Welcome back to part three of our series looking at the amazing blessing of communion. In part one, we began by examining the personal aspect of the body and blood of Christ. How communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a personal gift representing our individual union with Jesus Christ.
We also began to see how the body and blood of Christ each represent a distinct gift which Jesus has made available to us through His sacrifice.
Then in part two, we saw what it means to judge ourselves rightly in Christ as we receive and partake of His sacrifice for us. And how the rightly judging ourselves in Christ is a fantastic blessing in Him.
Now today in part three we are going to be examining the cup, which Jesus says represents the New Covenant in His blood. As we look at the cup of the new covenant today, we will see even more aspects of the amazing blessing of communion.
Sometime in the past you have probably heard the famous advice that everyone likes to give: “Just be yourself!”. This advice is usually given when someone is nervous or apprehensive about meeting new people or standing before a crowd. Just relax! Be yourself! This phrase also implies the negative, don’t be someone or something that you are not. Stay true to the truth.
Spiritually speaking, this advice is very Biblical… both regarding ourselves personally and in judging others, in both cases we should always stay in the truth and be ourselves. This has some surprising benefits for us as believers, and a vast majority of Christians today do not even realize that this advice is in their Bible. So we will be taking a look at this today, and seeing the glorious benefits of being ourselves in Christ.
There are quite a number of people today who are looking for a word from God. A word which gives them hope, direction and encouragement regarding their situation. I spoke with someone once who was convinced that they needed a word from God before their situation would change, and they were right… they did need a word from God before their situation would change, however they were failing to recognize that the word had already been given – and many people are in the same situation and making the same mistake.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have God tell you that your situation will be okay? To have Him say that everything is taken care of? Most people are searching for this and desperately seeking exactly these things, and I’m here to tell you today that He has already said these things to you. This is what we will be studying today.
Let me state right at the very start that this is a controversial issue. Yet though it is controversial, it is also extremely important. The reason for its importance is because aside from salvation, health is the second-most important gift which Jesus paid for us to have. Without health, everything else falls flat. You could have a great family and wealth of every kind, but if you are sick and laid-up all of the time, you will never be able to enjoy any of it. And God does want us to enjoy life, both now in this present time and of-course in the future with Him in Heaven as well.
That’s why He has not left us helpless; He has not left us without provision. In-fact He has paid an extremely high price for us, for our complete salvation: spirit, soul and body. Yet many people are not experiencing this, due to the fact that many pastors and leaders are not teaching the complete message of what Jesus has paid to give us. Many leaders in the church shy away from what they perceive to be a false doctrine of health and prosperity – however the Bible does not make any attempt to hide the reality of what Christ has paid to give us, and how we are to receive it. And this is what we will be studying today… the complete picture of salvation that Christ has paid for us, spirit, soul and body.
I have had many talks with believers over the years, many of whom are at different places in their relationship with Christ. Even so, there is one issue that seems to be brought up again and again… and that is this inner-desire or perceived need to fulfill the Law. These people feel as though the Law somehow remains unmet or unsatisfied and that they are left to fulfill it themselves, and that to not do so, disappoints God or shows Him disrespect.
Another commonly held belief is that by attempting to keep or fulfill the Law, we are showing gratitude toward God for what He has done. However both of these ideas are simply avenues by which the Old Covenant is being reintroduced – placing new wine back into an old wineskin, which Jesus said cannot be done in Mark 2:22. This desire to fulfill the Law ourselves, is erroneous because it fails to recognize the finished work of Jesus Christ for you and in you. This is what we will be studying today.