Holy Feast – A Sacrament

VII. Goodness received through the holy feast

People who participate in the holy feast offered in the church of God receive many blessings. If we know about it then it will be useful for us to claim those blessings for us and will help us to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us meditate on the blessings we receive through the holy feast.

1. Sanctification

Holy feast is a sacrament that makes the believers participate in the holy feast to become more holy. Taking part in the holy feast facilitates every person to purify himself for he gets an opportunity to examine his self. Since every believer gets an opportunity to examine, it helps them to purify their own life. “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (I Corinthians 6:11). When a person asks Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse him by the spirit of God the pollution in the spirit gets cleansed. Unnecessary sinful thoughts are removed and he is blessed with the mind of Christ.

The blood of Lord Jesus Christ has the power to cleanse sins of the soul. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from allsin.” (I John 1:7). Revelation 1:5, 6 says “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” When a person asks the Lord to cleanse him with his blood his soul gets purified. All the sins present in the soul are removed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Body gets corrupted because of committing sin. Sins of the body (e.g. prostitution) though they create blemishes and stains in the body but it is not obvious to physical eyes. Those stains and blemishes are removed by praying to cleanse in the name of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (I Corinthians 6:11).

Sanctification is needed as said in II Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Opportunity is available to get sanctification during the service of the holy feast. In many churches sanctification meetings are arranged before conducting the holy feast. This helps in becoming holy. This facilitates the believers to become more holy.

2. Divine Nature

Man naturally has human nature in him. Divine nature is present in the son of God, Lord Jesus Christ. People who participate in the bread and cup of the Lord Jesus Christ through the holy feast get divine nature. Holy feast is referred as cup of the Lord. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s Table and the table of demons.” (I Cor. 10:21). When we accept by faith that the bread and cup are the body and the blood shed by Christ by participating in the holy feast we receive the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. People those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and those who do not accept Him as Lord and savior sacrifice goats, cows, and chickens to the devils. Then they cook the meat and eat. That is what it is referred here as cup of the devils. People those who take part in this cup of devils will have only devilish nature. That is why the word of God clearly tells us that we should not eat things that are offered to the idols. “But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.” (I Corinthians 8:7)

3. Cup of blessing

There are many ways to inherit the blessings of the Lord. One way is through participating in the holy feast. We come to know this because Lord’s Supperis referred to as the cup of blessing. “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?“ (I Corinthians 10:16). Curses are being taken away. “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”(Proverbs10:22). The blood of Jesus Christ is the new covenant, in His blood shed many could receive the forgiveness of sins. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’” (Luke 22:19, 20). The blessing of the Lord is assured to those who participate in the Lord’s Supper with reverence and due preparation.

4. Being united in Christ

There is no difference in Christ Jesus as male or female. There is no difference in Christ as slave or free. There is no economical difference as rich or poor in Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). All are one in the Lord Jesus Christ as His body. I Corinthians 10:17 says “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

Lord Jesus Christ in his last days said “that all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am with you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:21-22). There should not be any room for any type of gender difference or caste difference or economical differences in the church of God. It is expected of the people who participate in the Lord’s holy feast to be one in Christ.

5. Word of righteousness

In Hebrews 5:12,13 we read,“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.“

In order to possess the righteousness of God one should leave his self righteousness. In Philippians 3:9-11 we read the experience of Apostle Paul. He says, “And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead“. When people of God desire to have the righteousness of God like Paul, they have to loose many things in their life. These things are explained by the word of righteousness. We should do what we are to do and we should leave what we should not do. Such people will get benefit out of the holy feast. That is why this is called as strong food. People who are familiar with the word of righteousness participate in the holy feast.

6. Remembering the death of Lord Jesus Christ

People who participate in the holy feast remember the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. In I Corinthians 11:24-26 it is written,“And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me’. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.“

The body of Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the cross for our sake. Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood and suffered for us on the cross. When we receive the bread we should remember the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we receive the cup we should remember the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. During the time of holy feast believers get an opportunity to remember the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.

7. Raising from the dead

Holy feast gives an opportunity to grow spiritually in this earthly existence. The person who participates in the holy feast gets qualified to be raised from the dead in the eternal kingdom. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.“ (John 6:54). Resurrection is the important incident. Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again. In the same way those who are participating in the holy feast will also be resurrected as Christ was resurrected. They get an opportunity to live eternally with the Lord forever and ever. It is a great privilege that People who are participating in the holy feast get an opportunity to be resurrected in the first resurrection and live eternally with the Lord.