Quote 1103
In the ordinance believers commemorate the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on their behalf. They celebrate the forgiveness of their sins through the blood of Christ (Matt 26:28), the establishment of God's new covenant with them, and their hope of one day eating this meal in the presence of God 
Daniel Block
For the Glory of God (161)Other Quotes from the Author & Topic
Not only is music rarely associated with worship in the New Testament but the Pentateuch is altogether silent on music associated with tabernacle worship. All of this highlights our skewed preoccupation with music in the current conflicts over worship.For the Glory of God (xi)
Since a house of worship is not a concert hall, the best place for a choir or musical groups is on the balcony at the back.For the Glory of God (330)
Worship often involves other physical postures (lying, sitting, standing), as well as actions performed with the hands (clapping, raising of hands) or feet (marching in procession, dancing, jumping). For the moment, we observe only that the dominant physical gesture of worship in the Scriptures is prostration. Our contemporary squabbles over worship rarely-if ever-include discussions of physically bending the knee before God, which may be a measure of how uninterested people are in truly biblical worship. Surely worship that pleases God involves bodily gestures of subordination and submission.For the Glory of God (17)
The Supper is rightly viewed as a means of grace. The efficacy of the sacraments ...resides not in the faith or virtue of the minister but in the faithfulness of God. As the preaching of the Word makes the gospel audible, so the sacraments make it visible, and the Holy Spirit stirs up faith by both means.
If we want synonyms for "eat" and "drink," we find them in John 6 in such concepts as believe (vv. 29, 35, 47), come (v. 35), see (v.40), hear and learn of (v. 45). All indicate a response to Jesus. The terms eat and drink stress that this feeding by faith is to be as real as literal eating. http://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/the-lord-s-supper
(1) True worship involves an engagement with God and is focused on him. According to Jesus himself, true worship focuses not on the place but on the person of Christ, who is Yahweh incarnate (John 4:21–24). (2) True worship occurs at the invitation of the Lord and must be conducted on his terms. (3) True worship is communal. In worship the redeemed gather to celebrate the kindness that God has lavished on us collectively, without merit and without prejudice. Furthermore, true worship tears down the barriers of gender, class, and race. As Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, in the presence of God "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (4) True worship is driven by a deep sense of gratitude to God, first for his redemption, and second for his lavish daily provision. In true worship our focus is not on what we are doing for him but on what he has done for us. For this reason true worship should be a joyful event, not a burden to be legalistically borne. (5) Finally, true worship involves the lavish offering of one's resources and even oneself (Rom. 12:1) in sacrifice to and for the service of Christ.Deuteronomy (The NIV Application Commentary) (p. 398). Zondervan
if one accepts some terms of the Decalogue as normative for Christians, one must accept all. This document must be received as a package, beginning with the preamble and ending with the command against coveting. The principles are cast as absolute and unconditional commands, without qualification, and for the most part without declared motivation.
Sabbath rest is not the post-eschaton Sabbath celebrated in heaven, nor the rest that believers experience in death, but a present rest enjoyed by those who believe (4:3), anticipating a greater future "rest" (4:11). Human Sabbath keeping is a metaphor for cessation from works (4:10) in commemoration of God's rest at creation (4:4=Gen. 2:2) and of salvation provided by Christ. The physical Sabbath rest that God's people enjoy reflects the inner spiritual rest, which is a deposit of the final eschatological rest proleptically experienced "today" (4:7)For the Glory of God (280)
Pagan worship focuses on corporate and individual cultic efforts seeking to mollify the gods and secure their blessing. Today many Christians' understanding of worship differs little from that of pagans, except perhaps that God is singular and the forms of worship come from traditions more or less rooted in the Scriptures. Largely divorced from life, such worship represents a pattern of religious activities driven by a deep-seated sense of obligation to God and a concern to win his favour. But this understanding is unbiblical; it separates worship from daily life and compartmentalizes human existence into the sacred and the secular.For the Glory of God (23)
Some argue for the normativeness of the "Ten Commands" as a guide for Christian behavior, but then remove the Sabbath ordinance as an exception, claiming this to be part of the ceremonial law that ended in Christ. However, this approach is indefensible. (1) The seventh-day Sabbath ordinance is embedded in the Decalogue as a fundamental principle of covenant relationship, along with the prohibition of any other gods, of murder, and so on. One may not treat it differently from the rest. (2) According to the Exodus version of the Decalogue, the six-plus-one weekly rhythm is fundamental to the cosmic order. Exodus 20:11 grounds the human practice in the pattern of divine creative work. (3) In its origin the Sabbath is separated from Israel's ceremonial laws. In fact, Israelites were observing it as a matter of course before they got to Sinai (Ex. 16). (4) The Sabbath command is not primarily a cultic ordinance. In intent and character it was both humanitarian (a gift offering people rest and refreshment from life-sustaining labor) and theological—offering Israelites an opportunity to declare their fundamentally theological perspective on life (God is Creator of all), their confidence in him to provide for the seventh day, their acceptance of covenant relationship, their gratitude for salvation from slavery, and their compassion for the poor. (5) Nowhere does the New Testament declare the seventh-day Sabbath passé in Christ.
References and allusions to the Shema in the New Testament are both fascinating and exciting. While Jesus cites it as a sort of creedal statement in connection with the Supreme Command (Mark 12:30), it falls to Paul to draw out its christological significance. He does so most pointedly in 1 Corinthians 8:1–6, where he roots his polemic against idolatry in Deuteronomy 6:4–5 and beyond.23 Like Moses, Paul declares the uniqueness and exclusive existence of Yahweh in contrast to the nothingness of idols. Reflecting a thorough understanding of the Shema in its original context, in 1 Corinthians 8:5–6, Paul declares hypothetically that even if one concedes the existence of other gods (which, in the light of v. 4, he will not do), "for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord [i.e., Yahweh], Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." The christological effect of inserting the name "Jesus Christ" after "Lord" is extraordinary,24 in that Paul identifies Jesus unequivocally with Yahweh, the one and only God to whom true Israelites declared allegiance (cf. Rom. 3:29–30; 10:13). What the Old Testament has said about Yahweh may now be said about the Christ.NIVAC - Deuteronomy
By implication, the fact that the Supper is a family meal reinforces a distinction between the church and those who are not part of the church. That is, Jesus does not invite all humanity to his Table. He invites his disciples to come. When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are declaring to one another and to the world around us that we are no longer part of the world. By the grace of Christ, we have been brought out of the world and into the family of God.The Lord\'s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant (Short Studies in Biblical Theology) (p. 96). Crossway.
When we come to Christ in the Supper, we are not fundamentally doing something for him. He is, rather, doing something for us. He is supplying needy souls with the grace of the gospel. He is furnishing what we need from the resources of his sacrificial death on the cross. He is pledging to bring each of his children home to the messianic banquet where we shall enjoy in full what we now enjoy in part - life and blessing from, with, and in our Savior.The Lord\'s Supper as the Sign and Meal of the New Covenant (Short Studies in Biblical Theology) (p. 95). Crossway
Put simply, in the Bible the Spirit is never the object of worship.For the Glory of God, 50
Calvin believed the Supper was a feast of remembrance, but he believed it was a feast of communion too. He believed in a real presence, a real spiritual presence whereby we feast on Christ by faith and experience his presence through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, by faith, we "share in his true body and blood" (Q/A 79).https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/kevindeyoung/2015/10/29/the-reformation-gave-us-a-seat-at-the-table/
We speak of the real presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the service as we know it now, and we seek to respond to him and serve him. We readily admit that there are times when this is difficult and the Lord does not seem to be present. Whether because of sin, fatigue or simply lack of faith, Jesus often seems to be far away. Though we continue on in Christian life and in service, we long for that day when we will see him face to face and be like him (1 Jn. 3:2). The communion service is a reminder of that day. It is a foreshadowing of the great marriage supper of the Lamb. It is an encouragement to faith and an impulse to a higher level of holiness. http://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/the-lord-s-supper
The past significance of the Lord's Supper is made clear by the word remembrance. In the Lord's Supper we look back to the Lord's death. We remember his substitutionary atonement, first of all; it is this that the broken bread, representing the Lord's broken body, and the wine, representing his shed blood, most clearly signify. Atonement has to with our being made right with God. Substitutionary means that this was achieved by the death of another in our place. http://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/the-lord-s-supper
Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein He was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, called the Lord's Supper, to be observed in His Church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of Himself in His death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto Him; and, to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Him, and with each other, as members of His mystical body.Westminster Confession (29.1)
The First Testament presents four basic purposes for the tithe in Israel: (1) Practically, it provided a means to support priests and other cultic personnel. (2) Socially, it was a means of securing the well-being of the poor. (3) Nationally, it provided a precondition for God's blessing. And (4) spiritually, it provided a means for expressing a worshiper's fear of GOd.For the Glory of God (262)
music should be selected and presented to glorify God and promote reverence and awe. This commitment will naturally result in excluding certain kinds of music (narcissistic and subjective lyrics, jarring and raucous tunes).For the Glory of God (242)
evangelicals must rediscover that truly worshipful music is primarily congregational and united the body of Christ. The New Testament pattern has everyone engaged, as worshipers sing to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.For the Glory of God (242)
Music that glorifies the Father and the Son is driven by the Spirit and the Word. It is not merely emotive (driven by atmospherics), but instructive, didactic, informative, and transformative. Truly worshipful music admonishes the carnal, corrects the sinner, challenges the lazy, reproves the indulgent, encourages the depressed, comforts the sorrowful, and inspires the lethargic.For the Glory of God (233)
in the Lord's supper we witness a remarkable transformation. Whereas Israelites would bring their offerings to YHWH, the divine Host, and eat them in his presence, in the Lord's Supper the divine Host offers himself for our spiritual nourishment (John 6:54-58)For the Glory of God (159)
The Decalogue envisions a community that has been freed from the tyranny of Egypt but would be under the constant threat of those with social and economic power behaving like little pharaohs.For the Glory of God (87)
We should interpret this document not as a law code but as a foundational covenant document, intended to create a picture of life within the community of faith governed by covenant principles.For the Glory of God (85)
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