“Closed” Communion? OR proper invitation?

There is no greater joy in the Christian church than to commune together as Christians in the Lord’s Supper. Closed Communion is not meant to keep people from participating in the Supper, but it is meant to prepare them, and assure that all who participate receive the glorious gifts given at the altar. Scripture clearly indicates that the Lord’s Supper grants private absolution to the individual by his receiving the very body and blood of Christ that was given and shed for him. This gift distinguishes the Lords Supper from God’s other means of grace. When Jesus said, “this is my body” and “this is my blood” there is no possible justification for changing His Word “is” to represents or signifies. Doing so is to deny the Word of Christ. Christian congregations are the [administrants] and not the Lords of the Sacrament. The Lords Supper is not their institution, but Christ’s. Therefore, they must follow Christ’s instructions in administering the Sacrament.

The misuse of that one word (is) alone, provides a strong argument for a Pastor seeking to understand what one believes before administering the Sacrament that was instituted by the Lord.  

Properly received

In 1^st Corinthians 11:20 St Paul lectured “when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal.”

By creating divisions, the Corinthians were not celebrating the Lord’s Supper according to Christ’s institution. As Paul continues to explain in vs 29-32, this does not invalidate the Supper, but it contradicted the Gospel, and the result was judgement. “Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body” (by recognizing the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ) “eats and drinks judgement on himself”.

In Matthew 22; The King has prepared a wedding banquet for the prince, but the invited guests were all too busy in their own worldly lives to come to the wedding feast, so they ignored the invitation. The King said the wedding is ready, but those who were invited were unworthy (again, the Lords table is not for everyone, but those that are prepared in faith) In the end the wedding feast was filled will both good and bad, all who heard the invitation and would come, but one was found to be without the wedding garment (the garment of Christ) which is the righteousness of Christ received through faith. He was a wedding crasher that did not have the true faith. As Matthew 22:13 tells us he was not simply asked to leave, but the King (Jesus) said to his attendants “bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen”.

Light in the World

Philippians 2:12-13 – Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Jesus traveled all around preaching the Gospel to the Jewish people, and his disciples were later tasked with sharing the Gospel with the whole world. Both believers and unbelievers. The Lords Supper is different, in that it is NOT for all. The first celebration of the Lord’s Supper took place only with Jesus and a close circle of His disciples. The Lord’s Supper is intended only for people who have already come to faith in Christ.

 Faith comes from hearing(Romans 10:17). Again, the Word of God should be heard by all, both to bring him to a knowledge of his sin, and to faith and repentance. With the Lord’s Supper, it is also different in that it is not to give him faith and repentance, but that his existing faith and repentance be strengthened and intensified.

As Martin Luther correctly summarized “He (Christ) delivered His sermons to the multitude for everybody. As the Apostles later did, so that every person heard them, believers, and unbelievers; whoever caught it, caught it. We must do the same. When I preach the Gospel, I do not know on whom it takes effect; but here I must be convinced that it has taken effect on those that come to the Sacrament. I must not act in doubt but be [reasonably] sure that the one to whom I give the Sacrament has laid ahold of the Gospel and has true faith”.

“open” to what supper?

The Apostolic Church did not practice “open” Communion as we see in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” So, if you are receiving communion as simply a representation of His body, or something that signifies His body, or in any other way making yourself the doer, or the object of the supper rather that receiving His very presence, His Body and His very blood of the covenant as the Lord Himself called it, you are not even invited to [His] Supper, but perhaps your own supper? Is common “open communion” even an invitation to His table? St Paul said no, it is not.

Warnings

Scripture also forbids Christians to treat those who live in gross offensive sins as brothers in the faith. In 1 Corinthians 5:11 Paul writes that if a gross sin has become known in a congregation, they should not even eat (commune) with that person unless his repentance in also made known to the congregation before he rejoins the church in communion.

The Lord’s Supper is certainly the distribution of the forgiveness of sins, therefore, one who is not truly seeking forgiveness in the Supper must be suspended from receiving it. Yes, we are all sinners. This is not one who hates his sin, and begs forgiveness, but one who calls his sin good, or even blames God for it.

Fellowship in the Lord’s supper is fellowship in faith. The Lord’s Supper is private and personal absolution. God’s Will is that this private absolution is given only to one who as far as can be judged, truly repents. There is even a warning to the Pastor that he does not take part in the sins of others in 1 Timothy 5:22.

Is it love? Who is the love for?

Yes, for the sake of love or charity, many will continue to argue that open communion is what Jesus would want, but as we have seen, The Supper is for those that are prepared and for those that have faith in what they are receiving. It is not love, nor is it charity when the giver participates in the sins of another or to gives them false comfort by lying to them just to be liked, or to “grow their church”. It is in fact in opposition to the love of God because the Sacrament of the altar must be used for its divine purpose in accordance with the very institution of the Supper by our Lord Jesus Christ rather than a whim of man.

Gospel immediately after the fall

 In the historical account of Genesis, we see Adam and Eve being cut off and guarded from the tree of life after the fall. That was an act of love by God. When Eve and then also Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would have lived in sin forever had they not been protected from eating of the tree of life by the [mercy] of God. God protected them from themselves. In Genesis 3:15 we see the first Gospel and we later know how the Christ; the promised Savior crushed the serpent’s head. He paid the penalty of sin, which is death, not only for their sin, yours, and mine, but the sins of the whole world. Only by being clothed in the righteousness of Christ (the wedding garments) through faith can we again eat of the tree of eternal life that is Christ. In Galatians 3:27 Paul comforts with the words “for as many of you as were Baptized into Christ have “put on Christ”. The garment is Christ. We must be cloaked in the garment of Christ in order to attend the banquet.

The Feast (all who hear and believe are invited)

Rev. Gavin Mize once perfectly stated “What we have in receiving the body and the blood of Jesus Christ is a gift that 1 Corinthians tells us we are to receive in the true confession of what it is on the Altar. Otherwise, we should be very afraid to receive it”.