Truth We Can Touch: How Baptism and Communion Shape Our Lives

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"In Truth We Can Touch, Tim Chester makes a compelling case for evangelicals to recover an understanding of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as God’s promise that comes to us in physical form. Deeply biblical and yet eminently practical, this book provides an alternative to a theology of the word limited to our heads. God’s word in Christ comes to us not only in preaching but also in baptism and at the table. As embodied creatures, we embrace God’s promises in touch and taste, with delight and praise. This accessible and winsome book is a joy!"

J. Todd Billings, Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary; author, Remembrance, Communion, and Hope

This is hands down the best book on the sacraments I’ve read—warm, compelling, eye-opening, and saturated in gospel encouragement. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it.

Sam Allberry, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; author, Why Bother with Church?

In this delightful book, Chester reminds us that baptism and Communion are God’s gifts to us that convey the gospel and grace in powerful ways. As a Baptist I would put some things differently, but I celebrate and rejoice in the main thesis set forth by Chester. Baptism and Communion are central in the New Testament, and something is wrong if they are neglected or ignored by us. Take up and read and be instructed, challenged, and—most of all—encouraged by the gospel, which is displayed so beautifully in baptism and the Eucharist.

Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"After reading Tim Chester’s Truth We Can Touch, I sent our pastoral staff a message: ‘Add this book to our reading list for our interns, and add it to our book nook.’ Chester is one of our favorite writers, and his books have blessed our local church. Once again, he combines theological clarity with gospel warmth, conveying the beauty of Christ to the reader. By reading this accessible book, you will value baptism and Communion more, and you will be moved to worship the Savior as you consider Chester’s explanation of baptism as the embodiment of our union with Christ and the Lord’s Supper as the embodiment of our communion with Christ."

Tony Merida, Pastor, Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, North Carolina

At last, here is a great evangelical book on the sacraments. I have longed for such a book for years, one that is deep yet accessible, theologically robust and biblically grounded, and—perhaps most of all—one that touches the heart with wise pastoral application. This is a valuable resource for all ministers and a treasure for all God’s people. I cannot commend it highly enough—a delight from beginning to end.

Melvin Tinker, Senior Minister, St John Newland, Hull, United Kingdom; author, Language, Symbols, and Sacraments

The sacraments are integral to the history of redemption, yet the evangelical church has tragically neglected them as secondary and nonessential. Tim Chester sets baptism and the Lord’s Supper vividly in their biblical and historical contexts. Superbly written, easily accessible to a wide readership, rooted in Scripture and the theology of the Reformation, this book can be a catalyst for widespread recovery of the supreme blessing God gives through his appointed signs.

Robert Letham, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Union School of Theology

Truth

We Can Touch

Other Crossway Books by Tim Chester

Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission, with Steve Timmis

Good News to the Poor: Social Involvement and the Gospel

A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table

Reforming Joy: A Conversation between Paul, the Reformers, and the Church Today

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community, with Steve Timmis

Why the Reformation Still Matters, with Michael Reeves

You Can Change: God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions

Truth

We Can Touch

How Baptism and Communion Shape Our Lives

Tim Chester

Foreword by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Truth We Can Touch: How Baptism and Communion Shape Our Lives

Copyright © 2020 by Tim Chester

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jeff Miller, Faceout Studios

Cover image: Shutterstock

First printing 2020

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-6657-8

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-6660-8

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-6658-5

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-6659-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Chester, Tim, author. | Ferguson, Sinclair B., writer of foreword.

Title: Truth we can touch: how baptism and communion shape our lives / Tim Chester; foreword by Sinclair Ferguson.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019021332 (print) | LCCN 2019981581 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433566578 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433566592 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433566608 (epub) | ISBN 9781433566585 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Sacraments. | Baptism. | Lord’s Supper. | Christian life.

Classification: LCC BV800 .C523 2020 (print) | LCC BV800 (ebook) | DDC 264/.9—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019021332

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019981581

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2020-01-02 02:43:16 PM

Contents

Foreword by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Introduction: Why Water, Bread, and Wine?

1  Enacted Promise

2  Enacted Grace

3  Enacted Presence

4  Enacted Memory

5  A Baptized Life

6  A Baptized People

Conclusion: Re-enchanting the World

General Index

Scripture Index

Foreword

It is a privilege to introduce Truth We Can Touch and to commend it to you. This is a much more important book than its size might suggest, because it will help you to understand and enjoy two of Christ’s special gifts to you—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Reading it reminded me of two incidents in my life.

The first was a conversation I had years ago with a doctoral student from the Far East. I knew him as Timothy. But one day, when I felt I had come to know him well enough, I asked him, "Timothy, what’s your real name? He smiled and said, Timothy. I smiled back, knowing he would see that I wasn’t convinced this was the whole truth! Come on, tell me, what is your real name? Again, he replied, Timothy. So, I tried a different maneuver. What is the name your parents registered for you? This time he responded with his native Asian name. Despite feeling we were in the endgame of a little chess match and that somehow he had a secret move up his sleeve, I said, So that’s your real name! No, he said—and then theologically checkmated me! Timothy is my real name. That’s the name I was given when I was baptized."

Timothy taught me a great lesson that day. The name you were given at your baptism is even more important than the name by which your birth was registered. Timothy’s baptismal name had not changed Timothy’s heart any more than his ethnic name had. But since the day of his baptism, it had reminded him who he was as a Christian and had called him to live in the light of that.

The conversation left me wondering if Timothy was in the minority of Christians—someone who understood his baptism well enough for it to have an ongoing significance for him every day of his life.

You might think from this that it would be a neat idea to give people new names when they are baptized. But we don’t need to do that, because that has already happened. Your own baptism was a naming ceremony: you were baptized in[to] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). That naming ceremony no more changed your heart than did the name you were given at birth. But like the registration of your family name, this new name expresses who you really are as a Christian believer; it is a constant reminder to you of the family to which you belong and what it means to be part of it. Our baptism is meant to be a daily reminder of this—for the rest of our lives. That is why the New Testament has so much to say about its ongoing significance for believers.

The second incident also happened in the Far East. With three other men I was invited by the owner of a famous hotel to have dinner with him—the kind of hotel where the suites would cost you more than $15,000—per night! The owner wore one of those watches you see advertised but learn online that you could never afford! He was a very gracious host. His splendid European chef appeared in the private dining room to explain the menu he had chosen for us—including zee special white truffle on the soup, and a steak that almost melted in the mouth. The company was enjoyable, and the food was exquisite. The whole experience was memorable, not least the way, when we arrived, it seemed that a pathway through the hotel had been created by the staff—we were surely very important people to the owner!

But the truth is, all the evening gave me was a story to tell you. For all the kindness of our host, he inhabited a different social world than I. The watch he was wearing was probably worth more than the house I live in. I could never afford to spend a night in his hotel. It was very thoughtful of him to invite me to come, and I said so as his driver opened the door of his magnificent limousine to take him home! It was a little like a holiday abroad—for a night!

But I tell you the story to make a point. An experience though it was, I would readily swap it for the opportunity to sit down at a table and have something to eat and drink with the Lord Jesus. And the wonderful truth is that I can and do, every time we share the Lord’s Supper. That is why many churches refer to it as the Communion service. It isn’t because we "take Communion." It is because we experience communion with Christ. For that is what Communion is. The most expensive meal we ever have on earth cannot hope to compare to that.

This is what Truth We Can Touch will help you to see more clearly. It will help you to understand how your baptism can be a lifelong help to living for Christ. And it will show you that the Lord’s Supper isn’t so much something we do but the way Christ enables us to enjoy his presence. In it he says to us, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20). When that happens, we discover—as the two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus also did (Luke 24:28–31)—that when he comes and is present at the table, he becomes the host and gives us his little love gifts of bread and wine—visible, tangible, tasteable expressions of his dying love for us. And we recognize his presence with us. What meal could possibly mean more to us?

It is because the Lord Jesus Christ gave baptism and the Lord’s Supper to us in order to bless us that I especially appreciate Tim Chester’s whole approach in Truth We Can Touch. He has his own convictions about the various theological and practical controversies that have surrounded these gifts of Christ. But his goal here is not to satisfy our sometimes-warped desire to have the right positions on these sad disagreements. He has chosen a better way: to show us how to appreciate, rightly use, and enjoy the gifts themselves, because through them we come increasingly to know, trust, love, and enjoy their giver. This, after all, is why our Lord Jesus gave them to us.

So I, for one, believe that what Tim Chester writes here can only bring more and more blessing to us as individuals and as churches, and that it will enhance our appreciation and enjoyment of the privileges we receive as Christian believers. And in encouraging you now to turn over the page and read on, I feel sure that if you want to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will not be disappointed.

Sinclair B. Ferguson

Introduction

Why Water, Bread, and Wine?

Let me invite you to try three thought experiments with me.

Thought Experiment 1

Imagine your church stopped celebrating Communion. Nothing is announced. It just stops happening. Everything else goes on as before. You gather each Sunday to sing God’s praises and hear his word. You meet midweek to study the Bible and pray together. You get involved in evangelistic initiatives and serve your local community. But Communion doesn’t happen.

How long do you think it would be before you noticed? What difference would it make to your life? To your life together as a church? Would you miss it?

All good experiments have a control sample, and this one is no exception. As a control, imagine what would happen if your church stopped singing. Again, no announcement is made. But next Sunday there’s no music group or organist; there are no hymn numbers or songs on the screen. The Bible is read, prayers are offered, a sermon is preached. But there’s no music.

Same questions: How long do you think it would be before you noticed? What difference would it make to your life? To your life together as a church? Would you miss it?

Here’s my hunch. In the no-singing scenario there would be an uproar after the very first meeting. A group of people would surround the leaders demanding to know what was going on. People would be pointing in open Bibles to Colossians 3:16. Veiled threats would be made. But what about the no-Communion scenario? I fear that many Christians could skip Communion without missing very much, and perhaps without even noticing for some time.

Thought Experiment 2

Our second thought experiment takes the form of a question: When did you last point someone to his or her baptism?

Let’s assume you’re involved in discipling and pastoring other