Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

 

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

 

1 Corinthians 5:6-7: "You are not right in boasting. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? You are unleavened, so put out the old leaven to become a new lump. For our Passover Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed."

The little leaven signifies the seed of evil. Evil is the old self (greed) that desires to be like God. That is the cause of the Fall. Greed causes all kinds of corruption. Paul speaks of this by giving examples of the Fall in Romans 1:26-32. However, for one who has died on the cross with Jesus Christ, the old self has also died. In Romans 6:6, it says, "We know that our old self was crucified with Jesus so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be slaves to sin." Greed is precisely the body of sin. One contaminated by old leaven is the very body of sin.

However, leaven is also likened to the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 13:33 states, "He spoke to them in a parable: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.'" Luke 13:20-21 states, "And he said to them, 'To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.'"

In the Gospel of Matthew, the Kingdom of Heaven represents Jesus Christ. This implies that Jesus Christ is the leaven. The woman refers to the bride of Christ. In Ephesians 5:31-32, it says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, as I speak concerning Christ and the church." The wife refers to the church. When Jesus Christ enters into the heart of a saint, that saint becomes the Kingdom of Heaven, and the saints of the church go out into the world to spread the gospel of Christ. The three measures of flour symbolize the world. This passage signifies that the Gospel is preached to and spread among the Gentiles.

In the Gospels of Mark and Luke, the perspective of the parable of the leaven conveys that although the beginning may be humble, great results will ultimately be achieved. The spread of leaven is accomplished through the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. The Word is preached, and it spreads like leaven, transforming the believers. When matter is transformed by leaven, the original disappears and becomes something different. It causes one to be born as a new creation through the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 5:8: "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of evil and malice, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

The unleavened, pure bread refers to bread free from the seed of evil (the old self), signifying Jesus Christ who died on the cross and resurrected. All those united with the resurrected Jesus Christ are eating unleavened bread. This is drinking the bread (resurrection life) and the cup (living water), and observing the Passover feast.

Luke 22:17-20: “Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and said to them, ‘Take it and share it among yourselves. For I tell you, from now on I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ After supper, He took the cup in the same way and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.’”

The Lord’s Supper is an event that reminds us of the new covenant, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross, that believers are also united with the death and resurrection of the cross. The Old Covenant was the covenant God made with Abraham, promising to give him land and descendants. That land refers to Canaan, but the New Covenant is spiritually the Kingdom of God (Heaven) within the heart. The descendant of the promise refers to Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the New Covenant means that those who enter into Jesus Christ inherit the Kingdom of God within their hearts and become His people. The message is that believers should realize this meaning, be thankful for being God's people in this world, and convey this message to others.

The day before He was arrested, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, personally breaking bread for His disciples and pouring wine into their cups. This day was Passover. That is why He personally performed the Passover ceremony. Passover commemorates the slaughter of a lamb, the application of its blood to the doorposts, and the roasting and eating of the lamb's meat inside the house. The angel passed by upon seeing the blood on the doorposts.

God does not forgive sins by looking at the blood Jesus shed, but rather by looking at the blood of Jesus applied to the believers. Jesus pouring wine into the disciples' cups signifies that the blood of Jesus is being applied to them.

Regarding the act of grilling and eating lamb, the act of grilling meat carries the same significance as a baptism by fire. It signifies Jesus dying on the cross, pierced by a spear. It means believing that a saint united with Jesus is also one who died, pierced by a spear. Furthermore, eating meat is eating the life of resurrection. Only those who possess the life of resurrection can escape from the world. The people who ate the Passover meal began the Exodus under the guidance of Moses. Today, saints are escaping from the world covered by the net of the law under the guidance of Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave thanks (eucharistesas) even when breaking bread or giving the cup. Colossians 3:15 states, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since you were called to peace in one body. And be thankful."

What a saint should give thanks for while partake of the Lord's Supper is that, just as in the Exodus, they are thankful for being freed from the world and from sin. If there are those who partake of the Lord's Supper without escaping the world and believe they remain bound by sin, they do not understand the true meaning of the sacrament. They are eating and drinking sin. Breaking the bread signifies the death on the cross, and eating the bread signifies eating the life of resurrection. Pouring wine into the cup symbolizes the blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross to atone for sins, signifying that believers, too, have died with Jesus on the cross and shed their blood; lifting the cup signifies the Holy Spirit, the living water of Jesus Christ, signifying that believers, too, receive the Holy Spirit, the eternal living water.

Those who wish to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion must examine whether they have died to the world, to sin, and to the law before participating. This is because only those who have died to the world, to sin, and to the law can receive the Holy Spirit. In other words, believers who participate in Holy Communion are those who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.