Passover Preparation

Today we're going to talk about Passover preparation. That is our purpose, and that is our title, to talk about Passover preparation. It's only about 33 days, and we'll be observing the Passover. Sin entered the universe when Satan sinned and drew one-third of the angels. One-third of the angels followed him in his seductive, deceptive ways. It seems that almost from the beginning he was determined to take over the throne of God and to be number one in the universe, to become the object of worship. The Apostle John writes in John 8.44 that Satan was a liar and a murderer from the beginning and did not abide in the truth.

Ezekiel 28 says he was perfect in all his ways until iniquity was found in him. So let's note Isaiah's account of Satan's attempt to take over the throne of God in Isaiah 14 and verse 12. Isaiah 14 verse 12. We're talking about Passover preparation. Sin entering the universe. Satan the devil, who initially a great archangel Lucifer, meaning light-bringer, created perfect in all his ways until iniquity was found in him.

He became so puffed up because he must have been a very beautiful creature, very intelligent, so wise, great wisdom, great power. But yet somehow he was not content to serve the purpose for which he was created. Of course, Hebrews 1 and verse 14 tells you very clearly why the angels were created ministering servants sent to the heirs of salvation. In Isaiah 14 and verse 12, how are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How are you cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations?

Of course, in the geopolitics of the day, the U.S. tries to approach it from strictly a quote geopolitical, secular, humanist point of view, whereas especially the Islamic world approaches it from a spiritual point of view, though it is the wrong spirit. It is very difficult to negotiate with people who are coming from different positions. And Lucifer, from the time he rebelled to the present time, has deeply desired to become the object of worship. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into the heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. In other words, he wanted to take over. He wanted to replace God as the object of worship and the one who had the greatest power influence control in the universe.

Yet you shall be brought down to the grave, to the sides of the pit. They that see you shall narrowly look upon you and consider you, saying, is this the one? And of course, then there is a duality between King of Tyre and King of Babylon, as a type of. The one that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the house of the prisoners. Yet Satan is a tyrant. He hopes to destroy and enslave, enslave and destroy all of humanity. And even though Satan failed in his attempt to take over the throne of God, he is still obsessed with the goal of breaking prophecy and becoming the object of worship.

And for a short period of time, his goal will be realized. You read that in Revelation 13.8, that all the world wondered after this beast's power. First part of Revelation 13 talks about them, that this one gives the power, and that everyone's name, who is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, will worship. So for a short period of time, he does realize that. All the world deceived, except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

The need for Passover originated with Satan deceiving Satan. I'm sorry. The need for the Passover originated with Satan deceiving Eve into disobeying God. By eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And of course, that tree symbolizes taking to yourself the prerogative of deciding what is good and what is evil. It's interesting to note that after Satan sinned, there is no mention of any kind of redemption for Satan.

Although some have speculated that maybe there is some kind of redemption for Satan and the demons, I don't find any evidence of that. Some base that on 1 Corinthians 6, where it says, No, you not that you shall judge angels, but I don't see any place in Scripture that has anything to do with redemption for Satan and the demons. Satan and the demons have become the eternal enemies of God and those who are dedicated to righteousness. The enemies of God and those who are dedicated to following the way of God. Let's go to Genesis 2, verse 14, that God instructs Adam and Eve and tells them what will be the consequences of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 2.

Verse 15, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. A beautiful environment, a Garden of Eden. What you would say is as close as you can come to perfection. Their instructor, God, the one who created them, their parent, God. So, perfect parent, perfect instruction, and yet they go the way they go because mankind, humanity, was given what we call free will, the choice to either obey or disobey God. Verse 16, the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the Garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. And the margin would say, in dying you begin to die. They didn't die that moment, but the wages of sin is death, as clearly stated by the Apostle Paul in Romans 6 and verse 23. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Adam and Eve's sin resulted in humanity's need for a Redeemer. A Redeemer to buy them back from sin and death. By one man's sin, let's be turning now to Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, by one man's sin entered into the world, and of course it was Adam and Eve, but we use man in the generic sense, Eve was deceived, but Adam was not. And after they partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they followed the usual path of those who have sinned. There are three main avenues that people usually take when they sin. One is to try to hide it, and they tried to hide from God. Secondly is to blame. Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve, and then to try to justify their actions.

In Romans chapter 5, verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, of course sin entered into the universe, Satan is the author of sin and death, as we read about in Isaiah 14 and referred to Ezekiel 28. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin, wages of sin is death. And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, not just because Adam sinned, but because all have sinned. Romans 3, 23 says, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

So sin enters into the world through this one man sin, for until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Those who died before the law was codified, though it might not have been administered in the same way that it was under the old covenant, or now the new covenant, the law was still there, but it does not mean that they have committed the unpardonable sin. Sometimes I wonder, has Adam or have Adam and Eve committed the unpardonable sin? I tend to think that they haven't.

Verse 14, Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. Then you read that verse, you wonder, well, he was instructed by God himself.

Continuing, though, in this chapter, we go down to verse 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, it's not just because Adam sinned, because we have read that in verse 12, for that all have sinned, and Romans 3.23 says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So the notion of original sin, because Adam sinned, were all sinners. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. And so Jesus Christ was obedient unto death.

That's a very important point with regard to it. Some people wonder about Hebrews 5, what is verse 9, that says, and he learned obedience through the things which he suffered. You know, at one point Jesus said that, think not that I could call on legions of angels, but he obediently, willfully, voluntarily, remained obedient, tested all the way to death, and without sin. So by one man's obedience, many shall be made righteous. Of course, you have to go through the process of being called repentance, faith in the sacrifice of Christ, baptism, laying on of hands, living the resurrected life, realizing that judgment is now in the house of God.

Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And because of God's divine favor, he created us in the first place. He gave us life. Because of God's divine favor, he wanted to share who he is and what he is with humankind, his very divine being, his essence, that we would be on the God plane, heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ. That's what it says in Romans 8, verse 17. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. That is, sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness.

And of course, you cannot be righteous, apart from repentance and obedience, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? No chapter break. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?

The first promise of a Redeemer is given in Genesis 3.15. So you see that sin entered the world, for Adam and Eve, and all of sin come short of the glory of God. But Jesus Christ came, and He was perfectly obedient, fulfilling the tenets of the law, and therefore, as being the Son of God and living a sinless life, He was qualified to die for the sins of the world.

Now look at Genesis 3.15. The first promise of a Redeemer, just before Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, a promise was made of a Redeemer, the first Messianic prophecy. And basically, the focal point of prophecy is Messianic.

The theme of the Bible has to do with God is bringing sons and daughters to glory in His family. The kingdom of God, ruling and reigning with God in Christ as kings and priests in eternity.

People get all sidetracked by a lot of side issues. Genesis 3.15, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. It shall bruise your head, so Jesus Christ is going to put Satan away, and bruise his head, and render him of non-effect, and you shall bruise his heel. And so, from that time forth, Satan has tried to, first of all, tried to break prophecy, tried to destroy Israel, two captivity, yet Judah returns. Christ came from Judah, and the Messianic prophecies hold. And Jesus Christ came on the scene. Now look at Deuteronomy 18, verse 15, one of the more famous of the Messianic prophecies in Deuteronomy 18 and verse 15, and we'll see in just a moment in Acts 3 somewhat of a summary of the Messianic prophecies.

Deuteronomy 18, 15, The Lord your God will raise up unto you a prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me, unto him shall you hearken. And that prophet, of course, is Jesus Christ. Moses is a mediator of the old covenant, Jesus Christ is a mediator of the new covenant. Now look at Acts 3. In Acts 3, Peter and John, the apostles, teaching there in the temple after the ascension of Jesus Christ, after the day of Pentecost had come, so they began to preach. Christ said that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached beginning at Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world. And Peter in his sermon here, I guess you could call it a sermon or his treatise, we're breaking in on the thought, but we'll begin in verse 14. But you denied the Holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. So given the choice between Barabbas and Jesus Christ, they chose Barabbas. Barabbas, Barabbas.

Murder, robber, whatever all he was, and instead kill the Prince of Life whom God has raised from the dead, whereof we are all witnesses.

And his name through faith in his name had made this man strong, whom you see and know they had healed that man through the power of God, yes, the faith which is by him had given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that through ignorance you did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God beforehand had showed by the mouth of all his prophets. See, beginning back there in Genesis chapter 3, just before Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, here's this promise of the Messiah, the Redeemer, who would come on the scene by the mouth of all his prophets that Christ would suffer, he is so fulfilled. Repent you therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times are refreshing, shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive, until the times are restitution of all things. And we gave two sermons on the throne of God, where at the present time Jesus Christ is seated on the throne of God, on his right hand, Revelation 3.21. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, and now this is quoting Deuteronomy 18.15, which we read, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, Of prophets shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall you hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. This is the one that you listen to. Like Hebrews 1.1 says, In times past, different ways, manners, God spoke through the prophets, but has in these last days spoken unto us by a son through Jesus Christ. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.

Now would any man dare to claim that he is that person? That prophet?

Well, some have so dared. Yes, in all the prophets, in all the prophets, from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days, the day of the Messiah coming on the scene, dying for the sins of the world. You are the children of the prophets and are the covenant which God made with her fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in your seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. And of course, Paul makes it clear in Galatians 3, 14, 15, 16, that that seed is Christ. And then Galatians closes out with, If you be in Christ, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

You are the children of the prophets and are the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in your seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. And all the kindreds of the earth, you Gentile, regardless of ethnic origin, nationality, race, all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his lawlessness. So, why did God institute the first Passover? It was instituted to deliver Israel from Egypt. If you would be turning to...well, we'll wait on that for just a moment. This Passover was instituted to deliver Israel from Egypt, and Egypt is symbolic of sin and death. The Old Covenant Passover symbolized the greater Passover sacrifice that was to come through Jesus Christ. Egypt symbolizes where each one of you, each one of us, was before we were called into God's marvelous light and given the opportunity to be freed from sin and death. We were all once enslaved in spiritual Egypt, and the death penalty was on our heads because, as we've already noted, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The only way we can be brought back from sin and death is through the sacrifice of Christ. If we would turn there forward, if you're an Acts to Romans 3, we won't spend a lot of time. We have talked in the time's past extensively about mastering the book of Romans, and if you master the book of Romans to a large degree, you have mastered most of Paul's epistles. In Romans 3.23, all have sinned. We've quoted this at least twice already. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

This is one of the things that Passover is about as we lead into this, to be redeemed, to be brought back, being justified freely by His grace, chirus, divine favor, through the redemption that is the buying back power that is in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus, the Son of God, living sinlessly, was made sin for us. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, and He paid the penalty for our sins to redeem us, whom God has set for it to be a propituation. Propituation means that He went in our stead. Instead of us having to go, He went, and through faith in His blood, the life is in the blood, He gave His life's blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God.

You see, you could at some point have begun to keep the commandments perfectly, but that in and of itself, even perfectly keeping the spiritual law, would not pay for sins that are passed, and it required the death of the Son of God to pay for those sins. Otherwise, we would have had to have died, and we wouldn't have a redeemer. But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So we were once all enslaved in spiritual Egypt, and the death penalty was on our heads, because, as we have noted already several times, the wages of sin is death. Note the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2, forward a little bit here. In Ephesians 2, beginning in verse 1, we've also already read the Romans 3.23, All of sin comes short of the glory of God. In Ephesians 2, verse 1, And you hath he quickened, or made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Unless we had the redeemer, the Passover, to come on the scene, we were as good as dead. You hath he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.

That spirit is very active in this world today. When you read the newspaper, when you see the news, live and in color from all parts of the world, you know immediately that Satan is behind so much of this, and that spiritual influence of Satan the devil is running rapid in the world today, among whom also you, we, all, had our conversation, our conduct, in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and where by nature the children of wrath, even as others. See, the natural, normal human mind, this is Romans 8-7, the carnal mind is enmity toward the law of God, not subject to it, neither indeed can be. But yet we were given free choice. We could choose to follow God, or choose to give in to the carnal mind, the mind of the here and now, the mind of vanity, I want my thing and I want it now. Turn forward a few pages there to Colossians 2, verse 13. Colossians 2, verse 13. Colossians 2, 13. And you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of flesh, hath he quickened, made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

So the only way that we can be brought back is through the sacrifice of Christ. So let's review quickly that first Passover, and then trace it back up to our time and the principal requirements that are necessary to take the New Covenant Passover. Let's go to Exodus 12. Exodus 12.

In Exodus 12 we see the institution of the first Passover.

Israel is in captivity in Egypt. You know the genesis of that. The famine came on. Joseph was in Egypt. And eventually Jacob and the family went down there. Two Egypt grew into a great nation. Some say up to two million. Obviously, I don't know exactly how many. But anyhow, the pharaohs that were friendly to Israel had died, and now they were in servitude, and they cry out for deliverance.

The whole story about calling Moses and Aaron and the plagues and all of that ensues. But here is sort of the culmination of those plagues and the institution of the first Passover. Exodus 12.1. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month, this month, first month in what we call the sacred calendar, and some say, well, did God reveal His calendar? Or I tend to think He revealed His calendar. This month, He surely designated the month. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months, the first month in the year. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Sounds like revelation to me. Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of the month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.

And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. So just make sure you have enough for everybody.

And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening, between the two evenings, literally. And they shall take the blood and strike it on the two sideposts, on the upper doorposts of the house, wherein they shall eat it. So the basic instruction about the Passover, we're just hitting the high spots of this first Passover when it was instituted. Look at verse 13. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the house where you are, and when I see the blood, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

And the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, a remembrance, a memorial. And you shall keep it a feast to the eternal. Who do you keep it to? To the eternal Yahweh. Throughout your generations, you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. In seven days shall you eat unleavened bread, even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for whosoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you. No manner of work shall be done in them. Save that which every person must eat, that only may be done of you to prepare your food. Now down to verse 26.

And it shall come to pass when your children shall say, What mean you by this service? That you shall say it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses, and the people bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord commanded Moses, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, and so did they. And it came to pass that at midnight the Yahweh, some people say death angel, but this says the Lord, the Lord Yahweh smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on its throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all of his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And so that was the first Passover. And it freed Israel because Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and told him to make ready and get out. Today the blood of Christ must be sprinkled on our hearts. The goal is to purge us of an evil conscience, a conscience. Now, conscience is a word that means the knowing within of what is right and what is wrong. Let's go now to Hebrews 10 and verse 19.

Hebrews 10 verse 19. There's a close relationship, it seems, between Passover and atonement. In Hebrews 10 verse 19.

Having therefore, brethren, boldest to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, so we can live in the holy of holies. The high priest could only go into the holiest of all on the day of atonement under the terms of the old covenant. By a new and living way, which he had consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. He gave his life's blood, his body was bruised, beaten and broken for our sins. His life's blood was shed, he died for our sins, and the veil was rent in the temple that separated the Gentiles and Paul talks about in Ephesians how that veil has been done away with, so there's like double talk here, it's through his flesh and the veil was rent. And having a high priest over the house of God let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

A humankind is born morally illiterate. See, when Adam and Eve were created, they were created adults, and God instructed them, and the principle instruction that is recorded is that you must look to me, to God, for the knowledge of good and evil. Do not take that prerogative to yourself, because if you do, you're going to disobey me and you're going to die. Of course, mankind has been on that road from that time to the present time. Now you look at verse 9, turn back there a page or so to chapter 9, verse 13, for the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, to make them ceremonially clean. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit... See, we are partakers of the eternal spirit. Some people say one of the big things we had going on in the Doctrine Committee way back in worldwide, the early 90s, and I was on that committee from the inception, and when this thing about the Trinity was introduced, one of the other principals said, Oh, we can't be on the God plane because we are created beings.

But see, we are partakers of the eternal spirit. And when we are resurrected, as it says in Romans 8-11, by the same spirit that he raised up Jesus from the dead, he will also quicken our mortal bodies by that spirit that dwells in us, that eternal spirit. And so then we are heirs of God and joined heirs with Jesus Christ. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

See, being born morally illiterate, it depends to a large degree on the culture that you grow up in, who your parents are, the teachers, the culture. There are still cannibals in Africa. There are cannibals in New Guinea still. And their culture teaches that it's okay to eat the flesh of another being, because in so doing, you somehow have their spirit incorporated into your being, which gives you more power and strength. Now, that's quite amazing, but I read a few years ago that the pygmies were in fear of being extinct because of the headhunters who were killing them for that very purpose. The point is that the culture in which you grow up, you have to be trained. See, there's a dimension here that goes beyond the flesh, that God will write His immutable spiritual laws on our inward parts through His Spirit, and that we can have a new conscience, a new knowing that we can have a new spirit, and that we can have a new conscience, a new knowing within through the Word and the Spirit of God. Now, the carnal mind is still there, but it can be ruled over. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, this is Romans 8.14, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. So it is possible to mortify the flesh. It is possible to have a new knowing within, a new conscience through the Word and the Spirit of God. God wants us cleaned up from the inside out. The Pharisees and basically the Judaism that finally came to be about the time of Christ, and even before, was clean up the outside, look good outside. But God wants us cleaned up from the inside out. And through repentance and exercising faith in the sacrifice of Christ, we can be purged of sin, and we can eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We can ingest the very mind of God, and we can have that new knowing within. The Gospel of John states in John 6, 63, the words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. So with that overview, let's now focus on the essentials for eating and drinking the Passover, and we'll go to 1 Corinthians 11. As we'll see here, Paul said that he received these words directly from the Lord Himself. In 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17. If you can keep all of that background that we have covered here in mind. For in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not, but you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies, divisions among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When you come together, therefore, into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. This is not to eat the Lord's Supper. Now, evidently, there were people who were keeping what is called love feasts.

That was somewhat common in the world at that time. And keeping these love feasts, you look at 2 Peter 2, 2 Peter 2, and verse 13 refers to love feasts. The Lord's Supper is not a love feast, and I guess you would say this might be somewhat supposition. In 2 Peter 2, verse 13, there were occasions in which they would, maybe it was sort of like our potlucks, in which they would have a feast, and they would eat and drink and all of that. But Paul is saying, look, the Passover is not for that purpose. In 2 Peter 2, verse 13, they shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they count it pleasure to riot in the daytime spots they are in blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. And now in Jude, and Jude is very similar to 2 Peter 2, in Jude, in verse 12, I believe it is, Jude, verse 12, has a similar comment here, verse, These are spots in your feast of charity, so love feast. When they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear, clouds they are without water carried about, of wind-screes whose fruit withers without fruit twice dead, plucked up by the roots. So Paul is saying, look, when you come to keep the Passover, it is not to eat and drink, as we all see more clearly as we go through this.

The four great essentials for keeping the Passover, and this is not all-inclusive, but it is the main ones, as far as I can tell, you must discern the physical body and life of Christ that was given for your sins. The Son of God died for your sins. He is your Passover. He poured out his life's essence for you and all of humanity. He paid the ultimate price for sin. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be reconciled to God the Father. And of course, that also includes number two. You must be reconciled to God and Christ, and you must be reconciled to your brothers and sisters in Christ. So this means you also must discern the body of Christ, the Church of God, each member in the body of Christ. We'll see this in Paul's instructions here. And you must keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. So we'll be discussing all of these points as we go on here. But you see here in Corinth, they were coming together and they were having a festive occasion. It was not really a potluck because some were faring sumptuously and some were not. And we continue here in the narrative. Verse 20 again, So when you come together therefore into one place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper. And we talked about the love feast.

For in eating everyone takes before after his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunk. Getting drunk at Passover. Well, as that's even the apostles, when the very night that Jesus Christ instituted the symbols of the covenant Passover, the disciples got into a dispute over who will be greatest in the kingdom of God.

This of who will be the greatest is an historic problem from Cain and Abel to the present day. Verse 22, Have you not houses to eat in, to drink in, or despise you, the church of God? See, the church of God consists of the members of the body of Christ and shame them that have not. What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take ye, this is my body, which is broken for you, this due in remembrance of me. After this manner also, he took the cup. When he had supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant, Diathakei, in my blood, this due you as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come. Now the word here for you do show, catengelgello, means to announce, to declare, to make known the Lord's death. It is a memorial. Do this in remembrance of me. So you must discern the physical body of Christ that was bruised, beaten, and broken for your sins. In short, you have to come to recognize that Jesus Christ died for your sins, and apart from faith in his sacrifice, you would still be in your sins and without hope of eternal life. It is a very sobering thing that one comes to. Of course, you come to this also as you counsel for baptism and come up to that point realizing that apart from the sacrifice of Christ, his Passover, I'm going to die. So the Passover is a very solemn and somber occasion. It's a life or death matter. It is not a time for festive frolicking, as they were doing in Corinth. Now this is reinforced by verse 27. Verse 27, Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink of this cup of the Lord, an axios in the Greek, A-N-A-X-I-O-S, A-N-A-X-I-O-U-S, an axios, and it means irreverently. Now a lot of people through the years read this unworthily and they took it in the sense of what unworthily means in our culture today. Oh, I'm just poor old little me and how can I take the Passover? I'm not really worthy. And so I can sort of a false humility. That's not what it's saying. It says irreverently. An axios. The Corinthians were taking the Passover irreverently. They were not discerning the body of Christ that was given for them, bruised, beaten, broken, his life, bloodshed. And they were not discerning the members of the body of Christ, the Church of God. Whosoever therefore shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord irreverently shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

They did not discern properly the physical body of Christ, neither did they discern the spiritual organism, the Church of God, and each member in particular.

So in view of these divisive practices that had developed in Corinth, Paul said, Do this in remembrance of me, the remembrance of the death of our Savior. And to eat and drink it without showing reverence and regard to what He did for us is to eat and drink it irreverently. So in verse 28, we see that we must examine ourselves. You must examine yourself. I must examine myself. No person can do this for you. It is a very serious matter.

The word for examine is dokimatsu. It means to test, to prove, to scrutinize, to see whether or not a thing is genuine. Like if you were to look at counterfeit money. Is it genuine? Or you look at a diamond. Is it the real thing? So let a person examine himself, test, try, whether or not he is really in the faith. We'll see that verse 28 is closely related to verse 31. So a person must judge himself. First of all, you've got to be reconciled to God. You come before God, confess your sins, and cry out for His mercy.

So what I'm saying here today should provide you with a broad outline. But this is by no means the examination. As I've said, you have to do that yourself. I can't do it for you, you can't do it for me. The minister is instructed to teach and preach, meet in due season, rehearse the meaning of each season, but the actual application is up to each one of us, personally, individually, before God.

You examine yourself by looking into God's spiritual mirror. The Word of God. Look at James. We'll be coming back to Corinthians 11 if you want to mark that. Look at James 1. In James 1, with regard to how do you examine yourself, verse 21, one of the great requirements for being taught knowledge, "...wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness..." This word, meekness, pruites, in the Greek means perfectly teachable heart.

"...the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass." And of course, the Word of God is our spiritual mirror, because you can quote Hebrews 4.12, verse 4.12, "...for the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, dividing us under the thoughts and intents of the heart of man." It lays everything bare.

It's your spiritual mirror. "...like unto a man beholding his face in a glass, for he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was.

But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." So the spiritual mirror. Now we go back to Corinthians 11, and we're going to also look at something else here. Now in 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 29, in the King James it says, "...for he that eats and drinks irreverently in Axios eats and drinks crema judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." "...not discerning the Lord's body." Now the older text omit, unworthily, in verse 29, they also omit the Lord's.

And so without those it would read, "...for he that eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment, since he does not discern..." This word discern in the Greek is diacrino, means dia is like diameter all the way through measurement, all the way through judgment. "...not discerning the Lord's, but that the Lord's is not in this verse in the older text, since he does not discern the body." So in this case the specific body is the members of the body of Christ the church, because they were keeping it irreverently.

In the literal translation, the meaning in that one must thoroughly discern the body of believers and be reconciled to each member of the body by exercising judgment and mercy and faith. Now turn to Matthew 23, in verse 23. We'll be coming back here to 1 Corinthians 11. What we're about to say in conjunction with all of this, if we could learn the lessons that are involved with what we're about to say now.

Of course, you have to be reconciled to God, discern the body of Christ, repentance, faith in the sacrifice of Christ, baptized, laying on of hands. Matthew 23, verse 23. See, in our personal reconciliation with God and Christ, we have to come before God and Christ, as we've already noted, and realize that I am a sinner, that I have sinned, I have fallen short, and the death penalty is on my head.

So I judge myself, I am a sinner, that's judgment. How do I know sin? Because the Word of God says, you shall not, or whatever it says, concerning sin. Then I cry out for God's mercy. He says I'm faithful and just to forgive you of all unrighteousness. Then he says, go walk in faith, go and sin no more. In Matthew 23, 23. Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, for you paid tithes of men, anise, and coming, have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.

These ought you to have done, and not to leave, the other undone. See, judgment, mercy, and faith springs from the law. These are the weightier matters of the law. Why do I have faith? Because God, who has promised, who cannot lie, has said whatever he has said, whatever his promises are. Now look at Michael 6.8. See, one of the great themes of the Bible is judgment, mercy, and faith. In Michael 6.8, this is preceded by, well, what does God really expect from you?

Would he require the fruit of your body, your children, to be sacrificed to a pagan God? Well, Israel and Judah did that. But what did he really want? Verse 8. He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? In essence, this is saying the same thing as Matthew 23.23. Judgment, mercy, and faith. So personally, we come before God, and we exercise judgment, mercy, and faith.

And with our neighbor, we come before God, each member of the body of Christ, to be reconciled. And it says that if you come to offer your gift, this is Matthew 5, verses 23-24, if you come to offer your gift and realize that your brother has ought against your think, your brother has ought against you, go be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift. If we fail to be reconciled with God and Christ, and each member of the body of Christ, and fail to judge ourselves, God will judge us. And we'll see that in just a moment, back in 1 Corinthians 11. I want to say that again.

See, this is a historic problem from the creation of humankind of the present time. Why we've had so many divisions in the church, it is because we have refused to do this, to exercise judgment, mercy, and faith.

Here we have pinpointed why the body of Christ is floundering, and will continue to flounder until godly reconciliation supersedes personal pride and ambition. When we humble ourselves before God and realize that we are members, one of another, that's Romans 12.5, that we are supposed to have the same love, care, and concern for one another because we're all members of the same body. Now, let's take a closer look at the body or bodies that are to be discerned. The body of Christ, of course, we've talked about that.

The literal body of Christ was given for our sins. Look at Hebrews 10. In Hebrews 10, verse 9, So we have discussed that, that we must discern the body of Christ, and it's through faith in His sacrifice that we can be reconciled to God in Christ. We have to be reconciled to each member of the body of Christ, the Church of God. Look at Corinthians 12 and verse 12.

First Corinthians 12 and verse 12. First Corinthians 12 and verse 12. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. And verse 25. That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care, one for another.

And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. Or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Do we believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and faith in that will cover your brother's sins, just as it covers yours? We can ask ourselves, are we reconciled? You look at 1 Corinthians 10, which is encouraging in many ways, but on the other hand, it could be frightful. Look at 1 Corinthians 10, verse 15. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 15.

I speak as the wise men judge you what I say. 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 being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. So when we eat and drink of the Passover, we are saying that we are unified together as one body and one bread.

Now back in 1 Corinthians 5, verses 7 and 8. So we have to be reconciled to God, we have to be reconciled to one another, we have to judge ourselves, and then we need to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, hiding it, storing it in our hearts and minds and beings. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7, Purge out, therefore, the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you are unleavened. Seems like a contradiction, but it seems to be saying that you have put out the physical leavening. Now let's put out the spiritual leavening. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. So, brethren, we can see here that we follow the example of Christ and humble ourselves, and go in attempt to be reconciled to God, to your brother, judging yourself, that God is faithful in just to forgive us of all unrighteousness. Now go back there and look at 1 Corinthians 11 to close, and you'll see how serious all of this is.

We'll read 29 again, 1 Corinthians 11-29. For he that eats and drinks irreverently, eats and drinks crema, judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. If you leave Lords in there or not, it's essentially the same, because the body of Christ, physical body, bruised, beaten, broken for us, the body of Christ, the Church, the bread of Christ, he eat and drink of his bread, the Word of God, he is a living bread. Notice what it says, For this cause of not properly discerning the Lord's body in every sense. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and some are dead. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. And one of my sayings is, God would rather see us dead than to miss out on the kingdom of God. He is going to chasten every son that he loves. He is going to try to bring us to repentance and faith. But when you are judged, you are chasten of the Lord, that we should not be judged with the world. Judgment is now on the house of God. Wherefore, my brother, when you come together to eat, wait one for another. Don't take the Passover irreverently, whether it be in eating or drinking, whether it be in grudges, murmuring, complaining, or all the negative things that you might name. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that you come not together under judgment. And the rest will be set in order when I come.

So the Passover is rooted and grounded on God's love for us. Because of his love and grace, he has provided us with a Savior, a Passover for our sins. John 3, 16. Because God wants to share his eternal being with us, he and the Word ordain this great plan of salvation to redeem humans from sin and death. And make it possible for them to partake of the divine nature, to receive the Spirit of God, to have a new conscience, a new knowing within, and to be led by the Spirit of God. In summary, Passover is a festival of freedom. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is our Passover, as we read in 1 Corinthians 5, 8, We can be set free from fear, ignorance, superstition, and the dogmas of man, and most importantly, we can be set free from sin and death. And if the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.