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The Cup Of Blessing
By
Todd W.
Allen
Villa Rica 10/05/03
Lord's Supper
1 Corinthians
10:16-21
The
apostle refers to the communion service as
a communion in the blood of Christ and a
communion in the body of Christ. Let us
consider his theology for these moments
just before the serving of the communion
elements today.
The Cup Of
Blessing Is Communion In The Blood Of
Christ And Body Of Christ
In the
1993 hit film In the Line of Fire, Clint
Eastwood played Secret Service agent Frank
Horrigan. Horrigan had protected the life
of the President for more than three
decades, but he was haunted by the memory
of what had happened thirty years before.
Horrigan
was a young agent assigned to President
Kennedy on that fateful day in Dallas in
1963. When the assassin fired, Horrigan
froze in shock. For thirty years
afterward, he wrestled with the ultimate
question for a Secret Service agent: Can I
take a bullet for the President?
In the
climax of the movie, Horrigan does what he
had
been
unable to do earlier: he throws himself
into the path of an assassin's bullet to
save the chief executive. Secret Service
agents are willing to do such a thing
because they believe the President is so
valuable to our country and the world that
he is worth dying for. Obviously they
would not take a bullet for just anyone.
At Calvary
the situation was reversed. The President
of the Universe actually took a bullet for
each of us. At the Cross-we see how
valuable we are to God. -- Douglas G.
Pratt, Allison Park,
Pennsylvania. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 2
The Blood
of Christ speaks to us of victory. We
are told
in the Bible that
the life of the flesh is in the blood; and
I have given it to you upon the altar to
make atonement for your souls: for it is
the blood that maketh an atonement for the
soul.
(Lev. 17:11).
In the New
Testament we read in Hebrews 9:
According to the law almost all things are
purified with blood, and without shedding
of blood there is no remission.
(Heb. 9:22).
.
The
shedding of the Blood of Christ is the
atonement for our souls so that the
worshipper who has been purged by his
blood has no more conscience of sins. His
guilt is taken away. His soul is at peace.
This is a
sharing in the victory of Christ over sin.
We commune with Christ in a very real way
as we come to this cup of blessing.
Secondly,
We have a victory in this cup of blessing
over all the accusations of Satan. Satan
is called the accuser of the brethren but
his accusations against us are silenced as
we drink the cup of blessing, which
represents and communicates to us the
blood of Christ.
Third, we
also have communion in the body of Christ
as we break the communion bread. The
apostle tells us that though we are many
we are one body. We have oneness in the
faith in Christ, which we share, but we
also have a oneness in the Spirit. The
same Holy Spirit indwells every partaker.
The
victory of Christ is for me and for my
fellow Christians in the body. As we sit
together today we ought to experience a
unity of mind and heart in the things of
Christ. This is another aspect of the
blessing of the Lord's Supper. Psa.
133:1-3 (NASB)
1
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil
upon the head, Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down
upon the edge of his robes.
3
It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the
blessing—life forever.
Eph. 4:4 (NASB)
4There is one body
and one
Spirit, just as also you were
called in one hope of your calling;
Eph. 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Interestingly, of all the
songs in the Book of Revelation, not one
is a solo. The twenty-four elders sing
and cast their crowns before His feet, the
united voices of countless angels resound,
every living creature in heaven and earth
and under the earth and all that is in
them are joined in one song. Those who
are victorious over the beast are given
harps and a song to sing. In every case
multitudes of people or angels unite in
the same song with absolute unity. --
Graham Kendrick. Leadership, Vol. 15, no.
2. See: Rev 4:1-11; 5:8-14; 7:9-17;
11:15-18; 15:2-4; 19:1-8; 22:1-5.
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The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
distribution. We only request that proper
web page attribution be provided if
distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word. |