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As Oft as ye Eat and Drink, October 23
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew
the Lord’s death till he come.
1 Corinthians 11:26
.
The salvation of men depends upon a continual application to their
hearts of the cleansing blood of Christ. Therefore, the Lord’s Supper
was not to be observed only occasionally or yearly, but more frequently
than the annual Passover. This solemn ordinance commemorates a far
greater event than the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt.
That deliverance was typical of the great atonement which Christ made
by the sacrifice of His own life for the final deliverance of His people.
This ordinance is not to be exclusive, as many would make it. Each
must participate in it publicly, and thus bear witness: I accept Christ as
my personal Saviour. He gave His life for me, that I might be rescued
from death.
The communion service points to Christ’s second coming. It was
designed to keep this hope vivid in the minds of the disciples. Whenever
they met together to commemorate His death, they recounted how “he
took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all
of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth
of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you
in my father’s kingdom.”
Matthew 26:27-29
. In their tribulation they
found comfort in the hope of their Lord’s return. Unspeakably precious
to them was the thought, “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” ...
Christ has instituted this service that it may speak to our senses of the
love of God.... There can be no union between our souls and God except
through Christ. The union and love between brother and brother must
be cemented and rendered eternal by the love of Jesus. And nothing
less than the death of Christ could make His love efficacious for us. It
is only because of His death that we can look with joy to His second
coming. His sacrifice is the center of our hope.
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