“Then I (John) heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, 

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

    and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” 

And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Revelation 19:6-9

God made marriage to be a reflection of the love that Jesus has for his bride, the church.

Marriage in the ancient world had three steps.

First, the parents signed the marriage contract for the bride and the groom and the dowry was paid.  The couple was officially betrothed; we would say engaged.

Second, the groom would prepare a place for his bride.  Usually, he would add a room unto his father’s house to be his new home.  

Third, when he had prepared a place for his bride, he would travel with his male friends to the bride’s home at midnight to announce the marriage supper/celebration.  And they would parade to the new home and celebrate the wedding for several days.

For the church, the bride of Christ, the marriage contract was signed in eternity past; theologians call it the counsel of redemption. God has chosen a bride, the church, for his Son. There is a contract.

The Son, Jesus, is now preparing a place for his bride, and preparing the bride for his place.  He is gathering, and perfecting his church from every tribe, tongue and nation. “The fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

In this time of preparation, we come to the Lord’s Supper. We are engaged to be the Lord’s and we are walking with him, growing in maturity, and eagerly anticipating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Then, finally, the marriage supper of the Lamb shall come. Jesus will return to claim his bride and bring her to himself for the never-ending celebration of marriage.

The marriage celebration is by invitation only. The invitation comes to all who believe the gospel. If you are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, you are invited to come to the Lord’s Table today. If you are a living part of the bride of Christ, if you have faith, and have joined with a Bible-believing, evangelical church, come to the table.  If you do not believe, or if you have not made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ, don’t come.

You are engaged, you belong to the Lord. You are preparing yourself for the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Come, for all things are now ready.

Dearly loved, children of God, we now come to the Lord’s Supper and are invited to do so by the Lord Jesus himself. He has prepared this meal for us and He will meet us at this table.  

This spiritual food is designed to be a blessing to us; nourishment for our souls. Here we remember the death of Christ and the salvation that he has purchased for us. This is how our sins are forgiven; through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At this table, we are reminded that we belong to a heavenly kingdom. This world is not our home. Our citizenship is in heaven.

We are to give thanks to God for making this spiritual meal available to us. God has given his only Son to us, not only to die in our place but to be our heavenly food and our spiritual support.

This meal is a great encouragement to those who come with simple, childlike faith.  But it is dangerous to those who come causally, routinely, and without faith. If that is you, don’t come. Consider what was required of Jesus to prepare this meal. The divine had to become human; the human had to become sin; sin had to be punished; hell had to be silenced, for Jesus to prepare this table for you. Remember him, and come in faith to this table.

Compare your life to the 10 commandments; how are you doing? Do you love God above all and your neighbor as yourself? If you have offended God, and we all do; admit it, confess it, commit yourself to fight against your remaining sin.  If you have sinned against your neighbor, make it right.  Confess, reconcile with them.  Make restitution if necessary.  Live at peace with all men.  Stand ready to forgive others who have sinned against you. Forgive them as you would have God forgive you.

If you refuse to follow Christ in faith or to forgive and seek forgiveness; this table is not for you. Repent, make it right, with God and with others, before you come to this blood-bought Holy Table.

Then come as a member of a Bible-believing and evangelical church; come with a clean conscience, trusting in his mercy, expecting his grace.

Communion Meditation

May 9, 2021

“And when the Gentiles heard this (that salvation is brought/offered to the ends of the earth), they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48

When they heard that a full, and free salvation through Jesus Christ was sincerely offered to them, they rejoiced, they gloried in that word of the Gospel, and they believed. That reaction to the gospel demonstrated that they were chosen by God to believe.

Election is a great comfort to the people of God; it was never intended as a barrier to belief. 

“The doctrine of election, like every truth about God, involves mystery and sometimes stirs controversy. But in Scripture, it is a pastoral doctrine, brought in to help Christians see how great is the grace that saves them, and to move them to humility, confidence, joy, praise, faithfulness, and holiness in response. It is the family secret of the children of God. We do not know who else he has chosen among those who do not yet believe, nor why it was his good pleasure to choose us in particular. What we do know is, first, that had we not been chosen for life we would not be believers now (for only the elect are brought to faith), and, second, that as elect believers we may rely on God to finish in us the good work that he started. Knowledge of one’s election thus brings comfort and joy.”  JI Packer

In God’s thinking, election leads to faith.

In our experience, faith demonstrates our election.

The question is not, am I elect?  But rather, do I believe the gospel?

That is the question that we ask when we come to the Lord’s Supper.  Do I believe that Jesus came, suffered, and died for me, in my place, and for my salvation.  If you do, you must come to the table for assurance.  If you do not, this table cannot help you.  

The question is not, am I worthy of this table? But rather, do I believe the good news? If so, you are worthy, in Christ, to come to this table.

We come to grow in humility, expand our praise, sweeten our joy, deepen our holiness.  We come for more of Christ, our savior.

Psalm 23:1, 6 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

To have the Lord as your shepherd means that you are one of his sheep. Who are the sheep? What defines them? (John 10:27-28).  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 

We learn three things about God’s sheep from this verse.

1. The great shepherd knows the sheep, 
2. they recognize his voice 
3. and they follow him.

If you are not known by God, if you do not follow at the sound of his voice, you are not one of his sheep. Earlier Jesus said, “I told you and you do not believe… but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.” (John 10:25-26) “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

If you do not believe in, nor obey Jesus as the great shepherd, do not come to this table.  This is food, real spiritual food and nourishment, for the sheep – for believers.

What does the great shepherd do for his sheep?  At least, this. From John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

The sheep will be his forever. Permanent guardianship. “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Goodness and mercy are the two sheepdogs of the great shepherd.  God’s goodness and mercy surround the sheep, guides them, and protects the sheep all through this life until we arrive at home.

That is the confidence that the sheep can have, should have.  My shepherd knows me, provides for me and protects me.  None shall take us out of his hand.

Goodness and mercy led Christ to the Cross, and goodness and mercy led you to this table.  

So we come in faith: for assurance, for confidence, for rest in the great shepherd.

Come to the green pastures, rest beside the quiet waters – your great shepherd leads you and cares for you.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

This is a family table.  All of God’s children are welcome here. 

If you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ as he is offered to all in the gospel; you are welcome to this table.

If you do not know the Lord, if you have not placed your faith in him alone for forgiveness; do not come to this table.

We are the adopted children of God.

Here we are reminded that all that belongs to the real, natural son, belongs to them as well.

We are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, through faith.

Many parents have adopted children into their family.  They often make that happen with great sacrifice, and it is pursued out of great love.  With every added child, the love of the whole family increases.

When they become part of the family, officially full sons and daughters, they often struggle to accept the fact that they are full members of the family; that they are included, loved, and will continue to be loved no matter what the future brings – just like the natural children.

They seem to emphasis the ‘adopted’ part of adopted children.  They fell like second class children, not full accepted, not equally loved.  Nothing pains the parents more than this struggle of their adopted children.

So, they continue to love them, accept them; speaking love to them, giving them tokens and reminders of their continuing love and acceptance.

In part, that is what God is doing in the Lord’s Supper.  He is reminding us that we are His children, with full rights and privileges as sons and daughters, yes, but also as fully loved and accepted as the natural son.

Romans 7:17 “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

“Provided we suffer with him.”

To be part of the family is to embrace the joys and the sorrow.  It is to live life together; even the tears and the suffering.

Perhaps nothing proves that you are part of a family than the fact that you feel what they feel, and suffer what they suffer.

So it is in the family of God.  We are family.  We bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

Colossians 1:24  Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ‘s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

But notice also the end of Romans 7:17; “in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

We will be glorified with Christ.  The best is yet to come.  We will enter into his glory.

Matthew 25:34, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

“And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”” (Luke 22:15–18, ESV)

The Lord’s Supper is an intensely personal meal.  It is a family meal.  It is by invitation only.  And the invitation goes out to all who believe; to all his disciples.  If you do not believe the gospel, do not come to this table.  If you are not a Christian, do not come to this table.

Jesus earnestly desired to have the last Passover with his disciples.  He was nearing the end of his painful mission. All was about to change.  Passover would become the Lord’s Supper, the work of Christ would be fulfilled, and the Kingdom were come in a new and powerful way.

Jesus takes an oath of self-denial until it is accomplished.  “I will not eat,” “I will not drink, until…”  This declares his steadfast commitment to finish his work and to complete their redemption. In other words, to fulfill the meaning of Passover and the Lord’s Supper.  To shed his blood to save their souls. “Having loved his own, who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

Jesus here proclaims his steadfast commitment to go to the cross and to fulfill his calling from the Father.

“Until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”  “Until the Kingdom of God comes.”  When did that happen?

In his incarnation, in his death and resurrection it came.  It began.  It was initiated.

In the end it will come in fulness.  It will be completed to the uttermost.

The kingdom is here already, but not yet in its fulness.

The blessings of the kingdom are present now, they are accessible, but not yet complete.  

The day awaits when the full multitude, from every tribe, tongue and nation will come to Christ.

This is a supper that we can enjoy today, and in its fullness then. The marriage supper of the Lamb is coming.  Here is a foretaste; an anticipation.

The Kingdom is here, and the kingdom is coming.

We look back, we remember, the finished work of Christ – his shed blood and his resurrection.  The Kingdom is here!  Jesus reigns now!  

The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb.  It is an invitation to the heavenly banquet. To participate in the sacrament is to receive the blessings of the eternal kingdom of Christ.

Every blessing of the Covenant is received, embraced, and enjoyed by faith.  Faith is essential.  If you have faith, even weak faith, faith as small as a mustard seed, come to the table.

If you have no faith, if you do not believe, coming to this table will only bring judgment.  Don’t come.

What are the blessings that are received by faith at the table?

First, pardon for sin, all of them.

Second,  sanctification for sinner-saints.

Here, in this means of grace, the Holy Spirit sanctifies our nature, subdues our sins, and implants in our hearts gospel grace. Here we have access to the favor of God.

Third, communion with God.

What is this sweet communion with God; what does it entail?

According to Samuel Davies, in the Supper, there are “reviving communications of divine love, to sweeten the affections of life; and the constant assistance of divine grace to bear us up under every burden, and to enable us to persevere in the midst of many temptations.”

Fourth, rededication. At the Lord’s Supper, we receive Christ as Savior and accept the gospel. Here, we commit ourselves to Christ; here we renew our vows of the covenant and and recommit to the covenant community.

When we receive the Supper, we are brought into the presence of our Great King and we celebrate the reality that we, who were outsiders, have now been brought into the family of God.

As you come, remember Jesus. Remember his willing sacrifice.  Remember the spotless lamb of God whose blood cleanses you.

The bread is the body of Christ, freely given for you and your salvation.

The wine is the blood of Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.

All things are now ready, come.

Coming home. The whole of redemptive history can be summarized with this theme of coming home. You can be yourself in the presence of a holy God.

We were created by God to know him, to enjoy him, to image him in all the world.  We were welcome guests at his table of creation in the garden of Eden.

Yet, we sinned.  Our sins drove us from the presence of God. They drove us from our home with God.  Our created purpose, to be at home with God, was placed out of our reach.

We longed for home, but could not go home.

We looked for a place where we could be with God. Something to fill the empty place in our heart that waw left by the absence of God.

Then God came to us. He spoke to us.  He entered a covenant with us.  “I will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

“When you worship, I shall be there.”  You can taste home in worship. You can reach it from there.

He then gave us the tabernacle, then the temple. God and man can meet together there. Heaven and earth come together there, they overlap in that place. It is the family gathering.

Then we forgot; again.  We rested in the temple, not in the God who met with us there.  So our sins drove us from home again – into exile this time.

But there was a promise of coming home again.  God would provide a way.  God would sen d his Son, the seed of the woman, to reconcile us to God, and bring us home again.

And so he did. The blood was shed, the tomb was empty, and the front door stands wide open for our return.

Today, in communion, we come home.  We are at home with God.  We dine at his table, with the whole family.  We are ourselves in the presence of God, again.  We are home, again.  We can taste home from here.

The one requirement is simply this; that you rest in and trust the God who has spread this table.  The God who has fulfilled his promise and reconciled us to himself.  The God was has invited us home through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you do not have that faith; don’t come to this table.

If you have that faith, come.  Come boldly, come joyfully, come just as you are.  Be yourself in the presence of God.  Here, at this table in the midst of worship, heaven and earth overlap.  You are in the presence of God again, you are home.