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The Lord's Table

Whether a member of a Pentecostal Church can partake of the Lord’s table in an Anglican Church?

Many years ago, I had to deal with the doctrine of holy communion. A dear servant of God wrote to me that she, being part of a Spirit-filled Pentecostal church, was not supposed to partake of the Lord's table in an Anglican church. I have given below her questions of issue and my answers.

Qn-1: As a Spirit-filled child of God, we cannot take part in an Anglican Church or Church of South India or Catholic Church or any other church which does not agree with our faith i.e. immersion baptism, Holy Spirit baptism and separated life. We can be one through the Holy Spirit baptism only. Ans: God raised Martin Luther of Germany (1483 to 1546) as a prophet to oppose tooth and nail the false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and to propagate the glorious gospel of salvation by faith, during the 15th century, at a time when the R.C. Church was steeped in idol worship and unscriptural practices. The Protestant Movement thus began due to the work of the Holy Ghost and the protestant churches including the Anglicans were the off-shoot of this divine work. At that time, the wise God did not inspire Martin Luther to lay stress on the doctrine of immersion baptism. Later, due to the divine work, the Baptist and Methodist (Wesley's) churches came into existence. The Baptists started emphasizing on the need to take 'immersion baptism' for repentance towards salvation. Then came the Pentecostal Movement, laying emphasis on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit baptism and the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

In India, especially in Tamil Nadu, the protestant churches were established by the great missionaries from the West like Zeigen Palg (who landed in Tarangambadi, mastered the Tamil language and performed the most precious work of translating the New Testament into Tamil, the first book ever printed in our nation), William Carey (who landed in Bengal and translated the Bible into Sanskrit and Bengali languages. Without the great sacrifices of these missionaries who had established the protestant churches called the Church of South India, Lutheran Church, Baptist Church, Methodist Church, etc., we would not have had the Word of God in our own Indian languages. Please note that no Pentecostal churches were in existence at that time. Having sacrificed every thing at the altar of the Cross in establishing these churches in our land, they died on our soil. Can we find fault with them that they did not take or advocate "water baptism" nor did they receive the "Holy Spirit baptism"? God forbid. Can we judge that they had not received the Holy Spirit? God forbid. These saints of God were truly anointed by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, they could not have translated the Holy Bible into the various Indian languages. If we study the Indian church history, then we will never belittle the protestant churches like the Church of South India, etc. which were established through the work of the Holy Ghost and by the sweat and blood of these great missionaries, before whom we are really unworthy in the Kingdom of God.

You have mentioned, "Any other church which does not agree with our faith…."

As believers of the gospel of Christ, we have "one faith" (Eph.4:5). That is faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. This 'one faith" is not merely faith in some doctrines of the Bible. If the believers who claim to have faith in the doctrines of water baptism and the Holy Spirit baptism do not "love thy neighbor as thyself" nor the Christian brotherhood, they would be transgressors of the whole law or the basic doctrines of the Bible. Love is the fulfilling of the law. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself "(Gal.5:14). "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brethren abideth in death" (I John 3:14). None can claim salvation through the Blood of Jesus if he loves not his brethren because he abideth in death only.

Please read I John 3:23. What is his commandment? "…this is His commandment, That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus, and love one another as He gave us commandment". In this regard, kindly note that our "one faith" is that we "should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus….." Similarly, Apostle Paul also writes to Ephesians, "…I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints "(Gal.1:15).

This basic commandment of our Lord is better than His commandment to take "water baptism". If a person violates this basic commandment of Christ Jesus and takes immersion baptism, then his tall claim of salvation would be in question. Of course, I believe in immersion baptism meant for those who repent of their sins. I took immersion baptism in Delhi during 1978. I would still exhort the people to take immersion baptism unto repentance. But I would not lay undue and over-emphasis on this doctrine nor would I judge or condemn people who have not taken immersion baptism. I do not want to sit on the judgment seat of Christ.

You have written, "….We can be one through the Holy Spirit baptism only". I wish to correct you by saying, "We can be one through the Holy Spirit only (and not the Holy Spirit baptism)". The Holy Spirit baptism is merely a spiritual experience like salvation or forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit is to be preferred to the spiritual experiences we have through Him. The Holy Spirit is a Person with whom "ye were sealed" when "ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: (Eph.1:13). When we become the sons of God on hearing the gospel of our salvation, God sends "forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father" (Gal.4:6). Only because of the indwelling Holy Spirit whom we received at the time of our conversion, we have become the sons of God. As many as received Christ by faith on His Name, God gave them the power to become the sons of God. And they were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the Spirit of God (Jn.1:12-13). We can thus conclude that we can be one through the Holy Spirit with whom we were all sealed, and who indwells in our hearts.

I now come to the subject of "holy Spirit baptism or anointing". Under the Old Testament, kings were anointed with oil for kingly services and priests for priestly services. Under the New Testament, we are anointed with the Holy Ghost for the various New Testament ministries. The Church, the Body of Christ, was born on the day of Pentecost when the 120 disciples were anointed with the Holy Spirit for whose arrival they had to tarry for many days in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit who had been sent by the Father to those disciples did not go back to the heaven but is still with the Body of Christ. We cannot separate the Holy Spirit from the Body of Christ.

Qn-2: Bible says, "Be ye separate. Don't touch any unclean. Don't take part with the unbelievers (nominal Christians). Be ye holy as our Heavenly Father is holy. Jesus loved the sinners but He did not share His holy communion with them. He called only the 12 disciples. Even He sent Judas out because his heart was not right. So He did His part by declaring that "one among you will betray me".

Answer: Separation means separation from the "corruption that is in the world". "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world….for all that is in the world…." (I Jn.2:15-16). Separation also means "laying aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us…" (Heb.12:1). It is, in other words, separation from the sin.

Regarding the doctrine of separation, let us read II Cor.6:14 – 17. We should not be unequally "yoked with unbelievers". In this context, unbelievers mean idol worshippers or worshippers of Belial or those who do not believe in Christ Jesus. We should not be yoked with such people in marriage, business partnership, etc. Many of the "so-called nominal Christians" believe in Jesus Christ but have not repented of their sins. For instance, in a Christian family, some members are born-again Christians, while some others are not so. In that case, the born-again Christians have to either quit the house or drive the unsaved members out of the house.

God does not intend that the so-called Spirit-filled children of God should not mingle with the Christians in the Anglican churches or the so-called nominal Christians. We have to separate ourselves from the idol worshippers whomsoever they are. In a Pentecostal Church, a believer may not worship idols. But he/she may have set idols in his/her heart.

Please note that Jesus did not "send out Judas". Jesus shared the bread and the cup with all the 12 disciples including Judas. Please read Luke 22:14 – 23. After he gave the cup only, He said, "But behold the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table" (Vs.21). Jesus was called "the friend of sinners". Let us befriend sinners in the world to bring them into the light of the glorious gospel. Under the guise of "separation", let us not deceive ourselves.

The purpose of water baptism is to put on Christ Jesus after repentance. The purpose of the Holy Spirit baptism is to witness to the whole world through evangelism. The purpose of the Holy Communion is to remember the death of our Lord. As such, by taking Holy Communion in an Anglican church, we are not denying the truth of water baptism and of the Holy Spirit baptism. The cunning devil is injecting pride into the hearts of God's people in the Pentecostal Churches by making them boast of certain doctrines, and dividing the Body of Christ by such doctrines. Let us endeavor "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: There is one body and one Spirit: One Lord, one faith, one baptism…" (Gal.4:3-5).

Those whose sins have been forgiven through the Blood of Jesus Christ and are sanctified by the Holy Spirit are "members of His Body, of His flesh, and of His bones" (Eph.5:30). They may be in any local church, be it an Anglican Church or Assembly of God Church or Brethren Assembly. "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it: even as the Lord the Church" (Eph.5:29).

- Job Anbalagan