THE TABLE OF THE LORD THE COMMUNION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST The communion of the body of Christ parallels participation in His blood. "The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16). If Jesus "bore our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Pet 2:24), then communing with His body involves our inclusion in that effective sacrifice. Whatever effects flow from the sacrifice of Christ's body, they become ours in the communion of, or participation in, the body of Christ. This is not a mere ritual, nor is it the empty recollection of a historical event. It is an appointed means of being identified with the only sacrifice in history that fully accomplished the desire of the Lord. - Tomorrow:
"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils" -- 1 Corinthians 10:21
The blood of Christ was shed in the past, but its benefits continue to this day. It is important that believers confess to the historicity of Christ's vicarious death. It is more important that they embrace the effects of that death in the here and now.
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16). And what is "the cup of blessing?" There is an interpretation that says this is "cos haberachah," over which a blessing was invoked by the head of the family after the Passover. This view has its roots in Jewish tradition, not Scripture. To me, it is highly unlikely that Jesus would anchor the premier memorial of all time to a human tradition. Also, the fact that no elaboration of that sort is provided to a Gentile church confirms the words "cup of blessing" cannot be tied to a mere Jewish tradition.
This doubtless refers to the Lord's blessing of the cup, thereby elevating it as a means through which a blessing is received. Not only is it the cup that was itself blessed, it is the cup that blesses us! The word "blessing" literally means, "fine speaking, i.e., elegance of language; commendation . . . adoration . . . blessing . . . fair speech" (Strong's).
This "blessing" refers primarily to the act of consecration, or the giving of thanks. It indirectly refers to the benefits that flow from partaking of it. In the first instance, we speak out of a sense of deep gratitude for the effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice. In the second instance, the cup itself speaks eloquently to our hearts of the unparalleled love of our Savior.
As we take of this cup, we participate, or fellowship, in the blood of Christ. The things it has accomplished thus come to be our own. If the blood of Christ brings people near to God (Eph 2:13), we participate in that blood when we ourselves are brought near to Him. If the blood of Christ purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb 9:14), then our consciences are purged when we participate in that blood. If Jesus' blood "cleanses" from all unrighteousness, then communing with that blood brings to the one communing a cleansing from spiritual defilement. Blessed thought, that we can participate, or fellowship, with the blood of Christ.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask for grace to so partake of the bread and the cup as to be blessed by it.