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Charles E. Wigg
The question is repeated in the second of the two emblems, the cup. The Lord Jesus said, of this cup, “This cup is the New Testament, (Covenant), in my blood, this do, (will suffice), as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me”.
We are told in the Old Testament, that the life of the flesh is in the blood, and that God has given it on the altar to make atonement for our souls. Now our lives, we being sinners, cannot be given for any one, but they can be given to the Lord Jesus, who freely gave His life, and shed His precious blood, for us on the cruel cross on Golgotha’s hill.
It is suggested that we give our lives back to Him who gladly died for us on that same cruel cross. This is the unspoken question, that is asked of us (or the unspoken challenge given to each of us), every time that we gather to remember Him, in the way that He has appointed. It is important that we do this often, as the scriptures say, (preferably weekly),as we are told that the early Church did, as the passage in Acts twenty indicates the it was the practice for the early Church, to gather for this purpose on the first day of every week, (Acts 20:7) so that we may be constantly faced with this challenge, and this unspoken question.
Because, (as the hymn says), our love is oftimes low, and our joy still ebbs and flows. The Lord’s Supper is meant, yea is designed to stimulate our affections so that our love glows with a holy intensity, constantly. So it is that we need to have our affections stimulated.
May the blessed Lord find a worthy response, from your heart and mine while we wait for Him to come for us!
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[Reproduced by permission of the Author]
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Unspoken Question (1 of 2)
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By Charles E. Wigg
When present at the Lord’s Supper, and especially when the passage in first Corinthians eleven from verse twenty three is read, I often feel that there is an unspoken question that we all must answer. When our hearts are moved as we hear the Lord Jesus say to us once again, “This is my body, which is given for you”, it often seems to me that He is saying to each of those thus gathered, “What about your body, what are you doing with it?” Let us all remember that when He willingly gave His body for us, He purchased us, set us apart that we might be used for holy purposes, sanctified us to be his own treasured possession. (Hebrews 10:10).
To use the words of the artist, He is saying to us. “All this have I done for thee, What hast thou done for me?”
We surely owe everything to Him; He gave His all for us. His sacrifice was vicarious (that is on behalf of others), but ours cannot be, but we can give our bodies to Him, yet we are so loathe to do this. We sometimes sing with great emotion, “To make a wretch His treasure”, yet do we, (in the practical sense), want to hold on to what we are, and to use our bodies for ourselves, for our own pleasure? Then let us from this very moment, give back to Him in total surrender, those bodies that He gave His body to purchase for Himself, to set us apart so that we might do the will of God each day that we live here, each day that remains to us for Him and for His glory. The word ‘sanctified’ has a double meaning. Firstly it means to make holy, and secondly it means to set apart for holy purposes, it is my hearts deep concern that the latter might be fulfilled in our lives.‘
l
By Charles E. Wigg
When present at the Lord’s Supper, and especially when the passage in first Corinthians eleven from verse twenty three is read, I often feel that there is an unspoken question that we all must answer. When our hearts are moved as we hear the Lord Jesus say to us once again, “This is my body, which is given for you”, it often seems to me that He is saying to each of those thus gathered, “What about your body, what are you doing with it?” Let us all remember that when He willingly gave His body for us, He purchased us, set us apart that we might be used for holy purposes, sanctified us to be his own treasured possession. (Hebrews 10:10).
To use the words of the artist, He is saying to us. “All this have I done for thee, What hast thou done for me?”
We surely owe everything to Him; He gave His all for us. His sacrifice was vicarious (that is on behalf of others), but ours cannot be, but we can give our bodies to Him, yet we are so loathe to do this. We sometimes sing with great emotion, “To make a wretch His treasure”, yet do we, (in the practical sense), want to hold on to what we are, and to use our bodies for ourselves, for our own pleasure? Then let us from this very moment, give back to Him in total surrender, those bodies that He gave His body to purchase for Himself, to set us apart so that we might do the will of God each day that we live here, each day that remains to us for Him and for His glory. The word ‘sanctified’ has a double meaning. Firstly it means to make holy, and secondly it means to set apart for holy purposes, it is my hearts deep concern that the latter might be fulfilled in our lives.‘
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