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User-friendly devotionals with audio

  • Celebrating Communion

    Treasures

    Audio length: 11:14
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    The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he 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 also he 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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.—1 Corinthians 11:23–26

    Communion is a simple illustration of the Lord’s last supper with His disciples. It is the only religious ceremony that Jesus Himself instituted and commanded His followers to continue to observe until He comes again. It is meant to be a ceremony of remembrance and thanksgiving, and a witness.

    Communion is a remembrance of Jesus and His death for us—the sacrifice of His life for our salvation, the breaking of His body for us. It is a thanksgiving celebration of His gift of eternal salvation. It is a witness and testimony to others that Jesus died for us, to proclaim His death until He comes. It is also a time for believers to come together in unity, showing that we believe as one. It is a time to renew fellowship, confess sins, make things right, thank Jesus for His salvation, and witness to His goodness.

    Each year at Easter, hundreds of millions of professing Christians around the globe—be they Catholic, Protestant, or nondenominational—celebrate the last day of Christ’s life on earth before His death, as well as the Last Supper that He celebrated with His disciples at the Passover. The Feast of the Passover was a celebration in which the Jews commemorated their deliverance from slavery and exodus out of Egypt with joy and thanksgiving.

    This particular Passover would be sad for the disciples, who were sharing the Lord’s Last Supper. Jesus Himself had found them a place to have their Passover meal by a miracle (Luke 22:9–13). Then they celebrated what has come to be known as Communion or Eucharist.

    After they partook of their Passover meal, the Lord told His disciples about His coming suffering and death, and solemnly led them in a ceremony, one of the few that He commended His followers to observe to commemorate His death. “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me.” Paul said that in so doing, “You proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:25–26).

    The Gospel of Luke tells us: “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). Jesus was illustrating for His disciples what He was about to do. That night His body was going to be broken, pierced, lacerated, abused, His blood shed, and finally His life given. His body was going to be broken for you and me.

    He suffered pain and agony of the physical body by His death on the cross, and the shedding of His blood for our salvation and our healing. God’s Word says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

    “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matthew 26:27–28). If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have already partaken of His blood for salvation, which the wine symbolizes. As you partake of the wine, you are testifying of having received the blood of Christ for your spiritual salvation. As you partake of the bread, you are testifying that you are receiving the body of Christ which was broken for you.

    “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me.” Communion is a manifestation of your love for Him and appreciation of the sacrifice He made for your redemption. Jesus didn’t say how often we should celebrate Communion, but to do so in remembrance of Him and as a witness for Him.

    Partaking of the Communion wine does not save you, because you have already received His salvation by faith. But this ceremony should encourage and affirm your faith, and it is your witness that you have received the blood of Christ for your atonement, His sacrifice for your sins.

    What can wash away my sins?
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
    What can make me whole again?
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

    O, precious is the flow
    That makes me white as snow;
    No other fount I know,
    Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
    —Robert Lowry, 1876

    We should never forget the resurrection when speaking of Jesus’ death. If it hadn’t been for His resurrection, His life and death would have meant nothing. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17–19). But thank God He is risen!

    Let’s not just remember the death of the cross or just picture a Christ on the cross, the suffering and the death. Jesus is no longer on the cross. We don’t have a Christ in the grave—He is risen! “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

    We don’t have a dead Christ hanging on a crucifix; we have a live Jesus living in our hearts!

    Up from the grave He arose,
    With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
    He arose a victor o’er the dark domain,
    And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
    He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
    —Robert Lowry, 1874

    The passage in 1 Corinthians on Communion goes on to provide a sober warning: “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” (1 Corinthians 11:27). What does it mean to partake of Communion in an unworthy manner? If it was meant in the sense of undeserving, nobody could ever be worthy or deserving of the death of Christ. You can’t earn it or work for it and deserve it by your own merit, your own goodness, or your own righteousness. You can’t deserve His death, His body, or His blood shed for you.

    None of us are worthy of salvation, but there is one thing we are required to do, and that is accept Jesus’ sacrifice, and proclaim Him our Lord and Savior. “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). The only way to be worthy of partaking of Communion is through having experienced salvation yourself.

    Jesus has done all the rest. He did the suffering, dying, and the shedding of blood. Now we are called to proclaim His death until He comes. What is the duty of every Christian? To witness to others, to be a testimony of their faith. And you are only able to do this through His worthiness, His salvation.

    “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). We can know we are taking Communion worthily through Christ’s worth because we know we are saved and have spiritually drunk of the blood of Jesus and eaten of the body of Christ in salvation.

    Paul again warns, however, that “anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:29). If the unsaved partake of the holy Eucharist without being saved, they are drinking judgment to themselves. The celebration of Communion is reserved for those who have received salvation in Jesus.

    Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice, Your blood shed for the remission of our sins, the new testament in Your blood that we commemorate every time we partake of Communion. We do this in remembrance of You—of Your suffering, Your love, that You died for us in our place, that You took upon Yourself the punishment for our sins, and that You rose from the dead.

    We now attest and witness our faith in You and Your death for us and Your sacrifice of Your blood for our salvation to wash away our sins. Thank You for Your precious gift of salvation, eternal life, and that we can partake of everlasting communion with You.

    From an article in Treasures, published by the Family International in 1987. Adapted and republished March 2024. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

  • Mar 27 Easter: Why We Celebrate the New Covenant
  • Mar 26 Incomparable Love
  • Mar 21 Love Your Enemies
  • Mar 19 Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
  • Mar 15 Are You Ready to Die?
  • Mar 13 Forgiving Your Worst Enemy
  • Mar 12 Breaking Down Fear
  • Mar 7 The Christian’s Call to Witness
  • Mar 4 Submission to Jesus
   

Directors’ Corner

Faith-building Bible studies and articles

  • 1 Corinthians: Chapter 1 (verses 17-25)

    In verse 16, Paul wrote that he had baptized very few of the Corinthians while he was with them. He continued this topic in verse 17.

    For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.1

    This verse brings an end to the subjects Paul wrote about in the first 16 verses of this chapter and serves as a bridge into the next passage. Paul uses himself and his calling as an example, to further his argument. His calling was to preach the gospel. This didn’t mean that he never baptized new believers, but his focus was on preaching the message of Christ. This is the first use of the word gospel in this epistle. Its meaning here is to preach or to bring the good news. That was Paul’s commission, given to him by Christ.

    Along with Paul’s call to preach, there was also a call as to how the message should be presented. He insists that the power of the gospel doesn’t lie in how elegantly it is presented. In fact, he states that Christ didn’t send him to preach with words of eloquent wisdom. He indicates that the way of expressing the message affects the reception of the message.

    Having completed his introduction, Paul introduced the substance of his letter.

    For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.2

    After explaining how he had been called to preach in a way that would not take anything from the power of the “cross of Christ,” Paul begins to address the nature of that power, which is found in proclaiming the gospel. He also speaks about the “word of the cross,” which he states is experienced in God’s power within those who are saved. The “word of the cross” is a metaphor for the proclamation of the gospel which is found in Christ.

    To be put to death on a cross was a painful and shameful way to die. In addition, because Jewish law taught that death “on a tree” meant a person was cursed, damned by God,3 Jesus having died on a cross was a cause of “stumbling” to the Jews, as Paul mentions later in this chapter. For the Jews as well as the Gentiles, the horror of crucifixion made the whole idea of preaching about someone who had been crucified, and a king at that, seem to be madness.

    Paul compares the two groups of people: for one group, the word of the cross is “foolishness”; but for the other group, the word of the cross is the power of God. Through people’s reaction to Christ, who had died on a cross, God would reveal who was perishing or being saved.

    For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”4

    Quoting from the book of Isaiah,5 Paul gives support for what he has been saying. Through the cross of Christ, God’s intention is to destroy the wisdom of the wise. Paul is quoting scripture to point out that this was always God’s intention—to destroy all wisdom that was not from God, and to bring about salvation in His way. Paul’s use of the future tense, “I will destroy,” expresses the idea that worldly wisdom, which is in opposition to God and His ways, is not just another way to look at the world, but rather is resistant to God and is to be set aside. Those possessing worldly wisdom will be destroyed, according to Isaiah’s prophecy.

    Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?6

    Paul continues to point out God’s opposition to worldly wisdom by asking four questions. The first one alludes to the book of Isaiah. (1) Paul asks: Where is the one who is wise? Isaiah spoke similar words in Isaiah 19:12 to mock the Egyptian wise men who could not comprehend the ways of God. (2) Where is the scribe? The scribe might refer to a person well versed in the Mosaic law. (3) The debater of this age might refer to someone who engages in philosophical debate and discussion for its own sake.

    In the fourth question, Paul asked whether God had made foolish the wisdom of the world. God had done so in the days of Isaiah by defeating the Egyptians and Assyrians. But Paul was expressing an idea broader than this. God had shown the folly of human wisdom in that human wisdom would never consider that God would allow His Son to be crucified in order to save humankind. By acting in a way that human wisdom would label “foolish,” God had frustrated human wisdom.

    Paul assumes that the Christians he is writing to are following his point, and the fourth question expects the answer “yes.” God “made foolish” the wisdom of the world when Christ was crucified.

    For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.7

    While Paul has spoken of the “power of God” in contrast to the world’s “wisdom” (verses 18–19), now he speaks of the wisdom of God. This wisdom is spelled out in the main clause (it pleased God). It is God’s decree to save believers through the death of Christ. This is God’s wisdom, and as Paul goes on to demonstrate, it is a wisdom that is alien to the wisdom “of this age.”

    Paul reminds the Corinthians that men and women have not known God through their own ways. Knowing God is not just knowing about God. It is about identifying with the Lord as the only one who can save. It’s about calling “upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”8 It’s about being in a relationship with God, which brings about a whole new way of seeing, a new mindset.

    The term it pleased God shows that God laid out His way for people to come to salvation. He planned that people would be saved, and how this would be achieved. The idea of God being pleased, referring to His deliberate plan, is seen elsewhere in the New Testament. He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said,This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”9 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.10

    Those who are being saved (v. 18) are those who “are believing” (v. 21). Faith and commitment to Christ are the main issues. This requires turning away from human wisdom and having a commitment to God’s plan for salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ. In God’s plan, people will be saved. The means of this salvation is through the folly of what we preach.

    For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom.11

    By referring to these two main religious divisions of the world at the time, Paul shows that no one is excluded from what he’s been saying. It’s not that some religions are closer to God than others; rather, all people everywhere have thought that they can reach God by their preferred means.

    Paul states that Jews ask for “signs.” At different points in Israel's history, God acted in their midst with powerful signs. For example, during the Exodus.12 Also, the encounter of the people with God at Mount Sinai, as well as signs in the days of Elijah.13 However, instead of trusting in God and waiting for Him to operate in whatever ways He wished, the Jewish people came to see signs as proof of God’s presence. Their demanding such proofs was condemned in the Old Testament. “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.”14

    “Greeks” are synonymous with “Gentiles.” Paul says that the Greeks seek wisdom, which meant that this was characteristic of their society. Wisdom was highly esteemed in the world of the Corinthians. Paul saw that while their wisdom had led to great religiosity, it resulted in ignorance of God.

    but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.15

    In a world where no one, Jew or Gentile, had come to true knowledge of God, Paul says we preach Christ crucified. He now sets up a series of contrasts. The Jews and the Gentiles both end up in the place of rejecting a crucified Christ, although they get there in different ways.

    For Jews, the crucified Christ is a “stumbling block.” The concept of stumbling will be an important theme later in the letter. In Paul’s day, Israel is seen to have stumbled on the stone (Christ) rather than finding salvation in Him.

    In the Gentile Greek culture, where the ideal was to seek wisdom in rhetoric or religious and philosophical debate, the crucified and humiliated Christ was considered “folly” and would be rejected.

    …but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.16

    Those who are called have come to believe that in the crucified and risen Christ lies God’s power to transform a people who will be His forever. This wasn’t only true in Paul’s day but continues to be true today. Those who are “called” are those who “believe” (v. 21) and who are “being saved” (v. 18). This group is not distinguished by race, education, wealth, or background, for God has called all types of people, both Jews and Greeks. Those who have been called see things differently. They recognize that the crucified Christ is in fact both “the power of God” and “the wisdom of God.”

    For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.17

    Paul rightly states that what God is and does cannot be compared to what humans might do. God turns the ways of men and women upside down, for He is wiser than can be imagined, and is able to bring His plans into effect in ways that transcend human understanding. His ways are much higher than our ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth (Isaiah 55:8–9). Nothing will obstruct Him and His good purposes for His creation.

    (To be continued.)


    Note

    Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


    1 1 Corinthians 1:17.

    2 1 Corinthians 1:18.

    3 Deuteronomy 21:23, Galatians 3:13, 5:11.

    4 1 Corinthians 1:19.

    5 Isaiah 29:14.

    6 1 Corinthians 1:20.

    7 1 Corinthians 1:21.

    8 1 Corinthians 1:2.

    9 Matthew 17:5.

    10 Luke 12:32.

    11 1 Corinthians 1:22.

    12 Exodus 10:1, Deuteronomy 11:2–3.

    13 1 Kings 17–18.

    14 Deuteronomy 6:16.

    15 1 Corinthians 1:23.

    16 1 Corinthians 1:24.

    17 1 Corinthians 1:25.

     

  • Feb 27 1 Corinthians: Chapter 1 (verses 4-16)
  • Feb 14 The Book of 1 Corinthians: Introduction
  • Feb 6 Communication—A Key Part of Relationships
  • Jan 30 The Book of Galatians, Chapter 6 (verses 6-18)
  • Jan 16 The Book of Galatians: Chapter 6 (verses 5:25–6:5)
  • Jan 2 The Book of Galatians: Chapter 5 (verses 13-24)
  • Nov 21 The Book of Galatians: Chapter 5 (verses 2–12)
  • Nov 7 The Book of Galatians: Chapter 4 (verses 4:21–5:1)
  • Oct 24 The Book of Galatians: Chapter 4 (verses 1–20)
   

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