message by Peter
The feast of Passover is compared to the Christian life (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). Christ is our Passover lamb who was sacrificed for us. In the Old Testament, the Passover feast lasted a few days a year, but for Christians, the true Passover is all the time.
The Christian life is like a feast (1 Corinthians 5:8). We are to feast on God. God is the only one who can satisfy us; nothing else will truly satisfy. Our souls are made to be filled with God. We might try to fill our souls with other things, satisfying our desires on the world, but this will leave us empty.
The Holy Spirit is living water. Jesus said if we are thirsty, we should come to him and drink.
The word of God is like bread. Jesus said if we’re hungry, we should come to him and eat.
We are to feast on God in our individual lives, and we are to feast on God in the church meeting. When we gather together in a Biblical house church, Christ is among us, and we feast on him. Spiritual riches come from heaven into the earth, and we consume them during a church meeting.
In the New Testament, Christians ate meals together during church. This is why the church meeting is called the breaking of bread (Acts 2:46; 20:7). Sharing a meal during the church meeting represents the spiritual food of God’s word that believers eat together in church. This all points to the feast of God that we are to partake of.
The Passover feast in the Old Testament was full of small details (Colossians 2:16-17). All of these seemingly minor details are important symbols of our Christian lives (Exodus 12:2-20), and they teach us about this feast of Christ that we partake of.
New Year
The Passover marked the beginning of the year. During the Passover, Israel got a new calendar from God. For us, this symbolizes that after we trust in Christ, we are born again and begin a new life.
No Leaven
During Passover, the Israelites had to put out the old leaven from their houses. Leaven represents sin. The house represents our individual lives. When we trust in Christ, we need to repent. We turn away from sin. We put off the flesh (Colossians 2:11), and we put off the old man (Ephesians 4:22). We become new creations; the old has passed away, and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is represented by getting leaven out of the house.
We also need to get evil out of the church. Leaven represents false teaching (Matthew 16:6), and all false teachings must be rejected from the church.
Eat Unleavened Bread, Lamb, Bitter Herbs
The moment we believe in Jesus, we become one loaf of bread with other Christians (1 Corinthians 10:17). This loaf of bread is to be broken and shared when we come together in the church meeting. When we come together in a Biblical house church, we have an opportunity to share Christ with each other. Jesus lives inside us, and his Spirit flows through us. When we minister in church, we are not to introduce sin or false teaching. We are to speak pure words, like the oracles of God. In this way, the loaf of God (which is the church) will remain unleavened.
During Passover, a spotless lamb was killed. This spotless lamb represents Jesus, who was without sin. Every house had to have its own Passover lamb. This represents that each house church is to break the bread of Christ. It also shows that each Christian must believe in Jesus for himself to be saved.
When the Passover lamb was killed, everyone had to kill it. This symbolizes that all of us killed Christ because of our sins.
The Passover lamb had to be roasted in fire. This represents that Jesus went through a fiery trial so that we could partake of him. Through his death for our sins, he became accessible to us. Because of his willingness to endure the fire and die, his body was broken for us, so we can partake of him.
In Israel, everyone was to eat of the Passover lamb. This shows that unless we eat of Christ, we have no part of him. We all must eat of Christ in order to be reconciled to God. Every believer is to participate in the breaking of bread in church in order to be spiritually safe.
The blood of the Passover lamb had to be applied to the doorways of the house to protect from the Destroying Angel. This represents that the blood of Jesus must be applied to our lives in order to rescue us from the grip of Satan.
In addition to eating unleavened bread and lamb, Israel was to eat bitter herbs during Passover. These bitter herbs on the menu show that after trusting in Christ, we may face challenges. Although the Christian life is like a feast, it also will come with persecution and trouble. We need to be prepared to face these things with the help of God. When Jesus went to the cross, he faced much trouble. As he was dying, he was given the bitter drink of vinegar. This trouble that Christ faced for us is also symbolized by the bitter herbs.
Wear Belt, Sandals, Staff
The Israelites were to eat Passover with their loins girded and their belts on. This shows that they were to be ready to move forward to the Promised Land and leave Egypt behind. In a similar way, whenever we feast on God, we need to be prepared to move forward spiritually. Whenever we get a revelation from the Lord, it is the beginning of a possibility of forward movement in our spiritual lives.
The Israelites had to eat the Passover wearing sandals. This also shows that they had to be ready to move forward with God. We also need to be prepared to progress spiritually in our Christian lives whenever we feast on Christ. We should be ready to share the gospel with others, wearing the gospel shoes on our feet (Ephesians 6:15).
Rest in God
The Passover was to be eaten while holding a staff. A staff helps us walk, which also speaks of forward movement. A staff also helps defend from enemies and wild animals. We need to be ready to fight off the devil and defend the truth from false teachers. A staff can also guide the sheep in the right way. We need to be ready to guide people in the right direction with discipleship and good teaching. After we learn truth, we are to share that truth with others.
During the Passover, the Israelites were to do no work. The only work they could do was to prepare food to eat. This represents that when we partake of the bread of God, we gain an opportunity to enter into his rest. Whenever we obey God and do what he says, we enter into his rest. Whenever we minister to others in church, it is to be through the strength of God, not our own strength. True ministry comes from God, not from ourselves. In addition, the most important work we can do is to hear from God so we have bread for ourselves to live by, and also so we have bread from God to bring to the church meeting so we can feed others.
The Christian life is like a feast. We are to be feasting on God at all times. All riches are available to us in Christ, and we need to avail of these riches in order to satisfy our souls. The Passover is a picture of the feast of the Christian life, as well as the feast of Christ within the church. Let us partake richly of Christ, feasting on him, so we can be strong spiritually and fulfill our purpose upon the earth.
Lincoln House Churches 