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We Follow Christ in the Communion Service, May 31
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft
as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:25
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Christ was standing at the point of transition between two economies
and their two great festivals.... As He ate the Passover with His disciples,
He instituted in its place the service that was to be the memorial of His
great sacrifice. The national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever.
The service which Christ established was to be observed by His followers
in all lands and through all ages.... Till He shall come the second time in
power and glory, this ordinance is to be celebrated
It is at these, His own appointments, that Christ meets His people, and
energizes them by His presence.... All who come with their faith fixed
upon Him will be greatly blessed. All who neglect these seasons of divine
privilege will suffer loss. Of them it may appropriately be said, “Ye are
not all clean.” ...
But the Communion service was not to be a season of sorrowing. This
was not its purpose.... They are not to recall the differences between them
and their brethren. The preparatory service has embraced all this.... Now
they come to meet with Christ. They are not to stand in the shadow of
the cross, but in its saving light. They are to open the soul to the bright
beams of the Sun of Righteousness. With hearts cleansed by Christ’s most
precious blood, in full consciousness of His presence, although unseen,
they are to hear His words, “Peace I leave with you.” ...
The Communion service points to Christ’s second coming. It was
designed to keep this hope vivid in the minds of the disciples.... In their
tribulation they found comfort in the hope of their Lord’s return. Unspeak-
ably precious to them was the thought, “As often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.
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The Desire of Ages, 652, 653
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91
The Desire of Ages, 656, 659
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