For Whom are the Sacraments?

The Bible is full of word-pictures. These pictures often tell us much about God - Father, son, and Holy Spirit - man, sin, family relationships, political relationships, and so on. They also often tell us something about God's covenant relationship to his people - a relationship which is itself often the model for these other relationships. Particularly, we are informed in dramatic fashion about Christ's relationship to those whom the Father has given him, i.e. the church.

Four very specific instances of the above occur throughout the gospels, epistles, and the Revelation, but perhaps most clearly and specifically in the writings of the Apostle John. We are told repeatedly that Christ is a shepherd and we are the sheep. The sheep hear their master's voice and those who belong to that master know his voice. Likewise, we are like the branches on a vine. "I am the vine, you are the branches." Third, we find that Christ is the Head, and we, the church, are the body. Finally we find that Christ is the Bridegroom, and we, the church, are the bride. This last is related to the previous, for we are informed that in our earthly covenant relationships of marriage, the husband is the head and the wife is his body. The wife is to submit to the husband, for he is the head. The church is to likewise submit to the authority of its head, namely Christ. The husband loves the wife, for she is his own body. The husband should be willing to lay down his life for his bride as Christ did for His. When husband and wife are united in marriage, the two become one. In like manner, Christ and His Church are so united as to become one. We are united to Christ in His life, His obedience, and even His death. Our earthly covenant relationship of marriage at its best is a scale model of Christ's relationship to His church - His body. Our other relationships and those of nature are also scale models. We are His branches, His flock, and so on.

These word pictures can and should inform us greatly as to the nature of our relationship to Christ. But what do they tell us? What can we learn from this? A cursory look at these pictures should provide us with some very edifying thoughts - thoughts which should color our prayer life, our individual and corporate worship and relationship to the Triune God. In a paper so brief, we can only hint at the depth and breadth of this whole matter. However, even being so shallow and narrow here, these thoughts can and should add significantly to the potential depth and breadth of our relationship.

Individual and Corporate

One of the first things that strike us is that hidden within these word pictures are the concepts of both of the individual and the corporate. We are individually sheep. I can not pass the muster for you, nor you for I. We are individually branches. If you or I are counterproductive in the yielding of fruit, we can and should be cut off and destroyed. Yet Christ has one bride, not many. One flock, not many. One body, not many. And Christ is one vine. Many branches yes, but all on one vine.

This is at once liberating and fear-inducing. It is liberating to know that perhaps if I err, as a sickly member of Christ's body, I will be healed by that Great physician - the Head, the Master, the Vine, the Groom. Not only this, but I have the other members of this same body working with and for me to bring this healing. If I am unfruitful, I have the pruning nature of God's discipline to spur on more fruit production, as well as the other branches of this same vine working in concert with me. If I stray like a lost sheep, I have a patient, caring, and loving Master who will leave the ninety and nine and seek after me and bring me home. I hear not only His voice, but also the voices of the others calling me back into the fold. If I am unfaithful to Him, I have the faithful Bridegroom always ready to forgive and forget.

However, this can be fearful, for if I refuse the medicine and ignore the rest of the body, I may, like the wayward eye or hand spoken of by our Lord in Matthew, be cut off and thrown into the fire. If I refuse to produce fruit, I can be cut off (more than a mere pruning) and be thrown to the fire. If I stray and ignore his voice, I can be finally given up for lost, and may never hear that kind voice again. If I am unfaithful with no repentance, I may be served divorce papers.

Therefore, it is I who must work out my own salvation. My mother can't do it for me, nor my father, nor my wife, nor my children. Yet Christ is kind to me, and is forgiving, and faithful. As an individual member of this vine, flock, body, and bride, I must individually seek Him, pray, worship, serve, and (ah this is hard sometimes) produce fruit. Yet, if all this totally depended on me individually, I would suffer endlessly, never getting where I need to go. If I seem to be grappling for words here there is a reason. I am! The depth and breadth of this is too wonderful for me to know!

But, enter here the corporate side. Corporately I pray and worship together with the rest of the flock, vine, body, and bride. Together we renew covenant weekly (not weakly!) in the breaking of bread - again a picture of the body of Christ. This act strengthens, renews, refreshes, and cheers me. In addition, I can meet with the body, or some small part of it on any other kind of basis as well - for prayer, study, and singing. The edifying power of Christ's institutional body is grand indeed.

The Sacraments

In addition to the above brief and inadequate description, these word pictures I believe, help express something very important in relation to Christ's sacramental provisions for His body/flock/branches/bride. With both sacraments, there is much misinformation within our world of Protestant Christianity. It is a major point of faith among many that the sacrament of baptism is only for those who have reached some subjective level of saving faith. It is even a wider belief that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is for such as these. In relation to this, let us first consider what these word pictures tell us when approached literally.

When a man owns a flock of animals, he owns not only the flock, but also their offspring. When one animal is born to his flock, he does not discard it. To do so would dwindle his flock in short order! He does not send the animal away and disown it, then hope and pray that it comes back to him at a later time in its life. Sure, he may buy other animals, and if he is interested in growing his little 'kingdom' exponentially he does. But, in good times and bad, he can be sure to keep those he has, and to keep their offspring. And let us not neglect to understand that often to indicate ownership, the man will place some form of identifying mark on those that are his. A brand or a tag on the ear or some other similar mark shows ownership.

Likewise, when a child is born to those who already belong to God in Christ, does He discard that child? Surely not! To do so would not make sense. While it is true that God 'owns' everything and everyone, He 'owns' His flock in a special sense. When one is born to His flock, they are His as well.

Naturally, if that little sheep grows up to be unfaithful to Him and unproductive for Him, he may discard of it then. However, if the rest of the flock (that's us!) does its job, this really should not be a problem. Also, clearly, our Lord is adding to his flock from those outside of what He currently owns. There is nothing unusual in that, for He is growing his kingdom through various means. (Also, when He does purchase a new sheep from outside the fold, he then owns their offspring as well.) But he most certainly does not say to a new arrival, "You're not mine! Go away and come back another day when you have a clearer understanding of my love for you, and when you can convince the rest of he sheep that you belong with them. I want you to submit to me first, through your own initiative and then I will claim ownership of you (if it is alright with the rest of the sheep)." Does a shepherd treat the offspring of his own sheep in such manner?

Now, does Christ have a brand or a tag that he places on his sheep? Certainly! It is baptism. Christian baptism for covenant infants and small children should be the norm, rather than the exception that it is fast becoming.

In similar manner, when a new twig sprouts on a vine, does the vine dresser immediately clip it off and hope it will grow outside the vine? Then, if it miraculously does so, does he graft it back in? Or does he dress the entire vine, and "cut off" only those branches that work against his primary goal, the production of fruit? Sure, he may prune the vine to spur it on to greater production, but he does not clip each and every new branch that sprouts.

Does a husband love parts of his bride, but not the whole? Does the band on the finger mean that part of the bride belongs to the husband, or does it mean that the whole of the bride does? Does a man cut off parts of his own body without reason? Or does he only cut off a part that is so diseased as to cause damage to the whole?

The whole flock, all of the branches, the whole bride, the whole body belong to the Shepherd, Vine, Groom, and Head. It is a unified whole - far more than the sum of its parts - and woefully incomplete without all of its parts. As concerns baptism, the picture of the flock is the most useful. Again, the shepherd does not discard the newborns of his flock. He places his mark of ownership on them, and treats them as his own.

In addition to owning them is the fact that he cares for them as well. He does not feed the full-grown sheep only, but feeds the little lambs as well. Sure, in the early stages of their life, the littlest lambs are fed indirectly, as the shepherd provides nourishment for the mother, who in turn provides it to her babe. However, as soon as this babe is able to feed on its own, the shepherd provides the needed nourishment to this little lamb. In the beginning, the lamb likely does not understand that it is the shepherd that is providing for it. But, over time, this feeding process certainly builds the understanding in the lamb that it is the shepherd who is his provider. Through this caregiving, the lamb comes to know to whom he belongs and who is providing all of his needs. He then becomes committed to the shepherd, hears his voice and obeys his commands.

Surely, this tells us a great deal about how Christ, our Shepherd, nourishes us with the meal of His Body and Blood! When we are too young to take this meal directly, we take it indirectly through our mother's milk. However, as we begin to grow and mature, we are able to partake in it ourselves. We may not understand right from the beginning that it is in fact our Great Shepherd that is providing this vital nourishment to our souls, but, over time, this fact becomes clear. We hear His voice and cheerfully obey His commands.

Likewise, the new twig sprouting on the vine does not know from where it gets its life giving nourishment, but it does in fact receive it. The vine does not shut off its supply of life from the new twig until it grows up. If so, it would never grow up. But, the twig receives its life from the vine because it itself is an integral part of that vine. It is not separated and cared for in a different manner, only to become grafted back in at a later date.

A man does not neglect part of his body, cut it off and remove it, then re-attach it at a later date if it is deemed worthy. Instead, he cares for the whole body, and only cuts off what is dead or diseased. A man does not love part of his wife, and discard the other parts, waiting on a hopeful future date when he can love the remainder of her body.

Perhaps my words here are not perfectly stated, and they may indeed be in need of revision. However, I think it is plain from these and other word-pictures of the Bible that the sacraments are not for some of Christ's body, bride, branches, and sheep, but for all. Christ owns us and Christ provides what is needed for us. This includes all our body parts, all our branches, and all the sheep of the fold, including the newborns. Given this, why on earth would we neglect so great an ownership, and so great a care?

Dare we tell Christ that no, he can't have our little ones yet until we are satisfied to our set of standards that they know that they belong to Him? Dare we neglect His ownership, and His care? I contend that we do so only at great risk of becoming unfruitful ourselves, and then we risk the horrible prospect of being cut off and discarded.