Covenant Life

Part 5 - Covenant Nourishment

When Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, He spoke simple yet profound words regarding the cup and His own blood. "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Paul records Christ's interpretation of the cup in this way. "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:25). The blood of Christ is the blood of the covenant. The sacrifice of Christ unites His people with God. His blood is the tie.

Exodus 24 paints the picture. God redeemed His people and brought then to Sinai. Moses built an altar. He sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. He sprinkled half the blood from the offerings on the altar. He then read the Ten Commandments and their application, the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 21-23). The people agreed with God's covenant. "So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words'" (Exodus 24:8). Thus God bound His redeemed people to Himself by way of covenant.

Here is the reality. God binds Himself to us through the blood of Jesus Christ by way of covenant. The Lord's Supper is an outward mark or seal attesting to the validity of this covenant made with us by God. God witnesses to us. He testifies to us, as we partake of the Supper, that we belong to Him. Remember the words of God to Noah? "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth" (Genesis 9:16). God promised to remember His covenant. So too, God promises to remember the covenant He made with us through Christ. Christ's blood is the blood of the covenant. When we drink the cup and remember Christ, we know God remembers us.

The Lord's Supper is not just a sign or mark of the covenant. It is also food for the journey of life. The Lord's Supper is not only a covenant meal. It is a covenant meal. God gave His children manna in the wilderness. This bread from heaven, the bread of angels (Psalm 78:25), sustained God's people during their very arduous pilgrimage through the wilderness.

In like manner, God gives His people eternal bread from heaven today. Jesus makes this link in John 6:48-51. "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."

When you partake of the Lord's Supper, you remember God's faithfulness to keep covenant with you. The blood of Christ binds you to Him. When you partake of the Lord's Supper you receive nourishment for your arduous journey through the wilderness of this life. The supper signifies you will not be left for dead here in this fallen world. You are bound to God. He gives you the necessary spiritual nourishment. You will enter the Promised Land of heaven. The bread and the blood testify to this. The bread and the blood feed you along the way.