HEALING THROUGH THE LORD'S SUPPER_pdf

HEALING THROUGH THE LORD'S
SUPPER (1 Corinthinas 11:23-32)

23Ta inawatco iti Apo ti inyawatco met
cadacayo: a ni Apo Jesus, idi met la a
rabii a nayawat, nangala iti tinapay;
24Ket idi a nacapagiamanen pinisina ket
kinunana: Alaenyo, kanenyo. Daytoy ti
bagic a mapisi gapu cadacayo.
Aramidenyo daytoy a panglaglagip
caniac.
25Ket casta met, innalana ti copa, idi
calpasan ti panangrabii, a kinunana:
Daytoy a copa isu ti Baro a Tulag iti
darac; aramidenyo daytoy, a masansan
nga uminumcayo, a maipaay a
panglaglagip caniac.
26Ta no masansan a canenyo daytoy, a
tinapay ken uminumcayo iti copa,
iwarragawagyo ti ipapatay ti
Apo, agingga ti yaayna.
27 Gapuna, siasinoman a manganto iti
tinapay wenno uminumto iti copa ti Apo a
saan a maicari, macabasolto iti
maipapan iti bagi ken dara ti Apo.

28Ngem tunggal maysa sukimatenna ti
bagina; iti casta, sa mangan iti tinapay,
ken uminum iti copa.
29Ta ti mangan ken uminum kanenna
ken inumenna ti pannacaocomna met
laeng no dina mailasin ti bagi.
30Gapu itoy adu cadacayo ti nacapuy
ken masacsakit, ket adu dagiti naturog.
31Ngem no sukimatentayo coma dagiti
bagbagitayo, saantay coma a maocom.
32Ngem no maocomtayo, dusaennatay
ti Apo, tapno saantayo a madusa a
mairaman iti lubong.

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 we have a
clear indication that participating properly in
the Lord's Supper meal will result in healing
and health.

Paul maintains that improper
participation has resulted in many of the
Corinthians being ill and some of them
actually dying prematurely. "For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you, and
many sleep" (vs 30). It follows therefore,
that proper participation will promote good
health. Let us look together at this important
matter.
1. The Lord's Supper Is Based On The
Passover Meal

When Jesus first instituted The Lord's
Supper, it was at the time of the celebration
of Passover (Matt 26:19). The disciples who
gathered around Him that night were keenly
aware of the implications of this meal.

They were mindful that it was observed
in memory of the original Passover some
1,400 years previously. They remembered
the covenant which God had made with
their fathers. He had brought their ancestors
out of Egypt on the first Passover.

They experienced a glorious
deliverance from Egypt and all its
bondage. They were brought out from
slavery by the mighty outstretched hand of
God.

The original Passover meal in Moses'
time was composed of a roast lamb and
unleavened bread. The blood of that lamb
had been applied to the doorposts and lintels
of their homes.

That blood was a sign to God. "When I
see the blood, 1 will pass over you," He
told them (Exo 12:13).

They came out through those
bloodstained doorposts into the freedom of
salvation. The blood was for their
redemption.

God also told them to roast the lamb
with herbs and eat every part of it before
they commenced their journey into
freedom.

This nourishing meal was to strengthen
their bodies in preparation for the arduous
journey. It was to minister physical strength
to them. "...There was not one feeble person
among their tribes" (Ps 105:37). Thus, the
Passover meal was for salvation, healing and
health.

2. The Lord's Supper: A New Covenant
As Jesus shared the bread and wine with

them that night He was making a New
Covenant with them. The wine symbolized
His blood, soon to be shed for their
salvation. The bread typified the body of the
passover lamb to be eaten for healing and
strength.

Paul shares some meaningful principles

relating to our partaking of The Lord's
Supper.

a. The Lord's Supper Is To Remember
Jesus. Jesus said: "Do this in remembrance
of me" (I Cor 11:24). As Jesus sat at the
table with them that night He was the
embodiment of human perfection.
Throughout His life, Satan had tried — in
every way — to attack and destroy Him. He
had sought to seduce Him (Matt 4:1- 11). I
am sure that he had tried to put many
dreadful diseases upon Him.

Jesus moved among so many sick and
diseased people during His ministry. Many of
them would have had contagious diseases,
and I am sure that Satan would have sought
to contaminate Jesus with them. But every
effort of Satan had failed miserably.

At the close of His earthy ministry,
Jesus was able to say: "The prince of this
world [Satan] cometh, but hath nothing in
me" (John 14:30). Despite all the efforts
the devil had made, here was Jesus sitting
in their presence, robust with health.

A perfect specimen of manhood, Jesus
was saying: "When you celebrate this meal
in the future, think about me! Picture me in
your mind as I am this night: healthy and
strong — kept by the power of God,
preserved from all evil and all sickness by
the Father's protection and providence.
Realize that the Father wants you to be like
this, too — abounding in good health and
strength."

b. The Lord's Supper Is To
Celebrate His Death. As He passed
around the bread and wine, Jesus said:
"This is my body which is broken for you...
This cup is the new testament in my
blood."

Paul says: "As often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye proclaim
theLord's death" (I Cor 11:24-26).
In the deepest sense. The Lord's Supper
is a celebration. Of course there is some
sadness as we remember that it was our sins
which nailed Him to the cross. However, as
we meditate on Christ's death, we cannot
remain sad for very long.
Calvary was not a defeat; it was Christ's
greatest triumph. Through His death

"...he conquered him that had the power of death, that is the
devil" (Heb2:l4).

As we celebrate that victory, we rejoice
to remember that Jesus has purchased
perfect freedom for us from sin and all its
evil effects. He has delivered us from Satan
and every foul thing he would desire to put
upon us. Jesus has restored to us everything
that Adam lost. We are complete in Christ
(Col 2:10). He has restored us to wholeness
through His triumphant victory.

c. The Lord's Supper Is To Discern
His Body. Here is the essence and focus of
the whole matter. It is the failure to properly
discern His body when celebrating the
Lord's Supper, which has resulted in much
sickness among Christians (1 Cor 11:27-
32). So, what does it mean to discern the
body of the Lord?

1) His Body Was Healthy. First, it
means to understand that the body of
Jesus was healthy and strong, and that God
wants us to enjoy that same quality of health.

2) The Bread Is His Body. Second,

we are to understand that as we eat the bread, it is the body of
the Lord (1 Cor 11:24). Inherent within it is the life, health and
strength of Jesus. We should eat in faith, appropriating for
ourselves the measure and quality of health which is in Jesus.

3) The Church Is His Body. Third,
we are to discern the mystical Body of
Christ. I believe this is possibly the deepest
and most significant aspect. This is the
very point at which so many Christians fail.

Paul calls the whole Church the Body
of Christ (Eph 1:22,23). Every born-again
person is a member of that Body. As we
discern our relationship to Christ, so we
must recognize our relationship to every
other child of God.

Failure to do so is called "eating and
drinking unworthily." Partaking of that holy
meal, while refusing to properly recognize
the oneness of Christ's mystical Body, is
participating unworthily.

Please notice that the word "unworthily" is
an adverb, something we "do." It does not refer
to the worthiness or unworthiness of the
persons themselves. It refers to whether or not
this act of taking the Lord's Supper is done in a
worthy or unworthy manner.

There is both cleansing and healing at the
table of the Lord. We should celebrate this
meal regularly and do so in a worthy manner,
rightly discerning the Body of the Lord. In so
doing, we shall enjoy the glorious blessing of
divine health in spirit, soul and body.