Class Notes: 12/28/2014

Celebration of the Lord's Table; Heb 10:5; Christmas 2014 part 2

Christmas is the holiday where we celebrate Jesus entry into the human race where God became a man; Heb 10:5; in order to die spiritually for the sins of fallen mankind. Rom 5:8;

Jesus entered the human race so that He could fulfill the Father's plan as savior of the world through His substitutionary spiritual death and spiritual victory on the cross through the baptism of the cup that occurred on the cross.

Our celebration of the Lord's table recalls that spiritual victory, God's strategic victory that Jesus Christ accomplished while he was on the earth in unglorified humanity.

Jesus Christ is the pattern for humility and obedience and becoming a channel for the fulfillment of God the Father's plan by complying with the grace principle of pivot power where the power of God's word is deployed through positive volition. Luke 22:42;

God demonstrated His love for us first Rom 5:8; 1John 4:19; we reciprocate love by complying with His mandates. 1John 5:2-3;

Our celebration of the Lord's Table is therefore an expression of our reciprocal love for our Lord who is the strategic victor of time and eternity. We concentrate on him through the elements of the only ritual for the post-canon period of the Church Age Luke 22:19-20;

Jesus Christ was obedient to the Father's unique plan for His life by enduring the suffering and death on the cross Phil 2:8; that resulted in his humanity being exalted above every created being, such that, every created being will ultimately bow down to him. Phil 2:9-10;

He completely and perfectly fulfilled the directive will of the Father by unilaterally providing a way of salvation for everyone. Rom 5:8; as the "lamb slain from the foundation of the world" Rev 13:8; KJV John 1:29;

While we were enemies of God, God demonstrated his love for us by giving his uniquely born Son "monogenes" who entered the world through the virgin birth. John 3:16

As a result of Jesus' substitutionary spiritual death on the cross God is propitiated so He is free to reconcile mankind from their fallen state of depravity without compromising his perfect righteousness and justice because TLJC willingly laid down his life for us as our substitute. John 15:13 ; 1John 3:16

This is why believing in TLJC is the only way to a relationship with God John 14:6 , salvation Acts 4:12 and eternal life John 3:16;

Anyone can appropriate this Grace gift of salvation which is secured by the Power of God John 10:26-29; simply by believing in TLJC 1Cor 15:3-4 in the same way that Paul and Silas instructed the Philippian Jailer who asked "what Must I do to be saved?"

Their response recorded In Acts 16:31

Anyone, any time, anywhere can become saved in a moment in time simply by believing in TLJC privately in their thoughts only.

TLJC left his friends, the members of The Royal Family of God, this one and only ritual in the church age The Lord's table which we are mandated to observe in remembrance of Him.

The mandate is found in 1Cor 11:24; in the second person plural present active imperative of the Greek word " poieo" that where Paul references TLJC's own instruction found in Luke 22:19-20;

An expanded translation of 1Cor 11:24 taking into consideration the tense mood and voice of "poieo" would be " Keep on doing this in remembrance of me"

Because these verbs are only imperatives regarding ritual in the New Testament the Lord's Table is one and only ritual of the Church Age and it is a test of our capacity to concentrate on our Lord Jesus Christ through the Bible Doctrine that is resident in our soul as we partake of the elements that represent his work on our behalf.

We have these instructions for partaking of the Lord's table from the Apostle Paul starting in verse 26 of 1Cor 11.

1Cor 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

We understand from this that we are to examine ourselves (imperative mood is a mandate do something because of failure) in the light of the word, privately in our thinking, in the privacy of our priesthood, and when we find we are outside of the word, we apply the first problem solving device, and simply acknowledge the sin as described in 1 John 1:9;

If we acknowledge our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Having examined ourselves, and taken appropriate action by acknowledging any known sin, we are then instructed to partake of the elements, the bread and the cup.

The bread which represents his body in which he bore the sins and the judgment for our sins and the sins of the whole world, past present and future.

1Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
1Cor 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.

eat the bread

The cup which represents his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross which purchased the freedom from spiritual death and eternal condemnation of everyone who believes in him.

1Cor 11:25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper saying This cup is the new covenant in my Blood do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

drink cup


Since it is the Christmas season last time we started a study on the transformations that have occurred in human history.

We saw that at the fall mankind was transformed from spiritual life into spiritual death. We saw that the woman became a child bearer and that the earth was cursed so it became hostile and needed to be brought into subjection rather than simply watched over.

We saw that God's solution to the problem was the 4th transformation where God became a man in the person of the incarnate Christ.

The story of Christmas from God's perspective is found in the dialogue between God the Father and God the Son on Christmas Eve. It is found in Heb 10:5-10; This is the key to understanding the fourth transformation.

Heb 10:5,"Therefore, when He entered the world He said (Psa 40:6-8;), `You (Father) do not desire sacrifices and offerings, but You have prepared for Me a human body.'"

Sacrifices and offerings refer to the ritual plan of God for Israel that taught Christology (Jesus Christ) and soteriology (salvation) by ritual analogy.

Jesus Christ had to become true humanity in a human body to become the Savior of the world. As God, He could have nothing to do with sin so His Deity could not receive the judgment for sin.

He had to become true humanity to become the Lamb of God. Eph 2:15; Phil 2:7-8; Col 1:22; 1Pet 2:24; 1Pet 3:18.

In addition, Jesus Christ had to become true humanity to be the mediator between God and man. In Job 9:2; Job asks how can a man mediate with God and states that he can't.

This is because a mediator must be someone who is equal with both parties. In this case equal with both God and man; only the God-man Jesus Christ qualifies. 1Tim 2:5; "there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus."

Jesus Christ had to become true humanity in order to become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. A priest is a man who represents man before God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ became true humanity for that purpose. There could be no universal priesthood of Church Age believers and no high priesthood of Jesus apart from the first Christmas.

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