The difference between the Lord’s Table in

The difference between the Lord’s Table in 1st Corinthians 10 and the Lord’s Supper in 1st Corinthians 11, is that a person can be saved (have access to the Lord’s table) and still be not separated unto the Person of Christ. When we take the Lord's Supper, we indicate we are in fellowship with the Lord and each other and are there for the right reasons. The Lord’s Supper is not for the forgiveness of sins, getting the Holy Spirit, gaining a good conscience, to re-crucify Christ, or any other reason than those mentioned before. If we were at the first one when the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the feast of remembrance, we would have been gathered around a table after eating the last Passover feast. The Lord Jesus Himself then took the emblems symbolizing His Body and Blood and gave thanks for each of them in turn and then gave it to each one there to partake of. You can imagine each one eating the bread from the one loaf and drinking from the same cup, and forever after, they would realize this is more important than a birthday. This is a reminder of a death day and an accomplished work of redemption through the body and blood of the Lord.

“In Remembrance of Me” The night the Lord Jesus Christ introduced the Lord's Supper, He and His disciples had eaten the last of the Passovers previous to eating the new feast of remembrance. The Passover was now finished, and the testimony of the new covenant was seen in the bread and the cup. Apparently, the Corinthian assembly, and maybe other assemblies, had a regular meal together before they took the Lord's Supper. In Corinth, this meal that was supposed to express fellowship and love between them as a "love feast" was actually driving them into cliques, dividing the rich from the poor and the needy from those who had plenty to eat. This can easily happen. Some who are well-to-do will sit at a table by themselves, discussing finances, business, and how their latest investments are doing. Those who are in real need and want something to eat are isolated and kind of watched out of the corner of some eyes to see how much they actually eat.

This kind of separation is a serious danger to any assembly because it reveals a problem much deeper than just eating at separate tables. It is possible to misuse something that could promote fellowship so that the results make things among believers much worse than they were before. The divisions, even at these meals, showed the deep-seated problems of the believers in Corinth. Unbelievers were able to be exposed in some way during those times that should have promoted fellowship. The answer to this problem should be dealt with at home so it would not bring further dishonor to the Lord's people as a whole.

The Lord’s Supper is not merely a “church supper” for the fellowship and enjoyment of those who come together to eat a meal. It is a spiritual feast that focuses only on our Lord Jesus Christ, His death, and His coming again. It is not a time or a place to testify about ourselves or the daily benefits and blessings of being a Christian. The attitude of the hearts of the participants is to be personally examined before God. The awareness of the holiness of God and His command for us to be holy makes us conscious of God's grace in a very impactful way.

Some people say that being a participant in the Lord’s Supper is an individual matter, but they do that by separating three verses from the context in which the Spirit of God has given it. Chapter ten emphasizes the fact that each person’s activities have an effect on the whole public testimony of an assembly of believers. The first part of this chapter teaches us the role we each fill as men and women in a local church. The Lord’s Supper gives evidence of our unity as a fellowship of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Another consideration is that some of the poor needed what was provided at those meals. To treat them as people of less worth than the rich revealed those who believed they were gifted and advanced in the Christian life further than others to be like little spoiled children when it came to showing Christian love and grace. The potential for good that is in having a meal together can be easily lost and become a time of reproach and division when not truly a "love feast." This type of thing should not proceed the Lord's Supper.

We are to "Occupy till I come," the Lord Jesus taught, as we take responsibility to do the work He has given us to do. Assembly believers in Thyatira were to "Hold fast till I come," reliably as they waited and witnessed for the Lord. It is important to the Lord Jesus Christ that we worship in appreciation of Him when we come together to "Show the Lord's death till He come." The institution of the Lord's Supper displays great doctrinal truths about the incarnation of Christ, the deity and humanity of Christ, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and the substitution and atonement that has been accomplished for us. This was important to the Lord then and is now - and it should also be to us.

The position of the Lord's Supper is uniquely important as it is between the two comings of Christ. We look back to when He came to put away sin by the "sacrifice of Himself." We know His sinlessness and perfection in every way made that sacrifice acceptable to God. We look forward to the Lord's Supper to His promised return when the symbols of His body and blood are no longer needed. The Lord's Supper is a memorial of a departed Friend. "This do in remembrance of Me." It is also a testimony of a present Friend. "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there and I in the midst of them." The Supper is a response to a promise of a coming Friend - "Till I come." The Lord's Supper is not just a historical review or a history lesson. It is a vital remembrance of our Lord's past, present, and future activities, and it purifies us today.

The nature of the Lord's Supper is that it is a moral center where the purity of life and purpose test our conscience. It is important for us to prepare in advance of coming to partake of that feast of holy things. We are not worthy of being there or of any of the blessings our Lord has given us, but we can and must partake of the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner. Personal examination, self-judgment, and confession of sin are needed in view of the holiness and purity testified to our Lord in that Supper. We come together owning the Lordship of Christ. We come on Lord's Day to sit at the Lord's table and partake of the Lord's Supper. While there, we proclaim the Lord's death and discern the Lord's body until the Lord's return. To some people, unfortunately, they can come or stay away depending on how it interferes with other things going on in their lives, rather than the other way around.

At the Lord's Supper, then, we look back to remember what happened on our behalf so that we might be brought to God. We also look to where our Great High Priest adds His "sweet perfume" to our prayers and praise hymns. At the same time, we remember His presence with us and look ahead to when His promise to return will take place, and we "shall see His face." It is also important that we examine ourselves as we look inward to make sure there is nothing in us that would dishonor Him, adversely affect others, and hinder us in our worship. There is another consideration in relation to the Lord's Supper. There are observers. Angels look on and see the order of those who submit to our Lord's headship. Those in the observers' seats watch to see whether what we profess is consistent with what we practice.

There is a unique appeal to the Lord's Supper, which is its testimony to the unity of those gathered to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ in His name alone. Sitting around the table with one loaf on it testifies to the fact that in the unity of family fellowship with the saints and Jesus in our midst, we are one in Christ as members of His body. We are united together with Him and in Him. He preserves us and holds us together, as He mentioned in His intercessory prayer for us.

The local assembly of believers is a testimony that the Body of Christ is one, not divided, as denominations separate Christians into unscriptural groups. The cup is the testimony of the blood of Christ that was in no way tainted with sin. His "precious blood" carries with it the proof of eternal life from Him we received when His "Blood cleanseth us from all sin." The unity expressed when drinking from the one cup symbolizes the eternal life Christ gave us when He gave His life as a ransom for us to form the new covenant He made with us.

The results from the Lord's Supper include the preservation of sound doctrine, blessings from worshipping in spirit and truth, and the visible testimony of the Gospel. Others are that we learn again the meaning and value of the work of Christ on Calvary. We are assured of who we are and why we are here as we join together to remember Him. The coming of the Lord is brought to our minds, and its purifying effect goes with us through the week ahead.

By being at the Lord's Supper, we are able, in a special way, to act as priests should in bringing our variety of sacrifices with us to present to Him. In an unusual way, our prayers and praises create the paradox of joy and sweet sorrow blended together as we remember our Savior. It is important for us and for the Lord that we be where He intends us to be and do what He intends us to do. To carelessly look upon such an important act commanded by the Lord places one under the judging hand of God. We need to obey Him and do what he wants in His way. A wise person will not just come when it is convenient to them but will commit themselves to obedience and faith as they remember our Lord Jesus Christ and publicly proclaim His death. These two things are able to be responded to at the Lord's Supper in a way that is not possible elsewhere or in any other way.

If, in one’s heart and mind, we honestly have examined ourselves, we will have reviewed our lives to be sure our commitment to God’s will is real, and we have not allowed sin to come between God and us. Discerning the Lord’s body is necessary to understand that I am a part of the body of Christ. One who defiles the body or who is not a believer negatively affects the whole gathered-out company. The Lord’s Supper is a church gathering that represents Christ's living, holy body in a way that visually testifies to the whole body in all its parts, not just as an individual.

If there are those who come to the Lord’s Supper for the wrong reason and partake of it in a wrong way, then, because of the lack of self-discipline and spiritual discernment in such holy matters, God Himself disciplines the careless person, and the consequences can be very serious.

The night before, as the work day closes, a sense of quietness draws one aside. The words of a hymn and some scripture passage he or she chooses to meditate upon so that he can hide from what has occupied one’s mind so much. His mind and heart are raised higher and above the things of which he has been occupied. Now, he is drawn in spirit to the Savior he loves and takes time to consider just how and why His Savior died.

In the early morning, he dresses with care because he is going with God's saints to meet around the table and there to share thoughts of the Lord and His accomplished work on our behalf. A sense of dignity, honor, and respect for the Lord and His people dictates to him how he should dress. This feast of remembrance he would not neglect as his God he will bless with an attitude of heartfelt thanks.

With cautious joy and a reverential mind, He sits down with others to think and remember. In the bread and cup on the table, he can find visible proof of the body of which he is a member. The eternal life he has as a gift from God he received gratefully. He can see in the blood-red fruit of the vine that he has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and given divine life. In his thoughts, he remembers in Whom he has believed, and he's not very conscious of the passing of time.

Sitting at that table and partaking in the Lord’s Supper, he is aware he's seated with Christ in heavenly places. All who are there sense the unseen "Other" whose grace is reflected in all of their faces. It never grows old; this remembrance of Him who loved us with a love that is everlasting. At this table of blessing, we bring thank-offerings in to give to the Lord and leave with hearts full of overflowing blessings.

“I know from experience, Father, how important this Supper is. From the first time I took the bread and the cup until now, I knew there was nothing else like it in the world. Its simplicity was profound. Its order was significant. Its symbolism was unmatched by anything else. Its impact is immense on true worshippers. Its spirituality moves the soul and spirit. Its proclamation is unmistakable. Whatever language the hymns, prayers, and scripture reading are in, the force of divine authority and life moves saints to worship. “Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree!” In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”