What is the minimal acceptable age for a person to be accepted to partake the Lord’s Supper?
There are two vital ordinances that the Church is to observed that is the baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Partaking of the bread symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the cup symbolized the pouring out of Christ’s blood for us. This is why when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we are actually proclaiming what is said in I Cor. 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”. Other than that it also means that we are participating in or sharing in the benefit earned for us by the death of Jesus.
There is no mention of minimal age in the Bible in partaking of the Lord’s Supper. As to my understanding after referring and gathering from the theology book, it is clearly stated that the Lord’s Supper is only taken by those who believe in Jesus Christ. That is those who have accepted Jesus as their personal saviour. This is as a sign of being Christian and continuing in the Christian life. This depends on the maturity of the young believer. It is important for this new believer to understand the real meaning of the Lord’s Supper and to partake it with great reverend. The maturity in a child is different from one to another.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
The Biblical Understand of Church
The Biblical Understanding of Church
The word Church in other language that is translated from Greek is known as “kuriakos” which gives the meaning “belonging to the Lord”. The Greek translation “ekklesia” refers to a gathering or assembly of persons in the circular sense. This is the same meaning that is found in the Acts 19:32, 39 and41. Other than that in classical Greek it also carries the meaning of a religious fellowship or cultic guilt which refers to their business meetings and not to the union itself.
In Hebrew there are two term to explain the word church, “qahal” and “edah”. The word “qahal” is said derived from the word voice which refers to a summon of the assembly and the act of the assembling. It does not refer to the member of the assembly as a designation of the occurrence of assembling. In the Bible it is used in Deut. 9:10; 10:4; 23:1-3, which comes with the religious significances. In 1 Kings 12:3 it denotes more general assembly of the people, while in Jer. 44:15 it’s for the gathering of woman and in Ezra 10:1 and Neh. 8:2 it denotes children.
The word “edah” is more relevance to us as it appears in Pentateuch with mainly being mentioned in Book of Numbers. It refers to the people gathering before the tent of meeting as it first occurs in Exodus 12:3 which suggestion to “congregation”. The Bible also describe the church with a few images and the important ones are the church is known as the people of God, the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom is the rule of God, while the church is the human community under the rule. The church is the manifestation of the kingdom or reign of God that is on earth. The Kingdom is also the manifestation of God’s sovereign rule in our hearts. The kingdom can found wherever God rules in human heart. The most important thing is that the Kingdom of God is found wherever His will is done.
The term Kingdom of God occurs mainly in the Gospel of Mark , Luke and in Matthew it is mentioned as the “Kingdom of Heaven. It is said that Jesus began His ministry by announcing “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” Mark 1:14-15. The word fulfilled gives us the understanding that the past promise is to come to pass. The Gospels also declare that Jesus will be the bringer of the Kingdom through his life. This includes his miracles, his teachings, his death and his resurrections.
Therefore Jesus and his apostles knew and understood that the Kingdom of God is the fulfilment of the hopes and promises recorded in the sacred Scriptures of the OT. Even though there is no mentioned about the Kingdom of God in the OT but the creation narrative in the book of Genesis gives us the idea of the rule of God over every creation.
The word Church in other language that is translated from Greek is known as “kuriakos” which gives the meaning “belonging to the Lord”. The Greek translation “ekklesia” refers to a gathering or assembly of persons in the circular sense. This is the same meaning that is found in the Acts 19:32, 39 and41. Other than that in classical Greek it also carries the meaning of a religious fellowship or cultic guilt which refers to their business meetings and not to the union itself.
In Hebrew there are two term to explain the word church, “qahal” and “edah”. The word “qahal” is said derived from the word voice which refers to a summon of the assembly and the act of the assembling. It does not refer to the member of the assembly as a designation of the occurrence of assembling. In the Bible it is used in Deut. 9:10; 10:4; 23:1-3, which comes with the religious significances. In 1 Kings 12:3 it denotes more general assembly of the people, while in Jer. 44:15 it’s for the gathering of woman and in Ezra 10:1 and Neh. 8:2 it denotes children.
The word “edah” is more relevance to us as it appears in Pentateuch with mainly being mentioned in Book of Numbers. It refers to the people gathering before the tent of meeting as it first occurs in Exodus 12:3 which suggestion to “congregation”. The Bible also describe the church with a few images and the important ones are the church is known as the people of God, the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom is the rule of God, while the church is the human community under the rule. The church is the manifestation of the kingdom or reign of God that is on earth. The Kingdom is also the manifestation of God’s sovereign rule in our hearts. The kingdom can found wherever God rules in human heart. The most important thing is that the Kingdom of God is found wherever His will is done.
The term Kingdom of God occurs mainly in the Gospel of Mark , Luke and in Matthew it is mentioned as the “Kingdom of Heaven. It is said that Jesus began His ministry by announcing “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” Mark 1:14-15. The word fulfilled gives us the understanding that the past promise is to come to pass. The Gospels also declare that Jesus will be the bringer of the Kingdom through his life. This includes his miracles, his teachings, his death and his resurrections.
Therefore Jesus and his apostles knew and understood that the Kingdom of God is the fulfilment of the hopes and promises recorded in the sacred Scriptures of the OT. Even though there is no mentioned about the Kingdom of God in the OT but the creation narrative in the book of Genesis gives us the idea of the rule of God over every creation.
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