Communion Explained | Theocast Clips

I love what James says, but he gives more grace. Communion is that more grace.

This is a great illustration that kind of helped me in understanding Victor Hugo's famous book, right?

Les Mis. I'm not gonna go through the whole story, but there are two characters that I think is important here.

So, Jean Valjean is this criminal, spent 20 years in prison, he finally gets out, can't find anybody to give him any job or any anyways, but the bishop finally gives him grace.

He lets him sit, eat at his table, sleep at his bed. And in the middle of the night,

Jean Valjean says, what a fool this bishop is. I'm gonna steal all of his silver and I'm gonna go and start a new life for myself.

And well, you know, obviously Jean Valjean is not very smart because he ends up getting captured again by Javert, the law in the story.

Javert is the law, the bishop is grace in this story. So they bring him back to the bishop and he says, he has stolen all your silver.

And he's like, oh, I am so sorry gentlemen for the confusion, this is the bishop. I'm so sorry for the confusion, gentlemen.

Jean Valjean, did you not remember to take the candlesticks? Which is the most valuable thing that the bishop owned.

And he gave him these two candlesticks. And of course he says, sorry gentlemen for the confusion, but my friend here, he is free to go.

And so Jean Valjean leaves and the bishop, the last thing he says to him, he says, use these, basically grace, use this to change your life.

Which is interesting at the very end of his life. And a lot happens at the end of the story. And Jean Valjean ends up learning how to show grace and give mercy.

And that's kind of what the story is about, is law and mercy. At the end of his life, there's the, they're talking about how he dies.

It's beautiful. And behind him, he's sitting in this chair and behind him on the mantle on the fireplace are two candlesticks glowing.

And that's the scene by which he dies and the way at which word it is, basically he dies in the light, in the presence of grace.

So he never sold those candlesticks. He held onto them because they were the constant reminder of what it is that changed him and what he received.

And it's an amazing picture of communion in that we are given this constant glow of grace every week where we get to be reminded of, because in the story it was here's grace and then they messed up and here's more grace.

And that's like, I love what James says, but he gives more grace. Communion is that more grace every week, right?

We come and we live in the light of God's grace. And so we were remembering not what we have done for God.

This is what he says, do this in remembrance of me. We are remembering what God in Christ did for us.

And in that remembrance, the spirit comes and he strengthens us. Yeah, in one sense we are remembering when

God remembered us. Right, so good. Because whenever God remembers anything in the scripture, it's not just a cognitive thing.

When God remembers his promises, he acts. He's acting based on his promises. And the most pointed acting upon his promise in the history of the world is not only the coming of Christ in his perfect life, but then the culmination of that perfect life in his sacrificial death for us.

And so we're remembering when God remembered us in that regard. Yeah, I think the language that Jesus uses even when he institutes the

Lord's Supper, for example, in Matthew and in Luke, it's really good because you get language about the covenant.

The fact that this is the new covenant in my blood, that's Luke 22 20.

This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. So the new covenant is established by the blood of Christ.

And so that's something that should be on our minds even as we come and partake and receive. And then in Matthew's gospel, in Matthew 26, he breaks the bread and says, take and eat, this is my body.

And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

So that also should be on our minds as we're coming to receive the bread and the cup.

As surely as I put the bread and the cup in my mouth, Christ died for me. I am a part of the new covenant in Christ's blood and my sins are forgiven on account of him.

And that's what we're doing as we come. I wanna read a little bit of language, John, if I may from people who have died long ago, but this might be good fodder for conversation for us.

And then we'll even look to our own confession and some of the language that's contained there. And this will probably carry us through to the end of the regular show, just in thinking about the gift that the

Lord's Supper is to us from the Lord. So John Calvin, many know, pastored in Geneva and in that church's liturgy for the

Lord's Supper, we would read these words. These are great. Quote, let us understand therefore that this sacrament, talking about the

Lord's Supper, is a medicine for poor, spiritually sick people. Put that on a shirt, brother.

Bro, that's good. And we see only bread and wine, yet we do not doubt that he accomplishes spiritually in our souls all that he demonstrates to us outwardly through these visible signs, namely that he is the heavenly bread that feeds and nourishes us for eternal life.

Close quotes. Calvin also elsewhere wrote that to demand perfection in order to receive the

Lord's Supper is ignorant and stupid. And he says, because it would make it useless and superfluous, because he says, quote, it was not instituted for the perfect, but for the weak and feeble, so as to awaken, prompt, rouse, and exercise whatever their faith and love might lack, close quote.

Well, Justin, even going back to that for a moment, I know we kind of glossed over this, but the word common union is a play on that.

Because what's the one barrier that would keep you from the table, right? If you have ought with a brother.

Because that's what it is. We're communing together, receiving of the Father. So how is it that you can receive grace, but you're unwilling to show it?

And that's why Paul says, don't do that. Don't take this in a way that you're showing favoritism for yourself over -

We need to discern the body of Christ, meaning we need to consider our brethren as we're coming to the table, amen.

Amen. Well, I'd like to read a real quick quote just from our own confession. This is where Justin and I find a lot of confidence here.

This is chapter 30 on the Lord's Supper in the London Baptist Confession. And the opening paragraph says this, the supper of the

Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night he was betrayed. It was to be observed in his churches to the end of the age as a perpetual remembrance and display of the sacrifice of himself and his death.

It is given for the confirmation of faith of believers. Man, that is so, like for our assurance, right?

To confirm us in the faith. It's so good. Amen. It is given for the confirmation of faith of believers and all benefits of Christ's death, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him and the further engagement in and to all the duties they owe him.

The supper is to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Christ and each other. So there is so much packaged in there and we've already unwrapped some of it, but Justin, to go back and unravel some of this.

Yeah, phrase at a time, dude, it's so good. He is saying it is to give, it is given for the confirmation of their faith.

Now, Justin, why would this be? Why would the Reformers, the writers of our confession, see this as a confirmation of faith?

It is so opposite of modern day Christianity. We look to us as the confirmation of our faith and the

Reformers say we look to Christ as the confirmation of our faith. Wholesale. So, Reformers use this kind of language about the preaching of the word as well.

How are disciples confirmed in the faith? Well, it's to have the mercy and love and grace of Christ extolled to us.

To have the power and the office of Christ extolled to us. How are we confirmed in the faith?

To have the bread and the wine given to us so that we might participate. First Corinthians 10, 16.

You know, we participate in the body and the blood of Christ through this bread that we break and the cup that we drink. And so, yeah, it confirms us in the faith.

Justin, if you're a person of character, because someone asked, well, how is it just taking bread and wine as a confirmation of faith?

If you're a person of character, you cannot participate in good conscience unless you believe in reality.

I believe in reality that Christ did die for my sins, that his blood was shed, and that I am a part of the new covenant, and therefore

I receive that. That's the confirmation of faith they're talking about. Unless you're not a person of character, if you're trusting in the gospel truth that it's communicating, it's a confirmation of your faith.

No, amen, and it's a confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits of Christ's death. So this is, again, getting into that participation language.

We participate in the body and blood of Christ in the supper. What does that mean? It's that, spiritually speaking, the

Lord Jesus Christ ministers to us, feeds us, and we're gonna talk about that nourishment piece in a minute, but he is communicating to us spiritually the benefits of his death.

Well, what are those? I mean, namely, why do we need Jesus? This is a question I ask my children on a regular basis.

Why do you need Jesus? The two things that we can say immediately are forgiveness of sins and for righteousness.

And so the benefits of his death start with that, the forgiveness of sins, righteousness under the law, and resurrection is coming as a result of those things.

But the benefits of his death are those two things, forgiveness, righteousness. And so it's confirming us in the faith in all of those benefits.

And so every time we come to the table, the Lord Jesus Christ is reminding and blessing and giving grace to that end that we would be confirmed in that.

That, like I said a minute ago, as surely as you take this bread and this cup, your sins are forgiven. And as surely as you take this bread and this cup, you are just in the eyes of God because of me.