Preparing our Hearts for Communion

The "Fellowship of the Bean," the Wednesday Morning Mens Group, will be studying 1 Corinthians 11 in a couple of weeks. The last half of the chapter is on the Lord's Supper. I have written about communion in an earlier post, but once again the passage and the commentaries have convicted me and I thought I would share.

Earlier in the passage, Paul wrote about how the richer members of the Corinthians congregation were showing up for the Lord's Supper with food and wine just for themselves. The poorer Corinthians due to circumstances were unable to bring anything for themselves. The end result was that the rich were getting drunk and feasting while the poor of the congregation stood around and went hungry. Paul called the whole congregation into account for not remembering the purpose of the Lord's Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32
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. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

The following two commentaries made different observations on 1st Corinthians 11:29. In this first quote, Gordon Fee pointed out that the Corinthians were not discerning the body: they forgot that the one loaf and one common cup indicated the unity of the body of Christ. Christ saved all of them through His death on the cross. Furthermore, they were gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve one another. Because they were members of a common body, they were members of one another.

Gordon D. Fee
The Lord’s Supper is not just any meal; it is the meal, in which at a common table with one loaf and a common cup they proclaimed that through the death of Christ they were one body, the body of Christ; and therefore they are not just any group of sociologically diverse people who could keep those differences intact at this table. Here they most “discern/recognize as distinct” the one body of Christ, of which they all are parts and in which they all are gifts to one another. To fail to discern the body in this way, by abusing those of lesser sociological status, is to incur God’s judgment. (Fee, p. 564)

Charles Hodge in the following quote indicated the Corinthians were not taking seriously the elements of the Lord's Supper. This neglect was a problem. Paul claimed that the illnesses and deaths in their congregation could be attributed to God's judgment in this area. Hodge reflected that although, we need to be serious, we need not be fearful. True joy in celebrating communion does not abide in levity or comedy in the service, but in celebrating the Lord of the Universe who has already shown His love to us through His death and resurrection.

Charles Hodge
In either case the offence is the same. The ground of the condemnation incurred is, regarding and treating the elements in the Lord’s Supper as though there was nothing to distinguish them from ordinary bread and wine. Here, as before, it is the careless and profane who are warned. There is, therefore, nothing in these passages which should surround the Lord’s Table with gloom. We are not called unto the mount covered with clouds and darkness, from which issue the signs of wrath, but unto Mount Zion, to the abode of mercy and grace, where all is love—the dying of him who never breaks the bruised reed. (p. 233, 1 & 2 Corinthians (Geneva Series of Commentaries) ).

How do we prepare our hearts for communion so that we might properly discern the body of Christ? I am reminded of an incident at church several years ago. After I served communion, I was taking the trays of grape juice and bread back to the kitchen. A woman ran up to me and said that she did not know about communion and she was late to church. She wanted to know if it was permissible for her to take the bread and the grape juice immediately while I stood in the hallway. I let her to do it. She chewed and swallowed a wafer, slammed down a mini-shot glass of grape juice, thanked me, and hurried off.

I am not criticizing my sister-in-Christ. I understood her desire. She wanted to obey Christ through celebrating His sacrifice through communion; however, she was pressured by circumstance to celebrate the Lord's Supper in a less than ideal situation. In my opinion, she did not celebrate communion in an unworthy manner, but she would probably agree that if she had time to prepare for communion, she would have partaken in the Lord's Supper in a more worthy manner. We all need to ask ourselves how we can make our celebration of communion more worthy and more worshipful.

J. I. Packer in his book on the Puritans encouraged us to learn from our spiritual forbears how to worship more efficaciously. The Puritans prepared for Sunday morning worship like a football team prepares for the next game: they prepared strategically with much effort.

J. I. Packer
Here, perhaps, is our own chief weakness. The Puritans inculcated specific preparation for worship--not merely for the Lord's Supper, but for all services--as a regular part of the Christian's inner discipline of prayer and communion with God. Says the Westminster Directory: 'When the congregation is to meet for public worship, the people (having before prepare their hearts thereunto) ought all to come....' But we neglect to prepare our hearts; for, as the Puritans would have been the first to tell us, thirty seconds of private prayer upon taking our seat in the church building is not time enough in which to do it. It is here that we need to take ourselves in hand. What we need at the present time to deepen our worship is not new liturgical forms or formulae, nor new hymns or tunes, but more preparatory 'heart-work' before we use the old ones. There is nothing wrong with new hymns, tunes, and worship styles--there may be very good reasons for them--but without 'heart-work' they will not make our worship more fruitful and God-honouring; they will only strengthen the syndrome that C. S. Lewis called 'the liturgical fidgets'. 'Heart-work' must have priority or spiritually our worship will get nowhere. So I close with an admonition from George Swinnock on preparation for the service fo the Lord's Day, which for all its seeming quaintness is, I think, a word in season for very many of us:

Prepare to meet thy God, O Christian! Betake thyself to thy chamber on the Saturday night, confess and bewail thine unfaithfulness under the ordinances of God; ashamed and condemn thyself for thy sins, entreat God to prepare they heart for, and assist it in, thy religious performances; spend some time in consideration of the infinite majesty, holiness, jealously, and goodness, of that God, with whom thouart to have to do in sacred duties; ponder the weight and importance of his holy ordinances...; meditate on the shortness of the time thou hast to enjoy Sabbaths in; and continue musing...till the fire burneth; thou canst not think the good thou mayest gain by such forethoughts, how pleasant and profitable a Lord's day would be to thee after such a preparation. The oven of thine heart thus baked in, as it were overnight, would be easily heated the next morning; the fire so well raked up when thou wentest to bed, would be the sooner kindled when thou shouldst rise. If thou wouldst thus leave thy heart with God on the Saturday night, thou shouldst find it with him in the Lord's Day morning. (pp. 256-257, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life )

In conclusion, I realize most of us do not have large amounts of time to follow the Puritan example. However, this is an encouragement to spend more time and effort preparing ourselves to take communion in a more worthy manner, or at least make the Sunday morning service more worshipful. How do we do this? We follow Paul's admonition: we discern Christ's body. This means both Christ's physical body and the Church, which is the body of Christ. Here are some suggestions.

1. Discern the body by spending a few minutes in prayer thanking God for sending Christ to die for you. Confess sins. Spend time in time in the Psalms worshiping the Creator.
2. If you don't have time, maybe you can discern the body by helping your spouse to have time before church to spend time in prayer. Put your spouse's needs first.
3. Discern the body by preparing your children for Church by leading them in prayer.
4. Discern the body by serving other during the Church service. Volunteer to usher or serve coffee or help out with the children ministries. Putting other people's needs first is exactly what Paul is writing about in 1st Corinthians.
5. Discern the body by welcoming someone you do not know at the service. You can call your friends at home later, spend the time at Church practicing hospitality with strangers.

1 Corinthians 11

Tom Nelson is the Teaching Pastor of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas. He preached on 1 Corinthians 11 a few years ago. He asserted that Charles Hodge's commentary on 1 Corinthians 11 is the best explanation on the passage about head coverings that he has ever found. I just read that paragraph in the commentary so I thought I would provide it.

Here's the passage in question.

1 Corinthians 11:2-16 ESV
Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

Charles Hodge
Having corrected the more private abuses which prevailed among the Corinthians, the apostle begins in this chapter to consider those which relate to the mode of conducting public worship. The first of these is the habit of women appearing in public without a veil. Dress is in great degree conventional. A costume which is proper in one country would be indecorous in another. The principle insisted upon in this paragraph is, that women should conform in matters of dress to all those usages which public sentiment of the community in which they live demands. The veil in all eastern countries was, and to great extent still is, the symbol of modesty and subjection. For a woman, therefore, in Corinth to discard the veil was to renounce her claim to modesty, and to refuse to recognize her subordination to her husband. It is on the assumption of this significancy in the use of the veil, that the apostle’s whole argument in this paragraph is founded. (p. 205, 1 & 2 Corinthians (Geneva Series of Commentaries))

Don't Rest on Your Blessed Assurance

Greg Gilbaugh in his sermon on May 24th, 2015 exhorted his audience to "not rest on their blessed assurance." He pointed out that we are on a mission and that the Christian life was not a life of passivity, but a life of staying actively engaged to complete the mission. Paul wrote about this theme repeatedly in his letters to the churches he was shepherding. The most striking example was in Philippians.

Philippians 3:8-16
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

This passage is one of many passages where theologians derive the doctrine of "Perseverance of the Saints." Some people equate this doctrine with the incorrect teaching of "Once Saved Always Saved." However, perseverance is far more than this simplistic slogan. As we read passages like the one above in Philippians, we see that Paul claims "that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Paul, at the very least , seems to be trying to attain his salvation. On the other hand in Romans 8,  Paul expresses his unabashed confidence that our eternal life is secure in God's hands.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When theologians define "Perseverance," they try to express this dynamic. Wayne's Grudem's two-part definition reflects this tension between the believer's confidence that his salvation is secured by God's love on the one hand and on the other hand, the need for the Christian has to press onward to attain the resurrection of the dead.

Wayne Grudem
The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God's power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again. (p.788, Systematic Theology)

Grudem explains his two-part definition in the next paragraph.

This definition has two parts to it. It indicates first that there is assurance to be given to those who are truly born again, for it reminds them that God's power will keep them as Christians until they die, and they will surely live with Christ in heaven forever. On the other hand, the second half of the definition makes it clear that continuing in the Christian life is one of the evidences that a person is truly born again. (p. 788, ibid)

As the author of Hebrews points out in chapter 12, our faith is founded by and perfected by Jesus. We can run the race of faith with endurance and be confident that we will finish. Christ is our great example and since he endured the cross, we know, with his help, we can finish our race.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Berkhoff in refuting those who object to the doctrine of perseverance, clarifies the doctrine for me.

Louis Berkhoff
It is confidently asserted that the doctrine of perseverance leads to indolence, license, and even immorality. A false security is said to result from it. This is a mistaken notion, however, for, although the Bible tells us that we are kept by the grace of God, it does not encourage the idea that God keeps us without constant watchfulness, diligence, and prayer on our part. It is hard to see how a doctrine which assures the believer of a perseverance in holiness can be an incentive for sin. It would seem that the certainty of success in the active striving for sanctification would be the best possible stimulus to ever greater exertion.”(p.526, Systematic Theology)

Granted, the doctrine of perseverance sounds bland. It does not sound like a joy-filled life, but notice the author of Hebrews writes about joy in our pursuit of Christ. Futhermore, Paul finds that deepening his relationship with Christ is worth all the suffering and hardship. Jesus promises in John 15 that if we abide in Him and obey his commands that our joy will be full in Him. One of the reasons the Christian will persevere is God will reward our pursuit of Him with Himself. We will get to know the Lord and Creator of the universe personally. This reward is a treasure beyond our imagination: we get to abide with Christ now and in eternity.

The book of Hebrews commented about Abraham's pursuit of heaven. He lived in tents during his time on earth, but he was promised by God to be the father of nations. Ultimately, he looked toward inhabiting the eternal city. We can persevere joyfully when we realize this world is not our home. As Lewis points out, we often stumble in our Christian walk because we don't understand the reward being offered us.

C. S. Lewis
Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (p. 2. The Weight of Glory)

I am going to conclude this post by quoting a sermon from Jonathan Edwards. He was preaching on 1st Corinthians 13 and was encouraging his congregation to focus on heaven when they were having difficulties here on earth.

Jonathan Edwards
Be content to pass through all difficulties in the way to heaven. Though the path is before you, and you may walk in it if you desire, yet it is a way that is ascending, and filled with many difficulties and obstacles. That glorious city of light and love is, as it were, on the top of a high hill or mountain, and there is not way to it but by upward and arduous steps. But though the ascent be difficult, and the way full of trials, still it is worth while to meet them all for the sake of coming and dwelling in such a glorious city at last. Be willing, then, to undergo the labor, and meet the toil, and overcome the difficulty. What is it all in comparison with sweet rest that is at your journey's end? Be willing to cross the natural inclination of flesh and blood, which is downward, and press onward and upward to the prize. And every step it will be easier and easier to ascend; and the higher your ascent, the more will you be cheered by the glorious prospect before you, and by a nearer view of that heavenly city where in a little while you shall forever be at rest. (Point 3, Charity and its Fruits)