I educated myself a bit on Clement of Alexandria. His life spanned from 150 to either 215 or 217. He was a Christian theologian who was the head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. This school was founded by the Apostle Mark! Clemens was the teacher of Origen and an early Church Father. He advocated vegetarianism and was the son of wealthy pagans. You could read for days about his theologies! Let's move on!
Luke 22:20) In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."
Clement starts out by saying that Jesus never taught in a human manner, therefore, His teachings cannot be heard with human ears. I have stressed in other posts that we have to study His words. There is always a deeper meaning. Luke wrote in parables and from the outside His teachings sound elementary, but they are far from it.
It is important to read Scripture with spiritual eyes. God will surely provide divine insight when we ask Him to. It is an act of worship to desire to study Him and follow through. I am definately not as smart as I sound when it comes to Scripture! God sheds much grace on me when I study Him. I picture a light beam shining on to His words. The Holy Spirit works within me to reveal Himself to me. His words have unspoken meanings that, I believe, go from His Spirit to mine. I cannot humanly retain all He has for me, but my spirit can. This helps me feel not so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the information in the Bible.
We have all heard of communion I assume. We have probably heard that verse in Luke hundreds of times also. We have probably taken part in it many, many times. It was not until my decision to be 100% for for God that I really GOT Communion. I mention this turning point in my life in my 'about me' section. It also dawned on me how lightly I had been taking Communion. Did you know that if you have ANYTHING against another you go make that right BEFORE you take Communion? That is off-topic though. I would imagine the mood was anything but light on that first Communion. Communion is sobering and quite humbling. On the flipside it should be a joyous occasion too. It symbolizes the forgiveness of sins. The last line of Luke 22:20 is powerful. It reads, "...which is poured out for you." This verse refers to the Blood.
You may have heard of the Old Covenant (or the Mosaic Covenant) and the New Covenant. Luke 22:20 refers to the new covenant of the blood. For a greater understanding of the significance behind the new covenant of the blood let's look deeper at the differences btween the two. The Old Testament and the Old Covenant go hand in hand as does the New Testament and the New Covenant. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ took us from old to new. When we really understand the impact of moving from the old to the new we cannot help but take Communion with a grateful, reverant, and joyous heart.
There are some interesting differences between the two covenants. A person could study for days in greater detail, but I think an overview will be enough to prove my point. I'll discuss a few today and then more over the next few days.
Moses was the minister of the Old Covenant. The story of Moses is absolutely incredible. Moses is a real person just like you and I. He had struggles and told God He chose the wrong guy! The adventures of Moses and his wife, Sarah, are rather interesting to say the least. God worked many miracles though Moses and we all know the Red Sea story. He also had to endure the constant whining of the Israelites as they wondered the wilderness. I love how Joyce Meyer says they made an eleven day trip take fourty years! That's me...I go around the same mountian about 56 times a day! I'm wondering off my point. Moses (and Aaron) was the go-between the people and God. Guess who the ministers of the New Covenant are?! Well first it was Jesus Christ and now it is the disciples of Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit. That would mean you and I! You read right. Us Christians have a big responsibility to the lost and unsaved...and each other.
1. John 1:17) For the Law was given though Moses; grace and truth come though Jesus Christ.
2. 2 Corinthians 3:6) He has made us competant at ministers of a new covenant- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
I'll discuss one more wonderful reason we should celebrate Communion. Here is a difference that really strikes me! People in the Old Testament had the Holy Spirit in a different manner than we do now. Even Old Testament believers had to be born again or experience rebirth. No human is capable of saving themselves by works and good deeds. Human being are spiritually dead before the Spirit does a work in their hearts. So Old Testament believers did experience the Spirit in some manner. I am not clear if the Spirit kept working in their hearts to follow God or that they clung to the letter of the Law. If anyone has good insight on that issue please feel free to let me know. The Old Testament does discuss the Spirit leaving people though and that fact cannot be ignored. The Spirit came upon people so they could execute certain tasks. The Spirit would come in that manner than depart. Now we have Him all the time! He will never leave a child of God. I will not pretend to understand exactly the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, but I am perfectly clear on His role in the New Testament or under the New Covenant.
1. Micah 3:8) But as for me, the Lord fills me with His Spirit and power, and gives me a sense of justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel what their sins are.
2. John 14:26) The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.
2a. John 14:16-17) I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive Him, because it cannot see Him or know Him, but you know Him, because He remains with you and is in you.
I'll end with these two points today. After studying the Holy Spirit issue regarding the Old and New Testaments my eyes are crossed! It is some deep stuff! I'll pick up another day on more reasons to celebrate Communion. I am hopeful these two reasons alone will help you understand the importance of Communion even more.
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