Please turn this morning to 1 Corinthians 11.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Please turn also to Acts 20. We will read verse 7.
Acts 20:7
And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
Notice that particular phrase: “We were gathered together to break bread.”
Now turn to 2 Corinthians 11. We will read verses 2 and 3.
2 Corinthians 11:2-3
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
Let us pray.
Lord, we are so thankful for Your great work at Calvary that allows us to be set apart unto You. We are thankful for the provision we have in You for this time to be set apart, and we are thankful that You have made every provision for us in Christ Jesus.
It is by faith that we can put our feet down upon this holy ground and come and bend our knees, bend our hearts, before You, that we would be in a place to hear from the very throne of God.
Lord, we are thankful that You still speak in this day. You have spoken to us over and over again. We confess that we are dull and hard of hearing, but in Your great love and merciful patience, You speak to us again.
We come and offer ourselves to You. We would have expectant hearts to see You, expectant hearts to behold You, and to allow Your very Word to do that dividing of soul and spirit within our lives. Lord, we worship You for Your wonderful presence. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Recently, we have been considering this matter together, both in ministry and prayer, and through some reading concerning the Lord’s table.
What we want to consider this morning is the matter of the Lord’s table through church history. Why do we want to look at this? What is really upon my heart is that we would see from Scripture how clear it is on the Lord’s heart that His people remember Him and gather around His table.
We see that in the book of Acts: they were gathered with the purpose of breaking bread. We have just taken the table this morning, so the question is: How did we get from there to here? How did all of this come about in our lives?
I have a desire that we could get a glimpse of the preciousness of the Lord’s table. If we can see that it came from His heart—that the Lord originated this—then we can see how, through the centuries, those captured by it in a living way did not care about the cost, the circumstances, or the false teachings they encountered. They were faithful in gathering together unto Him.
We will also see through history how many people looked down upon the table, treating it as something common and ordinary—just a couple of symbols. Others elevated it too high, making it mysterious, turning it into a sacrifice, even making it an idol. But what we are after is the reality.
The Lord has entrusted us, as His people, with the testimony of Jesus. The Lord’s table is one aspect of that testimony. We have baptism, marriage, covering, and many other aspects of the Lord’s overall testimony—but it is all about Jesus.
Why do we have a table? It is to show us Jesus. Why do we have baptism? It is about Christ. Why do we have marriage? It is a testimony of Christ and His love for the church. Why does He provide covering? So that we will see Him as Head.
During this season, we have been considering this one aspect of the Lord’s testimony: the Lord’s table.
Why do we study church history? As we look historically today, we will take a bird’s-eye view. Trying to cover twenty-one centuries in an hour is rather difficult—though, with the clock being off today, perhaps I have another hour and a half!
You cannot look at the Lord’s table in a vacuum. You have to see the events that affected it, and how people were living in those times. One of the beautiful things about church history is that we see our God is a God of purpose.
Just as we see throughout Scripture that He has a purpose, we see that purpose continuing throughout history. He has a purpose and a testimony in the Lord’s table, and it is something into which we have been brought.
We have been brought into a great heritage. This is not simply something that we take now without connection to those who have gone before us. It is a continual feast. As we celebrate it, we are entering in and joining with those who, for centuries, have done the same and continued on.
History and Scripture keep our perspective of the table in balance. Some can elevate it too high; some can bring it too low. As we see what God’s heart is, it allows us to remain in a proper perspective and balance.
We also become very aware of the enemy’s hatred for this table. The enemy hates this table, and there is a continual battle over it. We need to be aware of that.
One of his tactics can be lethargy. Some tactics may be physical, seeking to keep people away. But sometimes we gather on a Sunday morning and there is almost a spirit of lethargy sitting upon us. Do you think that simply happened because you had a difficult week? No. The one who knows the value of this table is the enemy, and he hates it.
He will try every tactic he can to rob Jesus of the glory due unto Him. Our desire, as we consider this table, is that Jesus would be glorified and put in His rightful place.
We take the table every week. Is the table a tradition? I will say that the table is a tradition. Tradition in and of itself is a neutral word. You can have good traditions, and you can have not-so-good traditions.
I want to draw a contrast between tradition and traditionalism. In 1 Corinthians 11, in the chapter related to the Lord’s table, Paul encourages the believers to hold firmly to the traditions he shared with them. Yet, in the Gospel of Mark, our Lord told them that they were neglecting the commandment of God because they were holding to the tradition of men.
What is the difference? The key is life. One tradition leads to life. There is a living tradition, a living desire to come and hold to what God has given us.
Traditionalism, on the other hand, is death. It is man trying to preserve something in his own strength, or trying to preserve something that gives man glory.
Particularly for younger people, when they hear the word tradition, there can be an automatic reaction: “Oh, tradition is bad.” No, it is not. Tradition itself is neutral. The issue is how we treat it and whether there is reality in it.
Praise God, we can enter into this tradition—our great heritage of the living remembrance of the death and resurrection of our Lord.
When you look at this table, what do you see? Do you simply see a cup and a loaf? Do you see only the outward form? Do you see it as a weekly holy event or ceremony? Do you simply see two symbols?
What do we see? That is why we sang that hymn: “Here, O my Lord, I see Thee.” We are not coming to an inanimate object. This brings us to a Person.
We are not remembering this little table in and of itself. We are coming to Jesus. That is the joy of the table. It is not merely the joy of coming around for an event. It is the joy of being in His presence and saying, “Praise God. Here, O my Lord, I see You face to face.”
As I see Your face, I remember Your death. I remember Your agony. I remember the price You paid that I might be here. That releases a spirit of worship from within us.
As 1 Corinthians 10 tells us, because of His death we have been brought into precious communion—not only with Him, but with one another. Oh, how marvelous this great work is.
When we see this table, we should see a Person. It is seeing Him. The eyes of our hearts are enlightened to behold Him.
Why are we considering this matter of the Lord’s table? Is it simply to increase participation on Sunday morning? Do we judge our commitment to the table by having more participation? “Oh, we had twenty-five people pray today. That was a good meeting.” Is that the standard?
If that is our standard, brethren, we might as well pack it up and go home. Our standard is touching Him.
Yes, we want participation. We want freedom for many to enter in, and praise God for that. But that is not the goal. The goal is not simply to have a better time or to learn what to do and what not to do.
There are things we do because we understand the table. There is a remembering of Him. There are things we do not do. As we have said, it is not a time to ask things for ourselves; it is a time of giving unto Him.
But our objective is a living remembrance and testimony unto Him: a testimony of His death, resurrection, and coming again; a testimony of the newness of life we have in Him.
I appreciated a prayer we had in our group on Wednesday night. A sister prayed that the reality of the table would be very real to us each day of our lives.
Brothers and sisters, if the reality of Christ is not touching us—if we are not living and experiencing Christ six days of the week—how can we expect suddenly to come in on one day and have all this worship come forth?
For six days we live with Him, enjoy Him, and touch Him. Then, as we gather together and behold this table, there is an overflow and a joy unto Him.
This table speaks of far more than a one-time weekly event. It is a daily transaction with Him: beholding Him and allowing Him to become real to us. Then, when we come together, there is a great overflow of worship, adoration, and remembrance of Him in His proper place.
Let us not isolate it to one day a week. It is a life He is after. He is looking for His life to be lived out among His people. Then, as we gather, what an overflow we come into.
Throughout history, people have generally treated the table in one of two ways. Some have made it too high—mystical, mysterious, ceremonial, and almost an idol. Others have treated it as ordinary, common, and merely a couple of symbols.
But this is not merely symbols. This is a testimony of a spiritual reality that we have in Him.
We want to consider saints who have gone before us. The Lord captured them, and they desired to gather with the purpose of remembering Him at His table. They desired to remember His love and the price He paid. It did not matter what circumstances, days, times, or costs they faced. They came with singleness of heart because they were captured by Him and given unto Him.
We begin with the second and third centuries, shortly after our Lord’s life. During this time, many believers were still maintaining simplicity. Most met in homes because Christianity was illegal.
The reason it was illegal was that, if you lived in the Roman Empire, you were expected to worship the emperor. Once you were saved, you knew you could not worship the emperor any longer. Therefore, you became an outlaw.
Yet, in their writings, we see their love of gathering together on the first day of the week to break bread and remember the Lord. There was a desire that brought them together.
They lived during difficult times. There were ten persecutions during this period. These were generally sporadic rather than continual, and often regional rather than empire-wide. There were only a few occasions when the entire empire focused on destroying Christianity.
Praise God, even while there was a focus on destroying Christianity, the Lord continued to hold the saints through His testimony and through His table.
Yet, we begin to see the effects of people falling away from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. We see the rise of what was called the clergy—a special group of supposedly more religious people. We also begin to hear of the elements taking on mystical meanings rather than remaining the simple bread and cup.
During the second century, there was a continuation of what we see in Scripture: a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord, a gathering to remember Him.
One document from that time is the Didache, which simply means teaching in Greek. Its writings describe believers gathering in simplicity, with a single cup and a single loaf, to remember the Lord. This continued in a living way.
Toward the end of the second century, a brother named Justin Martyr was the first to use the term Eucharist. Eucharist is simply the Greek word for thanksgiving. It comes from the fact that the Lord gave thanks and blessed the bread. It is a simple word for thanksgiving.
But the term began to take on a more mystical meaning. In the third and fourth centuries, the gathering began to be viewed as sacrificial. Some began using phrases such as, “We offer Christ back to You.”
The elements became mysterious, and people began to say that a priest or member of the clergy had to pray over the table. It was no longer viewed as something open to all believers.
At the end of the third century and the beginning of the fourth century, Constantine came in. There was a great transition, because when Constantine became emperor, he essentially legalized Christianity.
In 312, he had his conversion—though there remains debate over whether he was truly saved. He said that he was. Was it merely a strategy to motivate his troops? We do not know, but the Lord knows, and we hope that he was saved.
Through Constantine, freedom of religion was proclaimed and Christianity was legalized. But in doing that, Christianity became merged with the state religion, and we begin to see much mixture.
The church became open to everyone. It became popular and accepted. As a result, many unbelievers came within the church. Up to that point, we can comfortably use the word church. But now there is mixture.
As I speak, when I use the word church, I am referring to God’s desire and His heart. When I use Christendom or Christianity, I am referring to the mixture—the things that have been added to what was pure.
One major development was that Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople. When he left Rome, a political vacuum developed there. There had already been teachings concerning the importance of the bishop of Rome, and the bishop began to seize power.
From that point forward, the Roman system gained more and more power. It became both a worldly power and a tremendous religious power, seeking to control everything.
Before this point, if you had asked a believer whether he was part of the catholic church, he would likely have said yes. Catholic simply means universal. Believers understood themselves to belong to the universal church.
But from this point onward, it became the Roman Catholic Church, taking on a very different dimension.
We see not only man gaining power, but also the development of special priestly functions around the elements. By around the year 300, bishops and priests were expected to pray over and bless the elements.
Then the mass was introduced. The mass was understood as a reenactment of the crucifixion. Every time the mass was celebrated, there was a reenactment. Yet, as we know from Hebrews 10, Christ died once for all. Praise God.
As this system continued to gain power, it taught that there was no salvation outside of the Roman system. This was terrifying to people. Most people could not read, and they believed what the church told them. Superstition increased.
Then the teaching of transubstantiation was introduced and later formalized. It taught that the bread was literally and physically changed into the body of Christ, and that the wine was changed into the blood of Christ.
It was not viewed as a testimony or even symbolic. The teaching was that this change actually occurred. We know from Scripture that this is false teaching.
We see how, when man is left to himself, there can be such power, control, and domination. People had moved far away from the original simplicity and purity.
Let me make one clarification. At various times, I may refer to the Roman Catholic Church, Protestants, or other groups. I am not referring to brothers and sisters within those groups. We leave brothers and sisters with the Lord. I am referring to systems and the influence those systems have.
Those who did not fully agree with the Roman Catholic Church were persecuted and suffered tremendously. How could the church justify persecuting people? In their own minds, they found a Scriptural basis in Luke 14:23, where the host says, “Compel them to come in.”
They used persecution as a means of compelling people to return to the Catholic Church. We can use Scripture for anything when we take it out of place.
Yet we want to see how faithful witnesses remained steadfast. While man was gaining authority, these believers saw that Scripture was the authority.
They saw that the Lord’s table was for believers, not simply open to anyone. They saw from Scripture that no special person was required to pray over the table. You did not need a priestly functionary. Any believer could pray.
As the power of the Roman Catholic system increased, the power and value of Scripture decreased. The teachings and traditions of popes and priests became equal with Scripture. If there was a contrast, people were expected to follow what man said.
Man’s word increased while the Word of God decreased in practical authority. This is why people could twist things and maneuver them for their own benefit.
But thank God, there were faithful witnesses. In dark times, God always has a testimony. It can be the darkest of times, yet God has a wonderful testimony.
These believers suffered great persecution and were called heretics, though they simply called themselves believers. They remained faithful to the Word of God. We can think of Priscillian, the Montanists, the Novatians, the Bogomils, the Waldensians, and others.
Priscillian was a dear saint who lived in Spain. His final testimony was that it was an abomination to take the Lord’s table with unbelievers. He was offered an opportunity to repent, but he would not deny what he had seen. He was martyred in 385.
The writings concerning the Bogomils describe their simple gathering on the first day of the week. A white cloth was spread over a table, including the Scripture, the bread, and the cup.
All who believed were welcome to read from the Scripture, share, and pray. All who believed could take the bread and cup. There was a simple simplicity there.
Many of these groups—the Friends of God, the Waldensians, and others—had to meet in forests, mountains, and caves because persecution was severe. Yet they desired, regardless of circumstances, to come together and remember Him.
Tragically, they were often betrayed and slaughtered. At times, when they were found in a cave, persecutors would light a fire at the entrance and later return to remove the bodies. It is tragic to consider the price that believers paid.
We take this table so simply. Would we appreciate it in a greater and fuller way?
The Lord continued to move through faithful believers. There were forerunners to the Reformation, such as Wycliffe and Hus.
In their writings, they not only denied but actively opposed the false teaching of transubstantiation. They taught that the table should be open to all believers. The Lord said, “All of you do this in remembrance of Me.”
Both were tried and condemned. Wycliffe was condemned to die, but an earthquake in London terrified his persecutors, and they left him. He died in old age. Yet sixty years after his death, they dug up his bones and burned them, simply to prove a point.
Hus was invited to come and represent himself, to share what he believed concerning the Lord’s table and other matters. He freely went, but as soon as he arrived, he was arrested and eventually burned at the stake.
These believers were captured not by an event or ceremony, but by a Person. A Person had captured their lives, and they did not love their lives even unto death.
Praise God, because of the faithfulness of these witnesses, there was the Reformation. The Reformation had a great impact. It restored the authority of the Word of God.
In the Roman system, the Word of God had lost its value. But faithful believers knew the value of God’s Word, and through the Reformation it came back into prominence.
As the Word of God was opened to people, they could read for themselves what Scripture says about the table. They recovered the truth of justification by faith: Christ died once for all, and we are saved. Praise God.
They also recovered the truth that believers have direct access to God. They did not have to go through an intermediary, a priest, or His mother. They could come directly to God.
They saw the truth of the priesthood of all believers, though they never fully practiced it. Tragically, they fell short of returning fully to the simplicity of the Lord’s table as seen in Scripture.
Luther and Zwingli had a major disagreement regarding the table. Luther still held to a form of transubstantiation, while Zwingli saw it differently. One of the first major divisions of the Reformation was between Luther and Zwingli.
That is why you had the Lutheran Church in Germany and the Reformed Church in Switzerland. Divisions had already begun. It is tragic that it came down to differing views of the Lord’s table.
Despite the failures of man, God remains faithful. He continues to raise up believers. In the sixteenth century, we see the Anabaptists—the Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites.
They recovered the truth of believers’ baptism. They were not primarily battling over immersion versus sprinkling; the issue was whether one baptized an unbeliever or a believer. In those days, infants were baptized, but an infant is obviously not a believer.
They taught that one should believe before being baptized. They also practiced the twofold meaning of the Lord’s table: the remembrance of the Lord’s death, resurrection, and return according to 1 Corinthians 11, and the celebration of the oneness and unity we have in Him according to 1 Corinthians 10.
Again, they were greatly persecuted by both Rome and the Reformers. Yet they wanted everyone to see this reality.
Menno Simons wrote:
Dear reader, please understand that without a genuine belief in the Lord and repentance, the bread and the wine are of no avail to you at all, and they do not count before God.
If you are not a believer, these things do not mean anything to you. They have no benefit or value to you. They do not count before the Lord.
Many have suffered persecution through the centuries. I could stand here for an entire hour and read horrible stories, but I will be merciful to us, because it breaks your heart to see what people went through.
I do want to read about two brothers from 1537. They lived in Bavaria. One was a weaver, and one was a baker. They were arrested and confined for sixteen days. They were twice examined under torture.
They were asked what they believed concerning the sacrament of the Lord’s table. They spoke mightily against it, saying that it was an abomination and an idol before the Lord, and that it was not to be believed.
They said that our Lord hung on the cross that we might remember Him in a living way. They testified that the supper was a memorial of His sufferings, death, and shedding of His blood, and that believers who were members of His body should observe it with sincere thanksgiving unto Him.
Afterward, each brother was separately placed in chains. Six more times they were brought out and examined in order to induce them to recant. If they did so, mercy would be shown them. But they would in no way exchange the divine grace of their precious Lord for the favor of the world.
The seventh time, the priest came to them and asked again. They denied again. They were tortured again, this time racked twice. The eighth time, after maltreating them, the judge sentenced them to be burned.
Yet they remained faithful and steadfast until the end, knowing that they had touched divine truth through the unspeakable riches and power of God. They were burned for their faith, valiantly testifying of the truth and obtaining the crown of martyrs.
When I read stories like these, it is very sobering. I see how lightly we can sometimes regard this table. It shows us the battle, the importance, and the significance of it.
This is not merely a simple weekly time that we come together. Much has gone before us, and we are continuing on.
These are days of preparation. We speak of living in the end times. Right now, we are free to gather. We do not know what the future will hold, what freedoms we will have, how we will be able to gather, or what we will be questioned and challenged about.
Today is the day to come into a personal, intimate relationship with Him. The more we have that personal, intimate relationship with Him, the greater the value of the table becomes to each one of us.
Tragically, after the Reformation, many Reformed churches reached a spiritual low. They fell into much outward conformity and focused on performance, with little emphasis on a true relationship with the Lord.
During this time, Protestantism developed the view that the bread and cup were only symbols. Brothers and sisters, we use the word symbols at times, but they are more than symbols. They are a testimony of a spiritual reality.
God raised up the Puritans and Pietists. Among the Puritans were Baptists, Presbyterians, Scottish Covenanters, Congregationalists, Independents, and many others.
We may look at some groups today and say that they have gone far astray. But if you go back and see the beginnings of many of these dear believers, there was a grand and marvelous touching of the Lord. They were captured by Him.
There were also the Pietists, including the Quakers and the Pietist movement in Germany. Out of this movement came the United Brethren and the Moravians.
By the eighteenth century, many believers had been scattered throughout Europe because of severe persecution, not only by the Catholic Church but also by Protestant churches.
Many dear saints had lived in Moravia, where the United Brethren—or Unitas Fratrum—had begun. Because of persecution, they were scattered throughout Europe and had no place where they could freely gather.
The Lord touched and captured a man named Count Zinzendorf. We do not have time to consider his personal testimony, but his biography is well worth reading.
Zinzendorf inherited property from his grandmother, which became known as Herrnhut. He opened it as a refuge for those being persecuted. Because he was a count, he could provide a degree of safety and protection.
People came from many backgrounds: Anabaptists, Waldensians, Lutherans, Reformed believers, and others. At first, everything was wonderful. But as they began living together, their differences began to surface.
The Calvinists went one way, the Arminians another. The Baptists said things had to be done one way, and the Waldensians said they had to be done another way. There was great discontent and disharmony.
After about five years, they called for a time of prayer and repentance. This was set for August 13, 1727.
In preparation, Zinzendorf and other brothers went from home to home, sharing the preciousness and reality of the Lord’s table: what the Lord had done through His death, and how He had brought them into oneness.
On August 13, they gathered to take the table together for the first time. They had been a community living together, but now they were gathering to remember Him.
As they began, they sang:
My soul before Thee prostrate lies;
To Thee, her source, my spirit flies.
My wants I mourn, my chains I see;
O let Thy presence set me free.
Jesus, vouchsafe my heart and will
With Thy meek lowliness to fill.
No more her power let my nature boast,
But in Thy will my mind be lost.
“Vouchsafe” means graciously give. Lord, graciously give us Your meek lowliness within our hearts. Do not let me boast in myself, but let my mind be lost in Your will.
As they sang, the Spirit of God fell upon them. There were powerful prayers of repentance and powerful prayers for the Lord’s interests. Their eyes were taken off themselves and their differences and placed upon the Lord.
They beheld Him in a fresh way. Though they knew the teaching concerning the body of Christ and their oneness, now they knew the experience and reality of that oneness in Him.
Many say this was the birth of the Moravian Church. On August 27, they began a prayer meeting that continued for one hundred years.
No one came with a plan to organize a hundred-year prayer meeting. Believers simply had a burden to come together and pray. Prayer continued twenty-four hours a day, with different people taking different times.
They prayed for God’s interests, His heart, and the fulfillment of His desire.
One account says:
On the thirteenth of August, 1727, all the members of the flock in general were touched in a singular manner by the efficacy of the word of reconciliation through the blood of Christ, and were so convinced and affected that their hearts were set on fire with new faith and love toward the Savior, and likewise with love toward one another.
They embraced one another in tears and grew together into a holy union among themselves. So, rising again as it were out of the ashes of ancient times, was the United Brethren and the work that John Comenius had started.
Another brother wrote:
It was truly a miracle of God that out of so many sects—Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Separatists, Christians, and the like—we could have been melted together into one.
Those who formerly could not bear with one another fell on one another’s necks, pledging themselves most sincerely. And so the whole congregation became as a newborn child unto Him.
John Comenius, one of the final brothers of the earlier United Brethren before severe persecution scattered them, wrote a work called One Thing Needful. Written in 1669, it could sound as though it were written today:
In short, Christendom has become a labyrinth. The faith has been split into a thousand little parts, and you are made a heretic if there is one of them you do not accept. What can help? Only one thing needful: return to Christ as the only Leader.
That is the matter. These believers gathered unto Christ. They did not know what was ahead, but as they beheld Him and allowed Him to work in their hearts, He brought them into revelation and took their eyes off themselves.
A phrase came out of this period: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.”
In the essential things of the Christian faith—who Christ is and what He has done—there must be unity. In matters of interpretation, there can be liberty.
For example, one essential truth is that the Lord is coming back. But there are many interpretations concerning when and how He will return. We grant one another liberty in those matters.
But the underlying principle is that, in all things, there must be love. This is the foundation and testimony of the table: His great love for us, which purchased us, redeemed us, and brought us unto Himself.
In the nineteenth century, many denominations had formed, and if you were not part of a particular denomination, you could not take the Lord’s table.
One of the tragic things in history is that Catholicism separated man from God by placing a layer between them. Direct access to God was denied.
Protestantism, in many ways, separated believer from believer. People were divided based on how they believed a church should be governed, whether they were Congregationalist or Presbyterian, Baptist or Pentecostal, and on many other matters.
But praise God, there was a growing desire during the nineteenth century for unhindered fellowship—for barriers to be broken down and for believers to experience the oneness that we have in the Lord.
Out of this came the movement historically called the Plymouth Brethren. They never called themselves that. It was simply a historical description. They called themselves brothers.
In 1825, in Dublin, Ireland, various believers were breaking bread in groups of two or three in different homes. After a while, their paths crossed, and they said, “Why do we not come together? Let us gather in simplicity and break bread together.”
In 1827, they did so. At the same time, throughout England and the British Isles, the Lord was touching many hearts in similar ways, drawing them to return to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Him.
This became a powerful move throughout England and Europe. Many truths were recovered, but we are considering the Lord’s table today.
They saw that the table was a visible testimony to the Lord’s death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again. Praise God. They celebrated the unity and oneness of believers in Him.
There was beauty in that early period. If you read the writings from the first twenty years, it was as though heaven came down and touched them. Many were doctors, lawyers, and professionals, yet they used no titles. They were simply brothers and sisters in the Lord.
They loved to gather at the table and express their remembrance of Him. But because of this great move, the enemy took notice.
Within about twenty years, divisions began to occur between what came to be called the Open Brethren and the Exclusive Brethren. We will not enter into all of that, but again we see how much the enemy hates the table.
As we gather today, we have entered into the blessing and benefit of many who have gone before us. The way we take the table now is different in practice from the way it was taken at the beginning.
The practice has changed through the years. There are two things related to the table that are important for us to understand: the principle and the practice.
The principle of the table is one cup and one loaf. The principle is that our Lord died for us, and we remember His death. The principle is our oneness in Him.
Then there is the practical side. If you look in Scripture, it does not give detailed instructions concerning every aspect of practice. It focuses upon the principle.
I remember one of the significant events in our history together: when we transitioned to using the little cups.
Now, I am a one-cupper. I will let you know that. But to me, the principle of the table is essential, while the matter of one cup or many cups is non-essential.
The more important matter is the unity and oneness we have in Him. At the time we discussed using individual cups, AIDS was becoming more widely known, and people were concerned about germs and the spread of disease.
We had much fellowship and many meetings concerning it. Some would say, “You just need to have faith, brother.” But I remember one brother saying, “If you want me to have faith that this is the body and blood of Christ, I have that faith. But if you want me to have faith that the germs have been killed, I do not have that faith.”
We were able to fellowship through it by touching the Head, and the Lord kept us together. It became contentious at times, as expectations were placed on people, but through it we saw the headship of Christ in a living way.
As far as I remember, no one became upset and left. Before that transition, because we shared cups, some people did not come to the Lord’s table until afterward because they did not want to take the cup.
But afterward, everybody was coming together. That is only one example, but it shows how we need to focus upon the principle and the reality of the table. That is what the Lord is after, and that reality is Christ. He wants us to see a Person.
In summary, may we reflect and allow the Lord to capture us in a fresh way. This table is not of man. It originated from His heart.
As He was preparing to depart, one of the last things He shared with His disciples was: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Remember Me this way.
We all forget. To me, one of the most humbling things the Lord ever had to say was, “Remember Me.”
My grandmother never had to say, “Remember me.” I remember my grandmother. We remember our mothers and fathers. But here is the Lord, humbling Himself, because He knows us. He says, “Remember Me.”
We are considering the table, not to lift it up and make it an idol, nor to elevate it beyond its proper place, but that we might see it in proper perspective within the overall testimony of Jesus.
It is one aspect of that testimony, but it is a vital aspect. As the Lord touches us through it, and as we see its reality in daily life, there will be an overflow when we gather.
If remembering Him is daily—if daily we touch His death and daily allow His resurrection life to come forth—then when we gather on Sunday, there will be an overflow.
As we touch one another and experience the oneness and unity we have in the body of Christ throughout the other six days, then, when we gather, we can enter in and express that reality through Him.
But we need to be aware in these days of the enemy’s hatred for this. There is a continual attack and battle, not only over the table, but over the overall testimony of Jesus.
How we need to stand in this day, maintaining the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Him.
He said, “This is My cup. This is My body. Take and eat in remembrance of Me.”
May those words never become so familiar that they lose their preciousness. In a fresh way, may the Holy Spirit breathe upon us.
Perhaps during this week, we could take time and say, “Lord, as I read through these verses in the Gospels and in 1 Corinthians, forgive me for taking this too lightly. Allow me to see in a fresh way. Allow me to see Yourself. Allow me to see You in a way I have not seen You before.”
As we touch Him, we will not have to worry about our gatherings on Sunday. There will be an overflow.
Many have said that Spurgeon referred to the prayer meeting as the barometer or thermometer of the church. In many ways, as we gather at the Lord’s table, that is another indication of the level of life.
The Lord is looking for life. He is jealous. He desired to take this table with us. May we have a desire to remember Him and to see afresh the greatness of what we have been brought into.
Hebrews speaks of so great a salvation. This is a great thing into which we have been brought. This is a great privilege we have. We are the most privileged people on earth: to gather in the presence of the living God at a table that He has prepared before us.
Our eyes are upon Him. “Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face.”
Let us pray.
Lord, we come to You. As we look away from ourselves, we pray that, in a fresh and living way, You would touch our hearts concerning the reality of this table.
Lord, perhaps we have lifted it up too high, or perhaps we have made it too low. Would You bring us into Your perspective?
Above all, Lord, we pray that we would have a fresh glimpse of You, that we would be captured by You, and that there would be a greater loving appreciation for Who You are and for all that You have done.
In Thy name we pray. Amen.