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The Lord's The Lord's SupperSupper

A Proclamation MealA Proclamation Meal

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1 Corinthians 11:261 Corinthians 11:26“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”The word, “proclaim” means, “to tell thoroughly.” So every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we “tell thoroughly” in a practical manner the death of Jesus Christ.But it is not just His death that we proclaim.

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1 Corinthians 2:21 Corinthians 2:2

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”Paul did not mean that he “determined not to know” that Jesus Christ was resurrected. He simply meant that he had come to them with the facts of the gospel, rather than“with excellency of speech or of wisdom”

(verse 1).

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1 Peter 3:211 Peter 3:21There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ....Peter did not mean to imply that we are not saved by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Nor did he mean that “baptism alone” saves us.He simply used the resurrection as a figure for all the facts of the gospel and baptism as a figure for all the commands of the gospel.

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A Proclamation MealA Proclamation Meal In like manner, when we eat the bread and

drink the fruit of the vine, in a scriptural manner, we declare, not the death of Christ alone, but the factuality of the entire gospel account.

After all, His death is meaningless apart from His virgin birth, sinless life and resurrection.

And since we “declare the Lord’s death till He comes,”

we also declare His ascension and His future return.

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A Proclamation MealA Proclamation Meal When, therefore, saints partake of

the Lord’s Supper, pictorially proclaiming the gospel, the good news, of Christ, they are preaching every whit a gospel sermon as can be proclaimed verbally.

No matter how uneducated, poor, or untalented, any Christian can preach the gospel by participating in the proclamation meal.

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Exodus 13:10-12Exodus 13:10-12

You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. "And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord's.

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Exodus 13:13-14Exodus 13:13-14

But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him, 'By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

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Exodus 13:15-16Exodus 13:15-16And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.' It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt."

Clearly, the Passover was a yearly proclamation meal.

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A Weekly Proclamation A Weekly Proclamation MealMeal

And, just as the Israelites used the Passover as an opportunity to tell their children the factual account of God’s “passing over” their houses in the land of Egypt, sparing the firstborn inside, we can also use the Lord’s Supper as an opportunity to teach our children verbally, the factual account of God’s “passing over” the sins of mankind in the sacrifice of Christ, by explaining to them the symbolism of the proclamation meal.

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A Weekly Proclamation A Weekly Proclamation MealMeal

When partaking scripturally, the child of God not only proclaims the fact of the Savior’s death for the sins of mankind, but he also publicly confesses his own personal belief in that fact.

Surely, this is a confession that all faithful saints take unspeakable joy in making, even as they do also in verbally stating that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world.

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A Weekly Proclamation A Weekly Proclamation MealMeal

And in making such a confession, the Christian acknowledges that his salvation is totally dependent on the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

It is as if the saved individual were saying to every sinner present, “The wonderful Savior, whose body

and blood I am remembering in the proclamation meal, saved me from my sins and He can save you, too.”

“I plead with you to come to Him according to His revealed will and accept the salvation His grace and mercy so freely give.”

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A Weekly Proclamation A Weekly Proclamation MealMeal

After He was crucified, Jesus was buried in a rock-hewn tomb, but the bonds of death could not hold Him.

On the third day He rose triumphantly to taste of death no more.

During a period of forty days after His resurrection, He appeared frequently to His disciples.

At the end of this period He ascended into heaven, even as His disciples looked on.

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Acts 1:10-11Acts 1:10-11

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

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His Anticipated ReturnHis Anticipated Return From that time on, the final return of

Jesus Christ became a highly featured theme in the apostles’ teaching, being referred to by them hundreds of times.

All this emphasis was to be expected. During His personal ministry, the Lord

plainly revealed to the apostles the fact of His final return, which fact they were subsequently inspired by the Holy Spirit to teach.

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His Anticipated ReturnHis Anticipated Return Every time faithful children of God

partake of the Lord’s Supper, they eloquently declare that the One who gave His body and blood for them, who came forth from the grave, who ascended into heaven, will one day come again to complete the work of redemption that was begun at His first coming.

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His Anticipated ReturnHis Anticipated Return To “proclaim the Lord’s death till He

comes” in partaking of the Lord’s Supper is indeed an affirmation that Christ’s final return is inseparably connected to His first appearance, for His coming to die for sinners would be meaningless and futile were He not to return to judge all men and to receive His faithful ones unto Himself.

Thus we can see how useless it would be to proclaim the death of Christ, without at the same time proclaiming His return.

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His Anticipated ReturnHis Anticipated Return The proclamation of His eventual

return is a proclamation of hope. The saint who partakes of the Lord’s

Supper thus proclaims his unwavering, steadfast hope that is based upon the promise of Jesus to His faithful disciples.

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John 14:1-3John 14:1-3

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

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His Anticipated ReturnHis Anticipated Return The proclamation of His eventual return

is a proclamation of hope. The saint who partakes of the Lord’s

Supper thus proclaims his unwavering, steadfast hope that is based upon the promise of Jesus to His faithful disciples.

Since the Lord’s Supper points to the second coming of Christ, it is to be perpetuated and observed to the end of time.

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A Proclamation MealA Proclamation Meal The Lord's Supper is to be observed by

Christians in every generation and in every place until the Lord shall return.

When He comes again, the necessity of observing it shall be ended.

No longer will we need a reminder of the Savior.

When faith gives way to sight, we shall see Him as He is and we shall enjoy the perfect spiritual repast with Him eternally, world without end.

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Revelation 19:5-7Revelation 19:5-7

Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!" And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

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Revelation 19:8-9Revelation 19:8-9

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."