[Biblemat] The Buckhorn Teacher 4-6-08

Fri Apr 4 23:14:37 CDT 2008

THE BUCKHORN TEACHER

"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." 2.Tim.4:2

Buckhorn church of Christ - Thomas Thornhill - editor. 13675 Hwy 341, Randolph MS 38864-9117. Tel. 662-568-2960. Cell 662-419-5378. E-mail thornhill1 at frontiernet.net 

Vol.6                                                    April 6, 2008                                                    No.23

MAN'S NEED FOR BIBLE AUTHORITY - No.18

MAKING APPLICATION OF THINGS PREVIOUSLY LEARNED. The following may be boring to some, but it is always good to remind brethren why we do what we do in our religious practices. A question often asked by visitors, unfamiliar with the church of Christ, when they see the Lord's Supper being served on the first day of the week, out of curiosity ask "Do you do this (eating the Lord's Supper) each week?" The person asked replies, "Yes." The visitor may then ask, "Why?" If you were the person being asked, how would you answer the person? Could you explain to them from the scriptures why the Lord's Supper served every first day of the week is scriptural? You should! 

Here is the way I would answer the question, applying the principles previously taught in this series of articles about Bible authority, i.e., by the use of statements, commands, apostolic examples and necessary inferences.

First, I would explain that, as with all religious beliefs and practices, no single scripture provides all the details for the observance of the Lord Supper. We must take all that is said about the practice and put them together to determine what God expects us to do. David wrote "The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever" Ps.119:160. So to learn why, when and how often the Lord's Supper is to be eaten all the applicable scriptures must be used. This will form the pattern for what God has authorized 

Why do we partake of the Lord's Supper? By the command/statement of Jesus. He established this memorial the night He ate the Passover with His disciples Matt.26:26-29; Mk.14:22-25; Lk.22:19-20. Later, Paul wrote about this event in 1.Cor.11:23-26, and noted that Jesus took the bread (unleavened), and after giving thanks He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you' do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." The statement "this do" indicates that the observance of the Lord's Supper was not an option or a suggestion. Rather, it was an imperative, a command to be followed by all. And it was, for when the church was established on the day of Pentecost it is said "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, in the breaking of bread (another name for the Lord's Supper t.t.), and in prayers" Acts 2:42. 

>From the above scriptures we learn by command and statement that the disciples of Jesus are to remember His death by partaking of the Lord's Supper, but we still don't know when and how often it is to be done. So, let us continue our search for the answers.

When do we partake of the Lord's Supper? Some 25-30 years after Pentecost we find an example showing that the observance of the Lord's Supper had become an established practice. From the example in Acts 20:6-7 we can establish by an approved apostolic example the first day of the week was the day Christians assembled to eat the Lord's Supper. In Acts 20:6 Luke states when he and Paul came to Troas they "stayed seven days" v.6. At the end of this stay He and Paul assembled with the saints at Troas to partake of the Lord Supper. This was done on the first day of the week for Luke writes "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread (eat the Lord's Supper) Paul ready to depart the next day, spoke to them ." v.7. From this example in Acts 20:7 we find disciples/Christians assembling on the first day of the week to take the Lord's Supper. Since Paul partook with them at this time it becomes an approved apostolic example to follow as the day on which saints assemble to eat the Lord's Supper. This is the only example in the NT where we find the disciples assembling to partake of the Lord's Supper. Since no other day is found, the conclusion is that this must be the day God has approved for His people to eat the Lord's Supper, a memorial to Christ's death. This approved apostolic example gives us Biblical authority to eat the Lord's Supper on this day. But how often is it to be done?

The frequency of observance, (how often it is to be done), is also found in Acts 20:7, not by statement but by necessary inference. Note the context. Paul, in spite of a rushed schedule to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost Acts 20:16 takes time to tarry seven days in Troas. Why? To me the only logical reason for him doing this is found in Acts 20:7. He and Luke wanted to assemble with the brethren at Troas to eat the Lord's Supper. By remaining in Troas until the first day of the week to assemble with the Christians to partake of the Lord's Supper one can infer they knew that the brethren assembled on a regular basis to do this and they wanted to be with them for that occasion. But this alone does not establish that the brethren did this every first day of the week. Paul could have tarried for some other reason unstated. But was it a coincidence? I think not. What makes Acts 20:7 a necessary inference for the Lord's Supper to be observed each first day of the week is the presence of the little word "when" in the phrase "when the disciples came together." When is a stylistic cue word, an adverb of time denoting a regular procedure of frequency or regularity which a reader would be expected to understand. It would be something that is to be practiced "each and every time" the occasion arises. I believe Acts 20:7 necessarily infers in the verse that "every time there is a first day of the week disciples are to come together to eat the Lord's Supper. God has implied this in His word, and man necessarily infers this is what God wants. He wants His people to assemble each and every first day of the week to remember His Son's death and to proclaim it "till He comes" 1.Cor.11:26.  

I know this has been a lengthy article on how to apply necessary inference. But, I hope it helps to illustrate what I have been writing about. In the next issue I will show another example of necessary inference from the lesson of the Good Samaritan Lk.10.  
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