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Understanding |
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Just as in the natural word, where natural events are governed by the laws of cause and
effect, so in the spiritual world, events are governed by a set of laws. Can you think of what those laws
might be? Think of the Bible. Think of witchcraft. Think of angels and demons. Think of
good people and bad. The spiritual world is governed by certain God given rules. These laws are known
as the laws of action and consequence. The average Joe on the streets has different words and phrases for
these understandings: “what goes around, comes around;” “karma;” or “you reap what you sow.” The Bible
itself, as we will see, is filled with these laws. And, as we will see, the bread of communion is all about
right and wrong action, while the cup of communion is all about good and bad consequences. Remember how the prophets of the Old Testament would preach about the horrible things that would befall the people for their disobedience; and the wonderful blessings that would come upon the people if they repented and did right before their God. Remember, also, the pattern for virtually every promise in the entire Bible: if the believer would do such and such, a certain blessing from God would come upon them. And remember that Jesus himself said, “…if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17b) Notice that obedience or righteousness or right living leads to life and blessing. Also, notice that sin leads to death and curses. Romans 6:23(a) states that “…the wages (consequences) of sin is death…” God ordered the universe to obey laws of action and consequence. “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” Galatians 6:7. To think that your actions have no consequences is to mock God! Even think of the idea of forgiveness, an essential part of the Gospel. Forgiveness is where God does not require us to suffer the consequences for our wrong action. Forgiveness is being let off the hook and not having to pay the penalty for our sins. In other words, the very meaning of forgiveness centers around and involves the concepts of action and consequence. Some people might object to the above points. They might think that I am preaching works; i.e., that a man can experience life and blessing by living right. They might argue that eternal life and blessing are a free gift, not earned by hard work. Here is where the meaning of the bread and cup of Communion give us understanding and clarification. The bread of Communion means that the believer has been crucified with Christ by grace, so that he can therefore now live for righteousness. IPeter 2:24 states, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body (bread) on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness…” In other words, the bread means that the believer has been delivered from sin so that he can live for righteousness. Or, to put it even more simply, the bread means that the believer has been delivered from sin into righteousness. While the cup means that the believer has been forgiven by grace so that he can have life and blessing. In other words, the cup means that the believer has been delivered from death into life. The bread is eaten before the cup. The bread is deliverance from bad actions into good actions, while the cup is deliverance from negative consequences into positive consequences. Thus, the bread and cup of Communion declare the two goals of the gospel. The bread is eaten first and it declares that one of the basic goals of the gospel is right actions or righteousness (the goal of deliverance from sin is right living). The cup is had second and it declares that the second goal of the gospel is positive consequences or life, even eternal life (the goal of forgiveness or deliverance from death is life). The bread is eaten first to show that right actions lead to life and positive consequences. Thus, the two goals of the gospel leave us with the picture of the believer living right and being blessed therein. Thus, there is an implied work ethic in the two goals of the gospel; namely, right living or righteousness leads to life and blessing, which, in turn, encourage more right actions which in turn lead to even more life and blessings. The whole pattern spirals upward. Now, the opposite of the above works as follows. Sin leads to death and curses, which, in turn, discourage the person into giving up and sinning even more. The deeper the person falls into sin, the more awful the death and curses. The whole pattern spirals downward. But, the bread means deliverance from sin, while the cup means deliverance from death (and curses). During the Protestant Reformation, one of the great debates revolved around whether a person was saved by faith alone, or by good works and faith. The true meaning of the bread and the cup solve this mystery, and give complete answers with much needed clarification. First, the meaning of the word “saved” should include deliverance out of sin (the meaning of the bread) as well as deliverance from hell or death (the meaning of the cup). Secondly, we are “saved into” good works (the meaning of the bread) as well as being “saved into” eternal life (the meaning of the cup). Thus, the believer is saved by faith alone; but the word “saved” needs clarification. Also, the believer is saved “into” or for the purpose of good works (the meaning of the bread). The Protestant Reformation only uncovered the meaning of the cup, it never substantially unveiled the meaning of the bread. The Protestant Reformation uncovered the meaning of Romans 3 and 4, but it didn’t reach to Romans 6 and 7 and 8. Now, regarding the faith versus works discussion, there are such things as dead works. Works or dead works pertain to people trying to work for their salvation. Dead works also relate to the believer who does religious works in the “flesh.” The bread of communion teaches that the believer was crucified with Christ and therefore has the authority and responsibility to deny himself and all manner of self seeking and sin, even vain and empty religious activities; for example, doing repetitive rituals, thinking the repetitions will gain favor with God. The bread also means that the freed up believer can now be lead and empowered by the Spirit into right doings. Spirit lead ministries, Spirit lead sermons and books, Spirit lead work, are all examples of the purpose, goal and meaning of the bread of Communion. The unleavened bread of Communion will expose all manner of leaven or sin, even religiosity. Only works originated and sustained by the Holy Spirit are consistent with the unleavened bread of Communion. In this discussion, how does the cup or the blood stand for consequences of one’s actions? In other words, it makes immediate sense that the body or bread stands for actions. This is because the body was created to do things on the earth. But, what about the blood. How does the blood stand for consequences? According to the Bible, the blood was created to give life to the flesh. The blood imparts every bit of nutrition, sustenance, and support that each member of the body needs. Thus, every type of life and support in every dimension, that we need is represented by the cup. The cup means that we were delivered from every type of death and curse into every type of life and blessing. And since the cup is had after the bread, every right action (the bread) leads to every type of life and blessing (the cup). Click here to get this page in a printer friendly format
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