[1:1-2] Sacramental Musings

Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, ὃν ἔθηκεν κληρονόμον πάντων, δι᾿ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας·

“Little by little, at many times, and in many ways, long ago God spoke to the forefathers in the prophets; at the last of these days, he has spoken to us in a son. A son whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he has made the ages and eternities”

Thanks to a great friend here at Westminster, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about sacraments – their institution, necessity, and purpose. What is a sacrament? As I see it, it is a physical means by which God communicates Himself to this world. Now, other people have other definitions (mostly narrower), but nevertheless, this simple and broad definition lends itself to the benefits of seeing all of life “sacramentally.”

A sacrament is one of the ultimate expressions of God’s Sovereignty. It is something He has ordained for Him to reveal Himself or His grace at His own whim. Something my friend said that I’ll never forget: mud is just mud until God chooses it to heal a man’s eyes. Read the verse again. What do you see? Every thing that “God” does towards this world (speaking and making) he does through something else. That’s the ultimate point of this post. God always interacts with this created realm through some sort of use of some sort of mediator – a bush, a voice, a book, or a Son. He never just puts his whole “God-ness” into this world. This is what I mean by looking at life sacramentally – looking at everything in life as a physical means by which God may sovereignly choose to reveal himself and communicate his grace to you.

Did you notice the ambiguity in that last sentence. “God may sovereignly choose”? How do we know what, if, and when God is doing this? Well, in once sense we can’t always know. Jesus, the ultimate sacrament, was walking around with his disciples for years before they ever knew it. But, I have good news. There are three God-ordained things that He has promised to use sacramentally towards His people.

First: baptism. Baptism is an effectual and tangible means of grace for God’s elect that puts them “on reserve” for salvation. Remember, it doesn’t make you elect but it is effectual to bring salvation about for those that already in the mind of God are His elect. If you have been baptized, you can hold fast to and trust in the God of baptism that he visited you there and is with you now.

Second: communion. Oh, communion has become so sweet the past few months. If baptism is an effectual means to bring us to salvation, then communion is an effectual God-ordained means to keep us in that salvation. I’m with Calvin on his view of communion that when we receive it by faith, we are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, “lifted up” in a sense to feast with Christ in heaven. So we really are feasting on Christ and drinking his blood, but in a spiritual, heavenly sense more than a temporal, earthly sense. So receive it by faith that Christ ordained this to give you strength, nourishment, and not just some random “reminder” each month. Think of it as being joined to your spouse physically in a marriage. It doesn’t make you married, but it facilitates the intimacy and oneness within it. This is what Christ is doing with us in communion.

Lastly: the Cross. The ultimate sacramental moment. It is the physical means and expression of God’s intention, wisdom, nature, and grace that transcends all time and all space. That is the ultimate sacrament we can cling to – that while we were at our worst, Christ died in such a physical way that would extend grace to us that we can cling to and return to over and over and over again as we need fresh resources in light of our seemingly never ceasing weaknesses.

So, look for Christ in the ordained sacraments, and actively seek to see Him communicated in all things within this created order as he woos you and draws you to greater affection in Him.