have to think about, my relationship with God.

Is there unrepentant, undealt with sin that I have not confessed? Am I harboring? Am I cherishing iniquity? And at the same time, coming to the Lord, say, am I sitting at tables where they celebrate demons? Not even directly.

Am I participating in worldly things with joy and bliss that would hurt the heart of God and then come here and try to convince him that I'm a true follower of him? Secondly, thinking about your relationship with others. Have I done something, said something? Is there somebody that has something against me and I have not approached it yet? He says examine yourself.

Scan your heart. Think about the wisdom of God in instituting this. There is a sanctifying purpose behind it. That if we honor the procedure of this practice, it has the potential of propelling individual Christians to repentance and a greater reconciliation with others. In other words, when we see this and before we partake of it, it forces us to examine ourselves and say, am I really right with God?

It puts a mirror on our face and says, are you really right with others? See, we rob the power of this when we rush because we wanna get to lunch at 12:30. But when we examine ourselves and we take that time, God in his wisdom wants to use this to sanctify his people. So he says examine yourself. Side note, we understand that this is for believers, but even leaders can only go so far to warn and tell people to partake of this if you're a true Christian.

The responsibility is more on the people. You examine yourself. Are you really a follower of Christ? Have you really given yourself by faith to him? Or do you see this in a different way?

If you do so, the responsibility is on you. Many times people say the leaders need a scan and we can only do so much. God knows your heart, and the instruction is for the people that are participating. Check yourself out. Verse 30 explains how serious this is.

That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. Why? Because verse 21, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. So Paul, before he concludes, says, listen, there is a way of approaching the table in an unworthy manner, and that is when you have sinned before God or sin sin against another, and you have not dealt with it. You're aware of it, and you still push it aside, and you just wanna come and partake of this, even if you're doing it without the sense of realizing what it is.

But he wants to make sure that there's another layer covered. That there is another way of coming to this table in an unworthy manner, and that is when you and I fail to discern the body and blood. When we do not evaluate and realize what this really means, we drink judgment on ourselves. We cheapen the body and blood of Christ. It's almost an insult to what he's done for us on the cross.

We almost wanna tell him, you know, I know you wanna fellowship with me, lord, at the table, but I wanna just get this thing over with. And it grieves the heart of God. It hurts him. It provokes him to jealousy. And as a result, he brings chastisement to his own people.

He's not talking to non believers. This shows us that moral disorder in somebody's life can actually lead to physical illness. Now it's not to say that if you have a cold or any or all sickness is due to somebody who's walking in disobedience. That's just not right in light of all scripture. But in light of this, many of the reasons why people were sick, many of the reasons why people are weak, just genuinely weak, and even have died is because of one thing, coming to the table in an unworthy manner and failing to discern what it really actually signifies.

This is how much it means to God. How do we know that this is talking about believers? Because he says in verse 32, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So there's a discipline for his people, and there's a condemnation for the world. So when he disciplines, it's not that he sends you to hell, he disciplines in which he cuts off even the length of your life.

It's not the same as how he will judge the world. He has a specific way of disciplining his people. So what is the solution to this? Verse 31. But we just judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

If we if we sit here today and we really examine our hearts and look at our own lives, we'll be fine. That's all we need to do. So this text gives us the permission the permission to look at our lives, and if we see illness and weakness, we can ask that sobering question. Have I approached the Lord's table in an unworthy manner? Have I have I failed to discern this?

Here are some questions that you and I can ask ourselves. The Lord's design for this ordinance is to be a holy, rapturous, Christ exalting, and self reflecting experience. Ask yourself this, is there any sin that I am conscious of that I did not repent of? Is there any brother or sister that I've sinned against and did not seek forgiveness? Do I realize that I'm about to fellowship with the Lord?

Do I allow these elements to preach the gospel to me? Finally, am I aware of the hope that this table provides for me? Very simple message today, but very needed, I believe. Many of us can probably humbly confess that we have at one point treated this very lightly, almost went go into neutral and just it's a part of the service when Christ intended it for you and I to draw nearer to him in a very special way. Verse 26 of chapter 11 says, for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the lord's death until he until he comes.

The gospel is declared when we do this together. So even if the unbeliever is in the assembly, he is witnessing visually the gospel. And we ought to do this, this is not a debate of how often we should do this in a month. He's just saying as often as you do it, do it until he returns. And when he returns, you and I will do it in a very special, blissful, holy, rapturous way.

And this is how we're gonna transition. We're gonna do exactly what the Bible tells us, and we're gonna examine our hearts. Examine our hearts. You and I are about to feast with Christ, and he wants to make that very real to us if we simply come with that hunger and that faith. Bow your heads with me.