To Love Is to Give
The sermon emphasizes the importance of giving in communion, highlighting the significance of the cross and sacrificial self-breaking.
G.W. North emphasizes that true communion involves both receiving from Christ and giving to others, highlighting the sacrificial nature of love exemplified by the cross. He contrasts the traditional method of communion, which focuses solely on receiving, with a deeper understanding that includes the act of giving, reflecting the unity of believers as one body. North asserts that the essence of communion is rooted in Christ's sacrifice, which was anticipated during the Last Supper and fulfilled at Golgotha. This understanding of communion not only honors the cross but also fosters a community of selfless love among believers. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a recognition of the interconnectedness of receiving and giving in the life of the Church.
Text
In these two alternative methods two different aspects of communion are represented. The former order lays the emphasis on taking and eating; or receiving only, and directly, from Him. This method is exemplified among us today when communion is administered to a company of people by one man or a few chosen men only, and no-one else. When this method is adopted it is probably because people believe that only one or a few may be ordained to represent the Christ from whom alone the communicant must receive the elements. In this case the devout Christian believes that he receives the spiritual communion direct from Christ and at that time eats the spiritual flesh and drinks the spiritual blood by faith.
The latter method, without minimising the import of the former, shifts the emphasis from receiving only, to both receiving and giving. This is of much greater significance, for it reveals a far deeper truth; it exemplifies the most fundamental principle of truest love and union known by God. More than that, it also demonstrates that kind of sacrificial giving exemplified by the cross alone. By realising that 'we being many are one bread' and by the self-breaking symbolised by breaking the bread, the cross is kept central at the heart of the Church. God wants it kept there, for that is where sacrificial self-breaking for others was accomplished among men on earth.
The Lord knew He could only give Himself to us by crucifixion, and that is why everything He did in the upper room was anticipatory of the cross. The feast was entirely conceived and inaugurated taking the cross for granted. Golgotha was the only place where it could be fulfilled and the cross was the only means He could use if He was to give Himself in the way He desired. Unless He did so, God's will could not be done, or His own wish be consummated; the whole design was to establish the Communion on earth among men.
Sermon Outline
- Two Methods of Communion
- The Importance of Giving
- The Significance of the Cross
- Sacrificial Giving Exemplified by the Cross
- The Self-Breaking Symbolised by Breaking Bread
Key Quotes
“The feast was entirely conceived and inaugurated taking the cross for granted.” — G.W. North
“Unless He did so, God's will could not be done, or His own wish be consummated;” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We should strive to give ourselves sacrificially for others, just as Christ gave Himself for us.
- Breaking bread in communion is a reminder of the self-breaking that Christ demonstrated on the cross.
- True love and union are demonstrated through sacrificial giving, not just receiving.