Baptism, Lord's Supper, Foot Washing
/ Ewald Frank
Jezik engleski
Drugi jezici
3. THE LORD’S SUPPER
Before entering into the subject about the Lord’s Supper, we must deal with the subject of Passover. The natural in the Old Testament foreshadows and merges into the supernatural reality of the New Testament.
The Passover even today is one of the most important feasts in the Jewish congregation. To the Israelites, the Lord said that every family should kill a lamb, eat the flesh and put the blood on the door lintel, left, right and above (Ex. 12). The threshold should not be painted with blood, so that nobody would ever step upon it.
The Hebrew word “pesach” means to spare or to pass by. While all the first-born sons of the Egyptians were killed by the angel of judgement, the first-born sons of Israel were spared, for the Lord had said, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:13).
The blood of those lambs was shed for an atonement for their sins. It was also a sign for their protection during the time of the judgement. In all the houses of the Egyptians was weeping and mourning, because the dead were everywhere. But in the houses of the Israelites there was absolute security. God’s wrath could not enter, because a lamb was killed in their stead. They could go out free. The same applies to the redeemed. They cannot be touched by the terrible judgements of God, when His wrath breaks forth upon the unbelievers. The blood of the lamb of God is our atonement and our protection. Paul writes to the church, “For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). Also the prophet Isaiah says, “… the chastisement for our peace was upon him …” (chapter 53:5). Through His death we were reconciled; through His blood our sins were atoned for, and we received eternal life.
The Lord commanded through Moses that this day of the Passover, which marked also the exodus, should be commemorated in a special way, “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever” (Ex. 12:14). From verse 26-27 this is again confirmed, “And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.”
In the same way, the Lord’s Supper is in remembrance of our redemption. It is to be held until the Lord returns (1 Cor. 11:26). In one way we look back to the great day of reconciliation, on the other hand we are looking forward to the glorious day, when all the redeemed will meet the Redeemer at the great supper in glory. While inaugurating the Lord’s Supper, He said, “… this do in remembrance of me” (Lk. 22:19). While taking part in the Lord’s Supper we remember the finished work of redemption and know every time we participate afresh, that we were redeemed when Christ, our Saviour, shed His blood on the cross.
The lamb which was slain as a substitute was to be eaten with unleavened bread. Therefore we read, “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel” (Ex. 12:15). This order had to be observed and they had to do it accordingly.
The inauguration of the Passover was directly before their deliverance and their exodus from Egypt. The Lord’s Supper was inaugurated during the Passover the Lord held with His disciples directly before He went to be crucified, whereby the church was redeemed. “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say unto you, I will not any more eat of it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 22:14-16). In verses 7-13 we are told that our Lord sent Peter and John, giving them this advice, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” When they arrived at the owner’s place, they told him, “The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest room, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?”
In Mt. 26:26 we read, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” The Lord was physically present, when He took the bread into His hands and spoke these words. In His hands was not His literal body, but the unleavened bread, which was baked and prepared according to the prescription given for the Passover.
Wherever the Lord’s Supper is being celebrated in a biblical way, a bread should be baked without leaven. This bread is being blessed under prayer. Then it is broken into many small pieces, and all participate and take the broken bread. While the believers take of the bread, they acknowledge and know that the body of Christ was beaten and bruised for them. They know He was crucified for them. They also recognise that they were purchased with the price of the shed blood. They are now owned by God and make up His body.
The apostle Paul writes, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you (please note the words ‘for you’): This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Cor. 11:23-36)
Paul could say, “For I have received of the Lord …” He was instructed by the Lord Himself how the Lord’s Supper should be kept. He refers to the words of our Lord, when he installed the Lord’s Supper according to the gospels, as it is written.
In Lk. 22:20 it says, “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” In the cup was wine. The blood of the new covenant, which was to be shed, was still in His veins and not yet shed on the cross. There is also no mentioning of the changing of the elements into the literal body and blood of Christ. Neither our Lord nor His disciples were drinking literal blood. In fact, our Lord made this statement, “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” Bread and wine represent the body and the blood of Christ, but they remain bread and wine. He referred to the new covenant and the new testament, which would come into effect at the moment of His death.
Christ also does not offer Himself afresh every time communion is served. According to Heb. 10:12, He offered Himself once for all and sat down on the right hand of God. The participation of the Lord’s Supper gives the believers the special opportunity to realise every time before God what really happened through the sacrifice of the body of Christ and through the shedding of His holy blood. Every child of God will have to search the heart, before participating in the Lord’s Supper. Whenever we find something which doesn’t please God, we confess it and lay it on the altar, believing the blood had made all things well. We feel the sufferings of our Lord and His dying on the cross with inner pain, as it was for our sake. This humbles us, if we think about it, that such a high price was paid for our redemption by our beloved Redeemer. According to the Holy Scripture, He went with His blood into the heavenly sanctuary and put it on the throne of grace, and thereby brought eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12).
A covenant was made at the moment the blood was shed on the cross. The day of salvation began. Again, we need to compare the Old with the New Testament. In Exodus 24:6-8 it is written about the book of the covenant and also of the blood of the covenant, with which the people of the covenant were sprinkled. Jesus said, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt. 26:28). With that, He meant His pure, holy, and divine blood which was to be shed, and not the wine that was in the cup. He established the new testament. We are the people of that new covenant and have a direct access and connection to the book of the new covenant.
Paul writes, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16-17). These two verses are very rarely used and in fact, many might not even know that they exist. But they express the most profound truth found in the Lord’s Supper. They show us the church as the body, as the living fellowship of the saints who assemble in the Name of Jesus. They are the result of the redemption work of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, who offered Himself in His body for us. The bread which we use in the Lord’s Supper, in one way, speaks about the body of Christ which was crucified, on the other hand, it refers to the church which makes up that unity of the body, existing of many single members.
The body of Christ was beaten and wounded but not broken, as it is written, “For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And, again, another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced” (Jn. 19:36-37). We deal here with the mystery of Christ and His church. Through the redemption she has become His body – all who are reconciled and redeemed and have received the forgiveness of their sins. Paul writes, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12). Here is a great mystery. Christ has only fellowship with the members of His body. Of Him we read, “And he is the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18).
Just as our natural body is one unit, but exists of many members which are connected and directed through the head, so it is with all the members of the body of Christ. “For by one Spirit were we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Greeks, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). It is noteworthy that: not through water, but through the Spirit He works in all who believe in Jesus Christ and are biblically baptised. Then they are placed through the Spirit into the body of Christ. All redeemed, who are in this divine unity make up the body of the Lord and recognise Him as the head and submit to Him in all things. They feel with every member, they rejoice with those who are rejoicing and suffer with those who are suffering, because 1 Cor. 12:26 says, “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” If this is not so with you, then consider your relationship with Christ.
In this connection we cannot deal with the various ministries of the members in the body of Christ. But Paul makes the following statement, “But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body” (1 Cor. 12:18-20). In verse 27 he summarises it with the following words, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
The apostle gives the warning to the believers to search their hearts before participating in the Lord’s Supper, “But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor. 11:28-29). All who belong to the body of Christ acknowledge that He took upon Himself our judgement, our sin – everything was placed upon Him. Those who believe in this total redemption and forgiveness also forgive one another, as God forgave them in Christ. Not one puts something unto the account or holds anything against another member. We must discern the body of the Lord. In this case, it speaks of all the members who are completely redeemed, justified, sanctified and are part of the perfect, blameless body of Christ which is without spot or wrinkle. They see each other in Christ and through Christ, they see one another as God sees them: sinless and perfect. They don’t know one another according to the flesh, but rather after the spirit.
As the bread is prepared without leaven, the church must also be free of everything that is part of a traditional, unscriptural teaching. The Lord Jesus used the terminology of the leaven to point out the wrong doctrines of the religious leaders in His day. He said, “How is it that ye do not understand that I spoke not to you concerning bread, but that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they that he bade them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Mt. 16:11-12).
Paul also refers to the leaven and applies it into the spiritual realm. He writes in 1 Cor. 5:6-8, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Whosoever partakes in the Lord’s Supper testifies before God and the people that he is free from all such things which are mentioned here, and in the new life and in the truth he is established. This must have actually happened, and the life must bear the fruits of that testimony. Words alone will not be enough. The experience will have to be there.
In Rom. 11 the apostle refers to the complete justification and sanctification of those who belong to His church. These things were made available when Christ died on the cross. The apostle writes, “For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches” (v. 16). Christ is the first fruit, and those who belong to Him are part of the same; He is the first-born, and all who are born of the same seed of God make up the group of the first-born. He is the root of this new vine, and the true believers are the fruit-bearing branches according to Jn. 15. As in nature, the branches receive the life through the juice that comes up from the roots into the vine, but then bear the fruit of the vine, so it is with all who are born of God. They do not join into something, but they are the result of it, and they carry God’s life in them, and therefore partake of the divine nature. In this connection, Peter writes, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love” (2 Pet. 1:5-7). Here we don’t only deal with a doctrine or a knowledge, but this is the divine result and the fruit of the redemption work which is the true believer. The requirement is this, “But, as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of life, because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Pet. 1:15-17).
Because of unscriptural tradition many believe in the actual changing of the two substances into the blood and the body of Christ. If that would really happen, that would be awful. Who could imagine, that one would eat the holy body and drink the holy blood, and then have those things take their natural course? Even the thought is nothing less than blasphemous. That is absolutely excluded.
Just as the Jews misunderstood the words of Jesus, because they did not recognise their spiritual application, so it is now with the Christians. In that day, the multitude was under the impression that our Lord was asking them to act contrary to what the law said, when he made the remark, “He who eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life” (Jn. 6:54). Every Jew knew what was written in Lev. 17:10-12, “And whatsoever man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, who eateth any manner of blood, I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourneth among you eat blood.” Because of this the Jews acted the way they did after Jesus spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
The two natural symbols point to the spiritual. God cannot forbid to drink blood in such a strong way, and then even request His followers to do it. Everyone that takes of the bread and wine testifies that he is redeemed through the sacrifice of the body and through the shedding of the blood. It is in remembrance of that great event. Redemption and forgiveness do not come by partaking of the Lord’s Supper, it just happened on Calvary. Through the Lord’s Supper it is only to be remembered what actually had taken place.
In Jn. 6, we read about the miracle with the multiplying of the bread, when thousands were fed. The next day people came to the Lord and He said to them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the food which perisheth, but for that food which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you” (Jn. 6:26-27).
He spoke about bread, about food, about eternal life, and the crowd remembered how the children of Israel were fed in the Old Testament. That is why they cried, “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat” (v. 31). Jesus connected to this point and said to them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (vv. 32-35). That is a very clear answer. There is no private interpretation needed. In the same way we eat natural bread to live physically, we need to be part of Him who is the bread of life, if we wish to live eternally.
The Lord Jesus presents Himself unto us as the living bread which came down from heaven and gives to the world eternal and divine life. He emphasises this thought in the following verses, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat of it, and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (vv. 47-51).
That is the gospel! He has been sacrificed in the body of His flesh that we would be redeemed from our body of flesh and receive eternal life. Heavenly bread is not baked on earth, and divine food does not come from man’s hand. The Lord became the sacrifice. He was crucified that all who believe in the finished work of redemption would receive eternal life and also be fed spiritually. He is the bread of life. We are partakers of Him in the Spirit. As He became one of us, we are brought back into His kingdom and are made part of Him.
The Jews argued amongst themselves and asked, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52). Today the Christians also argue instead of taking the Lord’s Supper in simplicity and with grateful hearts. We see the Lamb of God which took away our sins and shed His blood for us. That blood was our atonement, and therefore, He had to be sacrificed upon the altar. In Christ was God’s life, through His death, that life was set free and could come back upon all who were redeemed by Him.
The speech of our Lord was directed towards His suffering and dying. We have to recognise the spiritual and divine participation with God, which was given to us through Jesus Christ who was crucified for us. Through the new birth, we become sons and daughters of God. Paul writes like this, “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Eph. 5:30). Earthly speaking, no one is flesh of His flesh or bone of His bone. In the natural, we are all from Adam. But spiritually speaking, we are part of the new creation which originates with Jesus Christ, our Lord. As the redeemed, we are brought back into the fellowship with God. We have His life, which is eternal life, in our souls. To the carnal mind, all this is foolishness, and therefore, people have their own thoughts when they read God’s Word. Spiritual things must be understood spiritually.
The Lord Jesus is many things: He is the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Living Bread, the Light of the world, He is the Resurrection – He is everything to us. Through Him, we are placed back as sons and daughters of God. But Jesus never explained the Word, He only spoke it; He acted accordingly, and everything belonging to Him was fulfilled. Therefore, He could say, “My food is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (Jn. 4:34).
Whosoever partakes in the Lord’s Supper must be ready inside to do the Will of God, as it is revealed to us in His Word. We have to have a personal relationship with God. In that way, we can truthfully say, “My food is to do the will of Him who redeemed me.” We receive God’s Word, and we receive Christ, the living bread that came down from heaven. His blood redeemed us, because it was shed to be our atonement.
Jesus said, “This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever” (Jn. 6:58). After that special speech His disciples said, “This is an hard saying. Who can hear it?” (v. 60). Even those who followed the Lord had their own ideas while listening to His speech. Very clearly, He spoke of Himself as the bread that came down from heaven. But He saw how helpless they were, and therefore, said in verse 63, “It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Only from the above, comes light and revelation of what the Lord had said. His speech about eating His flesh and drinking His blood caused many to follow Him no more. The argument about this goes on even today. It is written, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” Then said Jesus unto the twelve, “Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (vv. 66-69). The same testimony will have everyone who does follow Jesus Christ. Whether they understand what He said or not, they believe Him, they trust Him, they obey Him, and they follow Him, and then the time comes when things are made clear.
Let us summarise the thoughts about this topic: The redemption work happened once for all on the cross of Calvary. All who receive it by faith partake in the Lord’s Supper to remember that great day and work on Calvary. According to the number that participates, the size of the bread is baked – of course, without leaven, as previously stated. Then the bread is being lifted up before the congregation, is prayed over and is blessed in the name of the Lord. Then it is broken, and all participate and eat thereof. If something remains left, then a few eat the rest, so nothing is wasted.
Then the cup with the wine, which has to be from red grapes only, is also lifted up before the congregation, prayed over and blessed in the name of the Lord. All who took of the bread then take of the cup as well. It is all being done in remembrance that our Lord gave His body and shed His blood.
The Lord’s Supper must be administered in the way He said. If this is not done, the true service quickly slights into self-made idolatry and that which is being called “faith”, in reality, is the opposite. Paul writes, “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of demons. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Cor. 10:21-22).
He might have thought of the scripture of Lev. 17, when God said how the sacrifices were being offered. In verses 3-7, it clearly states that sacrifices which are not pleasing to the Lord were not given unto Him. We read, “... the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offering unto the Lord. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for the sweet savor unto the Lord. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever unto them throughout their generations.”
God gave the order and precise instructions, how and what should be done. The Israelites were convinced that they were sacrificing unto the Lord, but they did things according to their own imagination. Then He let them know clearly that only such sacrifices count with Him, which are brought at the place He ordained and in the way He required it. Everything else was done unto the demons.
Whosoever is part of God’s people, cannot do what he or she likes. It has to be done according to the Word of God, if it is to be done unto Him. Otherwise, if our own imagination comes into the picture, then demons have their way. This is also true about the Lord’s Supper. Paul, as the apostle with special light, has clearly spoken about it. He did not want the believers to be under the influence of demons and still partake at the Lord’s table.
In the apostle-time, there were no arguments about the Lord’s Supper. The Lord Jesus had given the order, and the believers did accordingly in all simplicity. That is why the Scriptures say, they continued with the breaking of bread. We can also read in Acts 20:7, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread …”
From the wording “breaking of bread”, we understand that the emphasis at the Lord’s Supper was on the bread and on the breaking of the bread accordingly, as He had done it Himself and commissioned His disciples to do the same. From the days of the apostles, we read in Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
All who truly belong to the church of the living God, will return to the same original doctrine and practice. They will put things into their rightful place and do it after the pattern showed in the Holy Scriptures. There will not be any private interpretations, but simply obedience to the Word. For those who believe, only what the Word says counts. Therefore, the true church does partake of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of what happened on Calvary. There, the holy blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. There is not one place in the Holy Scriptures which states that anyone who participates in the Lord’s Supper thereby receives the forgiveness of sins. Wherever that is being taught, the salvation relies upon a religious function, rather than on personal faith in Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom of God takes its course even now. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified and rose again and is Lord over all, is being placed into the centre of the proclamation within the church of the living God. Also every ordinance given therein should be followed and observed in obedience. In this fashion, the church returns to the initial beginning in the grace of God. Our Lord is the First and the Last, truly, He is the same, yesterday, today, and for ever. Blessed are all who give Him and His Word the rightful place and acknowledge Him to be the Lord, doing whatever He commanded that we should do.