| Church School Lesson: Outer Expressions of Inner Truths |
"Outer Expressions of Inner Truths"
February 8, 2026
Background: Matt. 3:13-17; 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 41; Rom. 6:1-14;
1 Cor. 11:23-29; Print: Matt. 3:13-17; 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-29
Key Verse: Matt. 28:19-20; Devotional: John 1:29-34
Matthew 3:13-17 (ESV)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1 Corinthians 11:23-29 (ESV)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Commentary: Matthew Chapters 3 and 28/ 1 Corinthians Chapter 11
Matthew 3:13-15 When Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan River, John tried to stop him (3:13-14). Since John’s message was about repentance, he considered it inappropriate and inconceivable that he would baptize the Messiah, because Jesus had nothing to repent of. Instead, John told him, I need to be baptized by you (3:14). But Jesus insisted on being baptized because doing so was the way . . . to fulfill all righteousness (3:15).
In his substitutionary death on the cross, Jesus would bear the transgressions of sinners and credit them with his perfect righteousness (see 2 Cor 5:21). So as his ministry began, he intended to identify with sinful humanity on whose behalf he would perfectly fulfill all the demands of God’s law. This baptism would also identify Jesus with John and affirm his kingdom message.
Matthew 3:16-17 At Jesus’s baptism, we see a Trinitarian affirmation. All three members of the Godhead inaugurated Jesus’s public ministry. As Jesus rose from the water, the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove (3:16), and the voice of God the Father proclaimed, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased (3:17). No other ministry commissioning service can compare to this one. The Father and the Spirit publicly endorsed the Son for his kingdom mission. Thus, he was prepared for battle with the enemy (4:1-11).
Matthew 28:18-20 These final words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel have become known as the Great Commission. In them we find the church’s marching orders. Jesus declared to his disciples that all authority . . . in heaven and on earth had been given to him (20:18). In other words, he said, “I’m in charge.” Indeed, the Father has given the Son all authority up there and down here, in heaven and in history, in eternity and in time. Christianity, then, is no generic religion tied to a generic god. Authority over the universe is in the hands of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
On any football field, the players are more powerful than anyone else. But the referees have the authority. No matter how strong and fast the players are, referees can stop their whole show. The devil is far more powerful than you, but Jesus has all authority. That’s why your association with Jesus is the ultimate determining factor in your life.
In light of Jesus’s all-encompassing authority, he commands his disciples to make disciples (28:19). This is a command, not a suggestion or request. A disciple is a learner who seeks to become like the one whom he is following. The goal of discipleship, then, is to help people become progressively like Christ in character and conduct, in attitudes and actions. Jesus shares his authority only with disciples so that they may see the rule of God in and through their lives.
Discipleship is the key element of God’s kingdom agenda; it’s the visible manifestation of God’s comprehensive rule over every area of life. The effectiveness of a church is therefore evaluated—not in the number of its members—but by its disciple-making. It’s the absence of discipleship that keeps a church impotent and ineffective, because by not taking up Christ’s mission of discipleship, its people cannot draw on Christ’s authority.
We accomplish disciple-making by going, baptizing, and teaching. To make disciples, then, you must go: leave your holy huddle, take your witness with you into the world, and share the gospel.
Next, Jesus commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (28:19). The presence of the three titles with the singular “name” affirms the Trinity. To be baptized is to commit a covenantal act by which you are publicly identified with the triune God. As sure as wearing a wedding ring identifies you as married, it should be clear to all that you are under Jesus’s authority.
Jesus said to teach would-be disciples to observe everything he had commanded (28:20). The goal of this is not merely to impart knowledge—it’s to help people apply knowledge. Taking notes and memorizing verses is good, but until a learner also obeys God’s Word, teaching has not produced a disciple.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 Given the chaos surrounding the Corinthian practice, Paul gets back to basics, reminding them of what he had passed on to them when he was with them. He recounts for them the final Passover meal that the Lord Jesus shared with his disciples on the night when he was betrayed (11:23). Jesus infused the meal with new significance. The bread represents his body, and the cup is the new covenant in his blood. The disciples were to eat the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of him (11:24-25; cf. Luke 22:19-20). This was the institution of the church ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.
A covenant is a divinely created bond through which God administers his kingdom program. Those who operate under a covenant receive its intended blessings. “The new covenant” refers to the new relationship that God established through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If you are a Christian, one who has trusted in Jesus as the substitutionary atoning sacrifice for your sins, you are a member of the new covenant—along with the rest of the people of God.
Remembering (“in remembrance of”) is not just recalling. The Lord’s Supper offers a uniquely powerful time of spiritual intimacy with the Lord in the same way that physical intimacy in marriage serves as a special time of intimacy between a couple. This is why we are encouraged to partake of Communion as often as possible. It is a special sharing with Christ beyond the normal relationship, enabling access to heaven at a deeper level. Communion is also designed to demonstrate the unity of the church at a common meal with the Savior.
11:26 When the church of Christ gathers to partake of the Lord’s Supper, Paul says we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. We evangelistically proclaim it to the world to invite them to trust in Christ for forgiveness and eternal life. We triumphantly proclaim it to the devil and the demonic realm (see Col 2:15; 1 Pet 3:18-19) to remind them of their defeat and their coming judgment. And we gloriously proclaim it to one another to recognize anew the victory over sin and the spiritual authority that Christ won for us on the cross.
11:27 Having once again explained the significance of the Lord’s Supper and the sacrifice to which it points, Paul here returns to how the Corinthians had been making a mockery of the meal (see 11:20-22): So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. By “unworthy” Paul isn’t referring to personal worthiness. We are all sinful; no person is worthy of salvation. That’s why we need God’s grace. Rather, Paul is talking about the illegitimate manner in which they participated in Communion. They were taking something sacred and treating it as common. This special moment of remembrance and intimacy with the Lord and his people had lost its solemn significance because of the self-centered way they engaged in it.
We are not required to come to the Lord’s Supper without any sin in our lives. If we had to be perfect, we’d never be able to partake. But we must take it seriously, recognizing its significance and the principle of the unity of his body (the church), which this ordinance is designed to encourage. We must not sin against the Lord by showing contempt for his sacrifice.
11:28-29 Therefore, Paul says, let a person examine himself so that he may partake of this holy meal in a worthy manner (11:28). In view here is not only the addressing of personal sin but the way in which believers relate to one another. The absence of unity and the presence of racial, social, and class division are to be avoided. How we relate to Christ’s body affects how God relates to us. To treat it with anything other than respect is to eat and drink judgment on oneself (11:29).