Acts 2:41-42 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, Jesus accomplished several things. One of those things was paying the wage man owed God because of sin. Another major goal accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ while He was upon this earth was establish the church. Before Jesus went back into Heaven to be at the right hand of the Father, He left ordinances (orders) for the church to keep and observe. Those two ordinances Jesus asked the church to hold was baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Both of the church ordinances are pictures of the death of Jesus. Jesus died to pay our price. At the basis of our salvation is the death of Jesus. For someone to receive salvation, they must by faith accept the payment Jesus made on their behalf. Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper show the Lord’s death to remind Christians and the church why Jesus died for them.
When these two ordinances are observed correctly they perform a powerful and important function for the church. That function is purity. Baptism makes the church pure by only allowing saved people to be baptized and becoming a member of the church. The Lord’s Supper keeps the church pure by having those saved member examine themselves and keep themselves right with God.
First of all, baptism is a commandment the Lord Jesus gave to the church to observe while reaching the world. Notice Matthew 28:18-20:
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
As the church goes out and preaches the gospel to every creature, when they accept the wonderful payment Jesus made for their sin debt, that person is to get baptized. There is a specific order given in the word of God constantly and that order is salvation first then baptism. Baptism doesn’t save anyone; it again is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 8:26-39 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
In the account of the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip is guided by the Holy Spirit to meet this man traveling on the backside of the desert. As Philip approaches the chariot, the eunuch is reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip is able from this passage to tell the eunuch about Jesus. As they approach a body of water the eunuch as what would stop him from being baptized. Philip answered in verse 37 that the person must first believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The eunuch confesses Jesus Christ openly and was allowed to be baptized. There was a prerequisite of being saved before being baptized.
Acts 2:41-42 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Notice again the progression, those people gladly received God promise of salvation, then they were baptized. After they were baptized they were added to the church. Baptism is the gateway to the church. The purpose of baptism to only allow saved people to join the church thus allowing the church to be pure. With everyone who is a member of the church saved, meaning the Holy Spirit now resides in their heart, and God is able to freely work on the hearts of the people and move the church is what ever direction God desires.
There is a memory devise that can help people remember what a scriptural baptism is. That memory devise is:
C – Candidate (Saved)
A – Authority (Local Church)
M – Mode (Immersion)
P – Purpose (Obedience and Identification)
The first qualification, (already stated) is the person must be saved, meaning they have accepted Christ as their personal Saviour. The next qualification is to have the right authority. The correct authority is a local New Testament church. Another qualification is the correct mode. The Biblical mode for baptism is immersion, or complete submersion under the water. Sprinkling and pouring are not scriptural modes for baptism. The last qualification is to have the correct purpose. That purpose is obedience to the clear command of the Lord Jesus and identification with the local church and the doctrine that church believes.
Once again, when baptism is obeyed as the scriptures state it to be preformed, then the church is made pure. It will be a local assembly of saved believers with the Holy Spirit dwelling in each member and God working in a special way through the church.
I Corinthians 11:20-34 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
We have this wonderful passage reminding the church how the Lord’s Supper to be properly done. The context is the Corinthian church had been abusing the Lord’s Supper and turning to into a social club and a tradition with no affect then what it was originally meant to do. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this account to set things back into order and teach how the Lord’s Supper is to be done and what it means.
It’s Commemorative
First of all, the Lord’s Supper was meant to be commemorative. The Lord’s Supper was to be done in remembrance of Jesus. Notice what Jesus said in verses 24 and 25. Jesus said do this in remembrance of Me. When the Lord’s Supper is done properly, it always reflects and brings the Christian to the point of remembering why Jesus suffered, bled and died. Jesus died to pay for our awful sin and they sin debt we owed God.
It’s Pictorial
The Lord’s Supper was also to be pictorial. The Lord’s Table pictures the Lord’s death. Notice that phrase in verse 26. As often as it is done, it shows the Lord’s death. Remember it is only a picture. Jesus is not dying again for our sins. Jesus only had to pay for it once. Jesus is now in heaven, alive for evermore. Jesus will never have to die for sins again, the first time was enough to pay for the price of every sin that was ever committed or ever will be committed.
It’s Prophetic
Another encouraging function of the Lord’s Supper is that it is prophetic. The Lord’s Supper shows the Lord’s death until He comes again. Verse 26 says the Lord’s Supper pictures the death of Jesus until He comes again. Praise the Lord He is coming again. When the Lord’s Supper is taken it is a time to remember not only did Jesus die for me, by He rose again and one day He is coming back for His bride! The Lord’s Supper pictures that Jesus is God and they payment is completed and we have a hope for the future!
It’s Symbolic
It is very important to remember the Lord’s Supper is symbolic. The elements do not turn into the actual body and blood of Christ. Nor do they turn into the actual body and blood and Christ when they are placed into our mouths. They were and have always been symbols of remembrance. When the Bible gives specific guidelines and calls them a symbol, then the symbol they are representing is the Lord Jesus Christ. The elements themselves picture the Lord Jesus Christ.
I Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
The elements are symbols of Christ’s purity. That is why unleavened bread and unfermented win (grape juice) is used. In I Corinthians 5:7-8, in direct reference to the Lord’s Supper, states to use unleavened bread. The Bible always refers to leaven as impurity and corruption. That is always why all the parallel passages of the Lord’s Supper the word ‘wine’ is not used. The passages always use ‘fruit of the vine’ referring to grape juice. Fermented (alcoholic) wine is another sign of corruption and impurity. Unleavened bread and grape juice picture the purity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s Purifying
Going back to the passage in I Corinthians 11, it is very vital to see the Lord’s Supper as purifying. As the Lord’s Supper is taken and Jesus is remembered for paying the price for our sin, it should remind us of how awful our sin is. Jesus had to die for each and every one of our sins. When we sin again, it’s just like we are adding more weight and more accounts Jesus paid for on the cross. Jesus died so we would be free from sin and be cleansed from our sin. God wants us to examine ourselves and expose any unconfessed sin, anyone we are not right with or any root of bitterness that might be in our lives.
God made clear the importance of being right with Him. It says that we are not to take the Lord’s Supper unworthily. That doesn’t mean sinners are not allowed to partake of the Lord’s Table but that those that are taking the Lord’s Supper are to be completely right with God. If we do not, God has the right to deal with us. The Lord’s Supper is our chance to take time and clean out any sin or darkness in our lives and confess it to the Lord.
