[Sept. 9th, 1855. Communion Sabbath.]
The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of redemption. Redemption is deliverance by purchase. The redeemed become the property of the Redeemer. “Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price.”
I. The sense in which believers are not their own.
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The right of property in us is not in ourselves, but in Christ. There is a sense in which a man may have a right of property in himself, so far as his fellow-men are concerned. His body is his own. His time, his talents are his and not others. He can employ them at his own discretion, and for his own advantage. This is precisely what the apostle denies of believers. They are not their own. They have no right to use their bodies, their time or talents for themselves, at their own discretion, and for their own advantage. They belong to Christ, in the sense in which a slave belongs to his master.
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This right of property and the consequent right of control extends not merely to the body, but to the soul. It is the soul that has been bought. Therefore our souls are not our own. Our reason, our conscience, our hearts, our whole rational and immortal nature, belong to Christ. He determines what we are to think, what believe, what approve, what condemn, what love, and what hate. The which is in US is not the , but the . This is what the apostle says in the connection.
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This right of property, extending to both soul and body, brings with it the obligation to glorify God in our body and spirit which are his. We are God’s in such a sense that the only legitimate end of our being is his glory. If our own we would live for ourselves, but life belongs to Christ. We must live for Christ. What the apostle teaches, is, 1. That the right of property in us is not in ourselves but in God. 2. That this right of property and of control extends to the soul as well as to the body. 3. That it involves the obligation of living for his glory.
II. The foundation of this peculiar relation is not creation, it is not preservation, but redemption. This redemption gives a rightful possession, because the price given was adequate. It was the blood of the Lamb, the blood of the eternal Son of God.
III. This right vests in Christ; not in God as God, but in God in Christ. He is the Redeemer, therefore he is the possessor. As God and Christ are one there is no collision here, nothing inconsistent with our allegiance to God, in our subjection to Christ. This representation, however, pervades the Scriptures, and is essential to the healthful exercise of piety. Many Christians endeavor to live in their natural relation to God. Others regard Christ not as the direct object of the religious affections and allegiance, but only as opening the way for our returning to the service of God. This is to degrade Christ and to substitute nature for grace, reason for the gospel. The true doctrine of the Scriptures is that we belong to Christ, and therefore that the specific motive of obedience is love to Christ, and the specific object of pursuit is the glory of Christ, and the rule of action is the will of Christ. It is only in loving Christ that we love God, in glorifying Christ that we can glorify God, and in serving Christ that we can serve God.
IV. Are WE then redeemed?
Not if we regard ourselves as our own. Not if we use our bodies, our time and talents as belonging to ourselves. Not if we seek our own glory. Not if we act in obedience to our own will. We are redeemed from the devil and from hell, only if we recognize Christ as our owner; only if love to him constrains us to live to his glory, and make his will the rule of our conduct.
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