In the Communion or Memorial Service two emblems are brought to our attention, the bread and the cup, here though our focus is upon the cup. (Excerpts here were taken from an article entitled, Why two emblems? by Brother George Tabac)

What is pictured by the Cup?

The Cup is a picture of the Sin Offering experiences of Jesus and the Church – which together will seal the New Covenant, a very similar picture as that of the blood of bulls and goats sealing the Law Covenant and the blood of the Bullock and the Lord’s Goat making Atonement on the Day of Atonement.

Let’s note how the Scriptures refer to the Symbol of the Cup.

“But Jesus answered and said, you know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, we are able.” (Matt 20:22)

The Mother of the sons of Zebedee requests her sons to sit on the right or left side of Jesus in the Kingdom. Jesus was thus saying: Are ye able to endure the CUP of suffering, sorrow, and ignominy that I will drink of? They replied, yes we are able. (The disciples being representative of the whole Church)

Thus showing we all partake of this same cup of SIN OFFERING EXPERIENCES.

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed 3 times.

“… O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou will.” (Matt 26:39)

Again the cup picturing a Trial of great anguish

“… the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11)

The cup in all these Scriptures showing it depicts EXPERIENCES! – At present of suffering – trials – ignominy – self-denial.

Thus we believe the Memorial Cup pictures the Sufferings that Jesus endured as he was tried and tested as a New Creature. But in addition, let us go on to see how it includes the Sin Offering Experiences of the Church which together are the two entities which Seal or make operative the New Covenant.

In the Memorial picture, we want to note a distinction between the Bread and the Cup.

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt 26:26-28 KJV)

It has to do with the phrase in Verse 27 “Drink Ye all of it.”

There is a difference of opinion as to what is meant among scholars. The Greek rendering is: “Drink you out of it all”.

All of you take a drink of it! – OR – Drink all of it (so that there’s nothing left.)

We do not think it means merely “All of you take a drink of it!”

For if that is what Jesus meant, that he just wanted them all to take a drink of it – why didn’t he say the same thing with respects to the bread– Eat ye all of it.

Surely he wanted all of them to partake of the bread emblem as well.

But since Jesus didn’t make this statement with the bread we believe Jesus was making a distinction between the Two emblems.

When Jesus said “Drink ye all of it” we believe he meant so there would be none left.

As stated previously the disciples there were representative of the whole Church and what Jesus was saying was “to you my Church, my Body and to you only, I offer the privilege of suffering with me – of filling up the remainder of the afflictions of the Anointed One – to become members of my body. “Drink ye all of it.” This privilege is limited to you only!

Never again throughout all eternity will anyone again be given this opportunity to suffer with me as a member of My Body. The world will not share or partake of this Cup Emblem! Drink Ye All of it!

We recall again Jesus does not say of the Bread – Eat Ye all of it. The disciples were merely told take, Eat, this is my body! For we realize that this same bread will be offered to the world in the next age and they will partake of it too, viz.

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51)

But nowhere in the Scriptures does it refer to the world of mankind partaking of the Cup. This symbol is always limited to the Church Only.

Notice here in Verse 51 the world will partake of the Bread from Heaven – referring to JESUS RANSOM MERIT! The ransom sacrifice

But a few verses later – Verse 56 – where the Scripture obviously refers to the Church Class – they will not only partake of the Bread but likewise of the Blood as well, which the Memorial Cup refers to.

“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Yes, the world of mankind will partake of the Ransom Bread as in verse 51 but the only ones who will partake of the Bread and the Blood – thereby sharing in it – are those of the Church “abides in me, and I in him.”

They are the only ones who will have the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

So the Unleavened Bread pictures the Ransom Merit of Christ given to ultimately remove the death sentence from Father Adam and all the world of mankind through him in the next age, during the Mediatorial Reign.

But it’s partaken of now in advance of the World by the Church for our Justification to begin our course as a New Creature.

The Cup pictures the Sin Offering of Jesus and His Body members. First it pictures the sufferings of our Lord as a Sin Offering that developed Him as a New Creature.

These sufferings were offered on our behalf to show us the way to eternal Spiritual Life. The Lord is thus being our example, our guide to show us what sufferings and trials will be required of us if we accept his invitation to become part of his Body and walk in his footsteps to become the second part of the one sacrifice of our Lord.

The cup thus pictures the sufferings of The Christ, Head and Body.

Continued with next post.