The New Testament Holy of Holies

1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

Introduction

This morning I want us to look at the Eucharist

And I want us to do so for two reasons

First, if we are going to be a Sacramental church we need to make sure we have a fair understanding of what the sacraments are and how they work.

Therefore it is my hope that by the end of the sermon you will have a better understanding of the significance and importance of the Eucharist in the life of God’s people

Second, I also want to prepare for next week’s sermon. Next week we are going to return to the theme of the Earthiness of salvation and as we do so the notion of the Eucharist that we discuss this morning will play a major role. Therefore, it will help if you have it under your belt.

So lets begin and to help us better understand the Eucharist and its place in New Testament worship we need to begin by distinguishing the sacred

I. Distinguishing the Sacred

A] Over and again Scripture teaches us that there are degrees in which God’s presence is manifested. These degrees are clearly maintained in both the Old and New Testaments.

1) First, both the Old and New Testaments teach us that God is everywhere

Jeremiah 23:24 "Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?". (Acts 17:26-28)

2) Both the Old and New Testaments teach us that God is uniquely with His people

Leviticus 26:12 'I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. (Matthew 28:20)

3) Both the Old and New Testaments teach us that God has specifically identified Himself with the corporate worship of His people

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." (Deuteronomy 12:11)

4) In the Old Testament, God specially identifies Himself with the Holy of Holies. That is, God’s presence in the Holy of Holies is unique and the most sacred example of all His manifestations (thus the designation, Holiest of all holies).

Exodus 25:21 "And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you. 22 "And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

For simplicity sake, we shall call this manner of God’s presence His covenantal presence. Notice then, when we examine God’s covenantal presence, we find that it has two fundamental characteristics that distinguish it and make it unique:

• First, God’s covenantal presence is corporate. That is, God meets with His people as a people.
• Second, God’s covenantal presence is administrative. That is, God meats with His people as a people to administer His covenant relationship with them. In the Old Testament, God administered this relationship with His people from the Ark on the basis of the yearly sacrifices.

B] Where do we find God’s covenantal presence in the New Testament? Answer: God’s unique and covenantal presence in the Old Testament is seen again in the New Testament at the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Table is the New Testament Holy of Holies

Notice then, just as God administered His relationship with His Old Testament people at the Ark of the Covenant, on the basis of the many sacrifices, so too, He now administers this relationship at the Table of the Covenant on the basis of Christ’s onetime sacrifice.

1 Corinthians 11:25 This cup is the new covenant in My blood;

It is at the Table that Christ meets with His people as a people and administers His relationship with them.

II. Notice then the case made from Scripture to support this thesis:

1. First, Scripture tells us that the way into the Holy of Holies has already been provided. (In other words, it is not something we will one day have but something that we already have)

Mark 15:37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

2. Second, notice that what we see represented in outward signs on the Table is the very reality that our heavenly Father sees before Him in the Heavenly Holy of Holies (Christ our all sufficient sacrifice). The Table is a depiction of the Heavenly Holy of holies.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

In other words, the very reality presented to us at the Table for our remembrance is presented in actuality to the Father for His.

3. Thus, it is no surprise to find that Scripture makes a direct connection between the Sacrament and entrance into the heavenly Holy of Holies. To partake of the Sacrament by faith is to enter or participate in the spiritual reality it represents.

Hebrews 10:19 We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,

Notice then the picture that the New Testament provides:

1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

God’s people are the Temple of God constructed now out of living stones and filled with the Holy Spirit of God’s Shekinah glory. In their midst, each week as they gather together, is the Table of the Covenant, the New Testament Holy of holies, the place where God meets with His people as a people, and administers His relationship with them.

III. How then do I come?

1. I come confessing my specific sins and acknowledging my need for God’s grace. Why? The grace that saves me is a grace that heals me. God brings me to His table every week, in the very midst of life, because His grace is already at work in the details of my life.
2. I come with great, reverence, awe, and respect- understanding that I am coming into the very sacred presence of God. Therefore, I do not come unprepared or casually.
3. I am to come rejoicing in my fellowship with God and His people