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The Cup of Blessing
(6th in the series of expositions on Communion delivered on Aug 29, 1978)
Communion is a family meal. In 1 Cor 10:16 "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?", the cup is called the cup of blessing. The word "blessing" is used but it depends on who is blessing who. If it is we who are blessing God in our relation to God, then it means to praise God. We see this in Rev 5 and Rev 7:12. "To bless God is to praise Him and to give thanks to Him for all that He has done for us" expresses thanksgiving which comes from joy. If it is God who blesses us, then it has a meaning of benefit or gift - God's gift to us that expresses His grace to us.
Does "the cup of blessing" mean the cup that blesses us or the cup that we bless God with? Here is where Paul purposely leaves the place vague because both of these points are true. It is the cup of salvation and also because of the cup of salvation that we give thanks to God. Paul particularly expresses the idea of thanksgiving and praise as he said "the cup of blessing which we bless". Many times we come to the Communion with the notion that because we are remembering the death of Christ so it has to be with groaning, that it is inappropriate to remember any joy. So the Communion becomes very heavy instead of joyful, instead of offering worship and praise to God.
The Passover is the time when the Lord instituted the Communion. Passover is a joyful occasion though the Passover lamb is slain, but because of that there is a deliverance out of Egypt, and because of that God's salvation gives us this joy. This cup is the cup of salvation, therefore it is a cup of blessing. God has blessed us and we give thanks to God.
Grape juice is usually used in place of wine on the table during Communion. In England, blackcurrant juice is used. So it is hard to be reading the Lord's word especially in Mt 26:29 and its parallel passage Mk 14:25. The Lord Jesus said in Mk 14:24,25, "This is my blood that is poured out for many, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day." Blackcurrant juice is served in England because the color is similar to wine and is cheaper, but it has nothing to do with the fruit of vine.
Fruit of the vine in Judaism is an expression of wine on which we only can find the information from the "Mishna". It is always related to the Passover meal, a festive meal, which becomes a liturgical formula, a formula that expresses the goodness of God in giving us the fruit of the vine, i.e., the wine.
At the Passover, wine is absolutely required. Each Jewish person drinks no less than three cups of wine. If one is poor and cannot afford to buy wine, you will buy the wine for him so that he can also join the joy of salvation.
1 Tim 5:23 says, "Stop drinking only water and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses." Normally people drink water rather than wine as water is cheaper, but Paul advised Timothy to stop drinking water but to drink wine for his stomach's sake; Paul wanted him to discipline himself.
In the ancient days there was no method of storing unfermented juice as the grape juice cannot be preserved unless you put the preservative in it. It goes moldy very soon. Passover took place in spring, 6 months after the harvest; by that time there was no fresh grape juice to drink but just wine.
There are certain objections against wine as against lots of alcohols, which is the result of the statement made for wine in Young's Concordance; "Grape Juice" is put there as the heading. It is the prejudice which causes us to displace the word of God with our tradition. In the Hebrew dictionary "wine" always means wine. So in our tradition once more, we are putting the word of God away. One will say that wine will make drunkards, but drunkenness is the least sin in the Bible. It is the sin of sexual immorality that is number one. Because there is a constant danger of sexual immorality, then should we divide the church, one section for men, the other for women? By no means! So to prohibit wine should not be reasoned.
"Juice" occurs in the authorized version in the OT once in the Songs of Solomon and is used in connection with wine; the pomegranate juice becomes pomegranate wine. So the only occurrence of the word "juice" is even connected with wine.
The Meaning of Wine
1. Wine is used for cleansing and disinfecting, therefore
it has a medical purpose.
As in Lk 10:34, the wounds [of the Jew in the parable of the Good Samaritan]
were bound with oil and wine to prevent them from being infected, for in
the hot weather it is easy to get blood poisoning. This is exactly what
the blood of Christ is for. We are cleansed by the blood of Christ to make
white garments (Rev 7:14). Holiness in our lives comes through the blood
of Christ to make us pure and to make us white. The blood of Christ has
freed us from the power of sin (Rev 1:5).
2. It is the cup of praise, the cup of joyful thanksgiving.
As in the OT wine is always a constant symbol of joy.
In Ps 104:15, wine is given to us by God to gladden the heart of
men. In Zech 10:7, their heart exalts (rejoices) and their heart shall be
as glad as with wine. In Eccl 10:19, wine makes life merry. To have no wine
to drink is a sign of judgment. In Amos 5:11, part of the sentence "you
shall not drink wine" is dealt with judgment against Israel; because they
were against God, God made the wine to cease and caused the flour to cease;
there would be famine, shortage and no wine. But some quoted the verse as
if it is scriptural teaching that you cannot drink wine which is of opposite
meaning. In Micah 6:15, judgment of sins will be seen as no more wine to
drink, no more bread to eat. In Micah 2:11, the false prophets preach on
wine and strong drink; they preach there will be peace when in fact there
is no peace, no wine. Therefore unless we understand that wine is the symbol
of joy, we won't know what Micah means.
3. In Hosea 9:4, wine is used for rejoicing in the Lord. See also Deut 14:26.
4. Wine is also used in the OT as the sacrifice to
God.
It is involved in every major sacrifice to express thanksgiving and
praise; no sacrifice is acceptable to God unless it is accompanied with
thanksgiving and praise. Few things have to go with the sacrifice, for example,
salt to every sacrifice, i.e., holiness; without salt no sacrifice is acceptable
to God; without holiness in our life, nothing we offer is acceptable to
God (for it is unclean). Wine is offered with the sacrifice because without
thanksgiving to Him, sacrifice is unworthy. Exo 29:40, Lev 23:13, Num 15:5,7,10,
Num 28:14 are all related to wine offered in the sacrifice. The bigger the
sacrifice, the more wine is required. With the lamb offered, ¼ bin of wine
is required; with the ram, 1/3; with bullock which is bigger, ½ bin of wine
is required. The greater the sacrifice the more the wine must be offered
to Him in order to be acceptable.
In the NT, wine is also a symbol of joy. For example, Jesus turned water to wine at the wedding feast, lest there be no joy. If the wine runs out, the joy also runs out (Jn 2).
5. In the Lord's teaching, wine is the joy and power
of the new life.
Joy and power of the new life both are expressed in connection with
wine. In Mt 9:17, the Lord mentioned about not putting new wine into the
old wineskin as it will burst the skin, but it should be that new wine be
put into the new wineskin because new wine represents the dynamic, powerful,
bubbling joy of the new life which is to destroy any system that is trying
to reject it.
6. Those who are filled with the Spirit is constantly
related as if they are drunk.
In Pentecost, people had mistaken the disciples to be drunk because
they bubbled with joy (Act 2:13). This is the effect of being filled with
the Holy Spirit. Wine therefore is a symbol of a new life with the power
and new joy.
Conclusion
The significance of the wine is that it represents the new life which
comes to us through the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from the sin
and fills us with His power, new life and joy. In Jn 6:55, the Lord said,
"My blood is drink indeed", it means to take in His life and be filled with
the joy.
Ps 116:13,17 says, "I'll take the cup of salvation, I'll give thanks to the Lord." Let us stretch out our hands to take the cup of salvation - the cup of blessing, as Paul said.
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Communion Series:
- Worship
- A Sharing in the Body of Christ
- God's Expression of Love to Us
- Pressing toward the Mark of the High Calling
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