do in remembrance of me. After
the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do you, as
oft as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death
till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat
this bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily 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.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we
would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are
judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned
with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when
you come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man
hunger, let him eat at home, that you come not together unto
condemnation. And the rest will I set in order
when I come. In verse 20, if you look back
to verse 20, we didn't read this verse, but the apostle said,
when you come together, therefore into one place, this is not to
eat the Lord's supper. In other words, the way they
were observing this ordinance in the church at Corinth, that
was not the way that it should be done. Because they were bringing
food together and some were wealthy people and they had an abundance
of food and some were poor believers and they had little to eat. And
some, of course, were bringing wine and drinking too much wine. And so the apostle tells them,
this church at Corinth, that's not the way to observe the Lord's
Supper. Then he begins where we began
reading in verse 23 to speak about the Lord's Supper. And
tonight, tonight I want us to consider one thing, one thing
only, and that is why is this called the Lord's Supper? Why
is this called the Lord's Supper? Now, for myself growing up, that's
the term that I heard most often referring to this church ordinance. It is the Lord's Supper. I realized
that there are other terms in the scripture. It's called the
table of the Lord. breaking of bread and the bread
of the body of Christ and the blood of Christ. One of the earliest
words that was given to this ordinance, not from the scripture,
but from man, is the word Eucharist. Sometimes you'll hear this referred
to as taking the Eucharist. I've never Wanted to use that
word because I associate it with ritualism, with churches that
somehow teach, no doubt teach, not somehow, but teach that this
is a sacrament and it conveys grace, that the bread conveys
grace, that the wine conveys grace. The word Eucharist is
a good word because it simply means thanksgiving. And that's
what we are doing here as we observe the table tonight. We
are giving thanks unto the Lord for His body and blood that was
shed for us. But I want to answer that question
tonight. Why is this referred to as the
Lord's Supper? And I have five answers, five
answers for us. Number one, it is called the
Lord's Supper because the Lord gave it. The Lord gave it. It is an ordinance that we, that
rather He gave to His church for us to observe. The church
did not give this ordinance. It's called the Lord's Supper
because He's the one who instituted it. The Lord Jesus Christ is
the King of saints. We think of Him quite often as
prophet, as we saw this morning, as priest, but He is also the
King. And this is a commandment, a
rule that He gave to His people to the church. Let's turn back
to Luke chapter 22 and read about the institution of the Lord's
Table, the Lord's Supper. It's called the Lord's Supper
because He is the one who gave this ordinance. In Luke chapter
22 and verse 15. And he said unto them, with desire,
I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. The Passover feast, when God
brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt, remember the Passover
lamb, the blood that was shed, the blood that was put upon the
lentils of the doors, and God passed over, passed over those
houses where he saw the blood and the firstborn in those houses
were spared. But in every house where there
was not blood, the firstborn in that house was taken away,
was destroyed by death. And from that time, God told
Moses, and Moses the nation of Israel, this shall be a perpetual
ordinance from now on. This you shall observe Every
year at the Feast of Passover, as it came to be called, and
the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Actually, the Passover was one
day and the next day began the seven days of unleavened bread.
So they both were joined together. But the Passover was a feast
that God commanded Israel to observe and to do so because
when they observed it, I don't believe they put the blood on
the doorpost any longer, but they were to eat the feast. They
were to roast the lamb, every family to roast the lamb, and
for the family to eat. And when their children asked
them, why do we do this? What's this about? Then you shall
tell them what it's about, that God delivered us by blood from
Egypt. God redeemed us from Egyptian
bondage by blood. Now, our Lord here, beginning
in verse 15, says, with desire, I have desire to eat this Passover
with you. This was to be the last Passover. There never was to be another
Passover after this Passover. Why? Because that Lamb, the Passover
Lamb, had been a type all through the centuries of God's Lamb. When John the Baptist said, Behold
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. With
desire, our Lord said, I have desired to eat this Passover. This was to be the last Passover
that should have ever been observed because the type was now fulfilled. The true Lamb of God was now
sacrificed, the Lord Jesus Christ. For I say unto you, I will not
any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled. It's going to be
fulfilled the next day when he dies. The type, the prophecy
is going to be fulfilled by his death. He's the lamb of God that
those Passover lambs had pictured. And he took the cup and gave
thanks and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves, for
I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until
the kingdom of God shall come. Now, that was the end of the
Passover supper, right there. And so we began with verse 19,
when he gives, why is it called the Lord's Supper? Because the
Lord gave the rules for this supper. And he took bread, and
gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This
is my body, which is given for you, this do in remembrance of
me. Likewise also, likewise, just
like he had taken the cup, or taken the bread, and given thanks,
so likewise also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the
New Testament, the New Covenant, covenant in my blood, which is
shed for you." Notice the words we read here, and he took bread. Now what does the bread represent? Represents his body, doesn't
it? He took bread, showing us again, reminding us again that
the eternal son of God took flesh to himself. Hebrews chapter two
and verse 14, we read, for as much then as the children, those
that were given to Christ, his seed, for as much then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took
took part of the same, just as He took the bread. So we know
in the fullness of the time, God's time, He took the body
that was prepared for Him into union with His eternal person,
the Son of God. And then the next thing I would
point out to us, He gave thanks, verse 19. And likewise with the
cup, He gave thanks. When the Lord gave thanks, He
was thanking the Lord, no doubt, that by this one offering, this
one sacrifice, that He would perfect forever those who are
sanctified, those who are chosen, set apart by God Himself. He gave thanks that by shedding
His blood, He would redeem unto God a people that is so great. I like what the preacher said
the other night. He said, people there where he
pastors said, well, you believe that there's just a handful of
people are going to be saved. He said, I do believe that. But
he said, remember this, that's the hand of God. It's a big hand. And there are multitudes upon
multitudes that His blood redeemed. And the Lord gave thanks. He
thanked the Lord that by His sacrifice, He would glorify God,
first of all. By His obedience, even unto death,
He would glorify God. And at the same time, He would
redeem unto God a number of people, innumerable number of people
by His precious blood. That's the reason, first of all,
I say it's called the Lord's Supper because the Lord Jesus
Christ is the one who gave this ordinance. A church council didn't
come together and decide, well, I think we need to have something
called the Lord's Supper. The ancients, the fathers, so-called,
they didn't come together. No, the Lord Jesus Christ, he's
the one who gave this ordinance. And we call it an ordinance because
it is given to the church, a church ordinance. We don't observe this
in our homes individually, but we come together as a church,
a church ordinance. All right, here's the second
reason. It is called the Lord's Supper
because the only elements The only elements upon the table, bread and wine, feature him. That's what we have here on this
table tonight. We have bread and wine. We don't
have anything else. We don't have any salt and pepper
or anything else that you might have on your table when you sit
down to eat supper. The only thing on this table,
bread and wine, which represent the broken body, and the poured
out blood. Now they are not literally, his
body is not literally on this table. His blood is not literally
on this table. That's a lie that has deceived
so many people that they believe that by eating this bread and
drinking the cup, that they're actually eating the flesh and
blood of Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, except you eat
my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. But
we do not do that by eating this bread and drinking this cup.
We eat his flesh and drink his blood by trusting in him, by
relying upon that one sacrifice as all our salvation. The apostle warned the church
here at Corinth about eating this supper unworthily. Notice in verse 29, he said,
for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. How do you eat
this bread and drink this cup unworthily? By not discerning
the Lord's body. He's not saying that everyone
should be worthy. I'm sure every child of God here
tonight would confess, I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy that God
would give his son for me. I'm not worthy. But to eat this
bread and drink this cup unworthily is to do it not discerning the
Lord's body. This is what the apostle said. Not to recognize, what does that
mean? Not discerning the Lord's body. It means, first of all,
not to recognize that He is the Son of God, that He is God manifest
in the flesh. If a person doesn't recognize
that, well, I believe that Jesus was a good man. I believe He
was a good teacher. I believe He's a good example.
If that's all you believe about Him, if you take this table,
you shall do so unworthily. To discern his body is to recognize,
to believe that he, yes, he was man, but more than man, he's
the God-man, the God-man. Why would you eat that which
represents another's flesh and blood if you did not believe
that he is God who was made flesh? Why would a person do that? Would you eat bread and drink
wine that represented the body of some other man, someone here,
maybe a preacher or some other man that you know? You wouldn't
do that. Why? Because they're just men,
that's why. A man at his best is still just
a man. But this body and blood pictures
the body and blood of the God-man. God manifests in the flesh. Why would you eat that which
represents another's flesh and blood if you do not believe that
He ratified the New Covenant with His blood? This is what
He said, this is my blood of the New Testament, the New Covenant.
If a person believes that he's still under that old covenant
of works, why would you eat that which represents his flesh and
blood, by which he ratified the new covenant? Why would you eat that which
represents another's flesh and blood if you did not believe
that God raised him from the dead? Yes, he died. Yes, he was
buried. But my friends, he, tonight,
and his body can only be in one place at a time. His body is not on this table. His body is at the right hand
of God. the man Christ Jesus. Now as
God, He is promised to be where two or three are in His midst,
or He's in our midst where two or three gather in His name.
But only as God is that true of Him. As man, man cannot, man's
not omnipresent. So it's called the Lord's Supper,
first of all, because He gave it. Second, it's called the Lord's
Supper because the only elements on this table represent His body,
the bread and the wine. Number three, it is called the
Lord's Supper because the guests, the guests at the table are the
Lord's own. Those of us who partake of this
food, who eat of this table tonight, We are His people. That is true by His saving grace. It was to His disciples that
He said, this do. He didn't say this to the world.
He didn't say this to anybody and everybody. No, He said this
to His disciples, those who followed Him, those who trusted in Him
and believed in Him. Judas was gone out. This do in
remembrance of me. The guests are his people to
whom he has given repentance and remission of sins. Let me
read that verse back in Acts chapter 5 concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's exalted a prince and a savior
for to give. Acts chapter 5 verse 31. Acts 5, verse 31, him have God
exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior, for
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. When
I said just a few minutes ago that he, the man, Christ Jesus,
the God man, is at the Father's right hand, remember, he has
the scepter in his hand. that all authority, all power
is given unto him, the God-man, both in heaven and in earth. We know the Apostle Paul speaks
in 1 Corinthians 15 about then cometh the end when he delivers
up the kingdom to the Father and God shall be all in all. But at this present time, the
man Christ Jesus is a sovereign ruler over heaven and earth. Number four, it is called the
Lord's Supper because he communes with his people at this table. Just like you invite some guests
over to your house and they come and they sit down at your table
and You commune one with the other. You fellowship one with
the other. The guest with the host. The
guest with the host commune. If you look back in our text,
1 Corinthians 11, turn back to chapter 10, 1 Corinthians 10, and verse 15. I speak as to wise men, judge
you what I say. The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread
and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. We have communion tonight. Many
people refer to this as communion service, and that's good because
it is communion. We commune with one another here
tonight. But our communion, even though
it is with one another, the mystical body of Christ, our communion
is with Him, with Christ. He's the host, and we sit at
his table and partake, and we have communion with him. And here's the last, the fifth
thing. It is called the Lord's Supper because it is done in
memory of him. We do not do this in the memory
of John Calvin. We don't do this in the memory
of Joseph Arminius. We do this in the memory of him,
Jesus Christ, our Lord. This do, he said, in memory of
me and remembrance of me. I just finished reading through
the book of Deuteronomy, and I was impressed by saying five
times in that book that God, through Moses, told the nation
of Israel, thou shalt remember. Thou shalt remember that thou
was a bondman in Egypt. Now, one of those five times,
the word is translated servant for some reason. It's the same
word, but God told them, thou shalt remember that thou was
the bondman in Egypt. And I thought to myself, if a
person had been a bondman, had been a slave, Would that person
need to be reminded to remember? Could you ever forget? Sound
like somebody's got a phone going off. There we go. Could a person who had been a
slave forget that and need to be reminded? Need to be told,
you remember that. I suppose so. God told them five
times, thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt. And I know the memory of it served
for several purposes. One purpose was that they would
be friendly, that they would receive others. Remember that
one time you were a bondman and show kindness to others. I guess I'm going to have to
start doing like I've seen at programs at the very beginning,
saying this would be a good time if you have a cell phone to turn
it off. I know it's embarrassing to you
if it's your phone. It's embarrassing to all of us.
Let's try to remember that. Leave it in the car. That's the
best way. Well, remember, this do in remembrance
of me. The Lord knew that we need this
ordinance to help us to remember him, or he would not have given
it to us. And aren't we all prone to forget
that we too were bondmen, that we were slaves to sin, and the
Lord Jesus Christ delivered us, ransomed us. But this ordinance,
this table reminds us of his great sacrifice to deliver us,
to deliver his people. I pray the Lord would bless those
thoughts and words. If you will now, let's, the men,
if you will come at this time.