Communion as a Means of Grace

All of us are looking to connect with God and experience His power and presence in our lives. Some will look to mysteriously tap deeper into experiencing the Holy Spirit apart from God’s Word, others will buy the latest popular Christian book that promises spiritual success, while others will get more serious about spiritual disciplines. But the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it (the gospel) is the power of God for salvation (All of it: from conversion to glory) to everyone who believes.” God unleashes His power when the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered.

If God says, “I’ll meet you at the corner of 1st & 2nd Street”, why would you go to the corner of 3rd & 4th, and then get mad when God doesn’t show up there? He tells us where He will meet with us – places we call “means of grace,” namely, through the preached Word, the sacraments (Lord’s Supper & Baptism), and prayer and fellowship with God’s people. The preached Word is the gospel to the ears, while the sacraments are the gospel to all our senses. God knows how hard it is for us to trust Him, to believe what He says is more real than what we see, so He gives us the sacraments that are meant to make His love and saving promises more real to us. Something we can see, taste, smell, and touch to awaken us to the reality of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

When it comes to the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is spiritually present when the elements are administered, and in communion, we are reminded of what Jesus has done for us in order to save us. His body was broken; His blood was shed to pay for ALL of our sins’ penalty on the cross. Jesus was punished as our substitute sacrifice, receiving what we deserved in our place. When we trust in Jesus’ saving work, God takes everything that is bad about us and puts it on His Son, but then He takes everything that is good about Jesus, and credits it to our account (2 Corinthians 5:21). Theologians call this “The Great Exchange” – All of our sin was placed on Christ, and all of His righteousness is declared to us.

The Lord’s Supper reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the Spirit makes these truths more clear to our minds and more real to our hearts. When you take communion, you may not experience the reality of His presence or feel His transformation, but it doesn’t mean God isn’t working. What if later in the day you find you’re thinking more about Him than you are yourself? Maybe your desires begin to change, where you pray more, read your Bible more, or find yourself more eager to serve your family? God is at work through the means where He says He works, and we clearly see this in Luke 24.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to some of His discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus. These men didn’t recognize that it was Jesus who was speaking to them. Their hopes were dashed because Jesus died. They didn’t understand the Old Testament Scriptures that clearly teach the Messiah must suffer and die. So, Jesus responds in Luke 24:25-27, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

Jesus explained and interpreted to them how ALL of the Old Testament Scriptures were about Him. Jesus is the better Adam, the better Moses, and the better David. Jesus is the true Prophet, Priest, and King; He is the true tabernacle and temple. All of God’s Word is about THE Word of God, and these men didn’t understand the Old Testament. Then in verses 28-32, Jesus was about to leave them, but the disciples urged Him to stay. “When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?’”

Jesus revealed Himself at the table where the bread was broken. Don’t miss what was going on when Jesus was explaining the Scriptures to them – “Did not our hearts burn within us while He explained the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32b). May our hearts burn to love Jesus more when we hear about Him in the preached Word and see, smell, taste, and touch the reality of His sacrifice, so that we could be forgiven.