The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 331

hirn~elf, for its Jewish and Rornnn and workl-wide aspects, for its self-sacrifice for it a~ the divinely onlainc~ means _to r~concile God to man and man to God, he pr~pared lumself as one who realized the mfintteness of the act. Previously to the great passion- hour, nature had given him, of her own accord, no recognition of his Divine majesty. It was his act, not hers, when miracles transpired. But, at his death, she put forth tho power of her attestation to the fact that ho was "separate from sinners," and by the darkness, and the earthquake, and the opened graves, and the rent veil, signified that, "Truly this man wa.~ the Son of God." Now, in St. Paul's view, partaking of the Lord's Supper is partaking spiritually of the blood and body of Christ and if so, it is communion with him, the comrnunion-a special form of confessina'him a particular and most solemn act of acknowledging him as our Redeemer and°Lord' in a word, a sacrament. ,Vine and bread are symbols; but the sacrament must not be limited to ordinary symbolism. It is a fact, a vital and absolute fact, a Divine reality, to the believer's soul, a spiritual realization of Christ. Nothino- mao-ical and superstitious, nothing mechanical, nothing that derives virtue from priest :'nd cere- monials in the form of sacerdotal consecration, belongs to its nature, use, and end. It is simple, it is personal to the faith and love of the humble disciples of the cross, it is sublime because so perfectly spiritual in the union and fellowship with Christ which it is intended to secure. But is this all? By no means; it is communion and fellowship among believers. "We are all partakers of that one bread." Now, tliere are common ties among Christians that grow out of their relation to one another in Christ considered as Son of man. If he was Philanthropist, Benefactor, Friend, Healer, Teacher, Inspirer, he has left us an example that we should follow in his steps, and this example is beautifully potent when we co-operate iu these beneficent duties. Yet there is a high~r expression of our union when we partake of the Lord's Supper, since this recognizes his atoning death as the bond that makes us one. An<l. as Cbrist's works of power and mercy throughout Galilee and Judrea went forward and attained their fullest manifestation in the atonement of Calvary, so oar sympathies with one another and harmonious activity in daily acts of kindness must be ratified and sealed by being" partakers of that one bread." Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." No such drawiug power did he claim for his miracles, nor for other marvellous forces that radiated in every direction from him as the great Centre of blessing in his day to the poor, the diseased, the demoniac. ,vhere he is mightiest we are most mighty; for it pleased him, in varying the manifestations of his omnipotence and adapting them to the different instincts of man as be dealt one by one with these primal qualities, it pleased him, we say, to leave similar channels of activity for us to occupy. 'rherefore it is that the cross lifts us up into a higher companionship with one another. Even in common life, there ls no such reconciler as death. A corpse in a divided household is a peace-maker. ,ve are all brothers at a funeral. '.l.'he preseuce of death liugers not in the senses, nor pauses in the imagination, nor rests in the unders~andi_ng, but goes down into the rrreat ori«inal instincts, where the sense of humamty bes embedded un,ler the shad~w of th~ infinite. Of what immeasurable value, then, is the death of Christ as a unitinrr infiur.nce in behalf of brotherhood! And what an appeal the communion makes to that social sentiment which is so precious to Christianity! And who can go in a de,·out frame of mind to the table of the Lor<l. without feeling that "life's jioor distinctions vanish here," without a larger consciousuess of the Diviue loveliness of forbearauce, and of patieuce with others, aud of forgiveness of enemies, and of the blessedness unspeakable and full of glory in charity when charity as "the greatest" possesses intellect, heart, and life? God be praised for such hours! 1:<'iner spheres than HUD and planets measure their coming, their stay, and their going. Nor does the aro-ument rest at this point. "'l'o partake of a Jewish sacrifice as a sacrifice, and in a holy place, was an act of Jewish worship" (Hodge). Here are" our fathers," "Israel after the flesh," and they were "partakers of the altar;" and here are we, to whom "the ages" have brought their light and privileges and been perfected in the ~poch of Christianity, and who "are all partakers of that one bread.'' Shall we be fuund feasting in idol-temples? This is heathenish idolatry, this is comm_union with devils, this is fatal to brotherhood, this is treachery to the Lord Jesus Clmst. What do I say? Do I declare that the idol is anything or the sacrifice anything? I, Paul, cH. x. 1-33.J THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTllIANS. 335