“On the first day
of the week we came together to break bread…” (Acts 20:7)
Man needs to be reminded, more than he needs to be
instructed,” one author wrote. Maybe it is because we tend to know
more, than we do. Forgetfulness seems to be as damaging to us as
is our ignorance.
So, Jehovah God has often urged us to remember Him, and his
laws. “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that
he made with you…” (Deuteronomy 4:23.) He has established reminders,
such as the annual feast of Passover, to help his servants to remember. “And
when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell
them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the
houses of the Israelites in Egypt
Similarly, Christ Jesus, “…our Passover lamb, has been
sacrificed” for us. (1 Corinthians 5:7.) For us to be redeemed
from the power, guilt, and ruin of our sins, we needed “the precious blood
of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect”. (1 Peter 1:18f.) We
must not forget the cost of our deliverance from sin!
Hence, “The Lord Jesus, on the night 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,
after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘this cup is the new covenant in my
blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For
whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s
death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26.)
“Whenever…” we eat and drink at Jesus’ table, we are to
remember Him. When did the Lord Jesus say, through his apostles,
that we are to eat the Lord’s Supper? If He does not tell us, we
ourselves are free to choose. But if Jesus has made known his will in the
New Testament, then we should respect Him to whom God has given “…All
authority in heaven and on earth…”
The apostles were therefore commanded by the Lord …to “go
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of
the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20.)
++++
(In three studies to follow, we will consider the nature
of true worship revealed and established by Jesus through his apostles.)
Ted Kell
Brownwood, Texas
No comments:
Post a Comment