671 Christ his Lord. The command “Do th is in remembrance of me” bids us th in k no t of our b reth ren b u t of our Lord. Fellowship w ith the b reth ren is consequent upon and incidental to, fel lowship w ith Christ. We are all bap tized into one body because we are baptized into Christ, 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 6:3, and we commune w ith o ther believers only as we commune w ith Christ. The bread is th e unity of many grains of wheat and th e fru it of the vine is the un ity of many grapes. There are many members, yet b u t one body. The supper is th erefo re observed by th e assembled church. There is no Scriptural precedent for private observ ance on th e p art of individuals. No “ showing fo rth ” is possible except in company. The church is always bound to purge its membership of unworthy communicants b u t no individual be liever is requ ired to vouch for the Christian character of all who g ather around the Lord’s table, otherw ise he could no t come to th e table a t all. Even the presence of an offending b ro th er need not prevent the aggrieved party from remembering, Christ and commun ing w ith his Saviour. I t is no t m an’s table b u t the Lord’s. In th e tw enty-ninth verse of th is passage th e Authorized Version wrongly has dam nation instead of ju d gm e n t The though t is no t th a t of etern al con demnation b u t of penal judgm ent in general. P artak in g of the ordinance “in an unw orthy m ann er,” vs. 27, may mean in hypocrisy, or merely to satisfy bodily appetite or no t discerning the body of Christ of which the bread is the symbol. This draw s down the judicial sentence of God. Many sickened and died in th e Corinthian church because of abuses in connection w ith the Lord’s supper. W ith strange perversity Rome has changed n early every featu re of the service. Supper is n atu ra lly the even ing meal b u t the Roman church forbids evening communion. The cup is denied th e laity b u t it is t}ie one elem ent th a t all are expressly commanded to par take. The w afer is reserved and adored as a new offering of Christ’s sacrifice. The ado ration of th e Host, (Latin, hostia, a victim ) is th e chief p a rt of th e service of th e Mass. Thus a m ediator is introduced between the soul and Christ, viz. bread and wine and th e p riest besides. All o th er ser- SUNDAY, July 20. 1 Cor. 11:23-34. Eating Worthily.
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S and pressed beyond measure. Is. 53:10; Lu. 24:46; Heb. 5:8. The bruising for th e most p a rt was done by those to whom He m inistered and for whom He gave His life a ransom . Ps. 69:20-21. The w heat m ust not only be ground but baked. Before it can serve the need of man, it m ust be exposed to th e heat of th e oven. The Saviour m ust pass th rough th e scorching flames of hell th a t we m ight be saved therefrom . 2 Cor. 5 :21 ; 1 Pet. 3:18. He suffered, the w rath of God th a t we m ight rejoice in the mercy of God. Such is the bread which streng th en eth m an’s h eart, Ps. 104:15; Is. 55 :2 ; th e bread upon which God and man can feast w ith satisfac tion and delight. “ Bread of heaven, feed me till I w ant no m ore.” The Lord’s supper sets fo rth the death of Christ as th e sustaining power of the believer’s life. It rem inds us óf th e covenant between God and Christ upon which our salvation rests and the atoning blood on which the covenant is based. When Christ said “This is My body” and “This is My blood,” He means “This represents My body and blood as a symbol.” He stood before th e disciples in visible form and His blood had no t then been shed. Mark 8:33 does not prove th a t P eter was Satan, nor does 1 Cor. 12:12 prove th a t we are all Christs, (Gen. 41:26; 1 Cor. 1 0 :4 ). A teacher before a class points to a map and says “This is P alestin e’’ or points to a pictu re and says “This is L u th e r.” The Lord’s supper testifies th erefo re not to the real presence bu t th e real absence of His body since it is to be observed in th e church “ till He come.” As th e morsel of bread is eaten and becomes incorporated into the physical being, so faith appropriates Christ to su stain th e sp iritu al being. If believing is eating, meditation is mas tication. T ru th is like food th a t may be in ju riou s and indigestible if bolted w ith unth ink ing credulity. If it is nec essary to “ta k e tim e to be holy,” th ere m ust be also a tim e element in sp iritu al nourishm ent. No tabloid specific can be substituted, w ithou t irrep arab le loss. SATURDAY, July 19. 1 Cor. 10:14-22. Communion With Christ. The Lord’s supper expresses p rim ar ily th e communion of the believer, not w ith his Christian b reth ren , b u t w ith FRIDAY, July 18. John 6:52-63. Partaking of Christ.
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