Recently, I had a pastor ask me what my thoughts were concerning church members who never bothered to show up to celebrate and commemorate the Lord’s Supper. It struck me when he asked me that question because it reminded me of what I saw growing up. Only once did we celebrate communion and only a handful of people bothered to show up on a Wednesday night when it was held. The two ordinances given to the church are not options. These are not means of salvific grace whereby we know justification through the waters of baptism or the meal at the Lord’s Table. Yet, there should be concern for someone who can profess to be a Christian yet has no desire to be obedient to the Word and to celebrate the means of grace that God has given to us.
When we come to the Lord’s table, we are enjoying a preview of what is to come! We have come to a banquet to feast upon the riches of the gospel. The bread and cup are tokens of the King of His love for us and what we enjoy in Him. Consider what we celebrate…
Justification
How can I be admitted to the table apart from the righteousness of Christ? The Lord’s Supper points me to the fact that the access I have to God is free, full, and open. The reason that I have that access is due to me being justified in Christ. I do not come to the table in hopes of being justified. This is not a part of my duties to perform whereby I hope to earn credit and merit before God.
When I come to the table, I am celebrating the fact that I come as one who is in Christ. I am justified due to Him and Him alone. The bread and the cup are symbols that remind me of what it cost in order for me to be righteous in Christ. The bread proclaims that God took on flesh. As the God-man, the second Adam, the Christ lived a life of full obedience to the law of God and was in submission to the Father. His active obedience is imputed to us. His passive obedience is seen in the cup whereby He pours Himself out as the sacrifice on our behalf.
Our hope is truly built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Our justification is based upon what He has done and what He has given us. By faith, we trust and rely upon His finished work. So, when we come to the table, we understand our admittance is rooted in the fact that we are clothed in the robes that Christ has given to us.
We come to the table still sinners but also justified. The supper does not mean that we are here perfectly righteous in that we have not sinned. It does mean that I am perfectly righteous in the sight of God and accepted in the beloved Son! We celebrate the wondrous truth of justification when we come to communion. Delight in this that you have a seat at the table because you are justified.
Adoption
Second, we celebrate our salvation at the table when we consider the truth of adoption. Notice, that for us to be given a seat at the table testifies to the fact that our status has changed. We were enemies of God, now we are adopted and made the children of God.
Do you understand that the doctrine of adoption is connected to the doctrine of election, the covenant of redemption, and our being called out of this world? We are a gift from the Father to the Son. Those who were opposed to Him now love Him. Adoption does not happen because we choose for it to happen or because we will it to happen. Nothing exists in us that would demand that God adopt us and bring us into His family.
Sanctification
Third, the Lord’s Table aids us in growing in sanctification. We refer to the table as one of the ordinary means of grace that the Lord gives to us. These are meant to strengthen our faith and assurance. We come to the table in order to be reminded of who we are and why we press forward. This is a time for us to rest and rejoice in the gospel of grace. This is to be wind under our sails in a lifelong pursuit of sanctification.
As we come to the table, we are being reminded of who we were and who we are now in Him. The meal causes us to see our dependence is upon His grace not just in justification and adoption but also in sanctification as well. This celebration of our sanctification is not only in the individual’s life but in our life corporately. As this is a new covenant meal, we are calling one another to pursue Christ, to run for Christ, and that we are doing so together. This is not a pilgrimage that we face alone but that we are unified together in Christ.
Let us delight in the ordinary means of grace the Lord gives to us. Let us not despise them but desire them more and more.
Glorification
In instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus spoke of a future time when He would drink of the fruit of the vine in the kingdom. All that we enjoy about the table is a preview of what awaits us in the consummation. When Christ returns, we will be glorified and made perfectly like Him. At the table of the king, we will see and focus our attention not upon one another’s greatness but upon His greatness.
So, the supper serves to remind us that while this is an earthly meal, it bears great spiritual significance. It serves for us as a type of picture of what we will enjoy for all eternity with the King of kings and Lord of lords. Does that not excite you? Can you imagine what it is going to be like to be seated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Cornelius, Apollos, and Timothy, Augustine, Athanasius, and Polycarp, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, Fuller, Carey, Spurgeon, Sproul, and Lloyd-Jones? As wonderful as that will be, our attention will not be on the apostles, the church fathers, the Reformers, or other great heroes we love to read. Our attention will be on the head, the king, the ruler: Christ!
Conclusion
The table does not save us. Rather it is a celebration of the wondrous salvation that has been wrought in our lives by the grace of God. Meditate each time you come to the table on your justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification. Celebrate the amazing grace of God in this sacred and special meal!
The Publicans 