Who is he?
"At a very early period his mind displayed the vigor and acuteness for which, through life, it was remarkable ; and it is credibly stated, that at the early age of three years, he could read in the Bible with distinctness and observation."
Who is this child prodigy from church history? The one whom his neighbors referred to as the Diaper Preacher. Haha. His father was also renowned. Who are they? And why would I bring their names up with regard to the Lord's Supper?
As you may know, my views on this subject are slightly atypical. But they are very inclusive.
If you can answer this burning question, there may be a prize for you!
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The amazing young person referred to here is Matthew Henry. His own father was a shining beacon as well. I have a book in my library by him. "Christ is All".
For more than a hundred years, Matthew Henry's Commentary was the most popular one. Some readers will likely have it themselves.
I brought both of these guys into this discussion because one believed in private communions - the other did not. As can be seen from diary entries below.
An easier case could be made for private baptisms, I'd say. Remember the Ethiopian eunuch who inquired of Philip: "See, here is water. What's stopping me from being baptized?"
So, as it is today, well-intended good people can differ in their views.
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To my mind, if we are called by Christ to be unified as a single body (1 Corinthians 12:11-14), then we are to bring Christ to every member no matter where they are. If that means going to someone's home and having communion with them there then praise be to God that we can bring the Body together. Communion is then an act of inclusion. Conversely, it could be argued that "private" Communion occurs when churches take the act of public Communion and restrict it beyond what the Scripture allows. In this case Communion becomes an act of exclusion and it divides the Body.
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There was a time when many denominations made a big deal about their closed communions. They would refer to their table as "fenced." Other denominations were not too welcome. Thankfully, this idea has lost traction over recent decades.
In Europe, in some countries a communion "token" was required.
Talk about a private communion of sorts... an American astronaut took a communion kit into space and remembered his Lord as he looked across the panorama of our vast yet tiny solar system.
Yes, exclusion among Christians is a huge issue. Paul was quite upset when he saw it. And those who essentially missed their meal and left hungry were carefully considered in his famous chapter to those in Corinth.
Communion was meant to be about Christ and his body. Yet many make it about themselves and a time for endless introspection and shame. I was once at a meeting and we were given a long list of things to examine ourselves about. Even political issues for our particular state. Granted, those things are important but...
Above all, let's remember that Paul's fix was not to separate the bread and wine from a real meal. As today, people regularly need to eat. Even as those around them are full and drunken.
By the way, let me add that all children (such as a Matthew Henry), if given a chance and the encouragement, can accomplish incredible things. But this is becoming rare in the modern world. The modern world where everyone gets a trophy... :)
Todd, it's always good to hear from you, brother in Christ.
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Thank you, brother David. When I am here I feel very much in the presence of the Body of Christ. It is amazing that though we are separated by vast distances and many timezones that we can all gather together under the banner of our Lord Jesus Christ in this one place.
Something that you said really stuck out for me...
Yes, exclusion among Christians is a huge issue. Paul was quite upset when he saw it. And those who essentially missed their meal and left hungry were carefully considered in his famous chapter to those in Corinth.
Communion was meant to be about Christ and his body. Yet many make it about themselves and a time for endless introspection and shame....
When you talk about "fencing the table" (restricting the participation of other Christians based on some set of rules), it is exactly this passage in Corinthians that church leaders use to justify their actions. Yet their reasoning is flawed at best and evil at worst. They take the passage out of context. You are exactly right that Paul is upset, but not with penitent sinners coming to the table who are not worthy based on the reasoning of church leaders. It you read the verses ahead of the warning, Paul is upset with the gluttony and drunkenness of those coming to the table. That is is what he is condemning
For those who attend churches that fence the table, I would encourage you to ask your leadership why they separate Christians from one another at a time when Jesus calls for unity in the church. If they use the term "keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" then I might suggest that you look more closely at your church to see if it being obedient to Christ's commandments. What they are referring to is found in Matt 16: 15-19...
15 [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of **** shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
It is not uncommon for church leaders to interpret the word "you" here as all church leaders throughout all time, yet it's not even clear that Jesus was talking to anyone other than Peter. Additionally, our English translations tend to make it sound as though the "binding" is active on the part of the leader, yet the original Greek seems to indicate that the binding on Earth is a result of the binding in Heaven. To put it another way, the binding is done in accordance with God's will, not the other way around. There is little Scriptural evidence to support leaders acting first and then God agreeing with those actions. If you were to believe this then every church leader should be praying for money to pay for their church budgets to drop from Heaven.
My hope and fervent pray is that we may be bound together as one in Christ, most importantly in Communion. Those who seek to restrict others based on anything but Scripture appear to seek not for the good of the church but rather for the good of their own judgements. May God deal with them graciously that they might see the harm that they do to their fellow believers and give up on their sinful ways.
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