THE TABLE 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 word translated "proclaim," or "show" (KJV), means to announce, or declare. This is not an announcement of cold facts, but the proclamation of personal participation. It is more like a confession on involvement with both the death and resurrection life of Jesus.
Notice WHAT is proclaimed, or shown forth. It is not the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, as some affirm. This certainly does not mean that the death of Christ is unrelated to His burial and resurrection. However, it is the death itself that is declared. This is the death by which He put way sin (Heb 9:26), destroyed the devil (Heb 2:14), and reconciled us to God (Rom 5:10).
When we "eat this bread and drink this cup," we proclaim the FACT of Christ's death. It is a very real death in which we have been brought to trust. As it is written, " Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood" (Rom 3:25).
In eating this bread and drinking this cup, we announce the EFFECTIVENESS of Christ's death. The benefits that accrue from participation in the body and blood of the Lord are thus publicly acknowledged and powerfully declared.
When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim our PARTICIPATION in the death of Christ. we have been united with it in baptism (Rom 6:3). We have experienced the remission obtained through that glorious death, and proclaim it with joy.
This table enables the heart and mind to span the death and second appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ--a challenging consideration. By eating and drinking here, we are acknowledging our determination to keep the faith until the return of our Lord. We are admitting participation in His death, as well as a readiness for His return. This is no empty exercise for the believer. It is not something bound upon them as a Law. It is an expression of the heart to both God and men. Our acknowledgment is first to God, then to men.
There is never a point in the life of faith when our brothers and sisters are allowed to be more prominent in our thinking than the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who imagine such an occasion are simply wrong.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask for grace to leave a bold and clear witness to Christ's death, every time I eat this bread and drink this cup.