" For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed. took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do spew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." (1 °or. xi. 23-32.)
The frequent recurrence in this passage of the term Lord, the special title of authority, directs the mind to the specialty of the instruction it presents.
All the names and titles of the Lord Jesus are distinctive; and they cannot be employed indiscriminately or interchangeably without losing their force, and without injury to the truth. For example, the Apostle Peter says, (Acts 2:3030Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; (Acts 2:30),) Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both LORD and CHRIST." In this passage it is plain that, while the name " Jesus" points out the person of our Lord, as known to the Jews and crucified by them, the terms " Lord' and " Christ" mark out the official positions to which God had advanced Him in spite of His rejection by the nation.
The name of " Jesus" never lost before God, and never will lose, its import of " Jehovah the Savior," nor indeed to us who believe, though it was used as a mere appellative by the Jews; and too often now by those who do not know its worth. But in the titles " Lord " and " Christ," the attention of those whom Peter addressed is especially called to the import of those terms as employed in the prophetic scriptures on which he was arguing. He had connected the signs of Pentecost with the last days which should be precursory of " the great and terrible day of the Lord," as mentioned by the prophet Joel; and he had insisted that in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who had been so wonderfully attested among them " by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him," God had accomplished David's prediction in the sixteenth Psalm, and had raised up Christ, or the Messiah, whom He had sworn to David that He would seat upon his throne. This was what pricked his hearers in their heart, that they had rejected the Lord, of whom Joel had said, " whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved;" and they had crucified the Messiah, or Christ, David's Lord, and the heir of David's throne. In Him who sustained these two titles of authority and glory, every promise and prophetic declaration of Israel's blessing and supremacy as a people con-centered; and on their recognition every hope of the nation hung. But, as Peter says, " that same Jesus whom ye have eraeXed, God hath made both Lord and Christ." This was the gravamen of his charge. And it was the terribleness of their position when this truth reached their consciences that made them cry out, " Men and brethren, what shall we do P"
This, however, I do not pursue. I adduced the passage merely as an illustration amongst many of the designative character of the names and titles of our Lord, and of how much may be lost by failing to mark their force and distinctness.
" Jesus," then, is more especially the personal name of our Lord, still retaining its original import of Savior. " Christ," or the anointed, marks Him out in the New Testament scriptures as especially in connection with His Church, as Head of the body. Moreover it gives its true designative force to the term Christian: " If any man suffer as a Christian." " Lord," is a title of authority, and directs the thought to Him to whom we owe our allegiance, and whom we are called to serve and obey.
With this latter title the apostle commences his immensely interesting and important instructions concerning the Lord's supper in the passage before us; and he carries it through to the close. He begins by saying, "For I have received of the LORD that which also I delivered unto you." And he closes by the declaration that, " When we are judged we are chastened of the LORD, that we should not be condemned with the world." As to the title itself, it expresses much more than master. And its correlative implies much more than, we, at any rate now, understand by, servant. It is a term that claims for its possessor, the position of absolute, unquestionable authority over those by -whom the title is acknowledged. Nay, whether acknowledged or not, the authority which it marks will eventually be vindicated to its possessor by the almighty power of God, even over those who do not now acknowledge it. For " God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name -which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," [this is the point of their confession, that sovereign, universal authority is, by the fiat of God, in the hands of Jesus,] " to the glory of God the Father." But Jesus to us is Lord now, in all the absolute and unrestricted authority which the title expresses. It is true that this title rises much higher than is expressed by it in its most ordinary application in the New Testament; for here unquestionably it presents to the mind the relative position of owner and slave. I do not mean, of course, that there attaches to its application our notions of arbitrary and capricious power, on the one hand, and of oppression and degradation on the other. But I do mean that the claim of authority is absolute, and that it is met only by absolute and willing subjection. For example, in the Colossians, where the apostle is treating of the relative obligations of masters and servants, [owners and slaves,] he says, " Servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh....and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily tri the Lord, and not unto men... for ye serve the Lord Christ." In other words, he shows that the authority, I might say, ownership, remains, but it has passed into other hands. The call to subjection is equally absolute and binding; hut it is to another, and a very different, Lord. It may be the authority of grace, but it is not the less authority, nor the less obligatory on that account.
It is indeed in redemption and grace that this title of Lord is founded, as we learn especially from Rom. 14, and in many other scriptures. In the passage referred to, the apostle says, " None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be LORD both of the dead and living." Nothing can be more absolute than this language of the apostle. One sees at a glance that there is no room for "playing fast and loose" with this authority of Christ; an authority that is binding upon us at all times and in all places; and the foundation of which is laid as deeply as the foundation of the eternal redemption in which we rejoice.
Now, I confess that I delight to contemplate the supremacy of my Lord; though I know how poorly His grace is met in the daily practical subjection of my soul to Him. Still it is my delight to think that I am emancipated from the tyranny of every other Lord, to be henceforth and forever subject alone to Him. And so far as it appears, it is a relationship that will never be laid aside. At least it is found in " the holy Jerusalem," that is, seen, " descending out of heaven from God," of which it is said, " the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him." They are in this scene δουλοι still; and openly and with honor they wear the badge of their subjection: for it is added, " they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads." At any rate now, before the kingdom of our Lord is established in glory, amidst the " gods many and lords many" that seek to rule the minds of men in this world, it is the mercy and blessing of our souls to know that, " To us there is but one God the Father of whom arc all things, and we for him; and one LORD Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." And what is there so right, as that He who has delivered us from death, from sin, from the power of Satan, from " this present evil world," and from self, the worst of tyrants, should be owned by us as our sole and only Lord? And this especially, if we reflect that we belong to " the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood:" for that which is true of the whole is also true of each of its parts?
However, in the Church, as presented in the Epistle to the Corinthians, what was in requisition amongst them was the practical acknowledgment of the relation in which they stood to God, the Lord, and the Spirit. For these are presented not only as the source of heavenly blessing to them, so far as they could be viewed as a body redeemed by the Lord, but as imparting its essential character to their position and witness in the world. Their gifts were the gifts of the Spirit; their ministries or services were to be in subjection to one Lord; and their energies were to be known as the result of the power and energy of God. It was alone by the recognition of these fundamental truths, which give its essential character to the Church of God, that their walk could be steadied, and the disorders, which had so large a place amongst them, were capable of correction. Now it is in the midst-of these characteristic and controlling thoughts that the injunctions concerning the table and supper of the Lord take their place. And it is of deep significance that the one institution which is left to us, by Him who is everything to our souls, and which was to be in perpetual recurrence, should have this special bearing that, with all the grace it exhibits and the depth of love which it calls to mind, and the efficacy of the work accomplished on the cross which it declares, it is His special claim on our souls to acknowledge Hint as Lord. " For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord's death till he come." His claim is thus perpetually enforced. It is not to lapse until He comes. It is the most striking living demonstrative witness to the truth of Christianity. It is a monument which has already outlived the lapse of more than eighteen hundred years. And when I look back through this dim vista, I reach that sacred company in which its institution was marked by the bodily presence of my Lord, the echo of whose voice has reached us in the touching words, " This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." His claim is thus, at least, weekly enforced. And if it have faded from our thoughts amidst the din and drudgery of this world's affairs, or amidst its ease and comforts, it is on the recurrence of every first day of the week designed to be recalled. For surely a dead remembrance of accomplished redemption, in which my conscience can take repose, or in which the indolence of my heart is ministered to, is not to meet the design of the Lord's supper. No. But, if I understand its import aright, it is on my part the acknowledgment of His claim to the utmost fealty of my heart, made in the most affecting manner it is possible that it could be made, by a living and pre. sent Lord. For if He is not present, it may be dismissed as an idle formality, and all further reasoning upon it may be closed.
Moreover, it has been insisted on that the peculiar construction of the passage, " Do this in remembrance of me," which occurs here and in Luke's gospel, has the signification of "Do this for my remembrance;" and is rather the Lord Jesus Christ's reminder of His claims, in infinite grace, upon us, than that we should bring our best thoughts and remembrances in the supper to Him. And the predominant title under which He is presented in the institution as already noticed, seems to give its sanction to this. For it is not right to call it the Father's table, as is often done; though it is true that none but His children are entitled to be there. It is the Lord's supper and the Lord's table. It is the Lord's death that in it is proclaimed. It is the Lord's body that in eating is to be discerned. Unworthily eating and drinking renders one guilty in respect of the body and blood of the Lord. And the discipline that is carried on in connection with it is expressly declared to be the discipline of the Lord. " When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
Ordinances and institutions are for this world. The witness of the Lord's supper is not to the Church's heavenly character and portion as risen into the heavenly places and there seated in Christ. It is rather the witness of each believer's connection with a rejected, though risen and ascended, Lord. It is the balancing truth to the Church's heavenly position, as the cross is the pathway to the glory. "If we be dead with Him we shall also live with him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with him." It does not contradict the truth of the Church's position as risen in Christ, far from it; but it presents altogether another aspect of redemption. It is my Lord's death that has bound me to Him as His bondsman. His cross was the separating point between the world and Him and all His claims. His cross is the point of union between my soul and Him who hung upon it; and its moral power is to crucify the world to me, and me to the world. The standing witness of the Church's allegiance to Christ is that in heart and purpose it shows " the Lord's death till he come."
The Epistle to the Corinthians presents the Church's position and witness on earth in relation with Christ's title as Lord. It is addressed, in the universality of its bearing, " to all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Moreover the Epistle to the Ephesians, which so specially unfolds the relationship of the Church with Christ as His body, participating, in the infinitude of God's grace, in all that characterizes the position of its risen Head, does not omit to present also Christ's title as Lord. For if " there is one body and one Spirit," there is also " one Lord and one faith." Christians are not gathered together by God's Spirit to be in subjection to a dogma; but to yield a willing and due obedience to a living Lord. A profession of speculative truths, though of the highest possible character, may leave the soul at fault in this most essential point, the witness of a good confession. The truth of the Church, in conjunction with the mystery, does not in itself furnish us with the grounds of this. It gives the true formative power to the affections, and links the soul in -living association with God and Christ. But to Christ personally, as rejected in the world and coming again in glory, I am to show my loyalty here in the world through which I am passing to the heavenly kingdom. It is a principle that binds me to Him at all times and in all circumstances. It is the substance of the witness I am to bear to Him, " whose I am and whom I serve." I am to confess His name and paramount claims where they have been rejected, The truth of the Church in its association and union with Christ is for the Church. Knit up with it are God's counsels of grace, by which its heavenly character and heavenly hopes are formed. But my confession of Christ as Lord is the bond of my fellowship here in this world with those who by the cross are separated from its course and judgment. We own allegiance here to a common Lord, whatever the heavenly portion and hopes we have in Him, and which will be realized at His appearing.
I may talk of the heavenly calling, and rightly too, but I ought to remember that the earthly part of the heavenly calling is the cross and the denial of self. " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." I may delight to think of the certainty of my position before God, as sealed by the possession of Christ's risen life. But I ought to remember that there is the other side of this truth, even the " bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." I may see with admiration and rapture how everything of man's thoughts about the Church is thrown into the shade and utter insignificance before that blessed revelation of its portion as the body and Bride of Christ; and withal, of its possession of the present Spirit of God to tell her of the worth and glories of Him to whom, as a chaste virgin, she is espoused. But I want another principle, which is not speculative but practical, in order to give stability to my course through the conflicting elements of the world, and which will produce a practical conformity to Christ. It is the principle of subjection. That principle which is in itself the reason for what I do, as well as my authority for doing it. Christ has not redeemed us and set us loose to follow our own will. He has said with infinite grace, "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love." We are " sanctified unto obedience," as well as unto the " sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." And what is there in my whole course through the world, whether in heavenly association with the children of God, or in the every day pursuits and business of' life, that ought not to be brought into direct contact with that question, and under its governance, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Love, as the apostle shows, the love of Christ, is the constraining principle of all true Christian action and suffering; but then the will of that Lord who has loved is as necessary to guide the outgoings of affection.
Thus while this principle of subjection to the Lord, leaves the heavenly portion of the believer and of the Church untouched, it furnishes the only bridle of restraint for the manifold operation of self-will, which, as the evil of the world advances, becomes more and more the temptation of the children of God. It gives the whole rule and guide for that walk on earth which ought to result from the Church's heavenly character. Moreover, it is especially the regulating principle of Christian fellowship. For we are not only members one of another, but we are mutually servants of the same Lord. I see no reason for Christians being gathered together at all, apart from the acknowledgment of the will of the Lord. And it is to be carefully noted, in days like these, that all that was heavenly in Christ, all that connected itself with his conscious unbroken communion with the Father and His knowledge of the heavenly glory; all, in a word, that is contained in his declaration, " We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen," so far as it was seen on earth, was in lowly subjection to the Father's will. In result and embodiment here in this world it is expressed in the sentence, " I came not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." But who is there of us who duly lays to heart the import of that word, "As (καθὼς) thou has sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world?"
"Ο Lord thy boundless love to me-
No thought can reach, no tongue declare,
Then bond my wayward_ heart to thee,
And reign without a rival there;
From thee, my Lord, I all receive;
Thine, wholly thine, alone I'd live."