His Memorial

"O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows" (Nah.1:15).

The Apostle’s admonition to "keep the feast" (1 Cor.5:8) comes with special solemnity at this season of the year. With sincerity of heart and quiet joy Christians memorialise four great matters:

First—the death of our Lord as the Passover Lamb.

Second—our relationship to the sufferings of Christ, the death of Christ, as followers in his steps and sharers in his cup.

Third—the great deliverance which will follow the passing over of the present night‑time. This deliverance will affect first of all those passed over, the Church, the antitypes of the priesthood and the Le‑vitical tribe. The deliverance of these will come in the morning of the Millennial Age.

Fourth—the great "feast of fat things" (Isa.25:6) which will follow the passing over of the Church, when the passed‑over ones have been associated with their Lord, in his heavenly kingdom, as the great Prophet, Priest, Judge, Mediator and King over all the earth, to bless and uplift the human family through the merit of his blood.

These different points should be kept separate and distinct from each other if we would have the greatest blessing from this Memorial.

Looking unto Jesus as "the Lamb of God," we behold his spotlessness, "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." (Heb.7:26) We behold how "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth." (Acts 8:32). By speaking the word He could have resisted those who were intent upon his destruction. He assures us that no man took his life from him; He laid it down himself, voluntarily. He laid it down, not in obedience to law, for justice could not demand sacrifice, but in accordance with the Father’s Will, saying, "I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy Law is (written) within my heart." (Psa.40:8 RSV)

From this standpoint the Christian believer can rejoice greatly that the Redeemer spared not himself, but freely delivered himself up with foreknowledge that in the Divine purpose the effect of his sacrifice would redound (bring) first for the blessing of his followers and subsequently for the blessing of all people. Hence in partaking of the broken bread we memorialise the purity, the sinlessness of One who gave himself to be the ransom price for all humanity. From this standpoint his shed blood signified that his death was necessary in order that our condemned humanity might be restored to life. Our hearts should here pause to appreciate not only the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also the love of the Father, who designed the programme, and the justice of God thus exemplified, and the wisdom of God in making the arrangement, and the faith to grasp the power of God as it will ultimately be manifested in the full carrying out of all the glorious purposes and promises which are memorialised.

The second point is scarcely less important than is the first. The first blessing from the Redeemer’s sacrifice has been offered during this Gospel Age to such as have a hearing ear and an appreciative heart. This blessing is most outstanding. It purposes a still further favour to such of humanity as turn from sin and accept by faith the grace of God in Christ, and present their bodies living sacrifices, in full consecration, vowing to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. To all such during this Gospel age, and until the completion of the elect number, the Redeemer will accept their offering to the intent that they may experience the begetting of the Holy Spirit now and in birth to a spiritual life in the resurrection. Thus as his glorified members they may be associated with him in his Millennial kingdom, when He shall act as Mediator between God and men.

The partaking of the bread symbolically represents the appropriating the fleshly perfection of the man Jesus. We partake of his perfection by faith, and not actually. He covers in the Divine sight the blemishes and imperfections of our fleshly bodies, which we have tendered to God as living sacrifices. Since we have the treasure of the new nature in this earthly, fleshly vessel, the Father’s acceptance of us includes our justified flesh, and all of its interests. It is only those who have thus partaken of the merit of Christ, and whose sacrifice God has accepted, who are privileged in conformity to their covenant of sacrifice to drink of our Lord’s cup and to be immersed daily into his death.

The cup is not ours, but our Lord’s. The life symbolised by the blood is not ours, but our Redeemer’s. We are given the privilege of partaking of it. This offering to us of the privilege of participating in the Cup of Christ’s suffering and death is not to indicate that it was insufficient nor to mean that we could add anything to it. The offer illustrates the grace of God—that He is willing to receive us and to make us joint‑heirs with our Lord and Saviour, if we have his Spirit.

The spirit which actuated Jesus was one of devotion to the Heavenly Father’s will even unto death. This same spirit must be in all those whom the Father accepts as members of the Body of Christ, his Church. Hence our Redeemer emphasised the matter, saying that all who would sit with him in his throne must drink of his cup of self‑denial, self‑sacrifice, and be immersed into his death. This is what Paul points out to us; namely, that our Lord is the true Bread, the Loaf which came down from heaven, and that we are invited to be participants in the one Loaf and ultimately accepted by him according to the Father’s plan and thus become members with our Lord in the larger Loaf. Hence, as Paul suggests, when we break this bread together as a memorial not only do we symbolise our Lord’s broken body, but in a larger sense we symbolise the breaking of the Church and our breaking or dying as members of that Church. "The bread (loaf) which we break, is it not the communion (the common union or participation) of the body of Christ? For we being many, are one bread (loaf), and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread (loaf)." (1 Cor.10:16,17).

The cup of the fruit of the vine symbolises the sacrificed life of our Lord. But, additionally, it teaches that in becoming his disciples we accepted his invitation to share his cup. To us this means faithfulness in self‑sacrifice as the Lord’s representatives, even unto death. "The cup of blessing which we bless (for which we give thanks as the greatest imaginable favour of God bestowed upon us), is it not the communion (the general union, the fellowship) of the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor.10:16) Does it not represent our Lord’s sacrifice and our share with him in his sacrifice, by his invitation and in harmony with the Father’s pre‑arranged plan, in which He foreknew us with Jesus from before the foundation of the world?

What depth of meaning attaches to the communion cup from this standpoint! What heart‑searching should go on with the accepting of it! How evident it is that this communion cup represents not merely the turning from sin, not merely believing in Jesus, not merely preference for right over wrong, but chiefly the presentation of believers’ bodies as living sacrifices to God—sacrifices considered holy, sacrifices which God has accepted, begetting the offeror to the new nature as a "new creation." (Rom.12:1).

Let each year then make increasing appreciation of this glorious memorial in its expression of "love Divine, all love excelling" whose breadth and length, and height and depth, surpasses all human comprehension.

March / April 1983