And if I at the memorial of the Lord's death, in true remembrance of the heart think of my Savior and His love, the third characteristic of the Lord's supper will not be absent, viz.—
3.—The eating of the roast lamb.
This is the nourishment of the soul whilst meditating on the “altogether lovely” Person of our Lord and Savior. The heart cannot fail to be nourished and strengthened at this divine repast, where everything reminds us of the self-sacrificing love of our Redeemer. The Spirit reminds us of what He has said, of what He has done, and of what He is. For He has done what He has done, because He is what He is; as you and I, Christian reader, did what we did, because we were what we were. His Spirit who glorifieth Him, receiveth of His and showeth it unto us, makes us to realize both His Person and His work. Thus it is that we feed upon the roast lamb, being “strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man.”
This individual feeding need not in any way impede the edification of the body, as such under Christ the Head, “from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” On the contrary, it contributes to it. For the joint-edification of Christ's body as such, which has its full and proper scope at the “Lord's table,” as presented in 1 Cor. 10, would be greatly impeded without the individual nourishment of the heart at the Lord's supper (1 Cor. 11)
And where thus the “feeding on the roast lamb” proceeds in spirit and in truth, the effect of it will be
4.—The worship in spirit and in truth, in adoration and thanksgiving on the part of each partaker in the feast, being the natural response of the heart and lips to God, expressed by each member in the singing of hymns, or in words by such brothers as the Holy Spirit may be pleased to use as organs of the spiritual tribute rendered to God by the assembly. Worship then forms the connecting link between the two aspects of the memorial of the Lord's death, as presented in chaps. 10. and 11. of the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians.
Let us now turn to the tenth chapter.
2.—THE LORD'S TABLE.
“I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they, which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar? What say I then? That the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifices to idols, is anything? But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils [or, demons], and not to God; and I would not that ye should have fellowship with demons. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he”? (1 Cor. 10:15-2215I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 18Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21Ye 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. 22Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? (1 Corinthians 10:15‑22)).
Here then we behold clearly the difference between the two aspects of the memorial of the Lord's death, viz., the Lord's supper and the Lord's table. Here we have not, as has been observed, Jesus in His character of personal Savior of each individual sinner, but Christ as the Head of His body, the church. He died “not for that nation” (i.e., the Jews) “only, but that also he should gather together in one” [that is, in one body] “the children of God that were scattered abroad” (John 11:5252And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. (John 11:52)), Jesus died not only to save a number (however great) of individuals from hell and everlasting misery, but that those units should be united, i.e., baptized into one body, by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, and the scattered children of God, whom the Father gave to the Son to be His bride, dwell with Him in glory and reign with Him over the earth.
In ch. 11. we have Jesus and the “Lord's supper “; in ch. 10., Christ and His body, the church, in connection with the “Lord's table,” being the expression of the “communion of the body of Christ,” and of the “communion of the blood of Christ.” Whilst in ch. 11. the (crucified) body and blood of Jesus, as the foundation of our individual salvation, occupy the foreground, the Spirit of God in ch. 10. lays the chief stress upon the communion of His body, not of the church, but of His own personal body given for us, and the communion of His blood, although here also His work of redemption could not be omitted, its being, in both aspects, the memorial of His death. Only His work of redemption occupies here (ch. 10.) a secondary place, in a similar way as in the first chapter of Ephesians where it comes in the second line, according to the character of the Epistle, whilst in the Epistle to the Romans it occupies the first place.
The memorial of the Lord's death, in its aspect as the “Lord's table,” presents to us besides the above mentioned character of worship, four especial characteristics:—
1.—Unity, i.e., the oneness of the church, as the One body of Christ, and the communion of the body and blood of Christ, claimed by the members of that body as such. The “Lord's table” being the expression of that communion, every true Christian has a title and claim, to take his seat with us at that table, provided the following essential conditions for such communion are to be found him:—
1.—True, living faith.
2.—Godly walk.
3.—Pure and sound doctrine, &c.
Where these four scriptural conditions are found no scriptural assembly can refuse such, because it is not ours but the Lord's table. But where even one of these conditions is absent, no admission can take place, because it is the Lord's table.