THE TABLE OF THE LORD Devotion 1 of 14 Christendom has been plagued with extremes. This is the result of the devil's encroachment. With unrelenting zeal, he spews a distracting flood out of his mouth, seeking to carry the church away in a deluge of delusion. How vividly this is pictured in the Revelation. "The serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood" (Rev 12:15). With unparalleled craftiness, Satan inundates us with torrents of delusion, designed to inflict spiritual harm and ultimate destruction. He particularly works in the area of doctrine, seeking to corrupt the appointed means of establishing believers in the faith. -- Tomorrow:
The flood of which we speak is the antithesis of the healing waters seen by the prophet Ezekiel. Issuing out from the altar of the house of God, these waters brought healing in their wake (Ezek 47:8ff). Wherever they flowed, with few exceptions, renewal and refreshment resulted. This is a prophetic depiction of the renewing efficacy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Truly, it is God's "power unto salvation to everyone that believes" (Rom 1:16).
These two floods provide a vivid picture of the experience of life. We are subjected to both healing and corrupting waters; to blessing and cursing. Two initiatives are directed toward mankind; one to enable recovery from the fall, and another to induce a fall from the recovery. We do well to be alert and sensitive to them both. One comes from the living God, and one from the "old serpent."
Two areas especially affected by Satan's contaminating flood are Divine nomenclature and ordinances. With cunning craftiness, the "old serpent" attempts to corrupt words upon which eternity has been suspended. If you have any familiarity with the religious world at all, you will recognize his activity in the adulteration of words like "faith," "baptism," "blessing," "sanctification," "justification," and "hope," to name a few. By corrupting the vocabulary of believers, Satan can successfully draw men away from the blessing. If our nomenclature is wrong, our thoughts will be wrong. If our thoughts are wrong, our lives will be wrong. How appropriate to recall the words of Scripture; "This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words" (1 Cor 2:13, NIV).
Satan also corrupts--and aggressively so--the ordinances instituted as containers of doctrine and blessing. Two of the dominant forms intended to bless are baptism and the Lord's supper. Both are simplistic in their appearance, yet weighty in their intent. They are, in the words of the Spirit, the "form of the doctrine" (Rom 6:17). They are not an end of themselves, but an appointed means of bringing the individual into acquaintance with the Lord. As such, they are the targets of attack by the evil one. One will be hard pressed to find more religious diversity than what is found in the practice of these two ordinances. Intended to bless, they have become the center of debate and division. "An enemy has done this!"
The ministry of form is seen in the types and shadows of the old covenant. The altar, lamb, sacrifice, and sprinkling of blood all depicted spiritual realities to come. They were not mere routines, but projections of eternal verity. The Spirit witnesses that the appointed days of the first covenant were "a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ" (Col 2:17, NASB). Later, in the book of Hebrews, the Spirit again says of the priests, they, "offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Heb 8:4-5). The Law, with all of its meticulous procedures, was "a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things" (Heb 10:1). The immediate impression stimulated by these ordinances was not the real point. They were shadows of spiritual realities that would be effective in fulfilling God's objective.
This is the role of "form." It is not an end of itself, but a means to an appointed end. Ordained "form" is not to be despised, but received as a designated container for the conveyance of blessing. The blessing can no more be received in its fulness apart from the container, than heavenly things could be depicted without the shadowy forms of the Law. It is our role to receive and appreciate the form, using it for its intended purpose. We do not allow our affection to dwell upon the form itself, but upon the substance of which it speaks!
In our review of "the table of the Lord," I will assume two things. Both of them will be in the background of everything that is said. First, every benefit experienced in this ordinance comes from the Lord Himself. Blessing is never experienced independently of the Blesser. Second, every corruption of the ordinance is the result of Satanic activity. Distraction cannot be accomplished independently of the distracting one.
PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ I thank You for being so intent upon us understanding Your purpose, that You have embodied eternal verity in forms -- forms that can be studied and reviewed with great profit. I thank You that we can participate in the form, and come away with Your blessing.