THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Gospel according to Mark
Message Five
The Lord’s Supper—
A Symbol of the New Testament Economy of God
Scripture Reading: Acts 20:7; Mark 14:22-26; 1 Cor. 5:7-8; 10:16-17, 21; 11:20, 23-26
I. The breaking of bread is to eat the Lord’s supper and to attend the Lord’s table—Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:20; 10:21:
A. The Lord’s supper is for His satisfaction—11:20:
B. The Lord’s table refers to the enjoyment of the Lord in fellowship—1 Cor. 10:21.
II. The Lord’s supper, His table, is a symbol of the entire New Testament economy of God—Mark 14:22-26:
A. God’s economy is the New Testament age is involved with the Lord’s table—1 Tim. 1:4; 1 Cor. 10:16-17, 21.
B. God’s New Testament economy is that God became flesh, passed through human living, died, resurrected, and became the life-giving Spirit to enter into us as our life and to dispense Himself into us so that we may be transformed for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ—John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 6:17; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:16.
C. God’s economy is a matter not of outward things but of Christ coming into us as food—John 6:35, 53-57; Mark 7:27-28.
D. In Mark 14:12-26 the Lord Jesus partook of the Feast of the Passover and then instituted His supper, His table, with the bread and the cup:
1. He initiated this new practice for the believers’ remembrance of Him to replace the Passover feast, the Old Testament practice of Israel’s remembrance of Jehovah’s salvation—Exo. 12:14.
2. The Lord has fulfilled the type and has become the real Passover to us; now we are keeping the real Feast of the Unleavened Bread—1 Cor. 5:7.
III. This new practice of the New Testament is to remember the Lord by eating the bread, which signifies His body given for us, His believers, and drinking the cup, which signifies His blood shed for our sins—11:24-25; Matt. 26:28:
A. The bread denotes life, the life of God, the eternal life—John 6:35; 3:15.
B. The cup denotes blessing, which is God Himself as our portion—1 Cor. 10:16; Psa. 16:5:
1. As sinners, our portion should have been the cup of God’s wrath, but the Lord Jesus drank this cup for us—Rev. 14:10; John 18:11.
2. The Lord’s salvation has become our portion, the cup of salvation that runs over, the content of which is God as our all-inclusive blessing—Psa. 116:13; 23:5.
C. Such a bread and such a cup are the constituents of the Lord’s supper, which is a table, a feast, set up by Him that His believers may remember Him by enjoying Him as such a feast—Mark 14:22-24.
D. Our eating, drinking, and enjoying the Lord at His supper are our declaration and our testimony:
1. Our declaration is that we are joined to the Lord and are mingled with Him, just as the bread becomes mingled with us after being received into our body—1 Cor. 6:17; John 6:56-57.
2. Our testimony is that we live by eating, drinking, and enjoying the Lord, taking Him as our life every day—1 Cor. 10:3-4.
E. The Lord Jesus “took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and gave it to them, and said, Take; this is My body”—Mark 14:22:
1. The bread signifies the Lord’s physical body that He gave for us on the cross in order to impart His life into us—Luke 22:19.
2. The bread also signifies the Lord’s mystical Body, the means for Christ to carry out His heavenly ministry for the accomplishment of the divine administration—Eph. 1:22-23; 4:16; Rev. 5:6.
3. By participating in the Lord’s divine life, we become the mystical Body of Christ, His enlargement; by enjoying the bread, we become Christ’s mystical Body—1 Cor. 10:17.
F. The Lord Jesus “took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them…and He said to them, this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many”—Mark 14:23-24:
1. The blood of Christ as the blood of the new covenant ushers God’s people into the new covenant, in which God gives His people a new heart, a new spirit, His Spirit, and the inner law of life—Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:10-12.
2. Ultimately, the blood of the covenant, the eternal covenant, leads God’s people into the full enjoyment of God as the tree of life and the water of life both now and for eternity—13:20; Rev. 7:14, 17; 22:1-2, 14, 17.
IV. By instituting His upper, His table, the Lord Jesus indicated of His followers that they would enter into His death and resurrection, He prepared them to receive His death and resurrection, and He served them not only with His body and blood but also with His death, His resurrection, Himself, and His enlargement, His mystical Body—Rom. 6:6; Eph. 2:5-6; 4:16.
A. The Lord’s death, His resurrection, the Lord Himself, and His enlargement are for the producing of the new man as the full development o the seed of the kingdom—Mark 4:26-29.
B. Today the Lord Jesus is still bringing us into the reality of His table for the fulfillment of God’s economy—Matt. 26:26-30; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; Eph. 1:10.
Ministry Excerpts:
TO BREAK BREAD BEING TO EAT THE LORD’S SUPPER
AND TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LORD’S TABLE
In verse 20 Paul says, “When therefore you come together in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper.” In 10:21 Paul speaks of the table of the Lord. As we have seen, the emphasis of the table of the Lord is the fellowship of His blood and of His body (10:16-17), the participation in the Lord, the enjoyment of the Lord in mutuality, in fellowship; whereas the emphasis of the Lord’s supper is the remembrance of the Lord (11:24-25). At the Lord’s table we receive His body and blood for our enjoyment; at the Lord’s supper we give Him our remembrance for His enjoyment. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 55)
We should partake of the Lord’s supper unto the remembrance of Him; that is, with the result of having the remembrance of the Lord. We should come to the Lord’s supper with the expectation that a certain result will issue forth. Our eating of the Lord’s supper must result in the remembrance of the Lord in His two comings. We should remember Him in His first coming to accomplish the all-inclusive redemption to produce the church, and also in His second coming to bring in the kingdom so that both God and we may have a way to carry on the recovery. Apart from the kingdom, there is no way for the Lord’s recovery to be carried onward. Therefore, we eat the Lord’s supper with a view to remembering Him in both His first coming and in His second coming.
To remember the Lord in this way actually is to satisfy Him. The Lord has come and has died on the cross to produce the church. He is very happy with what He has accomplished and what He has produced. Now He is in the heavens carrying on His heavenly ministry so that he may come back to earth with the kingdom of His Father. But who are the people on earth who can cooperate with Him? Who can respond to Christ’s operation in the heavens? Only the church can cooperate with Him and respond to Him. If the Lord did not have the church, He would probably be sorrowful there in the heavens, for there would be no one on earth to cooperate with Him and to carry out what He is ministering.
Truly the church is Christ’s satisfaction. Whenever we come to eat the Lord’s supper, we declare His death. We announce to the whole universe that the Lord Jesus has come, that He has died on the cross to accomplish an all-inclusive redemption, and that His death has produced the church. Now we are the church, His Body, responding to His ministry in the heavens and cooperating with Him. To eat His supper on the first day of every week is to make such a declaration. As long as there is a people on earth responding to Christ in His heavenly ministry, there is a way for Him to bring God’s kingdom to earth. This is what satisfies the Lord and makes Him happy.
The Lord’s Supper Being for the Lord’s Satisfaction
The Lord’s supper should serve as a reminder that we are living on the earth for the Lord’s satisfaction. Yes, the supper is for us to eat, but it is not for our satisfaction. We eat the supper not for our satisfaction, but for the Lord’s satisfaction. Eating the supper reminds us to have a life in the church to bring in the kingdom for the satisfaction of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, this supper is a satisfaction to the Lord in relation to the kingdom, the administration of God. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 56)
The first category of the gathering is the gathering for the Lord’s table. Acts 20:7 says, “On the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bread.” To break bread is to eat the Lord’s supper, to participate in the Lord’s table, remembering the Lord who died for us (1 Cor. 11:20, 23-25). This should be the first kind of regular meeting for us who have been redeemed by the Lord’s death.
The first day of the week was the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10). On the first day of the week the believers gathered together to break bread in remembrance of the Lord. This indicates that at that time the apostle and the church considered the first day of the week a day to meet together for the Lord, gathering for the Lord’s table. The first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, is the day of the Lord’s resurrection and the beginning of a new week, signifying that the old things have passed away and that a new life has begun. Therefore, it is most appropriate to break bread to remember the Lord on this day.
The Lord’s Table Referring to the Enjoyment of the Lord in Fellowship
In 1 Corinthians 10:21 Paul uses the term “the table of the Lord,” and in 11:20 he uses the term “the Lord’s supper.” There is an important difference between the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s table refers to the enjoyment of the Lord in fellowship. Hence, the significance of the Lord’s table is enjoyment for participation, enjoyment for fellowship. When we say that we take the Lord’s table, we mean that we enjoy the Lord in the fellowship of Him. This is for our enjoyment and satisfaction. The Lord’s supper, however, is for His satisfaction. It is for the remembrance of Him.
Regarding the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper, there is mutuality. The Lord’s table is for our enjoyment, but the Lord’s supper is for His enjoyment. Sometimes we may say, “Lord, we come to Your table and partake of it.” This indicates that we are enjoying the Lord. At other times we may say, “Lord, we thank You that we can have Your supper.” This indicates that we are remembering the Lord for His enjoyment and satisfaction. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 205)
A SYMBOL OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY OF GOD
The supper instituted by the Lord Jesus, on the contrary, is extremely deep. This feast is a sign, a symbol, of the entire New Testament economy of God.
God’s Economy in the New Testament Age Being Involved with the Lord’s Table
God’s economy in the New Testament age is involved with the Lord’s table.
I do not believe that any of the Lord’s disciples understood the significance of His table when it was instituted. Peter, for example, participated in that table, but he certainly did not see the significance of it.
When the Lord Jesus instituted His supper, “He took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, Take; this is My body” (14:22). Then He took the cup, gave it to them, and said, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many” (v. 24). Hence, the Lord’s table includes a loaf of bread and a cup.
According to biblical usage, bread signifies life. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). This indicates that in the Bible bread is a matter of life.
Furthermore, according to biblical usage, a cup signifies a portion of blessing. Hence, the cup is called the cup of blessing. The bread is of life, and the cup is of blessing.
To be sure, this life is the divine life, and this blessing is the divine blessing. Actually, both the life and the blessing are the Triune God, God Himself in Christ through the Spirit. Do you know what eternal life is?
Eternal life is the Triune God. Do you know what the divine blessing is?
The divine blessing also is the Triune God. Both the divine life and the divine blessing, therefore, are actually the Triune God Himself.
The Triune God Becoming Our Life and Blessing
How is it possible for the Triune God to be our life and blessing? It is not a simple matter for something to become our life. For example, the food we eat and digest becomes our life supply. In order for anything to be our life or life supply, that thing must be organic. If you swallow a stone, that stone cannot become your life supply, because a stone is not living and organic. Only something organic can be digested by us and then assimilated into us to become our life supply. In a similar way, in order for the Triune God to be our life supply and even our life, He must come into us to be digested and assimilated by us. To be sure, the Triune God is living and organic.
According to chapter six of the Gospel of John, Christ is a loaf, the bread of life, for us to eat. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever,” (v. 51). Then He went on to say, “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me shall also live because of Me.” (v. 57). Any believer who eats the Lord Jesus as the bread of life will live by Him. When we eat this bread of life, He comes into us to be digested by us and to be assimilated into us organically. This is the only way the Triune God can become our life. The Triune God becomes our life supply and our life by entering into us organically to be assimilated into the very fibers of our spiritual being.
Taking in the Lord to digest and assimilate Him that He may become life to us is signified by the eating of the loaf on the table. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we see a loaf. That loaf is not merely for display; it is for us to eat. When the Lord Jesus instituted His supper, “He took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, Take; this is My body” (Mark 14:22).
According to Luke 22:19, the Lord Jesus said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this unto the remembrance of Me.” This verse speaks of remembering the Lord. For years, I remembered the Lord at His table merely by concentrating on His incarnation, His life of suffering, His death, and His resurrection. I had not been told that the proper way to remember the Lord Jesus is to eat Him. The real remembrance of the Lord is to eat the bread and drink the cup (1 Cor. 11:24, 26), that is, to participate in, to enjoy, the Lord who has given Himself to us through His redeeming death. To eat the bread and drink the cup is to take in the redeeming Lord as our portion, as our life and blessing. This is to remember Him in a genuine way.
One day, more than thirty years ago, I was seeking to define the significance of the Lord’s table. As I considered the bread and read the verses in the New Testament concerning it, light came to me regarding what it means to remember the Lord at His table. I saw that to remember the Lord is not merely to think about Him, not merely to recall what He experienced. Rather, to remember the Lord is to eat Him. The Lord clearly said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this unto the remembrance of Me.” By this we see that the proper remembrance of the Lord is to eat Him, to take Him in as our life supply.
The bread on the table is not for us to analyze or merely think about; the bread is for us to take in, to eat, as our life supply. This bread should be digested and assimilated by us to become our very being. The significance of this is profound. (Life-study of Mark, msg. 44)
A Replacement of the Passover
After the Lord Jesus enjoyed a feast in Bethany, He partook of the feast of the Passover and then instituted His supper as a replacement of the Passover (14:12-26). The Lord charged two of His disciples to prepare what was needed for the feast of the Passover (vv. 12-16). In the history of God’s economy, that was the last feast of Passover, for from that time the feast of Passover was replaced by the Lord’s table. This indicates that the old dispensation has been replaced by a new dispensation. Therefore, we today do not have the feast of Passover; instead, we have the Lord’s table, the Lord’s supper. (Life-study of Mark, msg. 43)
REMEMBERING THE LORD BY EATING THE BREAD
AND BY DRINKING THE CUP AT THE LORD’S TABLE
The gathering for the Lord’s table is first to remember the Lord. Luke 22:19 says, “Having taken a loaf, when He had given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this unto the remembrance of Me.” First Corinthians 11:25 tells us, “Similarly also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; this do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me.” The gathering for the Lord’s table is not for anything other than remembering the Lord, with the remembrance of the Lord as its center for the Lord’s enjoyment. Everything in this meeting, whether hymn singing, prayer, Bible reading, or words of inspiration, should take the Lord as the center, speaking either concerning His person and work, His love and virtues, His living or suffering on earth, or His honor and glory in heaven, that others may consider these things in order to remember the Lord Himself. In such a meeting we should think of the Lord in our hearts and behold the Lord in our spirit that we may be inspired concerning Him. Then we shall express our inspiration through songs, prayers, reading of the Bible, or words, so that the feeling of the meeting will be directed to the Lord and that all will remember Him.
The Bread Denoting Life, the Life of God, the Eternal Life
At the Lord’s table we remember the Lord by eating the bread, which signifies His body given for His believers (1 Cor. 11:24), and by drinking the cup, which signifies His blood shed for their sins (Matt. 26:28). The bread denotes life (John 6:35), the life of God, the eternal life.
The Cup Denoting Blessing, Which Is God Himself as Our Portion
The cup denotes blessing (1 Cor. 10:16), which is God Himself as our portion. As sinners, our portion should have been the cup of God’s wrath (Rev. 14:10). But the Lord Jesus drank that cup for us (John 18:11), and His salvation has become our portion, the cup of salvation (Psa. 116:13) that runs over (Psa. 23:5), the content of which is God as our all-inclusive blessing. Such bread and such a cup are the constituents of the Lord’s supper, which is a table, a feast, set up by Him so that we may remember Him by enjoying Him as such a feast. Thus we testify of His rich and marvelous salvation to the entire universe and display His redeeming and life-imparting death (1 Cor. 11:26).
By attending the Lord’s table we receive proper nourishment for our growth in life. Yes, we come to the Lord’s table to remember the Lord. Nevertheless, we need to realize that participating in the Lord’s table is the best way for us to be spiritually nourished. In no other meeting do we emphasize eating and drinking as we do in the Lord’s table meeting. At the Lord’s table we eat and drink. Nourishment comes into us through this eating and drinking. When we eat the Lord’s body and drink His blood, we not only receive nourishment but also enjoy the Lord Himself and all that He has accomplished for us by giving His body and shedding His blood. To receive and enjoy the Lord in this way is to remember Him. It is when we eat, drink, and enjoy the Lord that we truly remember Him. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 205)
The Blood of Christ Being the Blood of the New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:33 says, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Here God promises to put His law into our inward parts and to write it upon our hearts. This word is quoted in Hebrews 8:10. The law inscribed into our inner being is not the outward law, but the inward law of life.
God promised to give the people a new heart, a new spirit, His Spirit, and the inward law of life. These denote God’s nature, God’s life, and God Himself. As believers, we have a new heart, a new spirit, and God Himself as the Spirit. We also have the inward law of life.
The blood of the sacrifices in the Old Testament typifies the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ is the blood of the new covenant (Matt. 26:28). This blood has done many wonderful things for us.
The blood of Christ has redeemed us. First Peter 1:18 and 19 say that we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
After man fell, the way to the tree of life was closed. Genesis 3:24 says that God placed “at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Hallelujah, the blood of Christ brings us back to the tree of life! Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” This refers to the enjoyment of Christ in eternity. But we can share in this enjoyment even today. Through the blood of Christ, we may enjoy the tree of life, which is God Himself as life to us.
The blood of Christ also leads the believers to the waters of life. In John 7:37 the Lord Jesus said that all those who thirst may come to Him and drink. Eventually, out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water. We all have experienced drinking the water of life through the blood of Christ. Day by day, because of His blood, we may eat of the tree of life and drink of the water of life. According to Revelation 7:14, those who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” will be guided by the Lamb to “springs of waters of life”(v. 17). This indicates that for eternity we shall enjoy the living water through the blood of Christ. (Life-study of Exodus, msg. 79)
God made a covenant with redeemed Israel in Exodus 24:3-8 (Heb. 9:18-21), which became the old testament as a base for Him to deal with His redeemed people in the dispensation of law. The Slave-Savior came to accomplish God’s eternal redemption for God’s chosen people by His death, according to God’s will (Heb. 10:7, 9-10), and with His blood instituted a new covenant, a better covenant (Heb. 8:6-13), which became the new testament after His resurrection (Heb. 9:16-17), as a base for God to be one with His redeemed and regenerated people in the dispensation of grace. This new covenant replaced the old covenant and simultaneously changed God’s old dispensation to His new dispensation. The Slave-Savior wanted His followers to know this and to live a life based upon this and according to it after His resurrection. (Life-study of Mark, msg. 43)
THE DISCIPLES ENJOYING THE LORD’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION, THE LORD HIMSELF, AND HIS MYSTICAL BODY
By instituting His table the Lord Jesus was indicating to His followers that they would enter into His death and resurrection. The Lord served them not only with His body and blood, but also with His death, resurrection, Himself, and His enlargement, His mystical Body. At His table He served His disciples with Himself, with His death and resurrection, and with His mystical Body as His enlargement. This means that the disciples should enjoy His death, His resurrection, the Lord Himself, and His enlargement.
According to what the Lord Jesus prophesied in the Gospel of John, when the Spirit of reality came, He led them into all reality (John 16:13), including the reality of the supper instituted by the Lord. Then the disciples certainly recalled the Lord’s words. They may have said, “On the night the Lord was arrested, He instituted a table with the bread and the cup. We did not understand the significance of this at the time. Now we know that the Lord’s intention was to bring us into a full realization of His all-inclusive death, His wonderful resurrection, Himself, and His mystical Body as His enlargement.”
The Producing of the New Man
The Lord’s death, resurrection, the Lord Himself, and His enlargement are for the producing of the new man. This new man is the development of the seed of the kingdom in chapter four. The full development of the new man will be the kingdom. Instead of reading the Bible in a superficial way, we need to be enlightened to see this vision.
The Lord Jesus Still Bringing Us into the Reality of His Table Today
Today the Lord Jesus is still bringing us into the reality of His table. Before He entered into death, He instituted the table with His death, resurrection, Himself, and His enlargement, which are signified by the broken bread and the cup. The bread signifies His mystical Body. The Lord’s blood has become a cup as the portion for us covenanted by God and paid for by Christ. Week after week we review this story at the Lord’s table.
When we come to the Lord’s table, we are not celebrating a religious communion or performing a so-called mass. On the contrary, at His table we have a revelation of the Lord’s death, resurrection, the Lord Himself, and His mystical Body as His enlargement. As we participate in His death and resurrection, as we take Him as our all-inclusive replacement, He becomes everything to us for the producing of the new man. Eventually, this new man will become the kingdom of God. When this process has been fulfilled, the Lord Jesus will come back to receive this new man and to have the kingdom. May we all see such a marvelous vision! (The Life-Study of Mark, msg. 43)
In 11:29 Paul uses the expression “the body.” In the New Testament the Body denotes the mystical Body of Christ in the Spirit. However, since Paul in this portion is speaking about the Lord’s supper, the body here must also denote the body of Jesus. In verse 24 Paul quotes the word of the Lord Jesus: “This is My body, which is for you; this do for the remembrance of Me.” Does this refer to His physical body or to the mystical Body? The words “for you” indicate that the body here denotes the Lord’s physical body. His physical body is for us, whereas the mystical Body of Christ is for Him. The church today as the mystical Body is not for us—it is for Christ. But the physical body of Jesus which was crucified is for us. Therefore, in remembrance of the Lord we partake of the bread which signifies His physical body.
First Corinthians 11:25 says, “Similarly also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; this do, as often as you drink it, for the remembrance of Me.” The blood here surely refers to the physical blood, not to the mystical blood. We partake of the cup also in remembrance of the Lord.
Although the body in 11:24 denotes the physical body of Jesus, Paul uses the expression, “not discerning the body,” in verse 29 to denote also the mystical Body. Some may argue that discerning the body in this verse means to discern only the physical body of Jesus from ordinary food. In this verse Paul mentions eating and drinking. Eating is related to the physical body and drinking to physical blood; however, at the end of verse 29 Paul does not speak of not discerning the blood and the body nor of not discerning the body and the blood. Rather, he speaks only of not discerning the body. Therefore, this discernment does not refer only to the discernment of the physical body and blood of Jesus from ordinary food and drink. The meaning of discerning the body here involves something more.
Christ Today Having a Mystical Body for the Carrying Out of God’s Administration
The physical body of Jesus was given on the cross to accomplish redemption for us. But that body has nothing to do with God’s present administration. It is the mystical Body of Christ which is thoroughly and absolutely related to God’s administration today. Apart from the mystical Body of Christ, God has no way, no means, to carry out His administration. This means that God’s administration is being carried out through the mystical Body of Christ. What are we doing on earth as the mystical Body of Christ? We certainly are not working for the accomplishment of redemption, for redemption has been accomplished once for all by the Lord Jesus. Redemption has been fully accomplished by the offering of the physical body of Jesus on the cross. But Christ today has a mystical Body, and this Body is for the carrying out of God’s administration.
When we come to the Lord’s table, our concern is neither redemption nor the divine administration; our concern is for enjoyment. We all come to the Lord’s table to enjoy the Lord in fellowship. We probably do not have any thought of God’s administration. The Lord’s supper, however, is related to the Lord’s enjoyment and satisfaction. We should not only care for our enjoyment at the table, but also care for the Lord’s enjoyment at the supper. We may have a heart for our enjoyment of the table, the feast, but not have much of a heart for the Lord’s remembrance. We may care for our satisfaction, but not care for the Lord’s satisfaction. Therefore, we need more light from the Lord concerning the Lord’s supper. This will cause our meetings around His table to be improved. We shall praise the Lord that the supper is for His remembrance, enjoyment, and satisfaction. We shall realize that we are not only for our satisfaction, but even the more for God to be satisfied by Him.
Not Only Remembering the Lord Jesus, but Also Caring for
God’s Administration Carried Out by Him
If we want the Lord Jesus to be satisfied at the Lord’s supper, we should not only remember Him, but also care for God’s administration carried out by Him. Today what satisfies the Lord the most is the divine administration. If we remember Him without caring for the divine administration, He will not be happy. If we want to make Him happy and satisfy Him, we must be able to say, “Lord, while we are remembering You, we discern Your Body for God’s administration carried out by You. As we remember You, we do not forget what You are doing in the heavens. You are seated in the heavens to carry out God’s administration.” (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 54)