Yes! For an ordinance to be an ordinance there are qualifications that must be met.
First is the sovereign authorization by God. Jesus fulfilled this when it is recorded in Matthew 26:26-30, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
The second qualification is that an ordinance needs to be symbolic of the Gospel. Baptism is symbolic of the old man being immersed and rising out of the water to new life in Christ, just as Christ rose from the dead. Observing the Lord’s Table is symbolic of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus by which atonement was made for sin.
The third qualification is that of a specific command in the New Testament to repeat the symbol perpetually. Paul instructed the Corinthians to do just that in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
A fourth qualification is the actual historical fulfillment of the early church observing this reminder, as seen in Acts 20:7, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”
Please join us this Sunday morning at Faith Baptist Church. It’s the first Sunday of the month and we will be observing the Lord’s Table and examining the Scripture that commands that believers observe the ordinance.