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The
Encounter of Sacrament
by Eugene Pigford
This article offers a convincing prophetic interpretation
of Biblical ritual in relation with spiritual reality. It
provides an important component to an integral SA
prophetically non-sacramental position.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"
Genesis 1:1.
Perhaps in no other verse in scripture are the coordinates of
our existence so succinctly and so specifically spelled out.
"In the beginning" is the reference to time.Without refering
to duration, it confirms its finiteness. "The heavens" is the
reference to space which the created order occupies and
through which it moves. "The earth" refers to matter and all
form of physical substance from which all of the created order
is formed.
As part of the created order, man as a physical being, exists
in matter, space and time. By contrast, God exists above and
beyond the created order. His existence and self-sufficiency
are apart from, prior to, and beyond the creation. Yet God
sees his creation as good. This phrase is repeated frequently
through the opening verses of Genesis. Subsequent to the
creation of man, God pronounces his creation as very good.
The prevailing question related to encounters of sacrament is,
How does God communicate himself to us through his creation?
One can engage in scientific study on both an astronomic and
microscopic level and discover order, balance, and precision
bespeaking a technology far in excess of our own. But this
merely reflects the mind of the Creator. It is not synonymous
with it.
Similarly, one could study the interrelatedness of the food
chain and dependency of one life form on other life forms for
its existence. But once again, while God is the
conceptualizer, initiator and sustainer of these processes, He
does not incarnalize Himself in them.
The word Sacrament is of Latin derivation and has to do with
the concept of oath. A Roman Soldier being sworn in to
military service would declare the "Sacramentum", thus
swearing his allegiance to his government and his role. In the
history of the Church, it has come to mean certain specific
religious exercises, through which special blessing or
spiritual edification is dispensed. It has been the subject of
much debate whether or not these observances are effacacious
in and of themselves, or whether they become the associated
vehicle through which special blessing is channeled and
dispensed, along with but separate from their practice.. And,
if the latter is true, are they really necessary?
To fully consider these matters, some identification of
ancillary issues would appear to be important, namely;
1. What is the nature and evolution of sacred symbols in
scripture?
2. In what ways in scripture is spiritual life conveyed by
material substance?
3.How does one's philosophy of hermeneutics (scripture
interpretation) impact the development of theology concerning
the sacraments?
4. What is the text and context of scripture related to the
sacraments?
5. What is the role of the church in celebrating and
communicating spiritual truth?
6. What significant "rites of passage" are intertwined with a
particular church heritage thus forming strong emotional
linkages with some sacramental practices?
After some consideration of these points, some integrative and
personal observations will conclude these considerations.
1. What is the nature and evolution of sacred symbols in
scripture?
A. Circumcision
When the Lord reveals himself to Abram as El-Shaddai and his
name is changed to Abraham, the practice of circumcision is
introduced with the following direction; "Then God said to
Abraham, 'As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your
descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my
covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant
you are to keep. Every male among you shall be circumcised.
You are to undergo circumcision and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every
male among you who is 8 days old must be circumcised,
including those born in your household or bought with money
from a foreigner - those who are not your offspring. Whether
born in your household or brought with you money they must be
circumcised.My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting
covenant.'" Gen 17:9-13
In the Old Testament, circumcision was periodically
reinforced. Moses was required to circumcise his sons before
going to Pharoah in Egypt (Exodus 4:24). The Israelites
circumcised all their males immediately upon crossing the
Jordan and prior to taking possession of the Promised Land.
(Joshua 5 )
During the establishment of the early church, there was a
contingent seeking to make circumcision a prerequisite for new
believers. Paul confronted this error in his letter to the
Church at Galatia, "Mark my words, I Paul tell you that if you
let yourself be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you
at all......For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is
faith expressing itself through love." ( Galations 5:2&6)
While the rite of circumcision was not practiced by Gentile
believers, the term was applied to them in a spiritual context
as may be noted in Col 2:11, Romans 2:29 and Phil 3:3. Thus,
the importance of the meaning of the practice became a
priority over the practice itself.
B.Devoted Things
Periodically, in scripture, the instruction was given to the
Israelites that every living thing in a conquered city was to
be utterly destroyed and absolutely none of the spoils were to
be kept. (Joshua 6:21).
The Israelites loss of the battle of Ai and King Saul's loss
of his monarchy were both related to disobedience concerning
this issue.
Samuel the prophet declares, Does the Lord delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of
the Lord. To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is
better than the fat of rams I Samuel 15:22
The apostle Paul is perhaps building on this concept when he
declares, " But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss
for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a
loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of all
things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be
found in him...(Phil 3:7-8). Once again the spiritual truth
takes precedence over the earlier physical act.
C.The Brazen Serpent
During the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites, they
periodically engaged in grumbling and complaining. Numbers
21:6 describes how God sent venomous snakes in judgment upon
them and, when they confessed their sin and requested
forgiveness and healing God made a provision for them. A
bronze serpent was made and fastened to a pole. Anyone who was
bitten would be healed if he would look at the bronze snake.
2 Kings 18:4 reveals that this bronze serpent eventually
became the object of idolatrous worship and had to be
destroyed by King Hezekiah as part of his spiritual reforms.
Jesus, in his discourse with Nicodemus uses the analogy of the
serpent in the wilderness to describe the necessary death of
the Son of Man. The spiritual lesson and analogy of the
wilderness serpent continue to be important. The physical
representation of the serpent itself has long since been
destroyed.
D. The Ark of the Covenant
This was the most sacred object of all the tabernacle
furnishings. It was a wooden box overlaid with gold. Inside of
it was a pot of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the
tablets of stone received by Moses on Mt Sinai.It occupied the
central place in the Holy of Holies. It was carried at the
head of the procession when the children of Israel were on the
move.
There were specific instructions for the covering and
transporting of the Ark. Any carelessness with regard to these
instructions was usually fatal to the transgessor.
The Lord had instructed Moses that He would focus his Presence
between the cherubim on the Mercy Seat or the lid of the Ark.
We might logically assume that with the specific instruction
and severe penalties associated with proper regard for the
Ark, that it would have a place of permanence in the worship
setting of the Israelites.
However, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
Jeremiah prophesies that "Men will no longer say,' The Ark of
the Covenant of the Lord' It will never enter their minds or
be remembered, it will not be missed, nor will another one be
made." Jeremiah 3:16
From the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, the children
of Israel had no access to a temple, tabernacle or any worship
setting that would have had any of their religious symbols. It
was during the Captivity that synogogues developed, not as
places with the religious symbols that had been so
characteristic of the Hebrew faith, but as meeting places
where the scriptures could be read, studied, and expounded.
The period of the Captivity was a difficult time for the
children of Israel but a time of learning and spiritual
discovery as well. Though they could not encounter Jahweh
through their historic religious observances, including
Passover, they did discover His overrulling hand on their
circumstances.
The New Testament introduces radical change to the theological
assumptions of the Jewish culture of the day. Although, the
springboard for the Christian faith is very Jewish in its
character, the essential spiritual nature of the Kingdom of
God is prominent throughout the gospel writings and the
epistles.
At the onset of his ministry, Jesus emphasizes to Nicodemus
(John 3) that the transforming experience of conversion is
best likened to a spiritual birth. "That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit." Similarly, he says to the Samaritan woman, "A time is
coming and now has come when the true worshippers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the knid of
worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers
must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).
In fact, some of the Jewish rites themselves become teaching
models utilized by Jesus in interpreting the deeper spiritual
truths of the Kingdom to the new followers of faith in Him.
This is certainly true of the rite of baptism and observance
of Passover along with several other Jewish festivals. While
intermittent practices of these rites or some modification of
them continues into the early church, it should be noted that
their continued practice was not without difficulty as may be
noted with regard to baptism in I Corinthians 1:13-17 and
communion in I Corinthians 11:17-33.
References to the word baptizo in Jewish usage appear several
times in the Mosaic laws of purification (Exodus 33:17-21,
Leviticus 11:23, 15:8, 17:15, Numbers 19:17&18, 31:22&23). Its
meaning is that of "washing" or "cleansing" in these
instances. In the Septuagint the word is used three times; II
Kings 5:14,Ecclesiastes 34:25 and Isaiah 21:4. In all of these
references the most likely meaning is one of cleansing.
John the Baptist introduces a new ethical dimension to the
practice by associating it with the necessity for personal
repentance. It became a public declaration of a personal
decision to change one practices and manner of thinking in
preparation for the coming of the Kingdom. In and of itself it
is an incomplete act as may be noted in Acts 18:25 and 19:3-5.
But Jesus, himself, affirms the new emphasis on repentance
John has brought to this Jewish rite by himself participating
in the baptism of John. The participation of Jesus in the
baptismal event can be most easily understood as the Son of
Man, as Jesus often referred to himself, anticipates the day
when he will become the Sin-bearer while simultaneously
endorsing the preparatory process of John's ministry in
announcing Christ's kingdom.
In the Septuagint, the greek word "baptismos" is used to refer
to the Jewish rites of the act of washing itself. In the New
Testament the word used is "baptisma" which "always
incorporates into its meaning the entire scope of the
redemptive significance of the incarnate presence of
Christ"(Dr. Clarence Bass)
In the New Testament, the same word is used in an entirely
spiritual context. For example, Jesus (subequent to his
baptism by John says, "I have a baptism to be baptized with"
(Luke 12:59), and "Can you drink of the cup that I drink of
and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
(Mark 10:38, Matt 20:22). The New Testament makes a strong
contrast between John's water baptism and the subsequent
baptism of the Holy Spirit. Passages such as Mark 1:8, Matt
3:11, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:4, and 11:16 all show this emphasis.
Throughout the epistles there is growing emphasis on the
redemptive, transformative and empowering dimensions of
spiritual baptism. (Romans 6:3-5)
Finally, scripture emphasizes the essentials of faith
including the dimensions of "one baptism" Eph 4:5 which we
would understand to be the essential baptism of the Holy
Spirit.
The greatest challenge to the salvationist today, is to
reverently respect, the various manners in which God the Holy
Spirit is pleased to work through a variety of understandings
of doctrine and sacramental practice throughout many
denominations, seek and encourage fellowship and spiritual
growth among all of God's people, and humbly assert not the
supremacy of non-sacramental observance, but simply the
validity of it as a legitimate posture within the various
expressions of Christian faith and practice.
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