Revival and the Lord's Supper

Is it possible that the Lord's Supper may be one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated events that prepares a church for revival? I would argue that this is precisely the case. Here are four reasons why I believe this from Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church.

1) The Lord’s Supper is primarily a recognition and proclamation of the absolute lordship and supremacy of Jesus Christ. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26).

We call this sacred meal the “Lord’s Supper,” not the Pastor’s Potluck or the Believer’s Brunch, or the Church’s Chow.  “The Lord’s Supper” is not just an arbitrary designation some theologian gave it, that title comes right out of 1 Corinthians 11:20. Both words are instructive:

• Lord’s: It is not just any meal, it is the Lord’s Supper. Jesus commanded it, He ordained it, and it points directly to Him. If this meal is anything at all, it is first and foremost a recognition of--and surrender to--the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Every time believers gather around the two simple elements of bread and cup, they are consciously submitting to—and also proclaiming—the Lordship and authority of Jesus Christ as King and Head of the church. The very act of putting that piece of bread in your mouth is a declaration to yourself, your neighbor and the world “Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King. Jesus is God.” 

• Supper: But that second word is important too. It is a supper. That implies that you and I come empty and hungry, not full and proud. You come in need, as a beggar to consume a meal that you did not and could not prepare for yourself—belly aching to be filled by the goodness and mercy of God! Just as could not be saved by bringing good deeds to God, so you can’t be nourished by bringing your own worthiness to the Table. No one should ever approach the Table as though it were some form of “institutional religion” or “ritual,” or “high church formalism.”  

2) The Lord’s Table is a unifying event within the Body of Christ.  Paul is livid with the Corinthians!  He is angrier than a tornado in a trailer park! Why is he so mad? Because the very event that is meant to hold the church together is actually tearing them apart. "When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not" (1 Cor 11:20-22).  

Whenever The Lord's Supper is received as a church, unity is one of the many glorious results. There has never been a revival where hatred, envy, rank, and jealousy are the results. When the church comes to the Lord’s Table, there is no rank, no hierarchy. The smallest child and the most wizened elder are the same rank.

3) The Lord’s Supper (as an act) must never be divorced from repentance (as an attitude).  "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself" (1 Cor 11:27-29).

One phrase that we need to unpack here are the words “unworthy manner.”  It cannot mean that sinners are not welcome, or that if one is struggling with temptation that he is not welcome. Some have refrained from the table because they feel unworthy. But that is not the point. John Calvin said that would be like a man refusing medicine on the grounds that he is sick.

 On the contrary, "unworthy manner" means to receive the supper flippantly without doing the heart work of “examining oneself” mentioned in verse 28. You might ask yourself these questions:

•     Do I recognize myself as being a sinner in need of a Redeemer?
•     Do I desire to turn from my sin and acknowledge Christ’s supreme Law?
•     Do I trust that Christ’s blood alone has justified me and made me righteous?
•     Have I come hungry for grace or full of pride?

4) Communion is a real first-hand, direct, encounter with the person and work of Christ as given to us through the bread and cup. Let me put it to you this way: the communion event is the closest personal encounter we will have with Christ this side of Heaven.

That’s not just an opinion. I am drawing that statement from 1 Corinthians 10:16. Where Paul says, "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16). That word “participation” is the Greek word koinonia which means the an intimate form of person-to-person fellowship.

Some love to be in nature, hiking or kayaking, mountain climbing or swimming. But being in nature is never called participation in the body and blood of Christ in Scripture. Others love praise music or the good old hymns from centuries past. But music is never called koinonia with the body and blood of Christ. Others still love a good sermon, or commentaries, or church history. Some (nerds like me) like books by dead theologians. But these are never called koinonia with the body and blood of Christ.

Theologians have long debated exactly HOW Christ is present in the elements of the Lord’s Table. In the middle ages a view developed that the bread and cup literally transform into the body and blood of Christ in a doctrine called “transubstantiation.” Others have swung too far to the other side and said that nothing special happens at all; that the LS is just a visual reminder of the cross in history, like an old dusty dog-eared photograph. This is called the “Memorial” view.

But John Calvin and the Reformed theologians of our church have always said something different. We have maintained that while the bread remains bread and the juice remains juice; that nonetheless something much more is happening here. Something on the spiritual level. We are actually being drawn into the presence of the Reigning Resurrected Christ. We call it the “Real Presence” view. It states that in some mystical way, Christ is actually, really, and truly present with us in a first-hand way. Although His body is literally raised to the Right Hand of God, that He is really and truly among us at the Table. God shows up!

In some mysterious way—even the best theologians admit some mystery here—we are feasting on Christ and what He has done for us. It is quite literally “soul food.” Therefore, the moment the bread hits your tongue, you taste the forgiveness that Christ bought for you with His body. The moment that the tangy crispness of the juice or wine hits your palate, you taste the grace that He bought for you by His blood.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. Follow on Twitter @matt_everhard

Clinging to Hope

It’s funny how we remember the picture books our parents read to us when we were children. I remember one entitled “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” It begins,

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there’s gum in my hair, and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible horrible no good very bad day.

When I became an adult, I quickly realized that terrible horrible no good very bad days still happen--they just get a lot more expensive!

In Acts 27, we see a Christian believer, namely the Apostle Paul, do several things well during severe duress: (a) remain transfixed on the sovereignty of God, (b) praise God during the peak of a calamitous storm, and (c) rise from obscurity to lead a contingent of the most ungodly passengers.

Storms, Shipwrecks, and Snakebites

Acts chapters 27 and 28 read like a fast-paced novella. First Paul, Luke, Julius the Roman Centurion, and the prisoners were driven far off their path by a furious storm (27:27). Second, the sailors attempt to escape the doomed ship, leaving the others to die (27:30-32). Third, the ship struck a reef, was run aground, and was destroyed by the surf (27:41). Fourth, there is a murder plot by the soldiers to kill Paul and his fellow prisoners (27:42). And finally as if that wasn’t enough—Paul is bitten by a poisonous viper (28:1-10). This series of events is enough to fray the nerves and destroy the composure of any grown man.

Here are two factors outside your control: the sovereignty of God and the depravity of sinful men. Try as you might to labor, manipulate, finagle, and coax God and others—we are very much at the mercy of these two forces. However this is not to say that your life is like that Alexandrian grain ship in Acts 27, smashed between the surf of destiny and the rocks of fate. There is one factor that you can control in the midst of the life's hurricanes: your response.

I believe it is possible to discern the difference between a mature and immature Christian by what questions they ask during storms, shipwrecks, and snakebites.

• Unbelievers and immature Christians ask “What is God doing TO me?”
• But the mature Christian—who knows both the power of God and the decadence of man-- asks a different question entirely, “What is God doing THROUGH me?”

The thing I like most about Acts 27:33-38 is the absurdity of this scene. Picture this: the ship is three verses away from being smashed to pieces. By the time the sun rises in the sky, every man on that boat will be clinging to boards and paddling for shore. And yet the Apostle Paul—a prisoner himself—decides to host a picnic! And who are the guests? All 276 men aboard including sailors, soldiers, and prisoners. I cannot think of a more ungodly list of dinner guests.

Yet in the midst of the hurricane, with both natural and human evil tearing the ship apart, we see the Apostle Paul--with chains on his wrists--speaking the words of Jesus (“not a hair on your head will perish,” cf. Matthew 10:30 and Luke 21:18), and imitating the compassionate deeds of Jesus (taking bread, thanking God, breaking and eating the bread; cf. Matthew 15:36). With this simple gesture with bread, Paul is pointing to Christ as his supreme joy in the midst of the storm.

Just a simple loaf of bread! That’s all Paul had in his hands for which to give thanks while the ship sinks! It’s not even toasted bread! No jam to slab on it. No coffee in which to dip it. Not a daub of butter on deck anywhere to be found! Just month-old bread. Did anyone see a “Panera” restaurant anywhere in this passage? It’s probably even a bit wet from the sea and the storm. Possibly a bit green with mold. Likely it was stored fore weeks in a barrel or cargo hold somewhere. Just three Christians, Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus and a hoard of pagans, in one of the most unlikely worship services on the biblical record.

And in the midst of the storm, for just a few moments, there is a wonderful, worshipful, thankful, silence. Just 276 men silently chewing their sea-nasty bread. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). 

I love how chapter 27 ends with these words: “And so it was that all were brought safely to land.” Safely? Is that a bit of an overstatement? I don’t think so.

It seems that, despite the storm, God carried out His merciful plan and honored His promises after all. It turns out God is a good and merciful God. He really does work all things according to the council of His perfect will. If you are in Christ, there is no safer place in the universe then in the center of His plan.

At some point in your life, like Alexander in the children’s book my mother read to me, you may find yourself having a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” You may find yourself drifting in the open water clinging to a splintered board. But if you are in Christ, there is no safer place in the world.