Volume 47 Number 8 April 2005
Seven days in one week. What a unique measurement of
time! While the year, the month, and the day measure
planetary movement in God’s awesome creation, the
week does not have any such basis. Rather, this peculiar seven day
period of time comes to us by divine revelation from the
Holy Scriptures: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day”…
(Exodus 20:11a). The week measures the amount of time it
took for God’s Creation – six days for work, and the seventh
day, or Sabbath, set aside for rest. Thus, the week is a weekly
testimonial to where we all came from! Now the carnal man does not like to retain God in his
knowledge, so a weekly reminder of our creation annoys and
disturbs him, like a wet blanket thrown over his grand schemes.
No wonder naturally bright men of the French Revolution
cast aside the seven-day week in favor of the more secular
ten-day ‘decade.’ That seemingly progressive social experiment
didn’t last long as France eventually came to herself
and reinstated the seven-day week given by God from the
foundation of the world. With the coming of Christ and the establishment of His
Church, there came also a new perspective on the week. The
Mosaic emphasis on keeping the seventh day holy gave way
to a special regard by Christians for the first day of the week
(John 20:1,19,26; Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1,2; Revelation 1:10). It
is worth noting that until the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the
Bible never even specifically mentions an event on the first
day of the week, with the exception of the creation of light in
the beginning. Several mentions are made of the first day of
certain months, but not of the week. The Sabbath Day was
the preeminent day of the week before Jesus conquered death
and gave special meaning to the First Day of the week! Jesus
is truly the Light of God’s New Creation! (Revelation 21:23b). Under the Law of Moses given at Mount Sinai, the children
of Israel were commanded to rest upon the Sabbath Day
and do no work. But those who come to Mount Zion under
the New Covenant of Jesus Christ realize that our Savior has
fulfilled that Law: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believes.” (Romans 10:4) Jesus is truly the
Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8) as His death on the cross
provides us a rest far better than any break from physical labor
could provide! Instead of marking a day of rest from our futile efforts, we
now focus on the Lord’s Day when Jesus finished the great
work of our salvation so that we might find true rest in Him!
“Come unto me, all of you that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. (Matthew 11:28-30) Rather than giving God the end of the week, we now start
the week well when we give Him the First Day – ‘firstfruits’,
as He so richly and rightfully deserves! “Honor the LORD
with your substance, and with the firstfruits of all your increase:”
(Proverbs 3:9) On that pivotal day of the week when our Lord
Jesus was raised from the dead, we remember together the
One Who is truly the epitome of the firstfruits, the Best of
Heaven and Earth! “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and
become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:20) Isn’t it fitting that those who are a part of the new creation
also be a part of a new day? There is only one day in the
week that the Scriptures refer to as ‘The Lord’s Day.’ So we
read the statement of the beloved apostle John as he was in
exile on the isle of Patmos in Revelation 1:10: “I was in the
Spirit on the Lord’s day,…”. Here we have not only John’s
spiritual condition when He received the Revelation of Jesus
Christ, but we also see how important the first day of the
week is to Christians. Though separated from his precious
brethren, John still considered the first day of the week special,
and God rewarded his spiritual interest with the final
inspired chapter of the greatest book ever written! And this
great blessing to mankind also took place on “The Lord’s Day”! So we read about the church in Acts 20:7, “Now on the first
day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread...”.
Here we find the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s Day brought
together in the simple, spiritual worship of the church at Troas.
To ‘break bread’ in this context refers to that spiritual activity
the church continued steadfastly in (Acts 2:42) because it was
learned from Jesus on the night He was betrayed. What a
beautiful time it is when saints all over the world gather on
the first day of every week to remember the death of Jesus on
the day He arose from the dead! (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) God has given instructions for the Communion (1 Corinthians
10:16) so the church can do all things decently and in order.
While the form is important and must be studied to see what
God has actually instructed, the most important element, and
the reason the supper was instituted, is for us to take time to
be with our brothers and sisters in Christ to remember the
Reason WHY we are brothers and sisters in Christ! Jesus
said, “This do in remembrance of ME.” (1 Corinthians 11:24,25) “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” (1
Corinthians 5:7b) Jesus fittingly established His Supper from
the Passover feast, and asks His Body, the Church, to commune
with Him at the beginning of each week. What about
the rest of the week? Jesus wants us to ‘keep the feast’ of
‘unleavened bread’ for seven days by ridding our hearts of all
malice and wickedness, resolving to serve the Lord daily in
sincerity and truth! (Exodus 12:15; 1 Corinthians 5:8) How about you, dear brother or sister? Jesus partakes of
His Supper on His Day with His Body (Luke 22:16-18). Come
eat with us, then ‘keep the feast’ the rest of the week until we
can come together again to remember our Blessed Redeemer
on His Day and in His Way - until He comes again! Maranatha!