What Do the Ordinances Mean?

(This is the fourth installment on a series about communion and baptism. Here are the links to the first, second, and third posts.)

Divorced from their context, the ordinances of the church seem strange. How does dunking a lady in water make her a Christian? What does a bath have to do with her faith in Jesus?

And why do Christians consume a snack at Communion? How do sample-sized portions speak of Christ’s death?

But seen in their proper settings, these rituals promote the gospel in a full and complete manner.

Let’s start with water baptism.

The early church baptized people as soon as they gave their lives to Christ. Evangelism formed the immediate context of baptism.

“Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” – Acts 2:41

“But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” – Acts 8:12

But evangelism isn’t the only context for water baptism. According to the apostle Paul, baptism enables us to identify with the sacrifice of Christ, particularly with His burial.

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” – Romans 6:4

Baptism is our public response to the preaching of the gospel. It’s also our personal identification with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. By itself, the ritual appears insignificant but as a demonstration of the gospel, baptism has great value.

The same goes for the Lord’s Supper. The ritual of communion declares the good news:

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

By themselves, the meaning of water baptism and eucharist is difficult to decipher. But interpreted as signs of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, these rituals make perfect sense.

But the ordinances have an additional context. They both derive from the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.

Here’s how the book of Hebrews describes the ministry of Moses, the leader of the 12 tribes of Israel:

“By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. ²⁹By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.” – Hebrews 11:28-29

The Passover foreshadows the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. And walking through the Red Sea corresponds to the act of water baptism.

Paul reinforces this comparison:

“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ²They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Just as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, so Christians undergo water baptism. And as God’s people consumed spiritual food and drink derived from Christ; so Christians eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus in the eucharist.

The Passover and subsequent exodus find fulfillment in the self-offering of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is the heart of the ordinances. Inaugurated in the exodus and culminated at the cross and empty tomb, the good news of God’s salvation is express through the ordinances of the church. Baptism publicizes our faith in Jesus Christ and the Lord’s Supper celebrates our inclusion in the family for whom Jesus died.

The ordinances announce the gospel: Jesus is the Savior!