Paul's instruction to examine yourself is not a call to endless introspection but a call to come as one body (without divisions or factions) and, together, declare absolute dependence upon the grace of Jesus Christ.
The sharing of a loaf of bread and a cup of wine demonstrates that the church is one body, made one through belonging to Christ.
In the Lord’s Supper we have both the image of communion between the Holy God and sinful man as well as a picture of the price that was paid to obtain that communion - the death of Christ.
The Lord’s Supper teaches what it means to receive Jesus Christ by faith, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit - signifying and sealing this reality to us.
The Lord’s Supper is a memorial where we not only remember what Christ has done for us, but we call upon the Father to remember the work of Christ on our behalf and bless us because of it.
Through the sacraments, God represents the gospel of grace (salvation through faith alone) to us and guarantees us that he irrevocably stands behind his promise to save all who come to him in faith.
God declares that he will ultimately conquer all his enemies and rescue his people, calling them to dwell in his glorious presence for all eternity and will accomplish all of this through the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah.
In heaven there is nothing common or passing, that only what is holy and eternal will remain, and that we will all be priests serving in God’s heavenly temple.
On the Last Day, God’s patience will run out and he will come in terrifying justice to judge all his enemies.
God makes a way for sinners to enter into heaven as he turns the sword of judgment upon himself, thereby opening a way for sinful man to enter into his presence without bringing defilement upon it.
On the Last Day, God will remove all false teaching and worship and leave only truth and pure worship, which will define heaven for all eternity.
Simply put, the cross of Christ forms the basis of the church’s salvation and the pattern for her future.
The Last Day will come at the church’s darkest hour, when the whole world stands against her, but God will deliver her by judging the world.
God foretells the judgment he will render on Israel for her apostasy, which will culminate when they betray the Good Shepherd for 30 shekels of silver.
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