 |
Understanding the
CUP of
the Lord's Supper
|
Most Bible believing
Christians understand that the cup of the Lord’s Supper stands for
the blood of Jesus shed for the forgiveness of our sins. What relief
and peace we have in understanding that our sins are forgiven. Apart
from Christ, we stand guilty and deserve to pay the penalty for our
sins; we deserve to go to hell, a place of eternal punishment. Jesus
took our place and Himself paid the penalty for our sins. We get off
Scott free. We are declared righteous (imputed righteousness). If
you have ever sinned, and you have, you know or can imagine what a
relief it is to know that you are off the hook. We drink the cup to
proclaim this fact.
14in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins. (Colossians
1:14).
7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians
1:7).
In the above scriptures
we see that redemption, the forgiveness of sins, was won for us
through the blood of Jesus. The cup stands for this message of the
cross.
But, the cup also has a
vital resurrection message. Consider the following scriptures:
16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. (John
3:16).
10The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have
it more abundantly. (John
10:10).
The purpose of
forgiveness of sins is that we can have life, eternal life. The cup
which stands for forgiveness and redemption, also has a flip side or
resurrection side to it. The resurrection message of the blood is
life, eternal life, or abundant life. The full meaning of the cup,
simply stated, is deliverance from death into life. (Note how this
resurrection message parallels the resurrection message of the
bread. The bread speaks of deliverance from sin. The flip side or
resurrection side to this message of the cross is righteousness, or
living for God, or doing what Jesus would do.) Consider the
following scriptures about the nature of blood. They give us insight
into the resurrection message of the cup.
13"Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers
who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that
may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust;
14for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its
life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, "You shall not eat
the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood.
Whoever eats it shall be cut off.' (Leviticus
17:13-14).
23Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is
the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. (Deuteronomy
12:23).
Blood is the source of
life. It is nourishment, provision, and support for every member of
the body. If any member of the body does not get blood, it withers
and dies. If your little finger, toe, or leg does not get blood to
it, it will wither and die. The life flow of the blood keeps the
body going and doing what it needs to do. Therefore, when we drink
the cup, we are not only symbolically drinking to remember that our
sins are forgiven, we are also symbolically drinking the life,
nourishment, and provision (for the spirit, soul, and body) that God
through Christ supplies to His body. We are saying that God is our
source. We are saying that God abundantly supplies all of our needs,
even for all eternity, i.e., eternal life in heaven.
When you think about the
above paragraph, the whole message of the cup begins to make sense.
The penalty of sin, i.e., death, is all manner of lack and need. In
hell the desires of the wicked are thrust aside. Hell is a place of
eternal wanting but never getting satisfaction. This is eternal
death. Curses and demonic attacks are a slice of death. Jesus’ blood
was shed to deliver us from this death (to forgive our sins). But ,
the blood also means life. It means getting all of our needs met,
just like the body has all of its needs met by the blood. Thus, the
full meaning of the cup is deliverance from death into life.
In 1Corinthians 10:16
the cup is referred to as the "cup of blessing." It is a sweet,
delicious drink whether it be wine or juice. It stands for a sweet,
delicious message: deliverance from death and deliverance into
life. (In short, the cup stands for deliverance from death into life,
while the bread stands for deliverance from sin into righteousness.)
The cup speaks not just
about eternal life in heaven, but it also speaks of deliverance from
earthly curses into earthly blessings and provision.
Part of the penalty of
sin are curses.
28But
it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your
God, to observe carefully to all His commandments and His statutes
which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you
and overtake you: (Deuteronomy 28:15)
8 "Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
"In what way have we robbed You?'
In tithes and offerings.
9You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
(Malachi
3:8-9)
29For
he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks
judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30For
this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
(1Corinthians
11:29-30)
(The Lord’s body is all
about the Lord’s will. According to scripture, a body is
for doing things on the earth. The Lord’s body is for doing
the Lord’s will on the earth. Not discerning the Lord’s
body is not discerning His will, or, in the above context, not
discerning other believers who are an expression of His
will, even though they are poor.)
By applying the blood
(cup) by faith, we are exercising authority over curses like lack,
want, poverty, sickness; and the killing, stealing and destroying of
the devil. We war against these curses or demonic attacks with the
blood (Revelations 12:11). Not only do we by faith apply the blood
to cancel the power of the devil and curses, but we also drink the
cup (blood) because by faith we are drinking God’s rich promises of
provision. By faith we are receiving all of God’s delicious
nourishment, provision and support.
The Spirit of the Lord
(Spirit of life) seeks to minister life and blessing to an area
where death once reigned (the message of the cup). The Spirit of the
Lord seeks to lead us into all righteousness in an area where sin
once reigned (the message of the bread).
Do you have a need? In
the cup, the blood is here for you. Drink deeply of God’s rich
provision, and of His mighty deliverance from death and curses.
There is a specific promise for every need; the blood represents
this through the cup. Every promise to us is a blessing and a
"slice" of His rich life. Drink!
Please read the other
many articles on this web site. They are essential to gain further
understanding of the bread and the cup. You can get a book on the
Lord’s Supper through the home page of this web site.
Click here to get this page in a printer
friendly format
Click on icon to email us
To Order This
Book
|
