Lord's Table, The; the Lord's Supper

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 13
The first of these expressions is used in 1 Corinthians 10:2121Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. (1 Corinthians 10:21), in contrast to the table of demons with which those were identified who partook of idolatrous feasts. In this passage the expression appears to be synonymous with the bread, the wine being spoken of as the cup of the Lord. The idea connected with the Lord’s table is the identification of the saints as one body with the death of Christ. Hence “Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” The cup is the fellowship of the blood of Christ, the bread is the fellowship of the body of Christ, and to this fellowship every believer is bound to be faithful. It expresses the separation of the entire company from all to which He died—from sin and from the world, in connection with which the god of this world furnishes his table. The “one loaf” was expressive of the oneness of the company of believers at Corinth, as bound together in the fellowship of the death of Christ.
The expression “the Lord’s supper” is found in 1 Corinthians 11:2020When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. (1 Corinthians 11:20), and is in connection with the remembrance of the Lord in the breaking of bread and drinking the cup by the saints as in assembly. This chapter gives the positive character of the ordinance, as 1 Corinthians 10 is rather the separation consequent on it. It is the assembly come together and the affections of the saints stirred by the remembrance of the Lord’s love in presence of the memorials of that which is the proof and expression of it, namely, His death. It is the assembly’s proper privilege as brought, in company with the Lord Jesus Christ as the leader of its praises, to know and enjoy God revealed as Father, and to worship Him by the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12 -14, which succeed, the organization, the motive spring, and functions of the assembly are referred to.1