I Corinthians 11:23-26 reads, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner, also, He took the cup, when He had supped saying, this cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do you as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till He comes.” An allusion to the Lord’s Supper. Hebrews 13:10 reads, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” This allusion is to the meat offering under the ceremonial law that was divided three ways. A portion was sacrificed to the Lord, the priest took a portion, and a portion was given back to the people. That which the priests and people took was eaten in a feast unto the Lord. In the Old Testament it was called the ‘Lord’s Table’ (Mal.1:7 & 12). Hebrews 13:10 is the table of the believer which is Christ in the Gospel, a table that those who continue to serve the law are denied. When a body of Christ (a true Gospel Church) comes together it comes to a feast. The dainties of the Gospel are set before them for vital nourishment. We sometimes may need correction as to our table manners, which should not take long (what family head would spend the entire dinner meal correcting?). Once this is accomplished we all sit down together and feast. Our menu is the doctrine of the Gospel. The Person of Christ and the work of redemption that He alone accomplished is set before us in dishes of justification by faith, reconciliation by the cross, sanctification by the Spirit and Word. Our dessert is our adoption as children, future glorification and perfect sanctification. Like the delicacies of our natural foods these never bore a believer, the believer never looses their appetite for them, but rather relishes the appointed time of the feast. We will not understand this meal unless we are also reminded of the faithfulness that is due from us to our Lord, for the feast is common, and the pledge mutual. In eating with Him, we pledge our love to the Crucified. How have we kept our pledge? We have eaten bread with Him and trusted in our hearts we have never gone so far aside as to lift up our heel against Him, but have we always honored Him as we should? Have we acted as family should have done? Can we remember His love to us and put our love to Him side by side with it, without being ashamed? May the Holy Ghost work in our souls a jealous fidelity to the Well-Beloved that shall not permit our hearts to wander from or allow our zeal for His glory to decline. There is also a pledge of fidelity between the members; Judas would have been a traitor if he had betrayed Peter, John or James, so, when we come to eat with one another, we must be true to one another. No bickering and jealousies: a generous and affectionate spirit must rule in our hearts. As it shows Christ’s faithfulness to us, let it typify our faithfulness to Christ and to one another.
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