Communion, the Model For Worship; Part 2

There are five accounts in the New Testament of the Lord's Supper in the upper room, Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13-17, and the earliest, 1 Corinthians 11. All five give us a model for becoming those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

When Jesus took the bread and wine of the Passover celebration and created the foundation of true worship, he defined true worship as a faithful and sacrificial response to the word and work of God, to the revelation of God, of himself in Christ. Response is a key word because worship begins with God's activity, his work, which always follows his word. First he says it, then he does it. This is one of the ways of God. He is faithful to his own word, always. He defines faithful. He is faithful. He speaks, then does what he said. In creation, he said, "Let there be light..." then he did it, "and there was light."

God's word and work reveal his nature and character. As Jesus stood before his disciples in the upper room with the pieces of the Passover on the table, he spoke the New Creation into being with the bread and the wine, then went out and did it. By his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus paid in full the penalty for your sins and opened the way back into perfect fellowship and communion with the Father. This is true worship.

True worship is a faithful and sacrificial response to his words and work of salvation and the new creation. True worship celebrates who he is according to what he has said and has done, because it reveals who he is. He is faithful and mighty to save!

Trusting Christ is a sacrifice because he calls you away from the world, the flesh, and the devil. As you trust him, you turn away from the world, just as the Israelites did from Egypt, in order to follow him. This turning-trust is your first act of worship and is based upon his faithful sacrifice for you. The result of this true worship is communion with God, fellowship in Christ.

Then, there is more, tomorrow.