Communion Message
(The third cup - the cup of blessing)
March 20-21, 1999
Pastor Don Sheley

For I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given 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." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 

In Paul's admonition to the Corinthian church concerning the communion service, it already opened up the subject a few chapters before. For we find in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 he says, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. It's interesting to me that Paul references here the cup of blessing. You see, in the celebration of the Passover four cups of wine mingled with water were used during the course of the celebration. 

First, there was the cup known as the cup of Kadesh. It was drunk with a thanksgiving prayer for the day; most likely it was an early cup as they started their preparations for celebration. The second was known as the cup of Haggadah; the showing forth the history of Israel. For when we read of the celebration of the Passover, there was the reiteration of its history as to God's deliverance as a nation from the land of bondage, and so as they reviewed their history this cup of Haggadah was drunk. The third was the cup of blessing or the thanksgiving after the meal. And the fourth was the cup of Hallel; the blessing of the song or the psalm. 

We have learned that in the Psalms, Psalm 113 through Psalm 118, was known as the psalm of Hallel. It was sung at the closing of the Passover celebration. And authorities are divided as to whether the third or the fourth cup was taken by our Lord and made the cup of the Eucharist. As the use of the fourth cup was optional, and as Paul uses the phrase 'cup of blessing', there is strong probability that he has reference here to the third cup. You see in Paul's use of this term he seems to have passed from the highest point in Hebrew symbolism to the culminating point in Christian experience. For the Lord's Supper grows in sacredness and significance as we consider its history and its symbolism. 

In the New Testament time each person had his individual cup and there was a cup of blessing, and its place in the Jewish feast was immediately after eating the paschal lamb as thanksgiving for redemption. In the old covenant this cup was a token of joy and gratitude, but now in its new relationship it has become the symbol of spiritual communion and the silent instrument of the highest Christian privilege and experience; the cup of blessing. You will notice that is was participated in immediately following the eating of the paschal lamb which was the lamb that bespoke the redemption of the people of Israel. When we drink the cup today it's our cup of blessing also because we are blessed with redemption through Christ. Our sins have been forgiven. We have peace with God. We've been brought into a blessed relationship with Christ as our Savior and our Lord. We've been gifted with His Holy Spirit that empowers us to live lives of victory over sin. We have a wonderful heavenly Father who cares for us and loves us intently. We have become recipients of all the promises of God. We are joint heirs with Christ and we have the promise of eternal life with God when this life is over, and we are going to be citizens of heaven for all of eternity and be with Christ forever. These are only a few of the rich blessings that are ours because of redemption through Jesus Christ our wonderful savior, and we too drink the cup of blessing in rejoicing for our redemption.

Let's kneel together, shall we? Lord Jesus, ah what joy fills our hearts as we think of the many blessings that are ours because of Your death at Calvary, and the payment for the sins of all mankind with Your sacrifice; the shedding of Your precious blood. Some of us who kneel here today had wandered far down the pathways of sin and shame, and we found the guilt of sin and its burden too much to carry, and in Your love and Your mercy dear Jesus, You reached out to us. You drew us to Yourself and You gave to us the gift of forgiveness, and of love, and of mercy. You adopted us into Your family. You made us a part of heaven. You gave us Your peace, and Lord Jesus, today we kneel with thanksgiving for we enjoy the cup of blessing every moment of every day as we enjoy the blessings of our redemption. We thank you from the very depths of our hearts. Let's eat together the bread. And then the cup. Wonderful Jesus. Blessed Redeemer. Matchless Christ. Glorious Lord. King of kings. Our Savior. We love you dear Jesus, and thank you for loving us. And everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet the folks that have come to worship with us.