[Pastor Ralph]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

[pickledilly]

These verses in Mark and Matthew teach us that believers simply cannot harbor resentments. If I desire that the Lord hear my own prayers for forgiveness, then I cannot continue to hold offense against someone else who has repented of some transgression against me. If I desire that my personal giving of offerings or worship be acceptable to the Lord, then I cannot ignore my own transgression against another person. These relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf in that forgiveness is a major component of unity because it maintains the harmony of oneness.

What is not unified is going to be fragmented. A body that does not operate in harmony with its own self is going to suffer enormous damage. There will be distractions, disfunction, pain, disease, loss of productivity and effectiveness. The Body of Christ will dishonor itself and its Head if it does not honor the unity He has established and do everything possible to maintain oneness in Him. All believers are invited to the Table to participate in the same one body of Christ. We can't come to that Table, and we certainly can't leave it, with anything but the unifying One Loaf. His Bride will not be presented to Him in pieces, but harmonious oneness.

According to 1 Cor.11:28, I must examine my own heart for transgressions before accepting the Lord's Supper with Him. According to 1 Cor.10:17, I must consider if I have done anything that hinders the unity of His One Body. Any such thing must be dealt with before the Supper, or else the Word says I have profaned it and brought judgment on myself. Christ's holy blood cleanses, and it is really unacceptable to bring uncleansed sin, including division of His Body, to His table.

[Eudora]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf
(1 Corinthians 10:17)?

I can’t help but be reminded, that we are looked upon sometimes as sheep and sometimes as wheat. We are united as the grains of wheat in a field and only God knows when the field is ready for harvest. Only God knows who the real wheat is from the tares. Only God will separate the chaff from the grain with His winnowing fork, storing the grain in His barn but burning the chaff with a never ending fire. As we rise to this occasion, we are like a loaf rising to meet up with Him as He shapes our lives just like the dough is shaped., in preparation of this great and glorious day.

Just a note to share, as a daughter n law of a wheat farmer. When wheat is ready to be harvested, the wheat naturally bows down at harvest time and the tares, the counterfeit looking wheat stands erect. Isn’t that just like God to compare His children to a wheat field? When Jesus returns, those who love and adore Him will bow down. I can picture those who have opposed His will in their lives, standing straight up, and probably for the first time, having their hands raised towards the heavens, saying, “O my god, He is real after all, I guess I should have believed” Father have mercy on those who oppose Your perfect will. Please continue to call out to the lost. In Jesus name I pray. - Amen

We are all of one grain, born again of one King. Seed begets seed of it’s own kind and we are the seed of the risen King. We, the body, make up the one loaf. We the loaf are to be broken as He was broken.

What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

If we have an uprightness about us, thinking that we are better than another, we need to bow down and ask for forgiveness before we partake in the bread that represents the body of Christ, broken for our sin. If we have a thorn of sin in us, we must root it out before we partake. If we do not, we may be the one part that is so cold that will cause the bread not to rise. We could ruin the whole loaf by our one grain of un-forgiveness. The body of Christ, must be prepared for the table. The body of Christ, like the loaf, must be shaped into one, so that Christ can adorn His bride.

[RonS]

Mark 11:25
Forgive if you have anything against anyone

and Matthew 5:23-24.
be reconciled to your brother and then come

What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

Forgive and reconcile

If we want Christ to forgive us we must forgive others. If we don,t forgive other Christ will not forgive us. If we are not forgiven we can not enter the kingdon of the Father.

[Helenmm]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

Unforgiveness is like mould or a disease in the flour. You wouldn't use mouldy, rotten flour to make the bread because it would taste terrible and no-one would eat it. You would remove it and make sure that the flour you used was clean. So we can only bring clean, forgiving, loving hearts to theLord's table, because we are one, and rotten flour affects all the eaters of the bread. I think this rot was demonstrated by the yeast when they ate unleavened bread at passover.

Personally we have no right to take communion if we have any relationship which is not in harmony, or at least we have done everything humanly possible to bring that harmony about, including the forgiveness of any brother or sister by whom we feel hurt. In this case "humanly" means both "hu" and "man = ish = Spirit". Taking communion without this preparation actually brings a curse down on us. It is a blasphemy or a sacrilege, and God is not mocked. We need to stand inthe fear of God as wellas in His love. To come wellprepared is to re-commit oneself totally to the body of Christ. To do so unrighteously is to be a liar and there are noliars in Heaven. To do so righteously is one of the most magnificent acts any human can do, because it is a lifestyle commitment to Jesus and to others of the Family of Christ.

[JustJeff]

What Paul teaches in 1 Cor 10:17 is that we are all one, unified together as the body of Christ, represented by a single loaf of bread. If I were to stub my toe it would be rather silly for my head to blame my foot and try to exact punishment upon it. Likewise, if a brother (or sister) were to offend it would be just as wrong to hold a grudge against that person, seeing that someone would have been in the flesh to offend or be offended. The one who is spiritual must be able to reconcile and clear the air. In order for God to hear our prayer then, we must both be spiritual and make amends before we enter into His courts.

[masika]

Broken relationship can hinder our our relationship with God . If we have a problem with a friend , we should resolve the problem as soon as possible . We are hypocrites if we claim to love God while we hate others . Our attitudes toward others reflect our relationship with God.
In this sence we can not partake in the Lords table when we have a grudge with other believers . it is easy to say we Love God when that Love doesn't cost us anything more than weekly attendance at a religious service . But the real test of our Love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us - our family members and fellow believers . We can not truly Love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image .
MAY GOD HELP US TO LOVE EVERYONE.
AMEN.

[Lion of Grace]

Paul teaches on one loaf. He says that we who are many are one body for we all partake of the one loaf. I think Paul is saying here, that we need unity as one and we symbolize that with the one loaf at communion. We all eat from the one though it will be divided and partaken by many. The symbolizim is concentrated on the one.
In the other passages we are to reflect on divisions BEFORE we take from the bread and the wine. If we come divided from any brother or sister in Christ, then we are not seen as one, nor will we be as one. We must forgive and be forgiven before we come to the communion table. This creates a oneness in Jesus and we can partake as one though we are many. I think sometimes in the Church we see ourselves just as many indivuduals, instead of the truth that we are partaking as one THOUGH we are many. If even one is not right, that affects everyone!
In this age, we are deceived into thinking so individually. It's always about us and then what can be added to us. In truth it's about all of us as one and what can I give for everyone!

[Blessed Me]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)?
Mark 11:25 When ye stand praying, forgive.
Mark is teaching us of Faith. Unforgiveness is an obstacle to the body living a life full of Power. Galatians 5:6 tells us- Faith worketh by love. If we do not love or will not forgive others, how can we be entrusted with this power, Faith works by love.

Mattthew 5: 22-24 If you say to your brother, Raca, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire, THEREFORE if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave thy gift and be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher, If thou REMEMBEREST, when you come to the altar to pray to God and the Spirit touches your heart, He brings to your memory, you must do something about it. When the Spirit leads, we must follow His lead. This is how our Faith grows, this is how we grow in the Lord.


What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

The unity that we speak of is found in Jesus Christ and His Salvation plan, God's gift to us. It is this gift that makes us one with the Father, one in the body. We are now one unit in Chirst.
The Lord has asked me to come to His table and to do it often! I can do nothing on my own to make myself righteous, Christ has already done it on the Cross, He took away my sin, He has clothed me with His righteousness. I come to his table with a heart of Praise, with a heart of Love, with a heart of thankfullness for His saving grace, and His mercy that covers me.

It is my daily life that I desire to put His love into action, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit I can overcome, It is by this "Love" that lives within me that enables me to grow, day by day. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

[Jezemeg]

To me these verses in Mark and Matthew acknowledge that our 'humanness' makes it inevitable that at times there will be discord amongst us, but what is important is that we are to extend our forgiveness and do our part in reconciling our differences just as God extends His forgiveness to us. What right have we to harbour bad feelings, when God gives us His Grace so fully? Whilst we are all individuals and have a right to our own opinions etc., we can still function as a united body. To claim communion with others whilst harbouring feelings of bitterness etc towards a brother or sister is false, we can acknowledge different viewpoints without necessarily having to adopt them as ours.

[charisbarak]

The verses in Matthew & Mark relate to us having done our best to reconcile differences/forgiveness between us & our brothers & sisters in the Lord--unity of the loaf.

To prepare for communion, it is of utmost importance for us to be the seekers of divisions we may have caused, to forgive/reconcile & to bring us into unity again. We need to ask the Lord to show us these areas & when He does, act immediately--not wait for the other person to come to us!

[Lisa Rupert]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?
Mark and Matthew's scriptures relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf by stating that we must become one with unity. We must love one another and demonstrate that love for each other openly. We must settle our differences so that we may remain focused on Christ. We must not allow petty quarrels and disputes to stay unresolved. Instead we must reach a resolution to our bitterness towards one another before we can partake in the Lord's Supper. Our minds and our hearts have to be free from anger so that we can focus on the true meaning of the Lord's Supper which is to give thanksgiving and praise to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We must go to the Lord's Supper without strife in our hearts for one another. We must bring Love for one another as Christ has demonstrated his love for his disciples so we to as Christians must demonstrate our love for one another.

[charity]

The relationship between the two verses in the gospels and 1 Corinthians speak of the concept of unity between God and man as evidenced between man to man. In John 10:30 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” This unity was demonstrated and emphasized throughout Jesus’ life. His proclamation of being the Bread of Life was another theme that Jesus used to illustrate life that comes by unity with Him.

Paul continues with this idea in 1 Corinthians. Christ is the One Loaf, the Bread of Life that brings us into unity with the Father. Paul’s use of the bread is metaphoric; however, the verses in Mark and Matthew very practically instruct us in how to protect and insure this state of unity. Paul addresses fleeing from idolatry; the gospel writers speak of seeking forgiveness with one another, both of which will prevent unity with God.

Personally, to apply the instruction of the scriptures I must be at peace with not only other Christians (Matt. 5), but also with anyone (Mk. 11) - this includes unbelievers. At the very least I must forgive and in the case where I can go to the other party and ask forgiveness, then this is my responsibility. I am reminded of I Jn. 2:9, “The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.” Sometimes, the circumstances may not yet make it possible to personally be reconciled, but that does not give me an excuse to stop praying that that day shall come. I think it is very important to seriously take the steps toward prayer, forgiveness and reconciliation before partaking of the Lord’s Supper, lest I deceive myself in believing that I am walking in the light when I am not and that I believe myself to be stronger than the Lord.

[godsanointed523]

Reading in Mark 11:25 and in Matthew 5:23-24,how do these relate to Paul's teaching on the one loaf?What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

It talks of forgiveness and of praying for one another so we can be able to be united together.And whenever you stand praying if you have anything against anyine and remeber that you have something then you need to go to that person and ask for forgiveness. We must settle it before we can be able to worship in the church or go to the altar.The one loaf represents the Body of Christ and how we should be able to stand as the body of Christ.In the Bible it does say that as the body we have many different parts that each have a function,if one is not working then we all cannot function,well i think Paul meant this illustration of the bread or loaf as the body of Christ remaining together.

What must i personally do in order to have unity in partaking of the Lord's supper?It takes alot of prayer and seeking the Wrod of God so like that we could be good in the eyes of the Lord. We need to have faith and to try to live in obedience to the Word of God and in the ways that he talked of to the patriachs and to the prophets.We can show support and try to encourage others to do the same thing that we try to do.Doing different things to keep the people coming and maintaing that unity.

[Don W]

By helping to achieve unity within the church in order to partake righteously of the Lord’s Supper, we must come together in full forgiveness of God for our own sins as well as in full forgiveness for our sins against other people around us. If we forgive others for what they’ve done against us, then our heavenly Father will forgive us for our own sins, and all of this should take place before we partake of the Lord’s Supper to achieve the unity that He gave us at that time to His disciples with the “one loaf of bread”. We are all part of His body and must be united in one faith towards Him as our Lord and Savior in order to properly partake of the Supper He gave to us. I don’t personally see this happen very often, if at all, in the people around me but I try to ask God to forgive me of my sins before I partake, and this is probably what others around me do, too. I have never ever seen a celebration of the Lord’s Supper stopped temporarily in order to confess to each other our sins against others and ask their forgiveness, and then to continue on with the celebration after this has been taken care of in our lives—but this would be the proper, biblical way to do to properly celebrate the Lord’s Supper in full unity with all of the body of Christ in the local church. We must personally ask as well as give forgiveness to others that we’ve sinned against them as they are to do the same with us. Then and only then will we properly partake of the Lord’s Supper in unity with the body of Christ as He wants us to do.

[heavenlymann]

The one loaf represents Christ's body which is the church which means all of us. When there is a schism between two or more of us we are guilty of persecuting the church...it involves us all. We must strive diligently to be reconciled to our brother or sister that the persecution from within may cease.

[carroll]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

These verses relate to Paul’s teaching on the One Loaf by showing that the body of Christ is a cohesive whole, and that parts of it cannot be disunited from its other parts. Where there is disunity in one body, that body cannot claim to be one. Therefore there must be unity among members of Christ’s body.

In achieving unity on the personal level to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper in a righteous way, we must therefore seek to ensure that there is perfect harmony between ourselves and other members of the body. This requirement of harmony therefore demands that we take whatever steps we deem necessary to ensure reconciliation with fellow members of the body; even to the point of sacrificing what one might consider his “right” in a particular circumstance.

[PCHRIS]

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

If we do come to the Lord's Table with unforgiveness and hatred for some brother or sister, how can God forgive us? We must as quickly as possible reconcile with that person, (and that is sometimes hard to do)
That's why it relates back to the One Loaf; we are One Body together. We need to work togetehr just as Paul teaches about the One Body and many parts make up the Body.

Ask God to show us if there is any unknowingly unforgiveness in our hearts before we come to the altar. I beleive its important for a time of prayer and confession before we partake in Communion

[steve.c]

Pastor Ralph, on May 25 2006, 09:57 PM, said:

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously?

Unity is an essential condition for the true church with Jesus at its head. This is why the study of the Bible is so important. We must understand God's Word and put it into practice. Everything as the Bereans did must be tested against His Word. Proper study will distinquish between the truth and false teaching. But the unity of a church goes further than agreement as to belief and behaviour. We must love each other and be united so that we can work as a body. Emnity must not be allowed to take hold. For that to be the case we must not leave differences between ourselves unresolved or hurts for which no apology has been made. If we have been wronged we must forgive the wrongdoer or else we cannot expect God to forgive us. Conversely we must acknowledge and make amends for our wrongdoing to others. This is part of the Lord's prayer and it is central to the teaching of Jesus. We must come to the Lord's Supper properly prepared with a clear conscience and our relationships with other believers in good order.

[haar]

One loaf represents unity. By reconciling with our brothers and sisters, we maintain the desired unity as the Loard wants and as advocated by Paul.

We have to love and be be patient with one another to maintain unity. This requires effort and most significantly, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to achieve this.